The public has had much to say about the live-action adaptation of Ariel’s best friend, Flounder after Disney released the official posters of the cast last April 26. And they’re not rosy.
‘The Little Mermaid’ is a classic animated film that follows the story of a rebellious mermaid named Ariel who desires to step and live on land. However, her desire is prohibited by her father. Ariel falls in love with a human, and later accepts an agreement with Ursula in order to have feet and become a human as well.
Jacob Tremblay is #Flounder pic.twitter.com/2Tz77Ap7cI
— Disney (@Disney) April 26, 2023
Why are we even telling you the plot of this movie? We’re sure you know this by heart.
Many people online expressed their dismay at the adaptation of the movie’s characters, soon as the official Disney social media pages unveiled the character posters of the movie. Many argued that the look was far from what Flounder looked like in the original animated film. In the original animated film, Flounder is as a yellow fish with blue stripes and scales. Also, he is adorably round and cute. In the released posters, however, he looks like…a regular fish.
Below are some disapproving reactions from people online:
Some characters are better off staying in animated form. https://t.co/IHDwaKaiHt
— Colin Taylor✝️🇺🇸 (@ColinTaylorYT) April 29, 2023
Most tragic about this ugly image is that the skilled artists who actually designed this character and animated it absolutely could have created something visually interesting for the concept of "live action Flounder" instead of this crap https://t.co/56KiJdEUd5
— Henry Gilbert (@hEnereyG) April 26, 2023
the most disappointing character in the live action disney remakes so far!
Flounder was my absolute fave. What have they done? 😭 https://t.co/rfLoGT48WC pic.twitter.com/paX3O8a54Z
— Bryan Ingram 🎮🍕🏳️🌈🎧 (@BpdBryan) April 27, 2023
Disney made some memorable characters in the past only to make them forgettable in the present. https://t.co/f91V6OUVFz pic.twitter.com/5WqOsoqeKV
— 𝙲𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛🍀 (@cloverrated) April 27, 2023
Aside from the disappointment towards the poster of Flounder, the live-action film had also previously received criticism for its casting. According to a 2019, Halle Bailey, who is black, became a target for racist remarks and backlash after her casting as Ariel was revealed to the public. In the original 1989 animated film, Ariel is a fair-skinned, red-haired mermaid.
‘The Little Mermaid’ is set to premiere on May 26. The film stars Halle Bailey together with Melissa McCarthy (Ursula), Javier Bardem (King Triton), and Jonah Hauer-King (Prince Eric). As for the animal characters in the film, Jacob Tremblay is Flounder, Awkwafina is Scuttle, and Daveed Diggs is Sebastian.
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