Little Mermaid remake

[Mikey]

From what I've read from Mikey, he appears to be content with living in a fantasy realm where everything in the world is beyond criticism. Given some of his hardships in the real world that he's been up front about on the forum, I've come to think it's a coping mechanism.

It's not so much a coping mechanism as it is my genuine love for both the animated and live action Disney movies. I love to collect both. It's like anything else I love, whether it be MOTU, DC Comics, Ninja Turtles, Disney, I love both live action and animated, as well as CGI and LEGO movies.

[Rikki Roxx]

For me it's less that they do remakes of older material - technically everything they've EVER done was a "remake", "retelling" or "reimagining" of an earlier story; as a brand, Disney has pretty much never had a single original idea in their entire history. It's simply that copying their OWN material comes off as creatively bankrupt while pandering to two groups of people who annoy me: The "love every single thing" types who will eat up anything and everything with a Disney label on it - fanboys make me taste vomit, I'm sorry - as well as the "I'm a grown-up so I'll never, ever watch a cartoon" type of people.

The latter camp really gets me. My wife grew up loving Beauty and the Beast, for instance, but neither her mother or grandmother had ever seen it. Because "cartoons are for kids". But when the one with Hermione Whatsername came out a few years ago, they couldn't WAIT to see it. And they loved it. And they still refused to ever watch the animated one. "Why bother? They finally made a real movie!" Yeah, and it's exactly the same with like 5 extra minutes of content that honestly kinda messes up the story and they shouldn't have bothered adding. But "cartoon movie = No Value" and "live action movie = Has Value". These "live-action" remakes reward that kind of ignorant thinking, and while it's not the ONLY reason I don't like them, it is in fact a big one.

It's not that they're "bad" by default or anything. I've only seen B&B and the Aladdin remake, and those were both "fine", if not something I'd ever rush to watch again. It's just... pointless. We've literally seen these movies before, and I'm personally not impressed by giving Malibu Stacy a new hat and calling it a day. It's self-plagiarism. In 6th grade, I once thought I was super-clever because I turned in my 5th grade book report as a new one, figuring since it was a different teacher she wouldn't notice. Well, she did. And every single time Disney puts out one of these movies, that's the very first thing that comes to my mind: They are turning in their old homework, and expecting to get the same high marks despite the fact that at most, they added a new cover page and the rest of the material is exactly the same. And people reward them for it! When I did it, I got a stern lecture and 10 points off of my final resubmitted, rewritten from scratch, teacher-assigned book report; these guys get a few more billion dollars every time out. Where is the justice?!

But I mean, it's no skin off me if people like them. It's just a very lazy and cynical thing for them to do, and they do it because - no offense, Mikey - but they know there are a ton of Mikeys out there. "Why come up with New Stuff when recycling our Old Stuff is enough to get their money?" I get it, it's just the polar opposite of "creative". It's like a flashing neon sign that says "We Are Completely Out Of Ideas."

In summation, I liked it better when Disney was putting their own spin on other peoples' ideas, and in turn coming up with something semi-"new" from that. Regurgitating "the hits" with a CGI coat of paint is barely a step up from their classic strategy of "just re-release the old movies every time we need a quick hit of cash." And the latter, somehow, felt a lot less like a blatant cash grab despite still being Exactly That.

Could be because the animated originals all mostly ended up being authentic timeless classics that still inspire awe and wonder in people decades later. Whereas these remakes... let's be honest, most of them are forgotten about less than a year after they hit theaters. I highly doubt they'll be re-releasing "live action" Lion King in theaters for its 30th anniversary, for example, while the original most likely will be celebrating in such fashion.

Ultimately, the animated films fly much higher than the remakes for perhaps one singular reason: Disney animated films raised the bar for the entire genre of animation. At any given time, those films were genuinely among The BEST in animation as a whole. The "live action" ones... don't, and aren't. They are Just Movies. They are no more or less special or awe-inspiring as movies than Star Wars or the latest MCU fare. They do not elevate or transcend the genre in any way. They are par for the course, just more CGI spectacle in a medium already oversaturated with it. It is BECAUSE they were animated, and that their animation was so MUCH better than everything else, that those movies were so well-received in the first place. We are seeing now that when you take the same exact plot, and adapt it into a different medium while removing the biggest thing that made the experience unique... the results underwhelm. These movies are not "the best in cinema" the way their predecessors were "the best in animation". That's the fatal flaw.

So this Little Mermaid thing... eh. The online chatter Right Now is the most we're ever going to hear people talk about this movie, most likely. Good or Bad, whatever, it'll come out, make a billion dollars, and a year later everyone will be like "Oh, yeah, that was a thing." So... whatever.

[Adam_Prince of Eternia]

I have never cared for Disney fairy tale adaptations in the first place. They take dark folk tales and turn them into sanitized pablum. I much prefer Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics and The StoryTeller.

Until they acquired Marvel and Star Wars, I had no interest in Disney outside of the live action films they made from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. They were actually doing something interesting with films like Return From Witch Mountain, The Black Hole, The Watcher In The Woods, Dragonslayer, Tron, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Black Cauldron, Return to Oz, and Flight of the Navigator.

Then they went right back to doing cartoons for pre-schoolers. The Little Mermaid (2023) is a Xerox of The Little Mermaid (1989) is a Xerox of The Little Mermaid (1837); with each generation more degraded than the previous. Live action adapatations are the new direct-to-video sequels. It is a cynical cash grab and creatively bankrupt.

[Rikki Roxx]

I definitely agree that the Disney versions of the old tales are generally not "the best" versions of those stories - merely the best-known, and arguably the best production values. But I've always appreciated them for if nothing else being a more than competent "gateway drug" that could theoretically ease kids into finding those stories before they would eventually - hopefully - check out the earlier, pre-Disney versions.

In practice, I know this is not what actually happens and that 99% of people walking around right now think that Disney literally invented Snow White and The Little Mermaid and all that stuff, and that does chafe me, as all willful ignorance chafes me. BUT, in my case, it worked; even as a very young child of age 3 or 4, I had access to plenty of other (generally print) versions of Snow White and Cinderella and the rest, and I liked them just fine alongside the Disney versions. The Disney versions were "fancier"; the print versions had better stories. I'd often wish the Disney versions had kept in the stuff they cut out of earlier versions of those tales; since I was never at all what might be called a "sensitive child", I had no idea or understanding of the idea that those things were in fact deleted because some adult thought that they would be "too much" for young children. It made no sense to me, since I'd seen the other versions of the stories and remained un-traumatized. All it ended up doing was making the Disney versions feel "incomplete", to me. Like "This is great, but it'd be even BETTER if they left in the part where...."

This "sanitization" and earnest effort to produce content that was entirely inoffensive to any possible demographic is ironically now coming back to bite them in the Here and Now, as more "conservative" types are starting to swear off newer Disney content for its "controversial content". Which isn't "controversial" at all to anyone with any sense, but it IS "controversial" to the types of people who came to know Disney as the "trusted brand" in "family entertainment", and are now highly offended by the idea that two men can share a dance or two girls might share a kiss. All Disney is doing with those things is keeping up with an ever-changing world, but not everyone likes that, because to them, "Disney is supposed to be entirely inoffensive and non-controversial", and Disney themselves enforced that idea through decades of "sanitized pabulum". So the backlash they're getting from ignorant people is kind of in a way their own fault. It's a shame that ideas like "inclusion" are "controversial" and something to shield kids from, as far as some people think, but again, it rubs against Disney's own self-imposed reputation, so I get where those people are coming from, kind of.

I'unno, it's interesting.

[Mikey]

This "sanitization" and earnest effort to produce content that was entirely inoffensive to any possible demographic is ironically now coming back to bite them in the Here and Now, as more "conservative" types are starting to swear off newer Disney content for its "controversial content". Which isn't "controversial" at all to anyone with any sense, but it IS "controversial" to the types of people who came to know Disney as the "trusted brand" in "family entertainment", and are now highly offended by the idea that two men can share a dance or two girls might share a kiss. All Disney is doing with those things is keeping up with an ever-changing world, but not everyone likes that, because to them, "Disney is supposed to be entirely inoffensive and non-controversial", and Disney themselves enforced that idea through decades of "sanitized pabulum". So the backlash they're getting from ignorant people is kind of in a way their own fault. It's a shame that ideas like "inclusion" are "controversial" and something to shield kids from, as far as some people think, but again, it rubs against Disney's own self-imposed reputation, so I get where those people are coming from, kind of.

I'unno, it's interesting.

I can't stand these people who are against inclusivity, equality and diversity, they make me rather angry in fact with their constant hate for anything that isn't consistent with their so-called "values". I love Disney, whether it be the animated, live action, CGI or LEGO versions, and I love collecting the CD soundtracks and novels. There are at least seven different sets of novels (I'm currently collecting three of them and have only just learned about the other four series). I just love comparing different versions of things in different media. It's like music where I love different versions of the same songs by different artists. None are better than the other to me, they are just different.

[Cameron Samurai]

I can't stand these people who are against inclusivity, equality and diversity, they make me rather angry in fact with their constant hate for anything that isn't consistent with their so-called "values"

Inclusion, equality, diversity is no crime...people seem to forget decades like the 90s had a lot of it though and that's funny to me. Both sides act like all of this is so new.

A lot of Hollywood's issue with their inclusion and diversity agendas today is that they are selective with that inclusion. They try to diminish the values of the nuclear famly, they try to make it look like white men are weak or can only be 'the bad guy', they race-swap female characters that are traditionally white, and they try to guilt the white audience into feeling bad for crimes of their ancestors

A lot of movies and TV shows are like this now, and that's why they are failing, that's why there are lay offs and course corrections going on. As 'inclusive' as entertainment is...there is a sinister element to it that everyone can read and see, we're not stupid, we're not cattle. Hollywood needs to realize everyone is equal and that we as a species, while individually unique, should all stand together and understand one another. Nobody should be singled out as the bad guy.

[H.A.L.9000]

[dan1980]

Hey maybe the Disney live action version will surprise us and they’ll give the story its original ending where the little mermaid sneaks aboard the princes ship at night, so she can murder him and his wife and wash her feet in their blood to get her tail back. Before changing her mind and killing herself and turning into sea foam as mermaids have no souls. I doubt it though

[nickdoobs]

Hey maybe the Disney live action version will surprise us and they’ll give the story its original ending where the little mermaid sneaks aboard the princes ship at night, so she can murder him and his wife and wash her feet in their blood to get her tail back. Before changing her mind and killing herself and turning into sea foam as mermaids have no souls. I doubt it though

That sounds awesome. Maybe Guillermo Del Toro will make a stop motion version of that story.

[zodak74]

Hey maybe the Disney live action version will surprise us and they’ll give the story its original ending where the little mermaid sneaks aboard the princes ship at night, so she can murder him and his wife and wash her feet in their blood to get her tail back. Before changing her mind and killing herself and turning into sea foam as mermaids have no souls. I doubt it though

SIGN. ME. UP!!!

[depp76]

Hey maybe the Disney live action version will surprise us and they’ll give the story its original ending where the little mermaid sneaks aboard the princes ship at night, so she can murder him and his wife and wash her feet in their blood to get her tail back. Before changing her mind and killing herself and turning into sea foam as mermaids have no souls. I doubt it though

Okay if they did this then I'd totally watch it lol.

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

I love happy endings...

Hey maybe the Disney live action version will surprise us and they’ll give the story its original ending where the little mermaid sneaks aboard the princes ship at night, so she can murder him and his wife and wash her feet in their blood to get her tail back. Before changing her mind and killing herself and turning into sea foam as mermaids have no souls. I doubt it though

[Adam_Prince of Eternia]

This "sanitization" and earnest effort to produce content that was entirely inoffensive to any possible demographic is ironically now coming back to bite them in the Here and Now, as more "conservative" types are starting to swear off newer Disney content for its "controversial content".

In order to make something that potentially appeals to everyone, you have to sanitize it to the point at which it is completely bland, and appeals to no one. That is, no one except those who are entertained by bright shapes and colors.

[wolfsfang]

as Aesop said

"If you try to please all, you please none."

[Mikey]

I also have some of the 80's versions of classic fairy tales from Cannon Films, including Sleeping Beauty with Tahnee Welch, Jane Wiedlin and Morgan Fairchild, and Beauty And The Beast with Rebecca De Mornay.

[Cameron Samurai]

Stay asleep.

[Benedict Judas Hel]

as Aesop said

"If you try to please all, you please none."

But if it’s a Disney animated/remake or a DC film/TV show, you will always please 1 person no matter what…

[Neophron]

To me it's very funny for Halle Bailey to play Ariel in The Little Mermaid film. I have no idea why did the producers pick Bailey, a black herself, for the main role instead of a white actress.

[Mikey]

To me it's very funny for Halle Bailey to play Ariel in The Little Mermaid film. I have no idea why did the producers pick Bailey, a black herself, for the main role instead of a white actress.

I don't think colour or race has anything to do with Halle Bailey's ability to play Ariel. As long as she is a good actress and singer, that's all that matters and from what I have seen online, she excels at both.

[He-Dad]

To me it's very funny for Halle Bailey to play Ariel in The Little Mermaid film. I have no idea why did the producers pick Bailey, a black herself, for the main role instead of a white actress.

They actually said they cast her because her rendition of Part of Your World made the producer cry.. it was her singing. I think seeings as how the original story had Ariel green that the race doesn't really matter, it's the heart.

[Mikey]

They actually said they cast her because her rendition of Part of Your World made the producer cry.. it was her singing. I think seeings as how the original story had Ariel green that the race doesn't really matter, it's the heart.

I absolutely agree with this, I can't wait to see The Little Mermaid movie, and I already plan to get the CD soundtrack and related books. I love aquatic movies like this and Aquaman. My other favourite theme besides the sea is Winter so a live action Frozen movie would be fabulous.

[HarryCanyon]

I can't stand these people who are against inclusivity, equality and diversity, they make me rather angry in fact with their constant hate for anything that isn't consistent with their so-called "values". I love Disney, whether it be the animated, live action, CGI or LEGO versions, and I love collecting the CD soundtracks and novels. There are at least seven different sets of novels (I'm currently collecting three of them and have only just learned about the other four series). I just love comparing different versions of things in different media. It's like music where I love different versions of the same songs by different artists. None are better than the other to me, they are just different.

What do you think of Eric July aka Youngrippa59?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWeuPK1oM88&t=447s

[Mikey]

What do you think of Eric July aka Youngrippa59?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWeuPK1oM88&t=447s

I don't watch anything or anyone who is negative about Disney movies. Reading the comments alone made me know I am not interested in what negative people have to say about something I love.

[Adam_Prince of Eternia]

What do you think of Eric July aka Youngrippa59?

I think video essays from YouTube political commentators belong in the Tar Swamp.

[Benedict Judas Hel]

What do you think of Eric July aka Youngrippa59?