The Little Mermaid is a Disney movie that was released: November 13, (1989). The Little Mermaid movie was nominated for best music during the Academy Awards in 1990.  This movie had a great storyline that impacted many people, and was a staple in the Disney cannon of movies. Following the trend of Disney’s move to adapting their classic movies into live-action adaptations, The Little Mermaid is the latest installment to do the same. It will be coming to theaters May 26, 2023  which marks thirty-four years between the first Little Mermaid movie . 

The lead actress is Halle Bailey who was (born March 27, 2000).  Halle is currently twenty-two and known for being an African American singer and actress. She has also received five Grammy nominations in the past. Bailey and the filmmakers received considerable backlash and hatred due to the fact that Bailey is of African American descent and Ariel was white in the original animated version of the movie.

I feel this is a very important topic that needs to be addressed because there’s many situations where African Americans are being despised for the color of their skin. I feel Halle is being treated unfairly and people are trying to validate their beliefes and make it be known that they’re right and it’s a problem for an innocent, and extremely talented black woman to play a lead role in The Little Mermaid.  ET Canada states that there were 1.5 million dislikes in two days from the movie trailer. This just goes to show how much some people dislike the fact that the fictional white character with red hair isn’t what they exspected. To gather up what’s been said and going on with society about the Little Mermaid today, first we have to unite and learn to love each other as one person so then we all can strive to make  a safe environment for our future generations.