Instead of having Ariel forbidden from visiting the ocean's surface and told that humans are dangerous, what if the grandmother figure teaches her about the world of humans, telling her all she knows about ships and towns, people and animals? Not only that, but it would also reinforce the themes of Hans Christian Anderson (why a mermaid has no tears or hasn't got an immortal soul). There is something to this effect with Ursula, when she manipulates Ariel into considering her deal, suggesting that they both have told what to do by Triton and being subjugated by himĪriel certainly has no problem telling Ursula off by saying "I don't need your help!".
One thing that could've made Ariel more compelling would've been for her to have a maternal/mother-like figure and for the film to really entertain the possibility of incorporating the grandmother from the original tale to help guide her. It's specific wants and needs that will add more depth to her character. Does she want to learn a particular thing like healing? Perhaps there's some knowledge she seeks that is otherwise denied in the world of merfolk. During the sequence, where she's scolded by Triton and singing her iconic song "Part of That World" (brilliantly performed by the way!), I couldn't help but wonder, why exactly is Ariel fascinated with the human world? What is she wants to know specifically? The camera angles on her collected artifacts from shipwrecks as she peers at maps and skims through books. I can tell the filmmakers want her curiosity and independence to be an internal conflict for Ariel, and yet even more of Ariel's fascination with the human world could take this even further. She's free-spirited and not quite the damsel in distress. Her singing voice is as lovely as the role demands, and she keeps you fully absorbed in Ariel's journey. She's playing a teenager, but a teenager in an otherworldly/fairy creature-like body so she's notably going to have elfin or pixie features.
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It's a sad reminder of how racism can pervade the arts.īailey's casting is one of the few instances in which this new movie actually demonstrates some fresh thinking and a new angle. And because of this backlash, it ruins all chance of assessing the actress's performance based on merit and talent alone, rather than a pigment in your skin. No different from the racist backlash, that Ismael Cruz Cordova experienced when playing an Elven archer on Rings of Power.
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What is disappointing though, is that when Bailey's casting was announced last year, she received a torrent of abuse online, slamming her and Disney for recasting Ariel as a Black mermaid. Let's discuss a few in particular:Īriel: Hands down, Halle Bailey's performance as Ariel is amazing.
Next, I’d like to shift gears into characterization. So, when the "reveal" scene came between Ariel and Triton in the cave, I wasn't surprised at all. Rather, I suggest that the filmmakers really take advantage of the original tale by incorporating key references such as the coming of age ceremony (when a mermaid turns fifteen, she is permitted to swim to the surface for the first time to catch a glimpse of the above world) and the grandmother figure. Anderson's tales notably have the protagonist enduring torture and promotes what many perceive as a cult of suffering, death, and transcendence for children rivaled only by what passed for the spiritual edification of children in Puritan cultures. the little mermaid's tongue cut out by the sea witch, or her feet bleeding every time she walks-like "treading on sharp knives").
Now, granted this is a kid's film and they're not going to draw everything from the original tale (i.e. I would go so far as to suggest that they could've afforded to draw more from the older, much darker fairy tale of Hans Christian Anderson. This film has the potential to set the tone by going back to the original fairy tale and finding some more of that depth, but I'm not quite sure it's there yet. The Ariel we see in the movie has been silenced by her own father, again and again, when she has tried to convince him to leave behind prejudices and fears that she knows to be wrong-a plot point which I will examine later. Ariel is not without the ability to cry in the live-action version– but she is unable to speak, and that silencing was happening even before she gave her voice to Ursula. However, the nod to Hans Christian Anderson doesn’t necessarily have much relevance to the current film – there is no reference to Ariel’s inability to cry or feel.
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