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Little Mermaid Trailer Reactions Show Disney Movie's Cultural Impact
Videos have been making their way across social media of young black girls reacting to the first The Little Mermaid live-action remake trailer, showing the cultural impact of a modern black Disney princess. The Little Mermaid live-action is a remake of the original 1989 movie, and the first trailer released at the D23 Expo last weekend revealed a first look at Halle Bailey as Ariel. Set to release on May 26, 2023, The Little Mermaid will join the slew of Disney live-action remakes that started with Cinderella in 2015.
Halle Bailey faced toxic backlash from a small but vocal part of The Little Mermaid fans when she was cast as Ariel, with many shows like The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power currently facing similar problems with racist remarks on characters. However, audiences have pushed back, arguing that it is ridiculous to criticize a black actress playing a mythical creature in an unrealistic fantasy world initially written by a Danish author. While critics of Bailey argue that they want a faithful adaptation of The Little Mermaid, the race of a mermaid won't affect the plot or character interactions, and the fantasy genre lends itself to diversity because it is imaginative.
Twitter user normanination4 made a thread of the videos of little black girls reacting to The Little Mermaid trailer, and their joy in seeing themselves in a Disney princess shows the importance of representation in film. All the girls excitedly react to seeing a black Ariel with big grins, and some even comment, "I think she's brown!" or "She's black?! Yay!" See the entire thread of reactions here.
Representation was a large part of Bailey joining The Little Mermaid in the first place, with Bailey saying such representation would have changed her confidence and belief in herself growing up. It is also vital Bailey's representation of Ariel is in a story where the princess's race is not divisive to the story, as past representation in The Princess and the Frog was. Bailey will be supported by Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle.
The prevalence of toxic audiences is angering for the majority of supportive fans. Still, the thread of black girls loving their representation is a reminder of the importance of Bailey in the new The Little Mermaid. While The Little Mermaid may face a review bombing like other recent shows with diverse fantasy actors, Twitter user normanination4 guides viewers the right way by focusing on all the good things The Little Mermaid is doing. The positive majority of audiences should find comfort in the young girl's excitement for The Little Mermaid, which is also the movie's target audience and, therefore, off to a great start reaching them.
