The Little Mermaid might be the only 2023 movie guaranteed to earn $1 billion at the box office as the excitement levels surrounding this live-action remake appear to be even higher than they once were for 2017’s Beauty and the Beast.
While the movie will clearly remain faithful to the 1989 animated classic, some changes are being made, and not all of those have sat well with fans (some gripes are understandable, while others are downright abhorrent). Lead star Halle Bailey, however, recently found herself in the midst of a social media storm after promising a more “nuanced” take on Ariel.
You can see her original quote in the Tweet below, but this led to the assumption on social media that the “woke” movie will forego the romance between Ariel and Prince Eric.
Now, Bailey has refuted that by pointing out that the themes she was talking about were always part of this story. Adding that we just get to see more of those in this take, the singer and actress concluded by making it clear romance will still be a big focal point of the story being told.
The original movie hasn’t aged badly, but giving Ariel’s desire to be human a little more urgency beyond liking the look of a man she saves from drowning will surely be no bad thing for this interpretation of The Little Mermaid!
In the movie, the youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart.
She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The Little Mermaid stars singer and actress Halle Bailey as Ariel, Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder, Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Art Malik as Sir Grimsby, Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, with Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
Helmed by visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall, the movie opens exclusively in theaters on May 26, 2023.
