Will Disney's New Little Mermaid Be Part Of Your World, Or Is She #NotMyAriel?

Art by Denver Balbaboco (click name for portfolio link)
IG: denvertakespics (see IG & image details at this link)

Halle Bailey is to be Disney's newest princess as Ariel in the upcoming Disney live-action "The Little Mermaid"

"It was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role," said (Director Rob) Marshall. 

Exactly what Disney's live-action Little Mermaid needs to be - right?

Surprisingly Mer-ky Waters Stirred By Announcement

Artist: Alice X. Zhang
Halle Bailey as The Little Mermaid
(complete with red hair)

The announcement that black actress Halle Bailey (star of Grown·ish, half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle) is set to star as Ariel in Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid has certainly polarized social media. While multitudes celebrated Disney supporting diversity in their live-action casting of a classic and beloved film, the #NotMyAriel hashtag took off in almost the same moment. In the too-long list of complaints, they appear to center around the change in look and image of a figure people have loved - and identified with - since they were kids. But that's kind of the point. People have seen themselves in Ariel for almost two generations, with the emphasis on "selves". When the disgruntled began to cite culture*, history, and even science (!) it became clear that these objections were actually outing a privileged and endemically racist viewpoint. For those watching, it should be noted that the #NotMyAriel reaction is not coming from kids. Kids across the board are responding with excitement. The disgruntled demographic is embarrassingly specific: 30yrs+ white women.

The "original Ariel", Jodi Benson, raised her voice on the matter too:

“I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters," (Benson) replied. "What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart, and their spirit, is what really counts."  

Benson talked about how channeling Ariel's inner spirit is how she herself has been able to step into the role over the years, despite getting older: 

"And the outside package — cause let’s face it, I’m really, really old — and so when I’m singing "Part of Your World," if you were to judge me on the way that I look on the outside, it might change the way that you interpret the song. But if you close your eyes, you can still hear the spirit of Ariel. “We need to be storytellers," she concluded. "And no matter what we look like on the outside, no matter our race, our nation, the color of our skin, our dialect, whether I’m tall or thin, whether I’m overweight or underweight, or my hair is whatever color, we really need to tell the story.” (Source: combookmovie.com)

If it really comes down to "a certain look" that about puts it in a n̶u̶t̶shell and then to bed. (See what we did there? OK, sorry - moving on...) Unfortunately, if you look beyond the surface, it's easy to see that is only part of the issue here.

Doing our best to get all sides of the story, our Fairy Tale News Hounds spent a long time reading through multiple responses to the news on various social media outlets and were very glad to find that there are many white voices being raised in support of sharing - and representing - the magic they felt as five-year-olds with children of every color, especially those with dark skin.

One response in particular melted our hearts.
This is it:

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

That was a bit of a roller-coaster read, so we will now have a brief

--Intermission--

with some beautiful baby black mermaids

           

These lovely little merkids are by illustrator Raissa Figueroa, aka @Rizzyfig on Instagram. She created a series on this little afro-haired mermaid for Mermay one year and so many people fell in love with this little character that she's kept on drawing her and boosted her whole illustration career as a result.

You can purchase a print of these beautiful baby mers on Etsy HERE.

You can also follow her on Twitter and get in-process or glimpses of new sketches HERE.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Intermission Over ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Don't Worry: Classic Ariel Will Not Die - Ever

The level of distress on social media about the live-action casting is downright odd for another reason. Having a new black Ariel, does NOT remove, erase, eclipse, or in any way 'undo' the fact that red-haired, white-skinned Ariel exists. She will always exist. For thirty years this very Western image has represented the Little Mermaid story (thanks to Disney's worldwide influence). If you judged from the outrage evident in response to casting a live-action black actress and singer in the role, you would think these distressed Ariel fans think "their" Ariel would no longer exist, but that will never be. Both characters are Disney. Both are/will be lucrative properties for the Disney marketing department and they're not about to let a proven cash cow of 30 solid years disappear. When assured that the classic Ariel won't disappear, all that's left is that those who are attached to "their" Ariel just want all the new shiny for themselves. Put that way, the negative responses begin to look... well... spoiled. Eep.

Annie Leibovitz photography fro Disney Dream Portraits, featuring Julianne Moore as Ariel

Classic Ariel "In The Flesh"

Parody poster of Mera (artist unknown)

Amber Heard as The Little Mermaid, all grown up

But let's play devils' advocate for a minute and talk about representing the original classic, that is, Ariel with white skin and red hair. What look-alikes do "Ariel purists" have? See below for an "off-the-top-of-our-heads" list (not conclusive by a long shot):

• Disneyland & Disney World/s live Ariel character performers (for 30 years)
• The Little Mermaid musical - the title role in the big Disney version/s and the school-approved versions
• Every Disney Little Mermaid Halloween/roleplay/cosplay costume ever
• All the Ariel dolls
• Not to mention her image on hundreds of products
• The Annie Leibovitz poster photo of Julianne More as Ariel for Disney Dream Portraits (and Queen Latifah as Ursula)
• Once Upon A Time's live-action Ariel  - a repeat role in the series (played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher) - note that this version is on film and includes many iconic scenes from the classic movie as they fit the story being told
• Mera from DC's Aquaman 2018

Wait! Mera isn't even Disney and isn't Ariel! Why is she included?? Here's the reality: even though the character is not owned by Disney, the new live-action Mera looked exactly like (quote) "Ariel on crack", all grown-up and ready to fight and rule by her own merits. In fact, if Disney had decided to use a "spitting image human" of the animated Ariel she would look an awful lot like Mera (although younger and more naive), with the disadvantage that Disney's Ariel would look rather wimpy next to her. Mera is totally badass and a now a feminist icon in her own right. A live-action Ariel who looked similar would always be compared to her. We suspect Disney marketing folks are quite aware of this, just as they were very aware of needing to distance the new mermaid, aka Ariel, being created at Disney Feature Animation from Darryl Hannah's blonde mermaid sensation in the 1984 hit-movie Splash. A Splash sequel )(Splash, Too) was also in the works when The Little Mermaid was pitched and the to-be-animated-classic was "temporarily nixed" as a result: "Too many mermaids!" said the then-CEO, though that decision was later reversed. Eventually, the reasons for giving Ariel red hair, rather than blonde, were a) not like Darryl Hannah and b) because red is a complementary color - that is, opposite - of green (the mermaid tail). Yes, folks - that is the main reason Ariel became a red-head instead of the expected blonde. Red was not chosen for ginger-representation. It was for marketing.

Why did we bother with this list? There are many already-awesome options to choose from, should folks need a human-looking version of the classic Ariel to still feel 'represented'. Truly, there is such an abundance - why is it the 'purists' feel they are 'owed' (not our term!) the new live-action movie too?

Disney's Black Mermaid Trial Run

ABC OUAT special episode promo poster

 Tiffany Boone as young Ursula
with mer-tail (pre-tentacles)
(OUAT ep 4:11)

This seems like a good time to remind folks that Disney already had a successful trial run with a black Ariel-like mermaid**. The very popular Disney-owned and based series Once Upon A Time, was known for looking into classic characters and exploring their backstories, always with a twist on the trope. Villains weren't exempt from the treatment and often the black and white villains ended up eliciting sympathy from the viewers regarding their own difficult pasts and bad decisions (making it very possible for many of them to be redeemed). With Ariel having made an appearance in a couple of episodes, it wasn't unexpected that Ursula would appear too and that fans would learn how she came to be the villain she was known to be. In an inspired twist, it turned out Ursula's story was actually a Little Mermaid tale. 

 Tiffany Boone as young Ursula
on land (OUAT ep 4:11)

The exploration was short and kept within a single episode, which meant it didn't get as much media coverage as a story with a multi-episode arc. As a result, it's a great pity the episode "Poor Unfortunate Soul" didn't get more attention. In the OUAT "twist" Ursula was originally a beautiful young, black mermaid. She's seen with tail and fins, on land with two human legs and eventually transforms into having those classic and villainous tentacles. Fans loved it all. While it should be noted that OUAT included a red-headed, white-skinned Ariel (and her Prince Eric) in their character line-up throughout the series (and in the same episode!) to be on the safe side, Ursula's own mermaid story of a girl finding her feet and her voice was beautifully written, poignant, unexpected and immensely satisfying in its exploration of multiple issues and their resolution. While OUAT was inconsistent on many fronts throughout the series and draws a lot of criticism, it did have many moments where it struck a chord, was truly revisionist and a perfect exploration of the fairy tale in its pop culture era. Ursula's backstory as the "original" Little Mermaid was one of those.

Ursula and Uncomfortable Truths

"Mary Belle and the Mermaid" illustration by Leo & Diane

from Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales by Virginia Hamilton

(Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner)

With Melissa McCarthy now confirmed for the role of Ursula, we're already holding our breath for that moment when the white lady takes away the black girl's voice... yikes! 

But perhaps that's what Disney and Director Rob Marshall are planning to acknowledge and explore. Although women as a whole have had it tough for the majority of written history, when it comes to inequality it must be acknowledged that white women are not completely blameless. It would seem it's a hard conversation to have but that makes it worth having all the more. The negative reaction to the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel by a rather large (and vocal) demographic has been surprising, and uncovered a hidden white-privilege mindset among long-time (mostly female) fans - women who believe themselves to be progressive, inclusive and 'woke'.

That the negative response to Disney's casting of Halle Bailey was - and is - so very emotional and feels personal to those objecting is a clue to just how endemic white privilege is and that's a scary thing, especially seeing it come from intelligent people you know and love, and, let's be honest, in some cases ourselves. To be clear, there is no doubt many of these women are much more progressive than their predecessors but that doesn't mean there isn't still (a lot of) work to do. That this is happening at all should make it clear that this issue needs to be addressed, and attitudes - and assumptions - reassessed. Now. While we will admit we were hoping a wonderful drag queen (with all the singing and acting chops) would be cast in the villain's role to nod to the character's original inspiration (Harris Glenn Milstead, better known as Devine), putting a powerful white woman in the antagonist role opposite a lovely young black heroine is going to resonate... 

Uncomfortable? Yes. 
Worth the trouble and ruffled feathers (er scales)? Absolutely.

Congratulations Halle!
We are so here for this movie!

Disney's live-action feature film, The Little Mermaid, is scheduled to go into production in 2020.

*A Short Reference List on Mermaids & Mermaid Tales From Around the World

Every country with a coast has their version of mermaid tales but many of those mermaids look a little different than the popular images we've gotten used to. Here are some resources for you to find some different mermaid tales

BOOKS:

A Treasury of Mermaids: Mermaid Tales from Around the World – a diverse cultural collection of tales by folklorist Shirley Climo

Mermaid and Other Water Spirit Tales From Around the World (Surlalune Fairy Tale series) by Heidi Anne Heiner

Mermaid Tales From Around the World by Mary Pope Osborne

The Annotated African American Folktales edited by Henry Louis Gates, Maria Tatar, includes a mermaid tale with annotations

ONLINE RESOURCES:

• Becoming Mermaids - American Museum of Natural History  (Note the Australian Yawk Yawk - looked like a typical mermaid -half-human, half-fish, well before any European influence)
• 9 Mermaid Legends From Around the World (Mentalfloss)
• Mermaid Tales Appear in Myths Around the World - Arnhem Land Included  (ABC.net.au)
• Mami Wata, the most celebrated mermaid-like deity from Africa who crossed over to the West (face2faceafrica.com)
• Goddess Yemaja (a personal blog)
• Mermaids Around the World That Are Far From Dream Girls (BuzzFeed)
• The Cultural Significance of Mermaids Around the World (Mermaids of Earth - website dedicated to mermaids around the globe - lore, art, tales, influence, enjoyment and ocean conservation)
• Part 1
• Part II

** Other Disney "Trial-Runs" On OUAT:

• black Rapunzel (huge hit! though they also had a white version as well)
• female Jack (of the famous beanstalk)
• lesbian Mulan (& Dorothy - a nice nod to the LGBTQ community and their famed love of the MGM movie)
• a maternal Maleficent (which the Disney live-action movie also used)
• a Latina Cinderella

The whole season 8 of OUAT had the Latina Cinderella (Jacinda) as the main character, with the premise of the eighth season being that there are multiple versions of the same fairy tale across universes - a valiant effort for inclusivity though a little late in the show's popularity to make a huge difference. Still, it showed that some people were considering the same stories with a different look, and that's a huge step toward inclusivity and diversity.

For further reading, you may enjoy

• this Twitter thread on Medieval mermaids (a fun examination of the logic behind the folks citing historical reasons to keep Ariel white) 
• an amusing recap of ABC Once Upon A Time's episode "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (some familiarity with the main characters in the OUAT series will be helpful, but not essential to the Ursula backstory/plot as it's essentially a stand-alone story)
• 'The Little Mermaid': A Milestone in Colorblind Casting, but Black Fairy Tales Need Representation Too - there are a LOT of black fairy tales that could use a little love from Hollywood
• article from the Washington Post explaining the social media tumult of the black casting of Halle as Ariel and explaining why a strong black mermaid is part of black people's ancient traditions in Mami Wata - Africa celebrated black mermaids long before Disney and #NotMyAriel

Mermaids, of course, don’t belong to one region. The earliest fish-women emerged in southwestern Asia’s ancient Mesopotamia, said Sarah Peverley, a cultural historian at the University of Liverpool in England.
“But almost every culture has a version of a mermaid,” she said. “They come in all shapes, sizes and skin color.”
When the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen published “The Little Mermaid” in 1837, people across Africa were already swapping tales about Mami Wata. (Washington Post)

ABCs 'Once Upon A Time' Renewed But Without Most of Its Star-Regulars (+ a Limited Retrospective)

Once again, Once Upon A Time is going for an official "reset," heading into its just renewed seventh season. Unlike (yet) another curse, everyone ending up in opposite land, everyone losing their memory again or some other variation on how it all began, the big difference this time around will be that only three of the main series stars will remain.

Those are Regina, Rumpelstiltskin and Captain Hook.

Those who are won't be returning are:

• Emma Swan
• Snow White
• Prince Charming
• Henry
• Belle
• Zelena (Wicked Witch of the West)

            (details/statements of their exits at the links)

Here is the creator's official statement on each of the (secondary) actors, their characters and their exiting the show (Jennifer Morrison's exit was dealt with separately):

Words can’t do justice to what Ginny, Josh, Emilie, Rebecca and Jared brought to ONCE UPON A TIME… but we’ll try… never have we had the privilege of working with a more talented group of collaborators. Each brought unique talent, incredible intelligence, and their own individual bit of magic as they gave life to these iconic characters. 

Ginny reinvented Snow White for a modern audience – there was no way she would be stuck cleaning up after dwarfs, she created an iconic empowered heroine for the 21st century. 

Josh mined the depths of Prince Charming – a character who in myth was just a “type” but in his superlative interpretation became a complex man fighting for love and family. 

Emilie took the character of Belle to a deep and soulful place, bringing great intelligence and warmth to the character, making her fiercely independent, strong willed but also an eternal optimist who saw only the best in all those she encountered. 

Rebecca took us on a broomstick roller coaster ride as she re-invented the Wicked Witch of the West by finding the pain beneath the green. She made the character soar to incredible heights while always keeping her grounded and relatable. 

And Jared literally grew up before the eyes of millions, from a child actor with enormous innate talent to a young man whose abilities continue to astound as he created a character who truly, as we say on the show, has the heart of the truest believer.

We can’t thank them enough for the hard work, dedication, and passion they delivered day in and day out. Without them there would be no ONCE UPON A TIME. 

As ONCE continues, this group will always be the beating heart of the show. And even though we won’t be with them every week, in a show about magic and hope, we fervently believe it won’t be the last we see of them.

Jennifer Morrison has agreed for a single episode appearance to help transition out her character, who has been the lead of the show since the beginning.

A new character/actor expected to draw new viewers and keep old ones, is The Walking Dead‘s Andrew J. West, who will be appearing in the two hour season finale this Sunday.

Joining West is Jane the Virgin’s Alison Fernandez, who has been cast as “a precocious 10-year-old with a constant twinkle of mischief in her eye…[who] comes from a broken home, [with] struggles that have only made her stronger — something which will come in handy when darkness threatens everything she holds dear.” (TVLine)

As to what is meant by a "reset", or more specifically "springboard the narrative in a new direction", it has seemed very undecided right up till today's announcement (at the time of writing the post), with the President letting it slip that creators Kitsis and Horowitz were 'still finalizing their pitch'. Whatever the case, it's not even clear if the fairy tale aspect will remain intact, or if it will be in the same universe and belong to the same 'show mythology' as the rest of OUAT.

Kitsis & Horowitz: "We are going to complete some stories this year. There’s one chapter to this book that Henry has, so maybe it’s time for us to get to the end of that chapter. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a second book and a second chapter, just like in everyone’s life.” (TVSeriesFinale) 

(ABCs Entertainment President) Dungey declined to comment whether that “next piece” would be a different incarnation of Once, a spinoff or a something else. But it’s clear that the series, which has reinvented itself a number of times, may be heading for its biggest reinvention yet as the show’s main storyline comes to an end this season. “There will be a little bit of closure in this particular narrative regardless of what happens with Season 7.” (Deadline)

With Kitsis and Horowitz, who previously created Lost, and are known for their looping and repetitive storylines (with variations), Once Upon A Time has already had more than its fair share of reboots, and the storylines for all the main characters have run a much longer course than they probably would have (should have?) on any other show, so the big fear is that a) season seven won't be anything like OUAT at all or b) that it will be the agonizing death of OUAT, as opposed to going out strongly with this last musical, wedding and two part final battle.

The bright spot for fairy tale folk is that is will still have the title Once Upon A Time - a phrase that is difficult NOT to associate with fairy tales, so some aspect of that is very likely to remain part of the new format and direction.

Although we have been critical of Once Upon A Time over its course, we do want to acknowledge just what a fantastic and creative job they've done in persisting on rewriting familiar stories and fairy tale narratives, and archetypes, in different lights. Not only that, the tally of characters introduced is HUGE (one day we will have to list them) and the series regulars, whose stories continue through multiple arcs and variations, number quite a large ensemble - not an easy feat to combine while keeping the 'mythology' intact. These characters have not only explored their traditional stories (usually Disney-based) but had them twisted, re-visioned from different points of view, often in combination with other fairy tale characters, which sheds a different light on them again, and sometimes they've explored other fairy tale plots as part of their own journey as well. Some of these have worked better than others, as is the case with any show with a huge variety of characters and storylines, but it's also been extremely creative and woken up a lot of people to the possibilities of fairy tales, including how their own lives can be reflected in them. As much as it's been difficult - as serious fairy tale students and enthusiasts - to watch from time to time, things will be very different without a series that regularly brings adults fairy tale characters regularly to the screen.

Here we should note the Once Upon A Time In Wonderland spin-off as well. Though not as successful as expected, we believe people will look back and realize there are many gems to be mined from that adventure as well. There has also been a foray into 'The Land of Untold Stories' as a main arc - again, something that felt a little awkward at the time, but looking back will prove an interesting study.

         

The show looked at storytelling, often literally, with an 'author' and a magic pen changing the tales and people's lives in the process, and the mysterious book of fairy tales first given by Snow White to Henry is an anchor and pivot point for many plots of the series. It went to the 'real' world (of New York) and back again, visited the Underworld, and other dimensions in addition to Wonderland, such as Oz, Agrabah, Neverland - even the ins and outs of Fairyland (which are different to the Enchanted Forest) - and many others, connecting them all in bizarre and creative ways. So often the show was meta, both in terms of the tales and characters used, as well as its 'parent' (Disney), but also with regard to writing and retelling tales. The production images created with liberal use of fantasy settings, elaborate costumes, use of magic items in the storylines, archetypes and CG have inspired thousands of people to create their own narratives and 'image stories' and will forever remain a part of fairy tales to come. That aspect is possibly one of the most successful outcomes of the show - it encourages and inspires people to create their own stories. One day there will be a lot to sit down, look at, and, yes, study.

Just take a look at the variety of characters and worlds OUAT has explored, just by way of the variety of promotional posters we've included here (there are many more as well). These only highlight the largest arcs and it's still an impressive array.

   

                

           

          

The oddest thing is that it's been another year since Kitsis and Horowitz let it slip that they were "running out of fairy tales heroes and villains to work with", (their words) which explains the dive into mythology and legends, as well as classic literature these past couple of years. We do find it odd that they seem to think there's no fairy tales left to work with though! There are literally thousands to choose from and out of those many (many!) that enjoy popularity in society beyond Disney - that is, they're familiar stories the show could tap into. (Hey OUAT folks - we know a bunch of people who can help with that!) 

What that means for a reboot and a 'change in narrative direction', is... not something that inspires confidence in continuing, or in a spin-off, but we do know that OUAT has charmed enough folks, even if they're not tuning in faithfully with each new episode, to be more than a little curious to see what happens next. Season six promises to wrap up the storylines playing out since the beginning and to bring 'satisfying closure' for fans in the two hour finale for which the musical/wedding episode last week was the prelude. Will hanging in there to bring the show back for another season pay off though? We'll just have to wait and see.

They do tend to say that "all reboots come with a price".
As per the show's main theme, however, we choose HOPE.

Don't forget: the two-hour season finale - which the creators have promised will wrap all the main storylines of the whole series to-date, is TOMORROW:

Sunday, May 14th 8pm ABC

(7pm Central), 2017