The 1989 film “The Little Mermaid” directed by Ron Clements and John Musker is a timeless classic that everyone thinks of when they imagine the iconic princesses. Princess Ariel is shown as a mermaid with long red, luscious hair. Her wardrobe consists of a small purple top that pairs with a long green tail. Her look is tied together with a complexion that is extremely fair. Ariel’s personality is portrayed as an adventurous young mermaid, who wants to live on the land and fall in love, somewhere other than the sea. She signifies the ambitious nature that fans learned to adore over the years. Society has accepted Ariel to look and act a certain way with no question amongst it. She has faced no backlash behind her character makeup, throughout the years. Yet, when the remake of the Little Mermaid came out in present times and a women of colour played the princess, suddenly, everyone had something to say.
In the live action remake of “The Little Mermaid” made in 2023 by Rob Marshall , an actress of colour, Halle Bailey, plays the princess. Her version of the Ariel encapsulates the same features of the original. In the article written by Zalfa Melanie Putri titled “Comparison in animated films The Little Mermaid (1989) and versions adaptation live- action The Little Mermaid (2023)”, Ariel is known for her hair alone, before any other trait. “The Little Mermaid, who doesn’t know this beautiful, iconic, red-haired mermaid?” But people had an issue with the depiction of the
Ron Clements, John Musker, “The Little Mermaid” Disney (1989)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097757/
Rob Marshall, “The Little Mermaid” Disney (2023)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5971474/
hair in the remake, as it was not the bright red that people were used to. In the same article written by Putri, it states “but then there was a problem with Halle Baileys hair color, which was not the bright red color they knew very well from Ariels daughter and Halle Baileys hair was also braided into small pieces, not the same as ariels real hair.” The red hair is still in the movie, yet when her hair matches her true ethnicity, people do not accept her version. Production companies associated with these ideas are moving away from the stereotypes that all princesses must be fair skinned, and some fans cannot grasp the idea of inclusivity, diversity and change.
The only difference amongst the two films is the colour of the main characters skin. Ariel still has red hair, and a green top, yet change the colour of her skin, and suddenly fans are outraged. In the article titled “The Little Mermaid: Equality of Race and Skin Color to Criticism of Disney Film Fans on Twitter”, rectifies this statement by saying, “Disney enthusiasts expressed disappointment with the company’s failure to meet their expectations, particularly about Princess Ariels depiction of dark skin.” Many conversations sparked once the release of the trailer, many of them having racist undertones and rude remarks surrounding the black community. In the article labelled “Why Disliking the New Disney “The Little Mermaid” is racist” created by Pop
Zalfa Melanie Putri, “Comparison in animated films The Little Mermaid (1989) and versions adaptation live- action The Little Mermaid (2023)” Muhammadiyah University of Sukabumi (2023) 5, no.7
https://jurnal.syntax-idea.co.id/index.php/syntax-idea/article/view/2374/1483
Asrul Nur Iman, Dzakiyyah Dzikraa Paokuma, Elsa Hidayati, Silvi Ramawati, “The Little Mermaid: Equality of Race and Skin Color to Criticism of Disney Film Fans on Twitter” Universitas Bhanyangkara Jakarta Raya (2024) 5 no.6 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Asrul-Iman/publication/383712061_The_Little_Mermaid_Equality_of_Race_and_Skin_Color_to_Criticism_of_Disney_Film_Fans_on_Twitter/links/66d817c6f84dd1716c94040e/The-Little-Mermaid-Equality-of-Race-and-Skin-Color-to-Criticism-of-Disney-Film-Fans-on-Twitter.pdf
Tingz states “The backlash against a black actress playing Ariel highlights a deeper issue of systematic racism and the exclusion of people of colour in mainstream media.” This furthers racist ideologies and embeds them into everyday culture as if they are not wedged deep enough. Certain people expect that everything is to be made to them and their audience as that is what they are used to, they are used to abusing power. This ideology being pushed is only fostering that everyone must succumb to the mass media, which is usually run by straight white men, with invisible privilege and power and systemic racism at the forefront of their operations.
For the individuals who were born after the original Disney classic, the remake of the princess may be all that they know. The remake may be what they understand Ariel to be. She can represent diversity, honesty and truth amongst movies to set a good example for them. In the article titled “The Little Mermaid looks like me!: cross cultural diversity, inclusion and children’s self-esteem on TikTok”, it states that “The representation of a black complexion and copper-brown hair, in contrast to the former Caucasian and red-haired icon, does not appear to intimidate children, who express enthusiasm and excitement about her role.” This can represent young people growing up, who may look like Ariel and if not, accept her beauty in her role. The backlash from the older generations may add to confusion amongst young children, which may lead to self-doubt amongst themselves. This movie showed that people in our society cannot Pop Tingz, “Why Dislking the new Disney “The Little Mermaid” is Racist”, Pop Tingz (2024)
https://www.poptingz.com/opinion-1/blog-post-title-one-4rw4e
Monica Bonilla-del-Rio, Arantxa Vizcaino Verdu, ““The Little Mermaid looks like me!”: cross-cultural diversity, inclusion and children’s self-esteem on TikTok” Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Santander ( Spain), Universidad Internacional de la Rioja, Madrid (Spain) (2023) 15, no.3 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arantxa-Vizcaino-Verdu/publication/376085237_The_Little_Mermaid_looks_like_me_cross-cultural_diversity_inclusion_and_children’s_self-esteem_on_TikTok/links/65699deeb86a1d521b23eb59/The-Little-Mermaid-looks-like-me-cross-cultural-diversity-inclusion-and-childrens-self-esteem-on-TikTok.pdf
move in the right direction before they look at themselves and realize that a kid’s movie has nothing to do with them, and everything to do with systemic racism still being embedded into our society from the past, present and now future, due to them.
Bibliography
Bonilla-del-Rio, Monica. Vizcaino Verdu, Arantxa. ““The Little Mermaid looks like me!”: cross-cultural diversity, inclusion and children’s self-esteem on TikTok” Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Santander ( Spain), Universidad Internacional de la Rioja, Madrid (Spain) (2023) 15, no.3 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arantxa-Vizcaino-Verdu/publication/376085237_The_Little_Mermaid_looks_like_me_cross-cultural_diversity_inclusion_and_children’s_self-esteem_on_TikTok/links/65699deeb86a1d521b23eb59/The-Little-Mermaid-looks-like-me-cross-cultural-diversity-inclusion-and-childrens-self-esteem-on-TikTok.pdf
Clements, Ron. Musker, John. “The Little Mermaid” Disney (1989)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097757/
Marshall, Rob. “The Little Mermaid” Disney (2023)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5971474/
Melanie Putri, Zalfa. “Comparison in animated films The Little Mermaid (1989) and versions adaptation live- action The Little Mermaid (2023)” Muhammadiyah University of Sukabumi (2023) 5, no.7
https://jurnal.syntax-idea.co.id/index.php/syntax-idea/article/view/2374/1483
Nur Iman, Azrul. Dzikraa Paokuma, Dzakiyyah. Hidayati,Elsa. Ramawati, Silvi. “The Little Mermaid: Equality of Race and Skin Color to Criticism of Disney Film Fans on Twitter” Universitas Bhanyangkara Jakarta Raya (2024) 5 no.6 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Asrul-Iman/publication/383712061_The_Little_Mermaid_Equality_of_Race_and_Skin_Color_to_Criticism_of_Disney_Film_Fans_on_Twitter/links/66d817c6f84dd1716c94040e/The-Little-Mermaid-Equality-of-Race-and-Skin-Color-to-Criticism-of-Disney-Film-Fans-on-Twitter.pdf
Pop Tingz, “Why Dislking the new Disney “The Little Mermaid” is Racist”, Pop Tingz (2024)
https://www.poptingz.com/opinion-1/blog-post-title-one-4rw4e
Sara Westerholm
Isabella’s analysis on character diversity, using Ariel from the Little Mermaid as an example, is absorbing and well-written. Isabella provides us with the background information we need to comprehend the character analysis by explaining the director, the year the film was made, the plot, Ariel’s personality and how her looks differ from one film to the next. Isabella touches on how systemic racism affects audiences reactions to Halle Bailey’s depiction of the little mermaid as a black woman, and how this reaction is a representation of a greater social issue, rather than a genuine upset about changing a beloved cartoon character because of the nostalgia, as the values and merits that are taught through the film remain consistent despite the changes in the character’s physical appearance.
Isabella included quotes in her writing that were interesting and provided additional value to her analysis – using quotes from both modern social media sources and academic sources alike. For a modern problem such as Ariel’s reimagining, I believe having sources and opinions from more modern, personal-opinion based sources – such as tiktok and twitter – is not only acceptable, but expected. I agreed with her argument about how children today will associate the name “Ariel” with Halle Bailey’s portrayal of the Little Mermaid. “For the individuals who were born after the original Disney classic, the remake of the princess may be all that they know. The remake may be what they understand Ariel to be” (Tiani, 2024) Isabella’s analysis was straight to the point and included great sources and critiques. I would have liked to read about the challenges of bringing a cartoon character to life in a live-action film, and how that could have contributed to the backlash in Halle Bailey’s depiction of Ariel in the Little Mermaid.