HALLE BAILEY CAST AS THE NEW ARIEL

[Keiris]

Halle Bailey is Disney's pick for their live-action version of the Little Mermaid. This is set to be released in 2020. A very interesting choice. Evidently, she can sing quite well. It will be interesting to see if the die-hard fans of the cartoon version can let go of their pre-conceived image of Ariel with the big blue eyes and blazing red hair and adopt a completely new version. Will Smith made the transition as the genie in the live action version of Aladdin so hopefully, Halle can too. She will certainly be beautiful.

[Azurin Luna]

Intresting choice, but refreshing. Hope she will shine as a new Ariel in the upcoming movie

[Mermaid Delphinidae]

I’m glad they cast a singer! I still don’t plan on watching the movie but her voice is tempting me... Like a sailor drawn to the siren’s song... Anyway, I still hope they dye her hair red cause that’s like, iconic, but it’s not a huge deal to me.


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[MermanOliver]

Read Halle *Berry* (like Catwoman or Jinx from 007) first and thought, isn't she too old to convincingly play a teenager? Stupid me...
Her voice is brilliant, and what I have seen from her (admittedly, it was just one music clip linked at BBC, but it totally convinced me) her expression and everything is so much Arielle, I think she will be fantastic!

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[BlueCorvidae]

I really need to rant about this because it's been eating at me lately. I have been getting so much backlash for looking forward to this that it's pissing me off.

Real talk; I'm a huge fan of the Broadway musical Hamilton and I was chomping at the bit for this film since I heard Lin-Manuel Miranda was going to be working on this remake. Give me my Hamilton mermaids, I need it in my life. Now all the racist backlash about this casting is just getting me down, and a lot of their arguments against it are insanely stupid. "The world would lose it's mind if they cast Tiana as white!" they scream. The world is already losing it's mind anyway? I don't get the point. LMM gave us a black Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington and nobody really complained. And they were real people!

Let Ariel be black! White Ariel isn't going anywhere! We can both have our mermaid princesses, ffs.

[Mermaid Delphinidae]

My favorite part is when they try to say that it's "unrealistic" because the story takes place in Denmark. If we're really gonna play the realism game, "realistic" mermaids would look nothing like Ariel. They'd look more like hairless versions of the mermaids from Siren or something. I'd totally be down for Disney to do that, ha ha. Make Ariel look horrifying! I think it's stupid to try to completely copy the original anyway, like, we can just watch the original. I'm still worried that they aren't going to make any meaningful differences to the story and the script. Beauty and the Beast remake sucked cause it was so close to the original, and the changes they made weren't meaningful and seemed to exist solely as a response to nitpicky criticisms of the original.

Personally I'm looking forward to the Mulan remake since I think there's more potential for them to make changes. I wonder how they could change The Little Mermaid while still keeping it good? Like, maybe they could play up the harm that humans do to the merpeople, and Triton's hate for the humans, and he's ready to declare war on them but Ariel's love for the prince stops it and brings peace and harmony between the groups? I dunno.

[Mermaid Fenicia]

In the original story by Hans Christian Andersen, there is nowhere written the colour of her (the little mermaid)hair, skin, tail or top. What was written is her real name: Pearl ;)

[Kidiu]

I’m really looking forward to the live action, Halle has the perfect face for sweet, innocent Ariel.

[Keiris]

The only reference in appearance is The Little Mermaid's eye color in the original Hans Christian Andersen book and even that has been re-printed from "blue as the deepest cornflower" to "bluest sea" or "sea-green." I'd rather see her with those changes than trying to stick some ugly bright red wig on her that looks horrible against her skin tone just to make it match some Disney cartoon. Disney already changed so much of the original storyline to begin with! At least they found a lovely young actress that can really SING!

[Trade Winds]

People need to stop worrying about what the actor looks like, and focus on how well she can do the job.

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[the.tattooed.mermaid78]

I'm sick of hearing about it now in all honesty. It's just so unimportant

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[tealmermaid]

Regardless of Andersen's original setting, Disney made a lot of changes when they animated it. Their animated version is clearly set in the Caribbean with its mangroves, Caribbean flamingos, and animal sidekick with a cool Jamaican accent.

Not sure why Disney went with a pale skinned, red-haired mermaid in that setting. Of course she should have darker skin! It sounds like they are making a visually appropriate choice for the live action version if they are keeping the setting from the animation.

[the.tattooed.mermaid78]

Believe it or not people by Walt Disney him self was racist.

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[Walphish]

You know what I think would be the coolest? The Broadway show of The Little Mermaid made Ariel’s family interracial (though they did this thing where they had half of Ariel’s sisters black, and the other half white). King Triton was played by this awesome black actor while Queen Athena (while she didn’t make an appearance) was presumably the white parent.

So here’s what I propose for Disney, if they ever see this: do that again for this movie, and have Queen Athena show up in a flashback or at least some kind of painting somewhere...portrayed by Jodi Benson, the original Ariel. Please, please, please, pretty please! [emoji178][emoji92]

[Satine]

Ok so I’m gonna be the devils advocate in this thread I don’t want to argue just want to state my opinion!

The little mermaid animated movie is a big part of how I survived a mentally and emotionally abusive and neglected child hood! It help me deal with many tramas!

As such I’ve been looking forward to seeing her on screen with a real actress ever since I was a child and have alway pictured her looking similar to the cartoon witch is what is supposed to happen when you are recreating the cartoon! Every little mermaid movie that has come out since I’ve been disappointed because they didn’t have the songs they didn’t have the setting! And there have been rumors for years about the little mermaid being made real with the same music and everything from the cartoon! So the excitement has been building for years and then to be slapped in the face by we are going to change the main character of the film witch also has down stream effects of changeing all her family and most likely the prince as well! And the iconic music will be changed! So it won’t be what we’ve been hopeing to see for years! It will be something completely different! And now since they claim it as the live action remake! We will have to wait years more to get them to remake it closer to the cartoon if they even ever do! I think it’s awesome that Disney is trying new stuff just don’t do it with a classic that has had expectations and hopes and dreams for years! Make a new empowering story something that can stand on its own with out needing a crutch from an existing story!


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[Slim]

Ok so I’m gonna be the devils advocate in this thread I don’t want to argue just want to state my opinion!

The little mermaid animated movie is a big part of how I survived a mentally and emotionally abusive and neglected child hood! It help me deal with many tramas!

As such I’ve been looking forward to seeing her on screen with a real actress ever since I was a child and have alway pictured her looking similar to the cartoon witch is what is supposed to happen when you are recreating the cartoon! Every little mermaid movie that has come out since I’ve been disappointed because they didn’t have the songs they didn’t have the setting! And there have been rumors for years about the little mermaid being made real with the same music and everything from the cartoon! So the excitement has been building for years and then to be slapped in the face by we are going to change the main character of the film witch also has down stream effects of changeing all her family and most likely the prince as well! And the iconic music will be changed! So it won’t be what we’ve been hopeing to see for years! It will be something completely different! And now since they claim it as the live action remake! We will have to wait years more to get them to remake it closer to the cartoon if they even ever do! I think it’s awesome that Disney is trying new stuff just don’t do it with a classic that has had expectations and hopes and dreams for years! Make a new empowering story something that can stand on its own with out needing a crutch from an existing story!


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They can change the main character and still keep the same story songs. I could be wrong but didn’t they do that with Cinderella about a decade ago? The Lion King remake was very much the same although the talent behind them are different.


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[Satine]

They can change the main character and still keep the same story songs. I could be wrong but didn’t they do that with Cinderella about a decade ago? The Lion King remake was very much the same although the talent behind them are different.


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Don’t know if they remade Cinderella like that I only watched the live action they did recently! Haven’t seen lion king yet but am very much looking forward to it since they kept the voice actor for mufasa!


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[Slim]

The first Cinderella remake was in 1997 produced by Disney. There are two live remakes and your probably remembering the 2015 movie and not the 1997 movie. The one in 1997 actress is Brandy playing Cinderella. The story was pretty much the same. Brandy was way more famous than when that movie happen. I'm confident Disney will keep true to the cartoon version of the Little Mermaid and bring in a new generation of people to love the Little Mermaid.


Don’t know if they remade Cinderella like that I only watched the live action they did recently! Haven’t seen lion king yet but am very much looking forward to it since they kept the voice actor for mufasa!


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[Keiris]

The version of Cinderella featuring Brandy was also a remake of an earlier version starring Leslie Ann Warren in the title role. It was charming and would be aired every year on tv. The Brandy remake had the same music with a few additions and featured a completely multicultural cast. Asian Prince, white wicked stepmother, one black stepsister, one white, a white king and Whoopie Goldberg as the Queen. Whitney Houston played the Fairy Godmother. Disney started switching things up quite a few years ago which gave a whole new dimension to the way people could interpret a cartoon fairytale.

[NorthSeaAlaria]

The first Cinderella remake was in 1997 produced by Disney. There are two live remakes and your probably remembering the 2015 movie and not the 1997 movie. The one in 1997 actress is Brandy playing Cinderella. The story was pretty much the same. Brandy was way more famous than when that movie happen. I'm confident Disney will keep true to the cartoon version of the Little Mermaid and bring in a new generation of people to love the Little Mermaid.
The additional songs were also from the musical version by Rogers and Hammerstein, which I always loved :D it basically makes the film MORE musical and upbeat than the older animated version.

[SIF]

I'm going to step in here and reitterate that Disney is not seeking to simply recreate" anything. "NewDisney" is attempting to bring the stories told by "Old Disney" to its present audiences in a way which makes the stories more understandable, relatable and accurate(with the caveat that they are creating diverse casts).
These new diverse casts are to create a better sense of equality in diversity/diverse communities to potentially aid the end of racist tendencies(which recent creators have not denied existed in Old Disney)
The casting of any persons of colour has not been of any issue or compromise to story/importance of the remake vs original for those who have loved the originals thus far and people need to unbunch their nickers. In some cases they're even bringing is more of characters. We learn more of why Gaston was the way he was in the B&TB film and Belle has made a comeback as a role model for independent young girls again, and in Cinderella we got a larger visual of why Cindy never "simply left" her heavily toxic and abusive situation, as so many people have harped on that film for in the past. These remakes are doing well at explaining/showing some of life's harder struggles and making them understandable for young people who can be understanding later.
Race is a concept completely created by humanity/people. It is taught. Originally (and unfortunately, presently) by people of pale skin, but now in every home of colour. Kids are taught not to be outside at particular times for fear of being killed, because people who look different from them don't understand it and get afraid or uncomfortable. By creating more diversity in glorified settings, like Disney films, children of today can normalize the differences which have been of issue for people for millenia and stop feeling those feelings of fear and discomfort and maybe we'll see less racist behaviors in society as the youth watching them age.
All this said, Ariel's family is diverse in the original (perhaps not in colour of skin, but they vary in shapes and features, which was a start at the time when idealizing people unhealthily slim was at a height)
With regards to music, Lin Manuel has been doing some wonderful work, between Hamilton and Mary Poppins and several other projects and we can trust, likely, that he won't be part of something too messed around.
Wait for the film, then pass judgement.

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[Echidna]

well, you could say they have gone against their own prerequisites for Disney princesses:
actresses and performers should actually look like the respective princess to be accepted.
Will they cast differently in Disney world now too?
Would be fun to see, people seeing a row of black and asian girls and trying to guess who is who^^

not that I give a rat's behind. Never been to any Disneyworld, nor have i seen any of their movies except Beauty and the Beast.

[Mermaid Fenicia]

@Echidna they already have an Asian Ariel at Disney Tokyo and not only her, most of the characters there are Asian ;)

[Echidna]

@Echidna they already have an Asian Ariel at Disney Tokyo and not only her, most of the characters there are Asian ;)

that's to be expected. How would they get that many foreigners to fill all the roles?

Besides, no one is going to be confused by an asian snow white. She's probably prettier than her european counterparts.
If you cast a nilote for the role, though^^

anyway, as I said. I detest anything Disney.
I just wish youtube would stop bombarding me with Disney news and stuff.
They don't seem to get the memo no matter how often I check the "not interested"-button.
Maybe because the youtube algorithm of stupid has determined someone with a mermaid channel must also love cartoons, kiddie stuff, and Disney.

[Nomadro]

She is an interesting choice, at least smth new.

[fishlady]

I did a search and found that a lot of black women look amazing with red hair.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G9MrCqF3s7I/maxresdefault.jpg
https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZVlJQm0Ow5M/mqdefault.jpg
These look to me like white women with a deep tan so race seems like an artificial construct.

[OrcaBait]

I love this! I have always been obsessed with The Little Mermaid, and to have her look like me in skin color makes me feel good! Her voice is awesome and I can't wait to see it!

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[jukumerboii]

2021 is going to be an amazing year!! Imma probably see this movie twice on pre night, a few times on opening weekend, and a few times a week until its on Disney+. I saw Halle at d23 and she's such a beautiful creature! Her energy was so bright and warm! She's gonna do justice for Ariel!!!

Yall should follow liveactionariel on IG for some bombtastic fanart of her!!!

[SeaMansa]

Surprised this thread hasn't been that active here.... Well:

Thus far we haven't gotten any official images, however we have gotten a few leaks and behind the scenes so that we can guess what we are going to be seeing.

1) Halle uploaded a photo on her birthday last year and then deleted it. In the photo, you could see her red tinted locs with the classic "Ariel swoop". Some people have recolored the photo to get a better idea of what shes going to look like as Ariel.

2) We have thus far seen three merpeople in full costume. A middle eastern looking merman with an orange colored tail. A white blonde haired mermaid with a light blue tail. And a teenage Black mermaid with a blue and yellow tail.

3) We have photos of what appears to be Ariel sneaking into the kingdom, riding in the back of cart. There was also a video of this scene being shot that leaked. It appears to be a brand new musical number. However, there is a loud thumping sound edited over the video so we cant really make out what is being sung. This confirms a few things:

4) Ariel will have musical numbers when she is mute, just like in the broadway musical and

5) Eric's kingdom seems to be set in the Caribbean in the 1800s based on the style of dress and the fact that the people in the kingdom are predominantly Black.

6) We have photos of Ariel and Eric riding in the carriage along the beach.

7) We have seen puppets of Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle, although its unclear if they are made to model what they'll actually look like in the film or if they are just stand ins.

8) We have photos of a rehearsel on the beach of Ariel and Eric, after she saved him from drowning. From this alone, we can confirm the tails are extended.

9) The wedding fight climax takes place in a seaside church, rather than on a boat.

Also, from photos we have seen, there seems to be a scene being shared between the humans and the three merpeople i mentioned above. We have photos of all of them on set. The merpeople on the shore and the humans with them. At first i thought perhaps it was a glashback scene as the young teenage mermaid KINDA resembles Halle, but apart from the fact that Ariels tail is green and not blue and yellow, Ariel and Eric also seem to be present in the scene (Along with sebastian, flounder, and scuttle). So...idk whats going on in this scene or WHEN it takes place in the story. Some have speculated its a new take on the Kiss The Girl number as i think there is a photo of Ariel and Eric in a small boat. But still...that makes even less sense.

10) We haven't gotten much about Ursula, but according to Melissa McCarthy, theres a scene where she's climbs up a giant clamshell. I have speculated the clamshell in question is Triton's throne and i think it happens during the climax but just guessing.

So yea. Im excited for this film.

[SeaMansa]

Ok so I’m gonna be the devils advocate in this thread I don’t want to argue just want to state my opinion!

The little mermaid animated movie is a big part of how I survived a mentally and emotionally abusive and neglected child hood! It help me deal with many tramas!

As such I’ve been looking forward to seeing her on screen with a real actress ever since I was a child and have alway pictured her looking similar to the cartoon witch is what is supposed to happen when you are recreating the cartoon! Every little mermaid movie that has come out since I’ve been disappointed because they didn’t have the songs they didn’t have the setting! And there have been rumors for years about the little mermaid being made real with the same music and everything from the cartoon! So the excitement has been building for years and then to be slapped in the face by we are going to change the main character of the film witch also has down stream effects of changeing all her family and most likely the prince as well! And the iconic music will be changed! So it won’t be what we’ve been hopeing to see for years! It will be something completely different! And now since they claim it as the live action remake! We will have to wait years more to get them to remake it closer to the cartoon if they even ever do! I think it’s awesome that Disney is trying new stuff just don’t do it with a classic that has had expectations and hopes and dreams for years! Make a new empowering story something that can stand on its own with out needing a crutch from an existing story!


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White skinned Ariel has appeared on tv, on broadway, at disney parks, on cruise ships, and on ice. Trust me when I tell you: You'll live if she's Black, once.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0kkVFYqLe_s/hqdefault.jpg

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.YusaHIeC4GcDzZ8sY8j0AAHaJ4?pid=ImgDet&rs=1

https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.8cddd8dc1bc61030dbb7814a22f6ecd4?rik=mgkRAm%2bLy w60nQ&riu=http%3a%2f%2fimages2.fanpop.com%2fimage%2fphot os%2f12800000%2fThe-Little-Mermaid-the-little-mermaid-on-broadway-12842273-1440-900.jpg&ehk=y197AJAryISAjAuFYvvf20qkQB2Ktw1Lkwzq%2bN5XRJU% 3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

https://www.thewritebalance.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Ariel-disney-on-ice--800x721.jpg