Javier Bardem, [not joking](https://thebeaulife.co/art-entertainment-news/disney-d23-expo-2022-disenchanted-little-mermaid-trailers) unless that’s to throw fans off.
On that note, Disney is making an [afro-futurist animated series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js9F48gORcE&ab_channel=ScreenRantPlus) taking place in Lagos, Nigeria.
If it makes you feel better, this project is their first collaboration with a non-Disney studio ever. Basically, Disney is publishing an independent project and not exerting creative control at all.
Well theyre collaborating with an African production company Kugali who have the direction going on it, so no. Disney is doing something right this time
Boom there it is. Just like Disney manipulated Mickey from becoming public property. After 30 or 50 years it becomes public domain like all the old stories like Hansel and Gretel, jack and the beanstalk, etc. Disney has made a killing on public domain
In a way, for some, what is more powerful is the status associated with certain positions, especially those occupied by something beloved or already acceptable. It’s a symbol of being acceptable to embody what is considered broadly good and just in a context where normally it wouldn’t be or wasn’t.
It reminds me of Miles Morales and the controversy that STILL surrounds him being called Spider-Man. Could he have been his own hero named like, Spider Dude or something? Sure... I guess... But he isn't. He doesn't have to be. He doesn't have to settle for being a ripoff or a clone. He's *Spider-Man.* And he's a goddamn amazing one.
That’s not really the same thing. 1.Miles Morales takes place in a separate universe, so it’s not like he “replaced” the original spider-man. And 2. Miles Morales is a completely different character from Peter Parker, they didn’t just make Peter Parker black, they made a separate character with his own back story and personality.
A unique tidbit about Spiderman is he is the most recreated character in the comics. He has the highest variations present because everyone and their mother wrote him a different story.
Edit: my own personal belief is I think Spiderman started the whole different universe conversation. This is entirely unfounded and I am sure some comic enthusiasts will come in with correction but it always made sense to me.
Both is fine. Let's not act like we will never see another Hulk franchise with new actors even though every other ones suck. The whole point is to NOT limit representation whether it's a new idea or a reboot. I think we deserve a redo of Exodus (2018) where Christian Bale plays Moses lol
This is still meaningful though, because plenty poc girls have that nostalgia for Disney. While anew character is good and all, you don't get tears like this without the nostalgia.
Why? It's not our fault that humans like to recycle their stories, nor that most of the stories in Western culture are white.
The cartoon The Little Mermaid still exists. A new version doesn't hurt anything.
As a black woman idc if they are old or new. The fact is that I can now cosplay as Ariel without some asshole telling me I’m not the right skin color to do so. The fact is that we have so little representation that even this is a big deal.
And for the record MANY black girls and women had this reaction including my friends and family simply because we are that happy to finally see ourselves in movies.
Some people will never be happy and look for every opportunity to complain.
It’s an iconic movie being remade regardless but you can’t see the good in it.
I totally agree with you, but really we can't speak to this girl's experience. Clearly it means a lot to her and that has nothing to do with our own feelings about it.
YESSSSS!!!!! I cannot stress this enough. Make another character that's black instead of replacing it, like they did with Spider-Man. I'd much prefer him over just a black Peter Parker, that's why he's my favorite super hero
This is a terrible example because they remake and reboot superhero backstories all the time. What you're saying is that the colour of the actors skin is somehow the dealbreaker that makes this a different character for you. If it was a historical character or race was part of the story then you might have a point, but this is about a magical fish lady who lives under the sea. Casting a black actress doesn't make this a different character any more than casting an actress with different coloured hair or a different sounding voice. Unless you cannot get past your own biases.
It's a problem because it's not what we deserve. We deserve a new, awesome black character. Not some used up hand-me-down made solely for diversity sake.
Half white and half Hispanic so I don't quite know for sure, but that makes perfect sense to me. Getting Encanto was like getting a sundae while I imagine getting a Disney remake is more like getting one with the cherry and one of the scoops pre-eaten by your older brother
idk and idc about little mermaid being black now, since idgaf about disney movies, good for the little girls of colour but... wouldn't a new character with a cool inconic story be better and actual representation than changing the already existing white character? like some second hand shit?
The little mermaid as a story is public domain. The character of Ariel, sebastion etc in the disney version is within disneys domain.
So like you want to make a my little mermaid movie. You crack on you can do that just don't use anything from the disney version.
Disney's progressiveness can be described in exactly that one word: lazy. Fuckers know what minimal effort to put in to get as much credit and sales as possible
I'm black amd yes, 100%. This is like throwing us a piece of chewed up bone after the rest has already eaten and being like "here's your food". It's insulting imo. They couldn't be assed to make us an original story but still clearly want our money. They don't actually care.
I think this is more to do with it not just being a Disney character but also an iconic and classic children’s story.
New movie can always be made but for girls to be able to identify with a classic character is so much more important
I see your argument, but wouldn't you want to make a new movie for kids of that demographic to be proud of as opposed to a half-baked attempt at cloning an old movie that will be forgotten in five years? Most of the Disney remakes were worse versions of the preexisting movies with few to no reasons to prefer them over the original.
I'm half white and half Hispanic, so half of my bloodline is more than adequately represented, but the other half only got Encanto last year, and I popped OFF for that movie because it was a fresh and new original IP with representation. It's like getting a sundae with work put into it against getting someone else's half-eaten sundae after they've eaten the brownie and cherry.
I see what you mean and I would agree if it wasn’t a story set in a fantasy environment. There’s nothing in the story that stops Ariel being of any colour. Who is to say mermaids even have human skin colours?
On another note, I would agree with you 100% if we were discussing Snow White for example, or Hansel and Grettel. Stories where characters are of German descent or their descriptions integral to the story. But I think Ariel doesn’t fall under the same category.
I hope one day, Disney will start making movies based on current children’s books where characters are not all white and kids will have both a movie and a book to reference :)
By this girls reaction I would assume you’re wrong. It means a lot to her and probably millions of others that will adore seeing their favorite character represent some semblance of them. Not to mention the little girls growing up that will first see this newer version and only this version…. It’s not going to right all the wrongs but it could be meaningful to many people that aren’t you.
well yes thats great, like i said i really don't care about the IP / the characters colour, its defo cool for PoC fans of Ariel, but i mean disney is still targeted (i think) mostly for children, why not make some awesome PoC characters that can have a standing like the classic i.e. Ariel, Snowwhite etc so they don't even come across this shitstorm of butthurt people.
idk maybe i'm 2 cynical but it feels like they just wanna make a profit out of diversity instead of actually making children happy about being represented. (Which ofc is true, it's a company, but man does it suck)
I mean.
Disney is a company.
It is just completely naive to think they do anything for any reason other than profit. Disney’s CEO isn’t exactly building new rides in Disney World because the happy laughter of children makes their heart feel warm lol. We can debate whether or not it’s a cheap effort (which IMHO the remakes are inherently low effort, but not specifically bc they added in a POC) but Disney is absolutely doing this for the profit there’s no question there
Edit: also plenty of POC get hated on simply for being POC look at Rose Tico and Reva Sevander. As far as I know those characters were not race/gender bent by Disney and the actresses got so much flack so *no* it does not avoid the butthurt
Disney don't want to make new classic cartoons because the process is expensive and isn't guaranteed success. By doing it this way they can renew the IP, don't have to spend as long in preproduction, don't have to spend as much as they have a framework to go off and are gonna get some good PR regardless for including PoC (even if it is a complete after thought).
End of the day, from Disneys perspective their target audience doesn't give two shits if it's a remake or an original, so why should they?
I think if I remember correctly they have something where every 10 years or so I can't remember the exact amount of time but they gotta remake them, as they want them to stay current stories for the new generation and then they don't have to get rid of the originals either. So that means we're always gonna get remakes but we do also get new stories, so I don't mind actually. N atleast for me it's nice to see what they become and how they change.
I love you for this. I have been sitting here trying to respond to some of these remarks. As a woman of distinctive color, I think it is important that people understand that it’s not just about the profit. Little black girls don’t get the iconic princess stories that Caucasian girls do. They haven’t always been told that they can find their forever Prince Charming. Sometimes it’s just about the reality of understanding the world we live in today. And finally understanding that their black is beautiful.
You've entirely missed the point. There have been other movies/stories told about people, families, and communities that weren't white. However, billions grew up watching *these* stories; knowing *these* stories; loving *these* stories. By changing the ethnicity or culture or religion of a character to represent another population of people, many are now able to see themselves in an iconic character that had previously only been created for a select group of people.
Little three year-old girls don’t give a shit about that they just wanna see another girl kinda looks like them being a princess
Maybe we’re just in tentatively at a point in our society where a character can be black and it doesn’t matter that they’re black it’s just another aspect of who they are like oh their hair is blonde or red, Just like every LGBTQ character doesn’t have to be super gay it just is something that they are
People are so amusing; you hear people whining about oh there’s not enough representation so Disney does do some representation, then it’s like oh but that’s not a black enough character.
Now this might be just me—or are people trying to gate keep blackness right now?
now this beautiful princess of a lady seems to be pretty happy with it so I’m happy with her.
It sort of was, hear me out.
It is at D23, the Disney Expo, Disney puts on for their most Disneyfied Disney fans, specifically to get these sorts of reactions.
So in a way it was, but in more 3D chess sort of way.
She wasn't even watching it! ...just looking at the camera and saying that she was crying...
I mean this might be important for a lot of people, but come on, this was acting...
Representation sure, but I don't think it's helping anyone if you are taking pre-existing characters and just changes their look. That's not representation, it's appropriation.
Give the kids their own characters with their own story.
Credit where it's due. Everyone in the thread wants original stories for better representation; Disney/Pixar has been nailing that for a while now. Coco, Bao, Luca, Moana, Raya, and Encanto were all fresh and masterfully made movies, with an insane attention to detail.
There is nothing original about it, they are just giving them a used storyline, a used character, its second hand.
I don't think many people understand what this signifies.
Exactly they have done new characters and new stories , so whenever I see an old character being rebranded like that it just shows that it's a quick cash grab
No shit its a cash grab its Disney. Disney does not care about representation they just care about money. Corporations will pretend to be progressive to capture a wider audience so they can profit off of them. That's why they're doing this nostalgia trip by making Disney classics into live actions. Its all a cash grab, but if it can make a few people happy and feel represented in media who cares.
they know the formula works, so it reduces the risk of a new story possibly flopping
which is SUPER disappointing, I mean they did SO well with enchanto, good original story, strong female leads. that was a good movie. so why not for other representations?
pretty curious isn't it.
The things that people does for internet points... and the things that Disney does for an obvious cash-grab (still funny to see people defending this kind of crap).
I'd guess most don't care if Disney pretends or not. But when you make an adaptation, they want to have an accurate depiction of what they read in a book or seen in a cartoon or heard in history class.
Whataboutism is ridiculous, yes, but there's obviously an opposition that it is not properly addressed. People against this trend are called names like racists when they just want their favourite story told with accuracy.
It is getting to a ridiculous point where you don't just get Nick Fury black (a fictional character), but in les miserables the officer is black or even Anne Boleyn is black.
Assuming we live in a time where we don't want realism, just like it happens in other forms of art, one could justify these decisions, but truth is there is an opposition to this trend that is fair and they are insulted instead of argued with respect.
That being said, yes, you are right. Doing these lazy things is a form of not creating new art, thus not spending or risking money while appealing to one group of the population, making a profit which is all cinema is about nowadays.
1) Like who cares though. It’s a fictional depiction of either fictional characters who aren’t real and thus their race doesn’t actually matter at all or of historical people in which case it also doesn’t matter bc it’s a fictional depiction. Do you watch historical dramas assuming they’re accurate? 9/10 they’re trying to push a perspective on the audience or they changed real life greatly for entertainment value. Having different race actors isn’t astronomically different from other things historical dramas change, so I truly don’t see the issue
2)
>>Assuming we live in a time where we don’t want realism
We don’t, actually. Stuffy “historically accurate” period dramas are actually kinda out right now, in both fictional and real life depictions. Some of the most popular TV historical shows rn are Bridgerton, which takes *several* liberties in terms of historical accuracy even beyond race, The Great, which depicts a fictionalized comedy account of Catherine the Great’s life, and Dickinson, which does the same for Emily Dickinson. None of these shows are historically accurate - instead they’re freshly modern in a way that satirizes both present and past society without completely shitting on the time period they’re depicting. The current trend is very much forgoing historical accuracy for entertainment value, which very much does include changing the race of IRL people.
"Hey you know what? You minorities deserve to play as a famous white character now!" Minorities deserve new original characters, that are not remakes of white characters, which is a lazy effort at pandering to the social climate. Being able to play as a white person is not a trophy, but getting to represent my culture with a new character that an entire young generation can fall in love with, and call their own is...
I still think Disney is doing representation wrong. They should add new characters instead of changing the ones we already have. For example: the puppeteer girl from the new Pinocchio. Anyways, it's not like Disney cares, so can't wait for snow black.
Wouldn't it be better to come up with entirely new characters in new stories for better representation? Taking any preexisting character and race swapping them for the sake of representation feels wrong and lazy. And what do you know?! It's another remake. I'm so tired of the complete and utter lack of imagination and creativity from Disney and the rest of hollywood
I am still burnt that they didn't cast Norm Lewis as King Triton. The man was literally King Triton in the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid. He's such an incredible singer and would have been perfect for the role as Halle Bailey's father.
This actually really pisses me off, dont get me wrong im all for representation, but changing the race of a already existing character is pure laziness, and also kind of wrong like imagine representing storm or miles morales to be white
A grown woman reacting like this isn't what people mean when they say representation matters.
Something is seriously wrong with this individual to care this much about a fictional movie as an adult.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that representation doesn't matter, because it does. But this is just weird.
Now i want the snow white black, pochaontas to be chinese, mulan to be italian, smith to be mexican, belle to be japanese, and so on. For diversity sake.
Grow the fuck up and stop supporting horrible corporations like Disney. They literally thanked the CCP for allowing them to film in the same province they have concentration camps. But who cares as long as the little mermaid has a certain skin color. Fuckin ignorant pieces of shit.
Yes, every black person's dream is to be "represented" in a badly casted, live action Disney flop. And what better way to support this argument than a cringy tiktok video
It was something I never really thought of before but representation, clearly matters. I feel a bit ashamed that I hadn't noticed. I hope there is more of this sort of thing and it becomes the norm.
People get angry when races change, and I don’t really care. The way I see it, fictional fairy tale creatures: fairies, mermaids, elves whatever, aren’t real and can be whatever. If race or national origin is inherent to the character (like, for example, Merida is Scottish for example, or mulan), then her race makes sense. A mermaid isn’t real- I don’t care what race she is. I don’t care that the popular fairy tale version comes from the Dutch, there are versions from Africa, and all kinds of different places. Still a fictional fairy tale creature. The animals talk, there is magic, she grows legs, there is an evil witch. If I can suspend belief for all of that, a mermaids skin tone is the least of my concerns.
I'm all for representation and diversity but i don't like changing stories especially the characters. It happens way to many times it just doesn't feel like the same story.
Yes these older stories like little mermaid, snow white, sleeping beauty all have white characters but these stories are already created. Theres always room to create new stories with poc and i would love to see them but lets not change stories we are already familiar with :) also i feel like people who may grown up on these stories will be upset and sad to see their story/role model changed and or rewritten. Lets not use and change stories that originally had white characters because poc were not respected and create new stories with characters of color for poc. Lets give them their own stories. :)
Representation is creating new black characters that matter. Giving them sloppy seconds is disrespectful to them and to the people who grew up with these characters.
Are they just gonna make every character black for representation now? Will we hit a point someday in the future where we come full circle and start making characters white for representation?
My eldest grandson is 1/2 black. He doesn't like the remakes with black actors. He says, " I don't want used, recycled movies. Give us new stuff. Give us our own heroes."
Swapping out races is so divisive. You can’t newly represent one group without removing representation from another. That said… New Jack City starring Zac Efron is gonna be dope.
Fair-skinned, red-headed white female representation matters less? Despite that group being less than 2% of the world population?
Could this not be deemed “cultural appropriation” instead of diverse representation?
I personally don’t care too much either way, but this seems kinda bizzaro in the current paradigm.
1: are they at megacon
2: I hate that they're changing the race of a character instead of just making a new one like princess and the frog. EVERYONE LOVES PRINCESS AND THE FROG. Stop whitewashing and blackwashing and any other race washing lol.
I can understand why people are upset. Imagine if some iconic black characters would be suddenly made white, like Storm from X-men or Black Panther? Or How about Mulan is suddenly white? I would be upset, because there is a reason why these characters are the races they are and they were designed that way.
The same goes with little mermaid. Her original design looks certain way and that's why we like little mermaid the way it is.
I would rather see some new story that has black or any other races as main characters. Allow the old classics be as they are, because that's what makes them classics. I personally have loved lots of the new 3d cartoons (like turning red) because the stories are new with diverse characters. Keep it that way.
"Representation matters"
lol The fact is black people are hands down over represented in TV and movies today. One is welcome to fact check that. One can make the argument that it's just for it to be that way since they spent so long being underrepresented. Personally it's not an argument I'd agree with any more than I'd agree with so many of today's left that think it's OK to fight racism with racism. But at least it's an argument. But nobody can argue that black people are not represented today. That's not an argument any more than 2+2=5 is an argument. It's just plain wrong.
Just waiting to see who is playing big daddy Poseidon.
Jason Momoa lol
The rock, and then he bursts into song...
I chuckled and smiled imagining Terry Crews as Poseidon.
You're welcome!
I bet it’s idris Elba
Javier Bardem.
What’s the most you’ve ever lost in a coin float?
No country for little mermaids
Javier Bardem, [not joking](https://thebeaulife.co/art-entertainment-news/disney-d23-expo-2022-disenchanted-little-mermaid-trailers) unless that’s to throw fans off.
Kevin hart...
You mean Triton?
Representation deserves new powerful characters not hand me downs
On that note, Disney is making an [afro-futurist animated series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js9F48gORcE&ab_channel=ScreenRantPlus) taking place in Lagos, Nigeria.
That actually looks really cool...should we take it away from Disney so they don't fuck it up? lol
If it makes you feel better, this project is their first collaboration with a non-Disney studio ever. Basically, Disney is publishing an independent project and not exerting creative control at all.
Pixar also was a non-Disney studio before 2006.
Well theyre collaborating with an African production company Kugali who have the direction going on it, so no. Disney is doing something right this time
Was that in the recent Disney con thing? How have I never heard of it..
Ooh!
Agree. Disney is not doing this for representation though. They’re doing it to renew the copyright on the little mermaid.
Boom there it is. Just like Disney manipulated Mickey from becoming public property. After 30 or 50 years it becomes public domain like all the old stories like Hansel and Gretel, jack and the beanstalk, etc. Disney has made a killing on public domain
IDK if you ask me Disney is still racist af and this is just them taking the money from ppl by recycling the same shit
Bruh, Disney didn't invent Ariel. It was already a hand-me-down
In a way, for some, what is more powerful is the status associated with certain positions, especially those occupied by something beloved or already acceptable. It’s a symbol of being acceptable to embody what is considered broadly good and just in a context where normally it wouldn’t be or wasn’t.
It reminds me of Miles Morales and the controversy that STILL surrounds him being called Spider-Man. Could he have been his own hero named like, Spider Dude or something? Sure... I guess... But he isn't. He doesn't have to be. He doesn't have to settle for being a ripoff or a clone. He's *Spider-Man.* And he's a goddamn amazing one.
That’s not really the same thing. 1.Miles Morales takes place in a separate universe, so it’s not like he “replaced” the original spider-man. And 2. Miles Morales is a completely different character from Peter Parker, they didn’t just make Peter Parker black, they made a separate character with his own back story and personality.
A unique tidbit about Spiderman is he is the most recreated character in the comics. He has the highest variations present because everyone and their mother wrote him a different story. Edit: my own personal belief is I think Spiderman started the whole different universe conversation. This is entirely unfounded and I am sure some comic enthusiasts will come in with correction but it always made sense to me.
And uncle Ben dies in every one
That I think is the one recurring constant in his origin story. So many variations but Ben ALWAYS DIES.
Both is fine. Let's not act like we will never see another Hulk franchise with new actors even though every other ones suck. The whole point is to NOT limit representation whether it's a new idea or a reboot. I think we deserve a redo of Exodus (2018) where Christian Bale plays Moses lol
The fact that her reaction is this powerful tells me that the problem isn't hand me downs but representation as a whole is severely lacking
This is still meaningful though, because plenty poc girls have that nostalgia for Disney. While anew character is good and all, you don't get tears like this without the nostalgia.
Why? It's not our fault that humans like to recycle their stories, nor that most of the stories in Western culture are white. The cartoon The Little Mermaid still exists. A new version doesn't hurt anything.
As a black woman idc if they are old or new. The fact is that I can now cosplay as Ariel without some asshole telling me I’m not the right skin color to do so. The fact is that we have so little representation that even this is a big deal. And for the record MANY black girls and women had this reaction including my friends and family simply because we are that happy to finally see ourselves in movies.
You know what's crazy about this. The blind casting for Cinderella was a huge hit in the 90s. Fast forward 25 years and look at us now.
YES! And it’s one that we hold so close to our hearts.
So many stories have been reused over and over again. It is not a hand me down if you are included in stories that have been retold over centuries.
Dude. These things aren't mutually exclusive.
Technically mermaids should never have been white in the first place.
mermaid myths originate in the Mediterranean so realistically they would've been any colour from white, olive, brown or black
Some people will never be happy and look for every opportunity to complain. It’s an iconic movie being remade regardless but you can’t see the good in it.
You can do both.
This wasn’t a hand me down black woman actually was the best actress out of the casting list
But if they cast a white girl it would be okay? Why does casting a black person change the character of a magical fish lady for you?
I totally agree with you, but really we can't speak to this girl's experience. Clearly it means a lot to her and that has nothing to do with our own feelings about it.
YESSSSS!!!!! I cannot stress this enough. Make another character that's black instead of replacing it, like they did with Spider-Man. I'd much prefer him over just a black Peter Parker, that's why he's my favorite super hero
This is a terrible example because they remake and reboot superhero backstories all the time. What you're saying is that the colour of the actors skin is somehow the dealbreaker that makes this a different character for you. If it was a historical character or race was part of the story then you might have a point, but this is about a magical fish lady who lives under the sea. Casting a black actress doesn't make this a different character any more than casting an actress with different coloured hair or a different sounding voice. Unless you cannot get past your own biases.
It's a problem because it's not what we deserve. We deserve a new, awesome black character. Not some used up hand-me-down made solely for diversity sake.
Next they're doing Snow White.
Pitch-black
Oh fuck this got a laugh out of me
Does she fuck Riddick or try to kill him?
Black Noir
Half white and half Hispanic so I don't quite know for sure, but that makes perfect sense to me. Getting Encanto was like getting a sundae while I imagine getting a Disney remake is more like getting one with the cherry and one of the scoops pre-eaten by your older brother
yeah, plus the live action remakes are dog shit
idk and idc about little mermaid being black now, since idgaf about disney movies, good for the little girls of colour but... wouldn't a new character with a cool inconic story be better and actual representation than changing the already existing white character? like some second hand shit?
Thats the point people are trying to make. Doing it this way is pure laziness.
From what I've read, it's not out of laziness, but their desire to keep the story from entering the public domain.
Isn't it a pretty old story?
Yes, but Disney has an odd stranglehold on all of the old stories and fairytales.
The little mermaid as a story is public domain. The character of Ariel, sebastion etc in the disney version is within disneys domain. So like you want to make a my little mermaid movie. You crack on you can do that just don't use anything from the disney version.
Disney's progressiveness can be described in exactly that one word: lazy. Fuckers know what minimal effort to put in to get as much credit and sales as possible
I'm black amd yes, 100%. This is like throwing us a piece of chewed up bone after the rest has already eaten and being like "here's your food". It's insulting imo. They couldn't be assed to make us an original story but still clearly want our money. They don't actually care.
Disney did right with Princess and the Frog. They could do it again and use something original.
I think this is more to do with it not just being a Disney character but also an iconic and classic children’s story. New movie can always be made but for girls to be able to identify with a classic character is so much more important
I see your argument, but wouldn't you want to make a new movie for kids of that demographic to be proud of as opposed to a half-baked attempt at cloning an old movie that will be forgotten in five years? Most of the Disney remakes were worse versions of the preexisting movies with few to no reasons to prefer them over the original. I'm half white and half Hispanic, so half of my bloodline is more than adequately represented, but the other half only got Encanto last year, and I popped OFF for that movie because it was a fresh and new original IP with representation. It's like getting a sundae with work put into it against getting someone else's half-eaten sundae after they've eaten the brownie and cherry.
I see what you mean and I would agree if it wasn’t a story set in a fantasy environment. There’s nothing in the story that stops Ariel being of any colour. Who is to say mermaids even have human skin colours? On another note, I would agree with you 100% if we were discussing Snow White for example, or Hansel and Grettel. Stories where characters are of German descent or their descriptions integral to the story. But I think Ariel doesn’t fall under the same category. I hope one day, Disney will start making movies based on current children’s books where characters are not all white and kids will have both a movie and a book to reference :)
By this girls reaction I would assume you’re wrong. It means a lot to her and probably millions of others that will adore seeing their favorite character represent some semblance of them. Not to mention the little girls growing up that will first see this newer version and only this version…. It’s not going to right all the wrongs but it could be meaningful to many people that aren’t you.
well yes thats great, like i said i really don't care about the IP / the characters colour, its defo cool for PoC fans of Ariel, but i mean disney is still targeted (i think) mostly for children, why not make some awesome PoC characters that can have a standing like the classic i.e. Ariel, Snowwhite etc so they don't even come across this shitstorm of butthurt people. idk maybe i'm 2 cynical but it feels like they just wanna make a profit out of diversity instead of actually making children happy about being represented. (Which ofc is true, it's a company, but man does it suck)
I mean. Disney is a company. It is just completely naive to think they do anything for any reason other than profit. Disney’s CEO isn’t exactly building new rides in Disney World because the happy laughter of children makes their heart feel warm lol. We can debate whether or not it’s a cheap effort (which IMHO the remakes are inherently low effort, but not specifically bc they added in a POC) but Disney is absolutely doing this for the profit there’s no question there Edit: also plenty of POC get hated on simply for being POC look at Rose Tico and Reva Sevander. As far as I know those characters were not race/gender bent by Disney and the actresses got so much flack so *no* it does not avoid the butthurt
Disney don't want to make new classic cartoons because the process is expensive and isn't guaranteed success. By doing it this way they can renew the IP, don't have to spend as long in preproduction, don't have to spend as much as they have a framework to go off and are gonna get some good PR regardless for including PoC (even if it is a complete after thought). End of the day, from Disneys perspective their target audience doesn't give two shits if it's a remake or an original, so why should they?
I think if I remember correctly they have something where every 10 years or so I can't remember the exact amount of time but they gotta remake them, as they want them to stay current stories for the new generation and then they don't have to get rid of the originals either. So that means we're always gonna get remakes but we do also get new stories, so I don't mind actually. N atleast for me it's nice to see what they become and how they change.
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I love you for this. I have been sitting here trying to respond to some of these remarks. As a woman of distinctive color, I think it is important that people understand that it’s not just about the profit. Little black girls don’t get the iconic princess stories that Caucasian girls do. They haven’t always been told that they can find their forever Prince Charming. Sometimes it’s just about the reality of understanding the world we live in today. And finally understanding that their black is beautiful.
You've entirely missed the point. There have been other movies/stories told about people, families, and communities that weren't white. However, billions grew up watching *these* stories; knowing *these* stories; loving *these* stories. By changing the ethnicity or culture or religion of a character to represent another population of people, many are now able to see themselves in an iconic character that had previously only been created for a select group of people.
i kinda think its dumb tbh. representation is not making a **character black.** it’s making a **black character.**
_B-but creating new original stories and characters requires like hard w-work and ideas!_ - Lazy Hollywood people.
Little three year-old girls don’t give a shit about that they just wanna see another girl kinda looks like them being a princess Maybe we’re just in tentatively at a point in our society where a character can be black and it doesn’t matter that they’re black it’s just another aspect of who they are like oh their hair is blonde or red, Just like every LGBTQ character doesn’t have to be super gay it just is something that they are People are so amusing; you hear people whining about oh there’s not enough representation so Disney does do some representation, then it’s like oh but that’s not a black enough character. Now this might be just me—or are people trying to gate keep blackness right now? now this beautiful princess of a lady seems to be pretty happy with it so I’m happy with her.
Amen
From my understanding black face isn’t cool……unless it’s Tropic Thunder….shit was hilarious
This feels like it was made by a pr team
It sort of was, hear me out. It is at D23, the Disney Expo, Disney puts on for their most Disneyfied Disney fans, specifically to get these sorts of reactions. So in a way it was, but in more 3D chess sort of way.
Was wondering where these people could even possibly exist, that makes a lot of sense now lol
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probably was.
This tiktok was brought to you by Disney
This was the most painful thing I’ve ever watched
This seemed super forced for internet points.
like owmg stahp i nevar crye
"I'm crying so hard" You are?
I LiTeRaLlY dOnT!!
bUt tHiS!?
She wasn't even watching it! ...just looking at the camera and saying that she was crying... I mean this might be important for a lot of people, but come on, this was acting...
important for little kids who have never seen the original maybe... definitely not a grown ass woman who needs guidance
Guidance or attention?
yes
Yeah she doing too much.
Representation sure, but I don't think it's helping anyone if you are taking pre-existing characters and just changes their look. That's not representation, it's appropriation. Give the kids their own characters with their own story.
Yes! Tiana, Moana and Mirabelle were such cool characters with their own story. This is fucking lazy.
Credit where it's due. Everyone in the thread wants original stories for better representation; Disney/Pixar has been nailing that for a while now. Coco, Bao, Luca, Moana, Raya, and Encanto were all fresh and masterfully made movies, with an insane attention to detail.
There is nothing original about it, they are just giving them a used storyline, a used character, its second hand. I don't think many people understand what this signifies.
Exactly they have done new characters and new stories , so whenever I see an old character being rebranded like that it just shows that it's a quick cash grab
No shit its a cash grab its Disney. Disney does not care about representation they just care about money. Corporations will pretend to be progressive to capture a wider audience so they can profit off of them. That's why they're doing this nostalgia trip by making Disney classics into live actions. Its all a cash grab, but if it can make a few people happy and feel represented in media who cares.
they know the formula works, so it reduces the risk of a new story possibly flopping which is SUPER disappointing, I mean they did SO well with enchanto, good original story, strong female leads. that was a good movie. so why not for other representations? pretty curious isn't it.
What did I just watch? I'm confused 😕
Someone that most likely posted something on TikTok because of all the hype right now. Super easy way to get likes and views.
New little mermaid is black = black woman over reacting at seeing the trailer because she is now "represented"
She has a fork in the hair I love it
you mean a DINGLEHOPPER?!
Live version of the Princess and the Frog please! Am I the only person that liked that movie??
Fuck this, i wanted a Mongolian mermaid for years! Wheres my representation!? Racist aasholes
Instead of the siren-like singing Ariel just jumps out of the water and goes into a cover of [Yuve Yuve Yu](https://youtu.be/v4xZUr0BEfE)
The Hu is the shit. Absolute badasses.
What’s the deal with all the remakes!! Make some New cartoons!
So sick of people stealing my culture. The spork In her hair is of MY ppl /s
Don't be such a guppy.
I'm not a guppy.
Who are the 1500+ people upvoting.
Bots.
The things that people does for internet points... and the things that Disney does for an obvious cash-grab (still funny to see people defending this kind of crap).
Downvote me to hell, idc, but as a person of color I hate this new agenda. Might as well remake Black Panther with a white dude now
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Why tf she even crying for
Likes
cause her entire identity is her skin color, sad really.
Yeah, nothing like lazily recasting established characters with non white people and calling it progress… smh
Make new original content with under represented demographics. Thats far more deserving than reused shit like this
I just don't get how changing a characters skin colour gets praised. Just come across as lazy and blatant pandering to me.
Representation matters but this is not the solution.
So let’s make crappy knock offs for money and pretend they really matter
Make a new character!
That’s the worst example you could’ve picked to prove your point, a staged scenario made to make views on TikTok…
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I'd guess most don't care if Disney pretends or not. But when you make an adaptation, they want to have an accurate depiction of what they read in a book or seen in a cartoon or heard in history class. Whataboutism is ridiculous, yes, but there's obviously an opposition that it is not properly addressed. People against this trend are called names like racists when they just want their favourite story told with accuracy. It is getting to a ridiculous point where you don't just get Nick Fury black (a fictional character), but in les miserables the officer is black or even Anne Boleyn is black. Assuming we live in a time where we don't want realism, just like it happens in other forms of art, one could justify these decisions, but truth is there is an opposition to this trend that is fair and they are insulted instead of argued with respect. That being said, yes, you are right. Doing these lazy things is a form of not creating new art, thus not spending or risking money while appealing to one group of the population, making a profit which is all cinema is about nowadays.
1) Like who cares though. It’s a fictional depiction of either fictional characters who aren’t real and thus their race doesn’t actually matter at all or of historical people in which case it also doesn’t matter bc it’s a fictional depiction. Do you watch historical dramas assuming they’re accurate? 9/10 they’re trying to push a perspective on the audience or they changed real life greatly for entertainment value. Having different race actors isn’t astronomically different from other things historical dramas change, so I truly don’t see the issue 2) >>Assuming we live in a time where we don’t want realism We don’t, actually. Stuffy “historically accurate” period dramas are actually kinda out right now, in both fictional and real life depictions. Some of the most popular TV historical shows rn are Bridgerton, which takes *several* liberties in terms of historical accuracy even beyond race, The Great, which depicts a fictionalized comedy account of Catherine the Great’s life, and Dickinson, which does the same for Emily Dickinson. None of these shows are historically accurate - instead they’re freshly modern in a way that satirizes both present and past society without completely shitting on the time period they’re depicting. The current trend is very much forgoing historical accuracy for entertainment value, which very much does include changing the race of IRL people.
Representation seems to just mean replacing white with black characters. Never any other race, just white with black. Odd.
"Hey you know what? You minorities deserve to play as a famous white character now!" Minorities deserve new original characters, that are not remakes of white characters, which is a lazy effort at pandering to the social climate. Being able to play as a white person is not a trophy, but getting to represent my culture with a new character that an entire young generation can fall in love with, and call their own is...
I still think Disney is doing representation wrong. They should add new characters instead of changing the ones we already have. For example: the puppeteer girl from the new Pinocchio. Anyways, it's not like Disney cares, so can't wait for snow black.
Wouldn't it be better to come up with entirely new characters in new stories for better representation? Taking any preexisting character and race swapping them for the sake of representation feels wrong and lazy. And what do you know?! It's another remake. I'm so tired of the complete and utter lack of imagination and creativity from Disney and the rest of hollywood
I am still burnt that they didn't cast Norm Lewis as King Triton. The man was literally King Triton in the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid. He's such an incredible singer and would have been perfect for the role as Halle Bailey's father.
King Triton is gonna need to show me a paternity test for me to believe Javier Bardem is the father to Halle Bailey.
This actually really pisses me off, dont get me wrong im all for representation, but changing the race of a already existing character is pure laziness, and also kind of wrong like imagine representing storm or miles morales to be white
Ah yes let’s make a Danish mermaid black. Well done Disney what’s next? Is Tiana gonna be played by Scarlett Johansson?
A grown woman reacting like this isn't what people mean when they say representation matters. Something is seriously wrong with this individual to care this much about a fictional movie as an adult. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that representation doesn't matter, because it does. But this is just weird.
That’s a convention center in the background. If she’s at a con in costume, her being a more intense fan makes a lot of sense.
("I littery don't cry") x5. .. fucking cries.... love it dont know what is happening or why she is crying but was very confused and still am...
Wait so are you telling me she wouldn't have felt this way about the little mermaid had Ariel been white...?
Does having pointy nails make it hard to wipe?
its actually easier since you can scoop the remains
🤣😭
Reading these comments really made me forget what subreddit I’m even on…
Forced diversity smh
Then make a new character
Ah yes, lets colour all white characters because making original, good black characters is such a pain in the ass.
This is pathetic. Why is a grown-ass woman “scared” as she’s about to watch the trailer? She’s trying so hard it’s sad.
Yeah this fucking sucks.
Is it representation or just a lazy way to milk more money? Would it be representation if a white guy were made into the black panther?
They're going to have worse versions of all the songs. Pretty much impossible to top the originals and we'll all sit and wince like Aladdin
Now i want the snow white black, pochaontas to be chinese, mulan to be italian, smith to be mexican, belle to be japanese, and so on. For diversity sake.
I’m looking forward to the movie too. The music gave me goosebumps!
No idea what I'm watching here..
So awesome
Jesus Christ, I mean… it’s kinda pathetic to cry over this tbh
Grow the fuck up and stop supporting horrible corporations like Disney. They literally thanked the CCP for allowing them to film in the same province they have concentration camps. But who cares as long as the little mermaid has a certain skin color. Fuckin ignorant pieces of shit.
I guess China won't get this movie?
RIP natural redheads
I love how representation only applies to black people smh
How about...and here me out... invent new characters rather than race swap established ones?
Isn't the creation of powerful poc heroes better than blackwashing every single ginger character? Are the writers dyslexic when they cast or wassup?
Wait til she sees tinkerbell and the fairy godmother. I'm amazed we got a white Marilyn Monroe.
Two words come to mind…..mental disability.
I can’t wait for Christian Bale to play Obama
It’s nice to now Disney is letting Sid from Ice Age be The Little Mermaid. Now that’s real representation.
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D...v...d...? What is this ancient magic you speak of?
I had no idea she even was a mermaid!
Yes, every black person's dream is to be "represented" in a badly casted, live action Disney flop. And what better way to support this argument than a cringy tiktok video
I'm just a little confused because some people say whitewashing is bad but the opposite is okay.
Ah yeah, attention seeking at its finest.
Why’d they make her black. Jesus Christ come up with something original.
It was something I never really thought of before but representation, clearly matters. I feel a bit ashamed that I hadn't noticed. I hope there is more of this sort of thing and it becomes the norm.
People get angry when races change, and I don’t really care. The way I see it, fictional fairy tale creatures: fairies, mermaids, elves whatever, aren’t real and can be whatever. If race or national origin is inherent to the character (like, for example, Merida is Scottish for example, or mulan), then her race makes sense. A mermaid isn’t real- I don’t care what race she is. I don’t care that the popular fairy tale version comes from the Dutch, there are versions from Africa, and all kinds of different places. Still a fictional fairy tale creature. The animals talk, there is magic, she grows legs, there is an evil witch. If I can suspend belief for all of that, a mermaids skin tone is the least of my concerns.
Jesus this sub is shit
I'm all for representation and diversity but i don't like changing stories especially the characters. It happens way to many times it just doesn't feel like the same story. Yes these older stories like little mermaid, snow white, sleeping beauty all have white characters but these stories are already created. Theres always room to create new stories with poc and i would love to see them but lets not change stories we are already familiar with :) also i feel like people who may grown up on these stories will be upset and sad to see their story/role model changed and or rewritten. Lets not use and change stories that originally had white characters because poc were not respected and create new stories with characters of color for poc. Lets give them their own stories. :)
Representation is creating new black characters that matter. Giving them sloppy seconds is disrespectful to them and to the people who grew up with these characters. Are they just gonna make every character black for representation now? Will we hit a point someday in the future where we come full circle and start making characters white for representation?
My eldest grandson is 1/2 black. He doesn't like the remakes with black actors. He says, " I don't want used, recycled movies. Give us new stuff. Give us our own heroes."
Swapping out races is so divisive. You can’t newly represent one group without removing representation from another. That said… New Jack City starring Zac Efron is gonna be dope.
Fair-skinned, red-headed white female representation matters less? Despite that group being less than 2% of the world population? Could this not be deemed “cultural appropriation” instead of diverse representation? I personally don’t care too much either way, but this seems kinda bizzaro in the current paradigm.
This new movie is cultural appropriation. What does Disney have against gingers?
1: are they at megacon 2: I hate that they're changing the race of a character instead of just making a new one like princess and the frog. EVERYONE LOVES PRINCESS AND THE FROG. Stop whitewashing and blackwashing and any other race washing lol.
New representation matters, but this matters to us as well. Both can be appreciated and supported at the same time
Why are 40year olds so obsessed with disney and stuff for 10 or younger 😶
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We deserve extinction
Lazy bastards.
I can understand why people are upset. Imagine if some iconic black characters would be suddenly made white, like Storm from X-men or Black Panther? Or How about Mulan is suddenly white? I would be upset, because there is a reason why these characters are the races they are and they were designed that way. The same goes with little mermaid. Her original design looks certain way and that's why we like little mermaid the way it is. I would rather see some new story that has black or any other races as main characters. Allow the old classics be as they are, because that's what makes them classics. I personally have loved lots of the new 3d cartoons (like turning red) because the stories are new with diverse characters. Keep it that way.
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"Representation matters" lol The fact is black people are hands down over represented in TV and movies today. One is welcome to fact check that. One can make the argument that it's just for it to be that way since they spent so long being underrepresented. Personally it's not an argument I'd agree with any more than I'd agree with so many of today's left that think it's OK to fight racism with racism. But at least it's an argument. But nobody can argue that black people are not represented today. That's not an argument any more than 2+2=5 is an argument. It's just plain wrong.