Halle Bailey’s The Little Mermaid has been getting quite the backlash ever since the cast list got announced. The reason behind this was nothing other than people not being able to accept Bailey, a person of color playing the role of Ariel.
It was surprising as the trailer garnered amazing reviews, but some people found it unacceptable. However, even though, the hate stayed constant, the support, too, started increasing steadily.
It became a TikTok trend where people would post reactions of young Black children feeling overjoyed at seeing themselves being represented on the big screen and as a Disney princess no less.
In fact, keeping that very core audience in mind, they also switched up the plot and some song lyrics here and there to show the young minds that the princess is very capable of saving herself.
And now, after its release yesterday, The Little Mermaid has debuted with a massive high score for a live-action remake in a long time. And good reviews seem to have ticked some people off yet again.
Also Read: The Little Mermaid – What Are The Biggest Changes?
Halle Bailey claimed that she expected the reception of The Little Mermaid
In an interview before, Halle Bailey claimed although she was disappointed by the response The Little Mermaid garnered, she was not exactly surprised. She noted, “As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore.”
Which is honestly very disheartening to hear. Although thankfully the industry is moving towards inclusivity and diversity, the steps seem to be way too slow to make much of a difference now. She also elaborated on her experience in the interview saying,
“I know people are like: ’It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her…People don’t understand that when you’re Black there’s this whole other community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves.”
The movie’s director Rob Marshall, too, noted his shock at the blatant racism towards Bailey and The Little Mermaid. According to him, he was not only appalled but he also kept thinking whether we are still stuck in the middle ages as a society.
Thankfully, though, the movie has garnered generally good reviews, an A in CinemaScore and a whopping 7 out of 10 in IMDb. And people are not happy about it.
Internet claims people will be afraid of rating The Little Mermaid properly
After the blatant racism faced by Halle Bailey and The Little Mermaid right up to its release, people are claiming nobody is going to review this movie properly. And the reason behind that they claim is that the bad reviewers will then be tagged as racists.
This came as quite a surprise as people were sure the movie will bomb at the box office, but the good reviews since its release yesterday seem to be saying otherwise.
Now whether the good reviews are due to their experience with the movie or like some claim because they are afraid of giving genuine reviews is more of a matter of perspective it seems.
The Little Mermaid is swimming quite fluidly in the theaters for now and looks like it is on its way to becoming a box office hit. However, it is important to mention that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is releasing soon, and how the movie will fare with competition thrown in is something only time can tell.
The Little Mermaid is available at theaters worldwide now.
Source: Twitter
