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.

Is The Little Mermaid movie dark?

The animated The Little Mermaid doesn't have many dark undertones woven into the storyline, but the new live-action version takes on a more serious and dark vision of the fairytale.

What's the real story behind The Little Mermaid?

While the original tale was likely influenced by folklore about mermaids and sirens, scholars have speculated that "The Little Mermaid" was also inspired by the author's own life, as some events in the story parallel his experiences with navigating family pressures, discovering his true identity, and pursuing love.

What is the dark theory of The Little Mermaid?

Ariel's Mother Was Killed By Pirates

The theory becomes darker with the suggestion that Captain Hook killed Ariel's mother, Athena. In The Little Mermaid II, Ariel has a flashback to her mother's death, when Ariel and her sisters were just children.

What color skin did the original Little Mermaid have?

Since the animated feature film had a white mermaid as Ariel, some people are angry that Disney has gone with a black actress in the live-action. Some people also believe that Hans Christian Andersen described the Little mermaid as a white mermaid in his book.

Disney making The Little Mermaid black

Was Ariel Black in the book?

Ariel, is a fictional character, with no defined skin color in her original material. She was originally written by a Danish author in the 1800s.

Why did Disney make Ariel black?

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.

Why is The Little Mermaid 2023 so dark?

While lighting itself isn't all that expensive, darkness can be used to hide a lot of things. Halle Bailey is not actually a mermaid, and so having the scenes be darker makes it easier to disguise the CGI work.

What do Ariel's sisters represent?

There's long since been a fan theory that Ariel and her sisters represent bodies of water from each of the Seven Seas. While the sisters mostly stay in their palace, it makes more sense to have them frequently travel to, if not live in, the oceans they represent.

Is Ariel a siren theory?

So according to a theory, Ariel is actually not a mermaid, but a Siren. And sirens have the ability to enchant people. and risk their lives for them. And Eric is definitely willing to risk a lot.

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.

What happened to Ariel's mom?

While it is known that her mother perished, there is no story attached to the event. However, much later, in 2008, an animated The Little Mermaid prequel revealed that Ariel's mother was crushed by a pirate ship during an altercation between humans and merpeople.

Why did Ariel turn into sea foam?

A tragic love story

She has 3 days to receive his passionate kiss so she can transform into a human being. If she fails to be kissed, she will turn into sea foam. The prince is captivated by her appearance but fails to recognize her - he only remembers being saved by a girl with a magical voice.

When did The Little Mermaid come out black?

It was released theatrically on May 26, 2023, in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. A sing-along edition of the film was released in theaters on August 25, 2023.

What are the scary scenes in The Little Mermaid 2023?

Violence & Scariness

Talk of Ariel's mother being killed by humans many years prior. Ursula's electric eels shock sea creatures and people and incapacitate them. A trident kills a character. Ursula's undersea territory is dark and scary, with fire and creepy, grasping creatures, as well as the bones/skulls of merfolk.

Why is the lighting in The Little Mermaid so dark?

The film's reason for its minimal lighting is to cover up the special effects. It's a common trick of the trade. If your special effects don't look great, place it in a dark setting or obstruct it with something.

Why is Ursula not a mermaid?

Rather, Ursula's appearance is radically different from her family, and she sports tentacles that look like a permanent black dress. It's possible Ursula is not a mermaid in appearance because she and Triton did not have the same mother or father. If they're half siblings, Ursula's tentacles make more sense.

Was Ariel's mother a mermaid?

Queen Athena is shown to be a stunningly beautiful and attractive mermaid with long, red hair tied in a partial ponytail, green eyes, and an aqua tail. Of all her daughters, her youngest, Ariel, resembles her the most.

Why is Ursula an octopus?

Animated by Ruben A. Aquino, Ursula's original design was inspired by several different sea creatures, including manta rays and scorpion fish, before Clements finally decided to base the character on an octopus; her number of tentacles was reduced from eight to six for financial reasons.

Did the Little Mermaid 2023 flop?

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.

Why isn't Ariel's hair red in live-action?

One fan pointed out that her hair looked less vibrantly red because the film is "lit realistically." After seeing this trailer, it's not that the Little Mermaid doesn't have color. It's just all lit realistically.

Was Sebastian a crab or a lobster?

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.

Why is the new Tinkerbell black?

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.

What Disney Princess did they turn black?

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.

Why is Prince Eric's mom black?

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.