The Little Mermaid is the latest in a long line of live-action remakes of animated Disney classics, a creative direction that’s confused many fans over the years. Starting with a reimagining of Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton, Disney has released over a dozen films in a similar vein with differing results. We can’t deny the remakes are lucrative for the studio; in 2019, just two films, The Lion King and Aladdin, made a combined $2 billion, but the majority of the live-action films have been criticized for poor creative direction.
These complaints didn’t stop Disney from continuing to churn out uninspired remakes because the economic benefits clearly outweighed any negative critique from the studio’s fanbase. In more recent years, the live-action films have struggled to make back their multi-million dollar budgets; a post-Covid climate (recent Pinocchio bypassed a theatrical release and went straight to streaming) combined with remake fatigue has audiences weary of shelling out hard-earned cash to watch a tepid live-action version of a classic animated film.
If Disney wants to convince fans to tune into the live-action remakes, it’s gonna have to throw us a bone and give us a film worth watching. The Little Mermaid will hopefully buck the current trend and make us believe in that Disney magic again. The film doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel — part of what makes these reboots so enticing to Disney is that they can take from an existing IP rather than spend time creating a brand new plot — and even a word-for-word live-action copy of the animated movie would probably be enough to satisfy fans.
The way star Halle Bailey tells it, 2023’s The Little Mermaid will take what’s great about the original 1989 animated film and modernize it. In an interview with The Face, Bailey talks about how the first film’s message wasn’t exactly a feminist narrative. The live-action will expand on Ariel’s quest for freedom by shifting her focus from solely Prince Eric to “Ariel finding freedom for herself because of this world that she’s obsessed with,” Bailey confirms. The goal is to update the plot through a more modern lens since Ariel giving up her voice and physically changing herself for a man was already a bit behind the times when the animated film came out.
The Little Mermaid is planning to put a more feminist spin on the familiar story and hopefully, the updated plot will impress audiences enough to motivate the studio to put out more well-written remakes. When Bailey’s casting as Ariel was announced, she received racist backlash for taking on the iconic role, and as unfair as it is, dissenters will likely put the blame on her portrayal if the film does poorly. It should go out without saying, but anyone who’s heard Bailey sing knows she’s perfectly cast for this role and she’s already shown she makes an amazing Disney princess. If the film does well, the success could motivate Disney to take more chances when it comes to representation and modernizing outdated films.
Disney has been able to coast on the legacy of their established IPs, but The Little Mermaid (and the upcoming Peter Pan & Wendy) should feel like complete films of their own merit. The Little Mermaid could revitalize Disney’s live-action initiative as long as the studio put in the work to make it a worthwhile watch.
The Little Mermaid is set to make its theatrical debut on May 26, 2023.