Disney casts 19 year-old Halle Bailey as Ariel in "Little Mermaid."

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Serveaux, Jul 4, 2019.

  1. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 11, 2008
    Location:
    Oregon
    A Maleficient 2 is coming out this year and a Jungle Book 2 (not a remake of Disney's first Jungle Book 2) is in the works, so I'm thinking... sequels and spin-offs. :p

    Well, he's already been played by a half-Black, half-Samoan... ;)
     
  2. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    Tate "Hercules" Donovan is a ginger. :)
     
  3. Cyrus

    Cyrus Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2002
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Disney should remake Song of the South, setting it in a different time period. If it turns out good then they may finally stop being bugged about re-releasing the original.
     
  4. Awesome Possum

    Awesome Possum Moddin' Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2001
    Location:
    Earth
    It's probably best to just let it be forgotten. Nothing good can come out of it, except for Splash Mountain.
     
  5. M'rk son of Mogh

    M'rk son of Mogh Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2001
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Please give more credit to the catchiness of Academy Award winning "Zip a Dee Doo Dah".
     
    Serveaux and Turtletrekker like this.
  6. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2004
    Location:
    Hotel California
    I suggest giving Aladdin a shot. I didn't have high hopes because, like you, I did not really enjoy the Jungle Book or Beauty and the Beast live action remakes, and I didn't even bother with Dumbo. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Aladdin. It rivals the original for me, and that's saying a lot because I was seriously obsessed with that movie when I was a kid.
     
  7. Awesome Possum

    Awesome Possum Moddin' Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2001
    Location:
    Earth
    They use it on Splash Mountain, it took all the good and shed the material that's best left in the past.
     
  8. Sibyl

    Sibyl Caffeine Pill Popper Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2015
    Location:
    The Void
    Jesus! I was working at a theatre that was showing the original release of The Little Mermaid (which had its soundtrack playing on a loop in the lobby (where I worked at the concession counter)).

    Yes, absolutely!

    I have mixed feelings on all of this (other than Flounder). I know I'm hugely sensitive to certain issues, but other times I do think that overall we are too sensitive and critical of everyone's behavior.
     
    fireproof78 and Awesome Possum like this.
  9. Jedman67

    Jedman67 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2015
    Location:
    Jedman67
    For all the idiots saying "The Little Mermaid is a Scandinavian tale..."
    Fine, when they make the ultimate Danish edition, filmed in Denmark and using Danish actors, you can argue your case. But she is supposed to have red hair!!
    Ok, give her a wig?
    They didn't have to cast a black actress to play the role; BUT with so little representation of black actors (relatively speaking) in the industry, casting a talented young black actress to play such an iconic role can only be a win.
     
    BeatleJWOL, Sibyl and Awesome Possum like this.
  10. USS Firefly

    USS Firefly Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2013
    But the actres will ruin everything because she don't have fins!
     
    Jedman67 likes this.
  11. AliciaD496

    AliciaD496 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2002
    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    I get the feeling that they’re giving the whole film a more Caribbean angle. It never made sense that Sebastian had the accent he did without it being set there. Making Ariel black fits with making her more like real Caribbean natives. It will be interesting to see what they do with Eric, whether he will be a native prince or the son of a wealthy European settler.
     
  12. UssGlenn

    UssGlenn Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2003
    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    But Caribbean natives aren't black either, they are indigenous American.
     
  13. Doctor Bombay

    Doctor Bombay Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2011
    Filed under IJDGAF. Didn't see the cartoon, not going to see this.
     
    Jedman67 likes this.
  14. Timelord Victorious

    Timelord Victorious Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2006
    Location:
    Germany, Earth, the Solar System
    I will file the whole thing under: Merpeople are fictional beings and can look however the storytellers want.
    She could have green hair for all I care.
     
    Greg Cox, Sibyl and Nerys Myk like this.
  15. Kor

    Kor Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2001
    Location:
    My mansion on Qo'noS
    Flounder was never supposed to be an actual flounder. That's just his name. He is some kind of bright tropical species, not a bottom-feeding flatfish.

    Kor
     
  16. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2009
    Location:
    Northern Ontario, Canada
    Yep, they really did a great job with that one. I think it's one of the best of the bunch of live-action remakes. They had a high bar to achieve, and I think they somehow managed to at least be equal to that of the original, and even better in some parts. The carpet ride for instance is greatly enhanced in this version, taking advantage of the scenery.
     
    Nyotarules likes this.
  17. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2002
    Location:
    UK
    I never even thought about it until now (mostly because I don't care) but it literally just occurred to me that Flounder is a tropical fish, so the notion that the undersea parts (and by extension the ethnicity of the Merpeople) should be region specific to Scandinavian waters has already been proven false. Oh yeah, and exhibit B: there's also a Jamaican crab too.
    So if anything casting someone with brown skin is *more* faithful to the old Disney movie, not less. Indeed, maybe all the dry land stuff wasn't Denmark at all but the Danish West Indies? (I have no clue if that was ever specified.)
     
  18. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2001
    Location:
    AI Generated Madness
    I believe it took place in the European country of Generica.
     
  19. Nyotarules

    Nyotarules Vice Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2016
    Location:
    London
    You'd be amazed how many white blonde actresses are bottle blondes
    I bet white red heads can get a cab in New York at night
    Folks still getting upset when black folks portray fictional characters?
     
  20. Jedman67

    Jedman67 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2015
    Location:
    Jedman67
    Twitter was aflame when The Cursed Child ran in theaters.
     
    BeatleJWOL likes this.