Ariel (Disney Junior)

[Sotiris]

Can The Little Mermaid as a brand handle three separate iterations? We have the animated trilogy, the live-action remake, and now this strange hybrid of a TV series. Wouldn't it have made more sense to make this an extension of the live-action remake instead of its own thing? Won't it add to brand confusion to have Ursula suddenly be one of the good guys or Ariel only have two sisters who are twins?

On a different note, I find it strange that despite this reimagining being set in the Caribbean, Disney managed to include an Asian and a Latino character in the main cast. Wasn't an all-Black cast diverse enough? I find it ironic they didn't include a white character when all the executives responsible for the show that were showcased in the video are themselves white.

[UmbrellaFish]

Someone posted a video with more details about the show:
https://twitter.com/devnsworld/status/1 ... 5d53Q&s=19

It looks cute! I’m sure it will be a hit with its target audience. I don’t have any young children in my life so I will probably never watch an episode unless Jodi Benson guest stars.

I’m not worried about kids getting confused about different versions of the same characters. The Jungle Book and TaleSpin were a little confusing as a kid, but I figured it out.

[Disney's Divinity]

I might skim through an episode here and there to see how they do Ursula (hear Amber Riley's voice as the character, in other words), that's probably all. I wonder if this show might have any songs since they have a singer like Riley involved?

Yeah, Sotiris, you'd think they'd have connected it to the remake somehow. I imagine it'll do fine for what it is.

[Sotiris]

I wonder if this show might have any songs since they have a singer like Riley involved?

Yes, there will be songs.

Berklee Dean Joins Creative Team of Disney's Ariel
https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/new ... sney-ariel

[Sotiris]

Source: https://twitter.com/DisneyChannel/statu ... 1235885365

[Sotiris]

Teaser trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yLmuNUd_CE

[PatchofBlue]

Huh. Did I know that Flounder and Sebastian were going to have the same designs as the animated film, but no one else?

The uncanniness of this all is just growing.

[twihard]

this is so offensive. this show isn't even out and they're already calling her an icon lol. Meanwhile the real Ariel who did appear on the Disney Channel is erased from history. Something very nefarious especially cuz everyone has noted the patterns of redheads being recast with black people...that is not prejudice???

this is exactly why I boycott modern Disney and don't give them any $$$.

[DisneyFan09]

Well, both Flounder and Sebastian looked good and the songs sounded cute and catchy enough. And the "fin-tastic" line was fun enough. But it still doesn`t seem to sit right with me to see both Ariel, Ursula and Triton not resemble themselves by any means. However, perhaps I could give the show a look due to the songs.

[Lele]

Amazing to see the nerve of Disney to steal european folktales and even stealing european myths... while making all characters black. Usually they would at least keep one white character in, but looks like we reached a new stage huh.

[Sotiris]

Poster and theme song.


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6tw-n-rv0y/

[PatchofBlue]

Wait ... are Flotsam and Jetsam Ariel's friends too?

Screenshot_9-5-2024_8272_www.youtube.com.jpeg (107.47 KiB) Viewed 751 times

[Sotiris]

Wait ... are Flotsam and Jetsam Ariel's friends too?

Why wouldn't they be when Ursula has been turned into Ariel's loving aunt who uses magic for good?

[Thumper_93]

They should have mad a whole new show with some Ariel's cameos on it or at least make it happen in the same universe than the Live action one. It doesn't have any sense to create a new version of Ariel mixing everything. They are making so many versions of the characters that somehow the original one is going to be unrecognizable by the new generations.
With some luck this new show is going to be forgotten after the first season like so many others. They are going to release tons of merchandise that nobody is going to buy to make some money and we will only remember the shown when we will see this merch on the clearance section.

[PatchofBlue]

Why wouldn't they be when Ursula has been turned into Ariel's loving aunt who uses magic for good?

That sentence will never become easier for me to read ...

[Thumper_93]

Maybe they are afraid to show kids that bad people already exists and they prefer to make Ursula a lovely character in order to not traumatize them.It use to happen in this kind of shows...there are no villains in this kind of productions and if there are one they make him or her silly and funny.

[Farerb]

I know it might seem petty because this show is for three years olds so I don't really care about it, but they basically created different characters and gave them the same names. I really don't understand why not make this show about a different set of characters in The Little Mermaid universe, like a different kingdom or something and have Ariel (the real one) make guest appearances. I think it would have been a better approach. I wouldn't have watched it regardless, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, all these announcements just made me want to rewatch the old show, which I did, hence why I made a new thread.

[Sotiris]

I really don't understand why not make this show about a different set of characters in The Little Mermaid universe, like a different kingdom or something and have Ariel (the real one) make guest appearances. I think it would have been a better approach.

Not only they would have preserved the integrity of the brand that way, but also avoided any backlash while still having a diverse show. Maybe they thought having a Black mermaid as Ariel would sell more than a brand-new character who's just friends with Ariel.

[Sotiris]

Ariel is joining the Disney Jr. Live tour.


Source: https://www.marvel.com/articles/culture ... -fall-2024

[Disney's Divinity]

Oh, is this show already out? I might put it on in the background one day then just to see. Were there any musical numbers (I'm guessing no, just thought I'd ask). I remember I did watch a trailer for it a couple of months ago and was glad Atlantica had a palace here again whereas they scrapped it in the remake. To PatchOfBlue's comment a while back about the secondary characters (Sebastian, Flounder, etc.) looking the same while the main ones are all different, that was the case with that Alice DisneyJr. show, too, as far as the Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit looking the same while Alice and particularly the Queen of Hearts were entirely different.

About Ursula, I assumed they would have her as a "good" character pretending to use her magic for good here (and maybe sometimes even doing it honestly since she hadn't completely gone bad yet) since it's supposed to be set before her banishment. Do they leave clues that she will end up banished eventually though?