The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[UmbrellaFish]

Also her purple transformation gown but I think that one is less likely.

That's arguably her most iconic outfit (and my personal favorite). It's part of her magical transformation. They'd be fools to not include it.

I don’t think her purple dress has ever been reproduced in any toys, and it’s never used in clip art or costuming in the theme parks either. It’s my favorite of her outfits, too, but if history is any indication it’s probably her most neglected one… and may continue to be so.

[Disney Duster]

I agree. The design of the dress is really tacky, especially the bottom half, and the coral washes her out. The much-derided pink dress from the original is a million times better than this one. I think the Queen also wore a dress with a similar color palette.

Yes, I agree with all of that. And the Queen also has this...tiers/layers thing going on that I have never liked on dresses, and Ariel's dress in these pictures unfortunately is doing it in an even worse way.

Brelly, I agree about the purple dress.

[Disney's Divinity]

I was going to say that both this and the Queen's dress have a weird layers thing going on, too! Of course, I think the Queen's dress works and is kind of pretty in a way, even if it feels too modern. This...not so much. I'm sorry, it's just ugly. It's not even flattering on Halle Bailey; if they were going to come up with something that looks nothing like any of Ariel's dresses anyway, they should've made something the flatters the actress at least.

[Disney Duster]

The layers thing existed in mid-19th century dresses, so that must be where this is set (or a fantasy, once upon a time version of it). I completley agree with you, Divinity, at least it works better on the Queen.

[supertalies]

Just realized there is indeed a mermaid in those set pictures. And she's wearing a top, so maybe the mermaids here won't all be wearing the seashell bra's. They also toned down the amount of skin shown for both Jasmine and Aladdin in the Aladdin live action remake, so this doesn't surprise me. I was expecting them to lose the bra for Ariel.

Not sure how I feel about the mermaids having these weirdly coloured hair. I mean it's fine when they do it for musicals and stuff, but I'm not sure what it'll look like on screen in a 'realistic' setting.

[Redadoodles]

I agree. The design of the dress is really tacky, especially the bottom half, and the coral washes her out. The much-derided pink dress from the original is a million times better than this one. I think the Queen also wore a dress with a similar color palette.

It might be ugly on purpose as the original dress is hated by quite a lot of people .. So maybe, they put her in something ugly and "girly" to emphasize that she doesn't fit in.

[Disney Duster]

They want to make Ariel look like she doesn't fit in...in a world where she longs to fit in and finally does fit in in the end?

I hope whatever tops they give the mermaids don't end up looking stupid.

[Atlantica]

It sort of gives me vibes of the art direction of the Broadway show ?

[Redadoodles]

They want to make Ariel look like she doesn't fit in...in a world where she longs to fit in and finally does fit in in the end?

It’s called costume evolution.
The same way she uses rags as a dress at first. With each new costume, there’s an evolution of the character which shows that she’s slowly becoming more comfortable with her new environment. It's been done since the beginning of films but if you need another example think of Giselle's costumes in Enchanted and how it demonstrates this exact same thing..

[Disney's Divinity]

It sort of gives me vibes of the art direction of the Broadway show ?

Yes, exactly!

[Disney Duster]

They want to make Ariel look like she doesn't fit in...in a world where she longs to fit in and finally does fit in in the end?

It’s called costume evolution.
The same way she uses rags as a dress at first. With each new costume, there’s an evolution of the character which shows that she’s slowly becoming more comfortable with her new environment. It's been done since the beginning of films but if you need another example think of Giselle's costumes in Enchanted and how it demonstrates this exact same thing..

Hmm...ok yeah, but then the only time she would finally fit in is in the end, in her wedding dress. Anyway, you can make something not fit in without it making you want to gouge your eyes out.

[Redadoodles]

They already did the anti-girly dress thing in the remake of Beauty And The Beast when the wardrobe dresses Belle in this grotesque over the top pink dress. Then, during the ballroom scene, we can see that Belle's dress is very simple and reflects her character while the pink one was more suitable for the shallow princesses from the opening scene.

[supertalies]

It sort of gives me vibes of the art direction of the Broadway show ?

Yeah it really does! Which is kinda weird because from what I remember people didn't really care for the Broadway show's sets and costumes, so it's weird that it seems like they took so much artistic inspiration from the show.

[Disney Duster]

They already did the anti-girly dress thing in the remake of Beauty And The Beast when the wardrobe dresses Belle in this grotesque over the top pink dress. Then, during the ballroom scene, we can see that Belle's dress is very simple and reflects her character while the pink one was more suitable for the shallow princesses from the opening scene.

That dress was not grotesque. It was way prettier than Belle's yellow dress. This pink dress for Ariel is even worse than both dresses. Ariel is supposed to love the world above, including human clothes, so I really, strongly believe she should look great in any dress on land, with the possible, possible exception for the one Scuttle makes for her from sail. Even then, in the original film I liked all of Ariel's dresses. She didn't "fit in" in the sail.dress, but boy did it look sexy on her. And I will repeat, she loves clothes from the land! She wants pretty human girl clothes!

[Disney's Divinity]

Yeah it really does! Which is kinda weird because from what I remember people didn't really care for the Broadway show's sets and costumes, so it's weird that it seems like they took so much artistic inspiration from the show.

I don't get it either. That's why I take Miranda's past statements as the reason for it. It makes sense since he works on Broadway, he must've liked the show unlike most people and now here we are with a film version of that horrible show.

[Redadoodles]

They already did the anti-girly dress thing in the remake of Beauty And The Beast when the wardrobe dresses Belle in this grotesque over the top pink dress. Then, during the ballroom scene, we can see that Belle's dress is very simple and reflects her character while the pink one was more suitable for the shallow princesses from the opening scene.

That dress was not grotesque. It was way prettier than Belle's yellow dress. This pink dress for Ariel is even worse than both dresses. Ariel is supposed to love the world above, including human clothes, so I really, strongly believe she should look great in any dress on land, with the possible, possible exception for the one Scuttle makes for her from sail. Even then, in the original film I liked all of Ariel's dresses. She didn't "fit in" in the sail.dress, but boy did it look sexy on her. And I will repeat, she loves clothes from the land! She wants pretty human girl clothes!

Wether we like the pink dress or not is not the point. The intention was clearly to show that it was too over the top for Belle or at least for Emma Watson's take on Belle. Right before the wardrobe dresses her, Belle claims "Oh I am not a princess!" then a silly montage happens. You can tell that Belle doesn't like it as she not only cannot breathe in it but she also literally crawls out of it.

With that said, I randomly came across this about Vanessa on Disney wiki and I couldn’t stop laughing at how silly it was:

"When Ursula is making off with Ariel after the sun set as well as transforming back from Vanessa, she tells Eric "So long, lover-boy" with her voice and actions being given a suggestive tone as she says this, which may imply that Ursula may have slept with Eric while she was in her Vanessa form. If so, this technically makes her the first Disney Villain to commit rape/sexual assault, due to Eric being brainwashed at the time and thus clearly not consenting to it."

[Marce82]

Yes, Redadoodles.... that statement is laughable. Who writes that crap???

There is zero indication that Ursula had sex w Eric... her tone and calling him "lover boy" was mocking his relationship with Ariel... good lord, people see what they WANT to see...

[Tristy]

Someone had too much free time on their hands I see.

[Disney Duster]

Yes you are right that that was the costume's aim there, Redadoodes. And you're right, it did accomplish it's aim! I just happened to actually love that dress anyway lol.

Omg that Vanessa thing is hilarious!

[supertalies]

"When Ursula is making off with Ariel after the sun set as well as transforming back from Vanessa, she tells Eric "So long, lover-boy" with her voice and actions being given a suggestive tone as she says this, which may imply that Ursula may have slept with Eric while she was in her Vanessa form. If so, this technically makes her the first Disney Villain to commit rape/sexual assault, due to Eric being brainwashed at the time and thus clearly not consenting to it."

Well.... this is something I never want to think about again. Yikes.