The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[Disney's Divinity]

Other companies are to blame for this too. Sure Disney may ask Twtter to remove a hashtag or Rotten Tomatoes to remove negative user reviews but they don't have to oblige. The fact that they do is very telling.

True. But I'm sure Twitter realizes Disney could rebuke them in other, indirect ways and don't want to make an enemy of them. At least you saved the picture as evidence.

To be fair, I'm willing to bet there are Russian bots egging on the hashtag, too, in part because encouraging a sizable amount of people to condescendingly diminish any criticism of this decision down to "evil racists" helps to incite more division and anger.

[Farerb]

I see a lot of negative disproportional hate on the internet. I get wanting Ariel to look like her animated counterpart, but it is not that big deal. The animated film will always be here, that's not going to change. The actress really does not deserve this hate and I hope that doesn't discourage her.

This kind of hashtag is what I was talking about. Imagine Halle seeing this, seeing many people who basically want her to be fired. She doesn't deserve that.

[Sotiris]

It's still trending for me. From what I've seen, the hashtag has equal amounts of people hating the casting as there are people supporting it. Regardless of the stance people are taking, I agree with the fact that the hashtag itself is bad optics and doesn't bode well.

Do you have tailored trends? Maybe that's why it's still trending for you. I have the general United States trends.

Reading articles about the backlash, they bring up a quote from Marshall talking about how she was picked after an “extensive search.” What a liar. We know this wasn't an extensive search.

It's just the usual PR spin. What was he supposed to say? That they settled on a Black Ariel from the start because LMM said so? Because let's face it, this wasn't Marshall's idea.

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, that would be sad if Bailey chose to take it that way. But that's on her. I'm sure Scarlet Johansson felt horrible, too, after so many people were angry over her being chosen for Ghost in the Shell.

[Sotiris]

Broadway's Ariel commented on the casting.


Source: https://twitter.com/sierraboggess/statu ... 4899870720


Source: https://twitter.com/sierraboggess/statu ... 1525325824

[JeanGreyForever]

It's still trending for me. From what I've seen, the hashtag has equal amounts of people hating the casting as there are people supporting it. Regardless of the stance people are taking, I agree with the fact that the hashtag itself is bad optics and doesn't bode well.

Do you have tailored trends? Maybe that's why it's still trending for you. I have the general United States trends.

It's #1 for me on the tab titled "For you" but on the tab titled "Trending," it's at #25.

There's something a tad bit hypocritical about Sierra Boggess' message though, praising the casting while simultaneously wanting to be cast as a sister. While I suppose it's not 100% impossible for the two to be sisters, it's highly unlikely that an Ariel played by Halle Bailey would have a sister that resembles Sierra Boggess, especially if they share the exact same two parents.

[UmbrellaFish]

There's something a tad bit hypocritical about Sierra Boggess' message though, praising the casting while simultaneously wanting to be cast as a sister. While I suppose it's not 100% impossible for the two to be sisters, it's highly unlikely that an Ariel played by Halle Bailey would have a sister that resembles Sierra Boggess, especially if they share the exact same two parents.

She is just recalling her own production of The Little Mermaid in which King Triton was black and had daughters of many races. This film make take a similar approach, ala the Brandy Cinderella.

While I’m here, the hashtag was trending on my tailored and my national lists until at least 1:30am EST. It is no longer on either list as of this posting. When I search for the hashtag, all the top tweets are still meta commentaries on the hashtag, not supporting it— as are most of the “latest” tweets, at the least ones I can understand as European twitter seems to be waking up. Right wing Twitter has taken to calling it all a fake outrage to make conservatives look bad lol— that’s a lie of course, some people were upset.

[JeanGreyForever]

There's something a tad bit hypocritical about Sierra Boggess' message though, praising the casting while simultaneously wanting to be cast as a sister. While I suppose it's not 100% impossible for the two to be sisters, it's highly unlikely that an Ariel played by Halle Bailey would have a sister that resembles Sierra Boggess, especially if they share the exact same two parents.

She is just recalling her own production of The Little Mermaid in which King Triton was black and had daughters of many races. This film make take a similar approach, ala the Brandy Cinderella.

Except there's a huge difference between a stage show and a theatrical film. Casting different races for the sisters can be pulled off on stage but it'll come off as odd in a feature film, especially after all the hooplah of making the lead actress black but not following through with her on-screen sisters. Brandy's Cinderella was a made-for-television film directly based on the stage show so the color blind casting didn't feel out of place but none of that applies to TLM remake.

[Atlantica]

I have to admit I was shocked at first at the casting, just because it is so polar opposite from the animated film aesthetically. But, upon hearing her she has such a beautiful voice ! That being Ariel's defining quality, she seems perfectly cast. Just hope that she can act ? I know she's a singer, but she hopefully has the acting chops to match

What really struck me was Chrissy Teigen saying that Luna's ( her daughter ) favourite Princess was Ariel, and now she will be able to see a little piece of her in the character. That was such a lovely thought, and there must be hundreds of thousands of girls all over the world feeling the exact same thing.

I don't think Sierra is being hypocritical at all ? I don't see why colour blind casting wouldn't work here either. Besides, no one has been cast as Triton & Athena yet anyway. I haven't seen that Jodi Benson has commented on it at all ? Unless I've missed it.

I hope though that this film hasn't just been selected, executively, to be the POC Animated Classic remake. Everyone should be cast on their merits as a singer / actor / comedy skills rather than everyone must be of different ethnicities just because. That's where there tokenism comes in I suppose.

Her voice is glorious, she's incredibly pretty, and Rob Marshall I think is excellent at what he does ( Mary Poppins Returns is a complete favourite of mine ). I would love to have Melissa as Ursula as well, I think she could really surprise people.

[UmbrellaFish]

Except there's a huge difference between a stage show and a theatrical film. Casting different races for the sisters can be pulled off on stage but it'll come off as odd in a feature film, especially after all the hooplah of making the lead actress black but not following through with her on-screen sisters. Brandy's Cinderella was a made-for-television film directly based on the stage show so the color blind casting didn't feel out of place but none of that applies to TLM remake.

I don’t really follow your logic. There’s nothing about the stage that makes so-called color blind casting more realistic than it could in film. Merely, I think the stage uses this device more frequently and perhaps stage audiences have come to accept it and embrace it in a way film audiences haven’t. I don’t necessarily disagree that it would be a bad idea, though— there is criticism of color blind casting for totally disregarding implications of race in the real world.

And Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella didn’t originate on stage. It originated on television in the 50’s (starring one Julie Andrews), but obviously owes a debt to the traditions and conventions of the musical theatre of the American stage— just like The Little Mermaid.

I haven't seen that Jodi Benson has commented on it at all ? Unless I've missed it.

I searched for a comment from her, too, but it seems she hasn’t tweeted anything since April.

[Atlantica]

I have no clue how to post direct, but Sierra Boggess responded again about the casting :

Alright, I’m tired of this, listen again: “Bright young women, sick of swimmin’, ready to stand...” I hear this being the cry of EVERY little girl, don’t you? #Ariel #LittleMermaid

[Old Fish Tale]

No, they didn't. They were never going to find another good reason for her to come back again. And all those sequel rumours were started by the Sun, which is one of the worst british tabloids.

It was based on an interview he gave them. They didn't make it up. He compared Mary Poppins to Star Wars and James Bond. He clearly thought it would be a big hit and Disney would commission more sequels.

They asked him and Emily if they'd like to do another film. They both said yes, but I remember they said what I wrote above in the majority of those times. And of course, they expected it to be a bigger hit than it was! That property was overestimated by everyone up until its release. James Wan even said in an interview he was scared for 'Aquaman'.

You probably just watched one interview. I've watched everything.

[Old Fish Tale]

Reading articles about the backlash, they bring up a quote from Marshall talking about how she was picked after an “extensive search.” What a liar. We know this wasn't an extensive search. Why didn't they just cast Miranda's niece or something and be done.

You're so fucking biased. Why don't you believe they auditioned thousands of black girls?

[Atlantica]

Old Fish Tale, I think you need to take a breath and calm down, you're coming over as really quite aggressive at the moment ?

[ChrisLyne]

Language aside, the point is valid.

We have no way of knowing how extensive the search was, so why assume that Marshall is lying? We know Disney has cast a wide net before, Aladdin being a prime example, so it's perfectly reasonable to assume they did do a wide search for Ariel. Especially with Halle being a relatively unknown. To me that suggests a much more extensive search than say Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, where they went for bigger names and known actors.

[Old Fish Tale]

Language aside, the point is valid.

We have no way of knowing how extensive the search was, so why assume that Marshall is lying? We know Disney has cast a wide net before, Aladdin being a prime example, so it's perfectly reasonable to assume they did do a wide search for Ariel. Especially with Halle being a relatively unknown. To me that suggests a much more extensive search than say Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, where they went for bigger names and known actors.

Exactly.

It's amazing how Lin-Manuel's success blinds some people with hatred. As if he was the result of nepotism or something... "Casting his niece"... Stop being so pressed his life is better than yours.

[Sotiris]

Language aside, the point is valid. We have no way of knowing how extensive the search was, so why assume that Marshall is lying?

I think what Disney's Divinity meant is that they only considered actors of one specific race for the role instead of being open to actors of any race/ethnicity. LMM actually has a history of doing that so it's not surprising.

[Old Fish Tale]

Language aside, the point is valid. We have no way of knowing how extensive the search was, so why assume that Marshall is lying?

I think what Disney's Divinity meant is that they only considered actors of one specific race for the role instead of being open to actors of any race/ethnicity. LMM actually has a history of doing that so it's not surprising.

You do know what "non white" means, right? That play's cast had actors of many races. And isn't the article about a technicality in a casting call? God, you two are pathetic with your attempts! Keep trying, though.

And for months, we've known they were looking for black actors to play Triton's whole family, including Ariel. It's very rich of you to use that article to mask your frustration about her not being lily white.

[Old Fish Tale]

Oh, and where was all this indignation when Guy Ritchie said he was browning white actors up for the extras in 'Aladdin'? Nowhere to be found because you were unbothered by it.

But sure, Lin-Manuel Miranda is the bad guy here.

[ChrisLyne]

I think what Disney's Divinity meant is that they only considered actors of one specific race for the role instead of being open to actors of any race/ethnicity. LMM actually has a history of doing that so it's not surprising.

That may be true, it certainly seems to be the case based on the names we know, but it doesn't mean the search wasn't extensive (or that girls of other ethnic backgrounds weren't auditioned during the process).

As for Hamilton, reading the article they clearly broke Equity rules with the wording of the casting call, but it's far from the only show where they favour specific ethnic backgrounds for the roles, especially where it's culturally appropriate (The Lion King being a good example).