People are having an issue with the live action casting of the Little Mermaid because Halle Bailey, a black woman, is playing Ariel.
https://www.superguide.nl/nieuws/originele-ariel-reageert-op-casting-zwarte-kleine-zeemeermin-films
Now I understand how some people would be particular about something from their childhood and wanting to keep it the same for sentimental reasons. I’m that way with comic books. But here’s my first point: Is any Disney remake ever going to be the same as the original?
No. There’s always going to be something different. For example, Beauty and the Beast had a whole other subplot about Belle’s mom that wasn’t even condusive to the plot.
And for the second point, for the people mad about Ariel not being a redhead, knowing Hollywood, they wouldn’t even cast a real ginger, they’d dye some actress for it anyway, so anyone who’s upset about not getting a redhead… y’all wouldn’t have gotten one anyway.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/What-Does-the-Shoulder-Shrug-Mean
So, like, whatever.
Because ultimately, and here’s my final and biggest point, the OG Little Mermaid has no bit of culture to it that making Ariel black would change anything.
Let me explain. If Disney ever makes Brave into a live-action (which they probably will), they will need to cast a redhead Scottish woman as Merida. Why? Because the whole movie is based around Scottish culture and it’s integral to Merida as a character.
https://www.eonline.com/photos/13206/15-disney-characters-we-need-to-see-on-ouat/403123
It’s just like Mulan. You can’t have her anything but Chinese because it’s a Chinese legend and the character herself is based in China. Her whole character arc revolves around the Chinese concept of honor (which is different than European honor).
https://www.buzzfeed.com/shylawatson/mulan-live-action-trailer
It’s like you couldn’t change Anastasia’s (to use a non-Disney example) appearance because not only do we know what she looked like in real life, but being Russian and Russian culture in general plays so much into other aspects of the story that it’s necessary to the plotline to have her be Russian.
https://itsaschmahlworld.com/2016/03/29/journey-to-the-past-anastasias-st-petersburg/
The Little Mermaid may have been written by a Dutch man (Hans Christian Anderson), but being Dutch has no cultural influence on the story. I think Prince Eric buys Ariel some clogs and a Dutch hat at the market but it’s more meant to be an Easter egg than anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmiMIqr51Zk
You could literally put the story of the Little Mermaid in any country at nearly any point in time and it would not change and that’s the real reason why it doesn’t matter what color Ariel is. The Little Mermaid has no culture as its basis. Besides, Halle has got some pipes and that’s really the only trait of Ariel’s that has anything to do with the actual plot.