Halle Bailey will play Ariel in The Little Mermaid

[StrawberryBlond 14,101]

So they really did go there, it wasn't just rumour. Every live action Disney adaption has kept faithful to the ethnic origins of the originals, apart from this one. Now this opens up the door to more white characters having the same done for them in the future. Why did this out of all of them get picked on? There was adaptions for white characters before and kept them white, why now are they changing their minds. But no, they had to change the one that would cause the most upset because Ariel's red hair is iconic and simply cannot be worn in the same natural-looking way if played by a black actress. While half black people can have red hair (though its extremely rare), there's no denying that red hair does not look natural on a black person. And while Ariel's was no shade found in nature, tht gives a huge opportunity to change it to a natural shade when doing live adapting. This was an amazing chance for every white redhead, like myself, who grew up feeling different/ugly, to get some representation in real life form from the biggest film studio on a worldwide level. But apparently, that was worth sacrificing for diversity casting. I must ask, why must the ethnic origins of every non-white character expected to be respected and there is outrage if it isn't but any white character can be changed to be "progressive?" Equal standards clearly aren't interpreted the same way by all.

So saying, this girl can sure sing and will probably sound just like Ariel. But when adapting a visual medium, maintaining original looks are paramount. We say this every time a POC character is whitewashed and it shouldn't just be a set standard for them.

18 hours ago, Reginald said:

I bet some GGD users were seething when Disney cast Will Smith to play Genie in the new Aladdin 

I don't know anyone who was. The only question I had is that maybe Will was the wrong age but then I thought the genie's age is somewhat ambiguous. I daresay that Robin Williams was taking on an almost black vocal style in this role and even the genie's song is very black-inspired. So this casting never bothered me. The genie has blue skin therefore is a completely fictional, mythical race so there's no issue for me. But Ariel is the exact same colour as Cinderella, Belle, Aurora and so on, who are human (not to mention, she's the same colour as the white humans in the film), so to write her off as "a mythical creature with no race and therefore, you can make her any race you want" just doesn't wash.

18 hours ago, Dutch said:

This isn’t the Andersen version, but the Disney version. Like the Andersen version is way more different than this one. Disney can do whatever they want to, to their stories. they’ve been doing that since our childhood, so they can do it again. None of the Disney movies are the same as the Grimm and Anderson stories, it’s just Disney their interpretation, so that point shouldn’t be valid.

Would you say this if it was a remake of any classic piece of literature featuring a POC? Why must the origins of literature be respected only when it doesn't feature white characters? Disney animated their original Ariel as white, therefore, for the sake of consistency and the fans of the original, she should remain white. Wouldn't this be your argument if she wasn't white in the original conception?

[Guest]

19 hours ago, Scathach said:

And this is what they did. Naomi Scott is Indian, not Arabic. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia

how old are you sis?🤣

[Magneto 13,277]

Everybody is pressed like a panini about a movie that hasn't even come out yet, I can't 

[Adampervez 603]

23 minutes ago, StrawberryBlond said:

So they really did go there, it wasn't just rumour. Every live action Disney adaption has kept faithful to the ethnic origins of the originals, apart from this one. Now this opens up the door to more white characters having the same done for them in the future. Why did this out of all of them get picked on? There was adaptions for white characters before and kept them white, why now are they changing their minds. But no, they had to change the one that would cause the most upset because Ariel's red hair is iconic and simply cannot be worn in the same natural-looking way if played by a black actress. While half black people can have red hair (though its extremely rare), there's no denying that red hair does not look natural on a black person. And while Ariel's was no shade found in nature, tht gives a huge opportunity to change it to a natural shade when doing live adapting. This was an amazing chance for every white redhead, like myself, who grew up feeling different/ugly, to get some representation in real life form from the biggest film studio on a worldwide level. But apparently, that was worth sacrificing for diversity casting. I must ask, why must the ethnic origins of every non-white character expected to be respected and there is outrage if it isn't but any white character can be changed to be "progressive?" Equal standards clearly aren't interpreted the same way by all.

So saying, this girl can sure sing and will probably sound just like Ariel. But when adapting a visual medium, maintaining original looks are paramount. We say this every time a POC character is whitewashed and it shouldn't just be a set standard for them.

I don't know anyone who was. The only question I had is that maybe Will was the wrong age but then I thought the genie's age is somewhat ambiguous. I daresay that Robin Williams was taking on an almost black vocal style in this role and even the genie's song is very black-inspired. So this casting never bothered me. The genie has blue skin therefore is a completely fictional, mythical race so there's no issue for me. But Ariel is the exact same colour as Cinderella, Belle, Aurora and so on, who are human (not to mention, she's the same colour as the white humans in the film), so to write her off as "a mythical creature with no race and therefore, you can make her any race you want" just doesn't wash.

Would you say this if it was a remake of any classic piece of literature featuring a POC? Why must the origins of literature be respected only when it doesn't feature white characters? Disney animated their original Ariel as white, therefore, for the sake of consistency and the fans of the original, she should remain white. Wouldn't this be your argument if she wasn't white in the original conception?

By now I think everyone on this cult site knows you're prejudice and somewhat racist. This applies to a lot of people in this thread who have an issue with ariel being casted by a WOC. Ariel can be played by any race because HER RACE ISNT CRUCIAL TO THE STORY. We wouldnt cast a white woman to play a live action version of Mulan, Tiana or Pocahontas because their races are crucial to their story and plot and play a major role in their character and the setting of the story. Many people of colour are able to naturally grow red hair. It's not reserved for white people. Ariel's whiteness is simply a product of the time her movie was made. Just say you're problematic and clearly have some weird lowkey white supremacist agenda. 

For the first time ever young girls of colour can finally see themselves represented as princesses in film. What is your problem with that? For decades weve been represented as slaves, servants, peasants or villains in movies. LET US HAVE THIS ONE FOR ONCE IN OUR LIVES. 

Honestly the amount of racist people on this site is ****ing crazy. Youd think a site dedicated to lady gaga would have actual educated TOLERANT people who would be accepting and understand the complexities of races and cultures but I guess not. It's about time we start calling them out on here too. Anyway I'm gonna sign out after this because I know you're just gonna go on the defensive and attempt to prove how you're not racist but your history on this site is enough evidence for everyone else to prove otherwise. Bye 

[gagaforgaga2010 117]

OK, I know I had a post earlier in this thread, but I want to add something. I am an avid follower of entertainment news including Hollywood and Broadway. Yes Ariel is fictional, and no, her race isn't crucial to her story, BUT race-bending real life white people has been happening on Broadway for a while now. Hamilton is the most publicized of these instances, but in the new Moulin Rouge adaptation, Toulouse Lautrec is being played by a man of color. Toulouse was WHITE. Why is the concern of white people who see this trend deemed racist when it's valid? I can't help the color of my skin anymore than Pocahontas, Mulan (who was partially real and based on an actual person) or Oprah can help theirs, so why should people who were historically white, or identified as white, be opened to color-blind casting? Hell, I've been in a casting room where the director took one look at me( a big white guy with a tenor voice and flamboyant nature), looked me dead in the eye and said "Too bad you aren't black". Literally people, wake up. Racial and physical prejudice exists everywhere and it doesn't have a color. 

[RAMROD 104,176]

   y'all forgot that the Disney version took place in Caribbean. Not Denmark like Hans's original version was. How else you gonna explain those Carribean style castle, and patois speaking crab that is Sebastian?!?! Hence, Halle is appropriate for the casting than the iconic but white washed red headed version we have on the cartoons. I expect the prince and Triton to be POC too. This is Disney making correction of the white washing they did and got the pass since it was different times back then.

 

[gagaforgaga2010 117]

8 minutes ago, RAMROD said:

   y'all forgot that the Disney version took place in Caribbean. Not Denmark like Hans's original version was. How else you gonna explain those Carribean style castle, and patois speaking crab that is Sebastian?!?! Hence, Halle is appropriate for the casting than the iconic but white washed red headed version we have on the cartoons. I expect the prince and Triton to be POC too. This is Disney making correction of the white washing they did and got the pass since it was different times back then.

 

Hate to point out, but if the story is set in antiquity, Eric would most definitely be white and of European ancestry. #history 

[RadioIsOurs 13,835]

Whatever, I just want flowing red hair. We'll see about that...

[HotLikeMexico 4,447]

Guys... Ariel is a ****ing fish.... from the ****ing ocean. Are y’all really that pressed about a make believe story. Disney literally created their own version of the mermaid and made her a ginger. Why is nobody mad that Disney themselves even deviated from the source material with their original film.

 

Its really not that deep they cast Halle Bailey. This is exciting.

[Cuchulainn 3,040]

This doesn’t bother me. Most of the people who once identified Ariel as the princess that ‘looked’ like them have grown and I’m not exactly sure why some character in a movie matters that much to them anymore. This is Ariel for the new generation and it’s okay to make changes to fit the current social climate.

I don’t think people who wanted Ariel to look how she used to are racist though. It’s probably just nostalgia and wanting the live action to remind them a bit of their childhood.

[EnigmaNecrotic1 175]

11 hours ago, Phlop said:

So what? Pocahontas was a child and never fell in love with John Smith. 

We wanted a live re-imagining of the 1989 classic that started the Disney renaissance. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Jungle Book, Aladdin have all been casted appropriately to portray the magic and nostalgia of the originals.

Theres no problem with a black actress being Ariel. But she doesn’t look the slightest to what we have come to know Ariel to be. The Little Mermaid was huge because prior to that, Disney movies were all lower budget animalistic character stories. TLM was the first HUGE success for the company following Walt’s death. Because of TLM we got all those amazing 90s Disney movies we have grown to love. 

So when I look at this movie that is straying from what the original is like, it’s somewhat saddening that they had to change this particular film to modernize it. 

I understand the original story, but the Disney 1989 film is what we wanted remade. This to me is a different Little Mermaid than what I grew up with.

With the logic you have, they could have easily made Belle or Cinderella black because skin tone is not important to their character. But they didn’t because that wouldn’t have reflected the originals.

Yeah..... They made a black Cinderella already. And if Belle was black we'd setup be fine with it and you'd still be pressed over a fairytale character not being lilly white. 

[EnigmaNecrotic1 175]

7 hours ago, Kattys said:

So maybe create new black characters.

People feel connected to their childhood and their heroes. What is wrong with that?

If they really need to make a 'better' Disney - sure, go ahead, but MAKE NEW CHARACTERS. Thanks. 

And everytime they tell a new story with black characters we don't hear the end of "forcing diversity" "alienating their fan base" "pandering". The reviews are bombarded with negative comments before the movie is out; calling it shallow, using poor cgi, cheesy, forcing politics into entertainment, etc. Either way it's bs. 

[Kattys 4,319]

2 hours ago, Adampervez said:

By now I think everyone on this cult site knows you're prejudice and somewhat racist. This applies to a lot of people in this thread who have an issue with ariel being casted by a WOC. Ariel can be played by any race because HER RACE ISNT CRUCIAL TO THE STORY. We wouldnt cast a white woman to play a live action version of Mulan, Tiana or Pocahontas because their races are crucial to their story and plot and play a major role in their character and the setting of the story. Many people of colour are able to naturally grow red hair. It's not reserved for white people. Ariel's whiteness is simply a product of the time her movie was made. Just say you're problematic and clearly have some weird lowkey white supremacist agenda. 

For the first time ever young girls of colour can finally see themselves represented as princesses in film. What is your problem with that? For decades weve been represented as slaves, servants, peasants or villains in movies. LET US HAVE THIS ONE FOR ONCE IN OUR LIVES. 

Honestly the amount of racist people on this site is ****ing crazy. Youd think a site dedicated to lady gaga would have actual educated TOLERANT people who would be accepting and understand the complexities of races and cultures but I guess not. It's about time we start calling them out on here too. Anyway I'm gonna sign out after this because I know you're just gonna go on the defensive and attempt to prove how you're not racist but your history on this site is enough evidence for everyone else to prove otherwise. Bye 

YES it is CRUCIAL because it was always portrayed as white girl with red hair, jesus!

If you want representation then create new characters and leave beloved characters as they were!

[Zander 14,857]

Ariel is more known for her red hair than her skin tone. There's no doubt Halle will have red hair for the role.  There's isn't a specific culture tied to the story so Ariel is open to interpretation, besides she's a fish... she can be whatever and her race doesn't effect the story like it would do if a white person was cast for Pocahontas, Mulan, or Princess Tiana (because of the historical and cultural connection). The animated Disney film took place in the Caribbean as opposed to the original taking place off the coast in Denmark. If you want ginger representation go watch Brave. 

[Phlop 4,773]

58 minutes ago, EnigmaNecrotic1 said:

Yeah..... They made a black Cinderella already. And if Belle was black we'd setup be fine with it and you'd still be pressed over a fairytale character not being lilly white. 

Black Cinderella wasn’t by Disney though.