The Little Mermaid, a live-action adaptation of the beloved Disney animated classic, promises an enchanting journey beneath the sea. I went along for the adventure, and while the iconic film stayed true to the essence of the original, opinions on the adaptation are divided. Is it worth all the hype?
According to some audiences, the film missed a few crucial marks. The controversy first sparked when Disney released a ‘get ready with me’ clip of Melissa McCarthy (who plays the villainous sea witch, Ursula) getting into hair and makeup for her character.
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Fans jumped on to comment, expressing that Disney could have hired a queer makeup artist for the job, as Ursula’s iconic look was inspired by a queer drag queen in the original animated film.
Apparently, you couldn’t do as good of a job a queer person. You took this job for clout and you fell short. Ursula was based off a drag queen. A drag queen should have been the make up artist. Period. https://t.co/db6Y7nNhfy
— Virginia Thicc (@VirginiaThicc) May 28, 2023
The makeup artist responsible spoke out on the situation:
‘The Little Mermaid’ makeup designer responds to criticism that a queer artist should have been hired for Ursula, says this version was not based on “any drag acts” like the original:
“I find that very offensive. Why can’t I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?… It wasn’t… pic.twitter.com/53LP9JEjgr
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 28, 2023
While the movie does retain much of its original magic, it also introduces new elements that appeal to aspects of life today.
The film adds depth to supporting characters like Sebastian, who plays a significant role in Ariel’s journey. In the film, Sebastian shares a duet with Scuttle. As with most other elements in the film, audiences were on the fence:
main criticism of little mermaid was awkwafina and prince eric (boring song and lack of charisma)
awkwafina just needs to be stopped, she was phenomenal in the farewell and every performance of hers since has been worse and worse. scuttle’s ‘rap’ was the worst scene in the movie pic.twitter.com/RRCFaY6CXQ
— josh | kamala khan is the best (@notinmymovie_) May 26, 2023
The new song ‘The Scuttlebutt’ features a painful rap from Scuttle & Sebastian with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s name written all over it, which feels really out of place for ‘THE LITTLE MERMAID’ in general.
Find out more in our review… https://t.co/vSizWQBarU
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 23, 2023
Personally, I enjoyed the movie, which surpassed the original ratings and is currently the top film on global ranks. Definitely worth taking the kids on an outing for!
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Feature Image: @disney/Instagram
