The Little Mermaid (live action reimagining)

Brian in Mesa

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The Little Mermaid (live action)

Halle Bailey cast as Ariel in Disney's live-action 'The Little Mermaid'

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/03/entertainment/halle-bailey-ariel-little-mermaid/index.html

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Halle Bailey will be belting out tunes under the sea very soon.

The singer, who is one half of the musical duo, "Chloe X Halle," has just been cast as Ariel in Disney's upcoming live-action movie of "The Little Mermaid."

Bailey took to Twitter to say it was a "dream come true."

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"After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance -- plus a glorious singing voice -- all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role," director Rob Marshall said in a statement.
 

Shaggy

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Really? Why can't they find a actress that looks like Ariel from the cartoons, similar to what they have been doing with all the other live action movies? Each actor in the live action movies have been almost similar looking to the cartoon characters. Why change it up now?

What makes these live action movies so great is the similarities the real actors have with the cartoon characters.
 
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Chaplin

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Really? Why can't they find a actress that looks like Ariel from the cartoons, similar to what they have been doing with all the other live action movies? Each actor in the live action movies have been almost similar looking to the cartoon characters. Why change it up now?

What makes these live action movies so great is the similarities the real actors have with the cartoon characters.
Funny, MANY people think that’s what is wrong with these films.

I personally have no problem with it. Not sure this is the best property to do it with, but more power to Disney to just go for it.
 

Shaggy

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Funny, MANY people think that’s what is wrong with these films.

I personally have no problem with it. Not sure this is the best property to do it with, but more power to Disney to just go for it.

MANY people think the live action films are bad because the actors are to similar to the cartoon characters? Never seen anyone complain about that but I never really looked either.
 

Chaplin

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MANY people think the live action films are bad because the actors are to similar to the cartoon characters? Never seen anyone complain about that but I never really looked either.
No they complain that the live action versions are too much exactly like their originals. People on this board have complained about it. A lot of them (Beauty and the Beast is the most egregious example) simply don’t do anything new, so it’s not a fresh experience. It’s my one fear about Lion King.
 

Dback Jon

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Really? Why can't they find a actress that looks like Ariel from the cartoons, similar to what they have been doing with all the other live action movies? Each actor in the live action movies have been almost similar looking to the cartoon characters. Why change it up now?

What makes these live action movies so great is the similarities the real actors have with the cartoon characters.


Why?

Mermaids historically have come in all skin colors. The mermaid myth dates to Ethiopia. They are a fictional creature. Why does skin color matter?
 

NJCardFan

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The uproar over that would be much different than this, and you know it.
Why? It's OK to change a princesses race from white to black but not the other way around? A tad hypocritical don't you think? After all, skin color doesn't matter, right?
 

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And for the record, the only time they changed a characters race and it worked from The Whiz.
 

Chaplin

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Why? It's OK to change a princesses race from white to black but not the other way around? A tad hypocritical don't you think? After all, skin color doesn't matter, right?
Ariel’s race has nothing to do with that story. Tiana’s does.
 

Dback Jon

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OK. Annie was about a little girl and last I looked they were real and they changed her race even though every other iteration of her was of a little ginger girl.


And they did it to the Wiz, etc.


The only time race should matter in these fairy tale retellings is if it is central to the story (Thor needs to be Norse, Black Panther, well, Black, Mulan Chinese, etc). Other than that, cast away.
 
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Brian in Mesa

Brian in Mesa

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And they did it to the Wiz, etc.

The only time race should matter in these fairy tale retellings is if it is central to the story (Thor needs to be Norse, Black Panther, well, Black, Mulan Chinese, etc). Other than that, cast away.

I could understand if they were basing this live action reimagining on the original Danish fairy tale dating back to 1836 in which the character was most definitely Scandinavian (played over the years by many pale actresses including Shirley Temple, IIRC), but they came out and already said they are changing main plot elements and moving it to the Caribbean area (possibly to better fit the casting).
 

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I could understand if they were basing this live action reimagining on the original Danish fairy tale dating back to 1836 in which the character was most definitely Scandinavian (played over the years by many pale actresses including Shirley Temple, IIRC), but they came out and already said they are changing main plot elements and moving it to the Caribbean area (possibly to better fit the casting).
Ok good that makes perfect sense. My first couple of girlfriends were afro Caribbean mermaids.
 
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Brian in Mesa

Brian in Mesa

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Thor needs to be Norse

Unless of course he is an alien creature worthy of wielding Mjolnir, like Beta Ray Bill.

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Or there's that time Thor was transformed into a frog:

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boondockdrunk

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Unless of course he is an alien creature worthy of wielding Mjolnir, like Beta Ray Bill.

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Or there's that time Thor was transformed into a frog:

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Frog Thor is the best timeline
 

NJCardFan

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And they did it to the Wiz, etc.


The only time race should matter in these fairy tale retellings is if it is central to the story (Thor needs to be Norse, Black Panther, well, Black, Mulan Chinese, etc). Other than that, cast away.
I believe it should be central to where the story takes place. The Little Mermaid is a Danish story. Snow White, German. Pinocchio, Italian. Cinderella, German. I mentioned the Princess and the Frog. If they want a black princess there she is and it's a great story(my favorite Disney princess BTW). If they do a live action Moana the actress should be Polynesian.

But let's be real here. This was a PC move plain and simple.
 

Cheesebeef

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I believe it should be central to where the story takes place. The Little Mermaid is a Danish story. Snow White, German. Pinocchio, Italian. Cinderella, German.

So, I'm guessing you were also up in arms over the fact that the new Cinderella wasn't German... or that Kirsten Stewart wasn't German even though she played Snow White in Snow White And The Huntsman? Probably flipped a lid over the fact that no one even had German accents in any of those films! You know... because you believe things should be central to where the story takes place, right?

I mentioned the Princess and the Frog. If they want a black princess there she is and it's a great story(my favorite Disney princess BTW). If they do a live action Moana the actress should be Polynesian.

But let's be real here. This was a PC move plain and simple.

let's be even more real here... you have no clue what you're talking about. This move... and EVERY casting move is about one thing and one thing only... what the studio thinks will make them the most money. Period.
 
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