“The Little Mermaid” and the lesson of respecting the audience

The movie "The Little Mermaid" created a stir around the world even before its release, not because of the story or the appeal of the movie, but because of the controversy surrounding the choice of the main actor.

A scene of the mermaid Ariel and Prince Eric in the movie. (Photo: Internet)

“The Little Mermaid” is a live-action film adapted from the 1989 Walt Disney animated film of the same name. In this animated film, Walt Disney also edited the ending to make it happier for the mermaid Ariel, and also gave Ariel a stronger personality. The original animated film with the image of a white-skinned, blue-eyed mermaid with flowing red hair has become a legendary symbol in the imagination of most audiences about the image of a mermaid. The image of a red-haired Ariel not only exists in the film, but has been widely developed in life such as the production of toys, games, decorative figures, some items...

In 2019, Disney announced a remake of “The Little Mermaid” with some changes such as giving the mermaid more modern ideas, not only because of love for a boy that she traded her voice, but also because of her desire for freedom, her desire to learn about the new world outside, here specifically the human world. Ariel was built more independent, more modern than the cartoon character. The prince also has similarities with Ariel, likes to travel here and there, explore the world, learn about new cultures, but is prevented by his mother because of fear of the dangers of the blue sea. This similarity makes two people from two worlds have sympathy and from there leads to love for each other.

“The Little Mermaid” and the lesson of respecting the audience photo 1

Actress Halle Bailey did not receive audience support in some markets because she did not fit the character's image.

However, when the main character Ariel was announced to be played by the black actress Halle Bailey, director Rob Marshall's "The Little Mermaid" was met with widespread criticism and opposition from the audience. Most opinions said that Walt Disney's original mermaid Ariel had white skin, blue eyes and flowing red hair, which was not suitable for Halle Bailey with dark skin and heavy dreadlocks. Explaining the "color change" of the mermaid, Walt Disney said that in the film, the Sea King had 7 daughters representing 7 seas under the king's rule, along with diverse seabed inhabitants of many different origins, so each mermaid would have a skin color, a race.

When “The Little Mermaid” officially premiered in theaters, Walt Disney announced that its revenue reached 117.4 million USD in just the first 4 days of its release. Up to now, the film has earned 327 million USD, of which 186 million USD is from the US market, the rest is from international markets. However, this is not the number to evaluate the success of the film, when it must earn at least 600 to 650 million USD to recoup the production cost of 250 million USD. Meanwhile, the film has encountered extremely heavy reactions in major markets in Asia. In the Chinese market, one of the key markets for most Hollywood blockbusters, since its release on May 28, the film has earned only 3.6 million USD. Meanwhile, in the Korean market, revenue is a little better, reaching 4.4 million USD after 10 days of release.

Asian audiences were quite disappointed with Halle Bailey’s portrayal of Ariel, the mermaid. Many viewers emphasized that, in their minds, the mermaid always had white skin and flowing red hair, not a dark-skinned girl with dreadlocks. Some viewers criticized Halle Bailey for not sacrificing herself for the role by keeping her hair style that did not match the original.

In Vietnam, many audiences reacted immediately when the news of Halle Bailey being chosen to play Ariel was announced due to the extreme difference from the character in the animated film. Fierce debates broke out across social networks, articles, and comments about the film, between those defending the original image and those supporting the new, bold creativity...

“The Little Mermaid” and the lesson of respecting the audience photo 2

A scene from the movie.

Until the film was released in Vietnam, these controversies have not ended but have exploded more strongly. The supporters of the film highly appreciated Halle Bailey's singing voice and the new ideas about feminism that the director inserted. The opponents criticized the actress's inappropriate acting and appearance, and emphasized that the important thing in the film is acting, not singing ability.

In addition, the film also has inconsistencies or errors in the scenes, costumes, supporting characters, story logic or logic in the character's psychological development that make the audience turn away from the film. Some scenes not only do not meet expectations but also bring about negative reactions such as the scene of Ariel on the cliff, the scene with the prince when he first comes ashore, the scene of the ship crashing into the witch...

Some audiences believe that people of color have their own culture, stories and identities that are also very colorful and attractive. Therefore, it is absolutely not appropriate to put a black actor in a character originating from Europe, with European cultural identity and then put on it the cloak of anti-racism. If we had built a black mermaid character, with black cultural identity, in a story of black people..., maybe things would have been different.

Up to now, the revenue of The Little Mermaid in Vietnam has reached about 10.9 billion VND (equivalent to more than 464 thousand USD), much lower than expected. Audiences were disappointed when Walt Disney invested heavily in a movie that already had a traditional audience, story and development direction but destroyed everything on its own. Although there were many different opinions, including those who defended the movie, the failure of the movie in Asian markets was the most accurate answer from the audience for the level of success of a movie that was once expected because it was based on a legend.

According to Nhan Dan Newspaper

Source link