In Andersen's fairy tale, the Little Mermaid is described as follows: "her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea." And if you're wondering if Andersen's Little Mermaid had that signature bright red hair that has become synonymous with mermaids, the answer is unclear.
In the original Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen the protagonist is described as having skin that 'was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf'. So unless you want Ariel snot green, please stop pretending your 'concerns' are about authorial intent.
“Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Little Mermaid in 1837. It's not 'a folk tale' or a myth,” Twitter user ViragoX said. “Her skin is described as translucent green. Her hair color is never mentioned.
Summary. The original story of The Little Mermaid is much darker than the Disney version, featuring gruesome elements that wouldn't fit well in a family-friendly film.
What race is Ariel in the original Little Mermaid?
In the 1989 movie, Ariel was born in the fictional underwater kingdom of Atlantica, which technically makes her Atlantican, not Danish. As Ariel is half fish, she cannot be categorized by our ethnicities and races.
TLDR The original Little Mermaid story by Hans Christian Andersen is much darker and more tragic than the Disney version, exploring themes of the value of a soul, the fear of death, and the consequences of unrequited love.
On the significance of casting a Black actress as Ariel
Sherri Hope Culver: To have a Disney character who is not just a princess but a live-action, real flesh and blood person that children can be inspired by is important. This is because people of color are less likely to see themselves reflected in the media.
The reported box office result of The Little Mermaid 2023 remake is about $560 million. On paper, these numbers look good. The film grossed over $298 million domestically and more than $263 million internationally.
The sea-green color of Ariel's mermaid tail was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab; the color was named "Ariel" after the character. The choice of red as Ariel's hair color was the subject of dispute between the filmmakers and studio executives who wanted the character to have blonde hair.
Ariel's story really begins in Ancient Greece. According to lore, she is a nereid, one of the dozens of daughters of the sea-god Triton. This isn't the first time that the internet has been set alight over the suggestion that famous figures of antiquity could be anything but white.
The casting is beautifully “colour blind”, with the prince being white and his mother being Black (he is adopted). At the same time, the Little Mermaid's father is white, while her mermaid sisters are of various different races and ethnicities.
Diversity. Ariel had 3 male animal friends, so they needed to make one a girl. Same reason they made Jock a girl (Jacqueline aka Jacque) in the Lady & The Tramp live-action remake.
And while creators of The Little Mermaid originally wanted Ariel to have blonde hair to stay in keeping with the fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, Splash's massive popularity was still too hot to ignore. So, in a bid to stand out from the crowd, an iconic change was given to the underwater princess.
In Andersen's story, the mermaid is motivated by her desire for an immortal soul, not a desire for love and life on land. When the mermaid saves a drowning human prince, she learns that the love of a human might allow her an immortal soul. The mermaid decides to venture onto land, but her legs come at a price.
According to Showbiz Galore, she was reportedly paid $1.5 million to don the tail and seashells, though some news outlets reported slightly more modest earnings of $500,000. Despite the online backlash about casting a Black Ariel, this project made Halle Bailey a household name, especially among young Disney fans.
How much did Halle Bailey get paid for The Little Mermaid?
It's believed that Bailey made about $1.5 million for her role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, but that number could increase depending on how well the film performs opening weekend and beyond.
How much money did Disney lose on The Little Mermaid 2023?
Disney's summer of 2023 has been disappointing, with $900 million in box office disappointments. The company's underperforming movies have led to a significant loss. The Little Mermaid fell short of expectations, making only $561 million with a budget of $250 million.
There are several instances when Eric's mother Queen Salina (Noma Dumezweni), who is Black and adopted him as a child when he washed up from the ocean, chastises him for his obvious love for beings that are considered other.
The reason studios make beloved characters black in the live action adaptations is so they don't have to go to the trouble of actually giving special, brand new unique characters made from scratch to black people.
In Disney's nearly 100-year history, there has been only one Black Disney princess — Princess Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog,” a 2009 animated feature starring Anika Noni Rose.
While some of Sebastian's features resemble a lobster, Sebastian is definitely a crab, as is stated in The Little Mermaid itself a few times. This includes the scene where the obsessed Chef Louis refers to Sebastian as a crab, and since he's a professional, he really should know.
Ariel's interests and desires are all relatable experiences for teenage girls, which is why she was portrayed as being 16 years old in the animated tale, with her love interest roughly the same age too.
Even with the hype from Disney fans, there was some backlash regarding some of the movie's changes, such as casting a woman of color as Ariel, since she does not have pale skin and bright red hair like the animated mermaid.
