The casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in The little Mermaid is undoubtedly a revolutionary step taken by Disney. But as it seems, the reception is quite contrary to expectations. With the teaser reportedly drawing an estimated 1.5 million likes, talks are ongoing that Disney has taken down various hateful comments to the actress. Fortunately, several Halle Bailey fans wholeheartedly support the film. These fans shared that Disney was always diverse and even had a black mermaid in the 90s.
Disney’s live-action remakes are always criticized as major money grabs. After the failure of the recent Pinocchiowe hoped that The little Mermaid can repair some damage, but no doubt the House of Mouse is going through a tough time now.
Also Read: ‘Woman is a Fish, Best Friend is a Talking Crab…and Are People Mad That She’s Black?’: Wonder Woman Actress Lynda Carter Slams The little Mermaid Trolls on absurd outrage
Representation mania is not sudden
Since day one, it’s been announced that Halle Bailey will be directing The little Mermaid project, the actress and the film faced a lot of loathing from fans.
On the one hand, a certain portion of the audience claimed that the skin color transition was unfair because the origin story was hampered. While on the other hand, some true fans are constantly defending the movies and the actress from backlash by showing proof that the portrayal trend is nothing new.
In 1992, The Little Mermaid series had a deaf Hispanic mermaid who communicated in American Sign Language. Representation has always mattered, even in fantasy stories pic.twitter.com/f5NrDDeyGJ
— Okiro (@TheFirstOkiro) September 15, 2022
Fans are right in this case, as the 1992 series about the fictional world of Ariel and Atlantis featured a black mermaid Gabriella who was also deaf and used sign language to converse. Fans have taken to the internet to prove enough is enough and concrete proof that Disney has always been about diversity and representation. It’s not sudden and it’s just as important in fairy tales.
Also read: ‘I just sobbed watching this’: Halle Bailey cries after new video shows The little Mermaid Teaser Inspiring Young Black Girls to Become Disney Princesses
Who was Gabriella?
Halle Bailey’s disapproval as The little Mermaid also led to the creation of #NotMyAriel. Fans now seem to have gotten their hands on something that can counter hate comments very well.
In the series of The little Mermaid, Gabriella was a deaf mermaid who was a very good friend of Ariel and had a dark complexion. She also used American Sign Language to converse. Apparently, the character was introduced so that every child could identify with it and understand that in front of talent and skill, skin color is nowhere.
Also read: “Why did they make The Little Mermaid so dark?”
Halle Bailey fans kick haters
Halle Bailey fans haven’t taken the time to address the issue on Twitter and protect the upcoming film from hate. We’ve put together a series of Tweets that show how much fans love Halle Bailey and how much this diversity represented by Disney has encouraged them and their children.
Wow! It’s always good to know these things. Instead of getting a stomach ache, people need to focus on the joy of a movie and what they can learn from it.
— Kenya The Mighty (@KenyaTheMighty) September 15, 2022
Omg I remember! It was amazing to see when I was a kid!
— Nico🌈👽 (@NotOfMars) September 15, 2022
Based.
— Zephyr Stobart (@ZephyrStobart) September 15, 2022
Well Halle can sing and she has red hair so… she’s the Little Mermaid.
— SaiyanQuad92/Tokyo 2023 trip forecast (@SaiyanQuad92) September 16, 2022
This is my daughters favorite episode because it looks like them 🥹
— Crystal Porter (@CristalMPorter) September 16, 2022
It must be remembered that Ariel’s skin color has nothing to do with the story. Although some viewers may argue that it is based on a Danish fairy tale, there are still many differences between the original tale and Disney’s animated story. So there should be no complaints about the use of creative freedom. Now, it’ll be worth watching if the film can be so good at addressing everything it’s facing now.
The Little Mermaid hits theaters on May 26, 2023.
Source: Twitter
