In a surprising move, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the well-known online movie review site, had to employ a different rating system after the latest rendition of Disney’s The Little Mermaid was inundated with negative reviews. An astounding 39.4% of users awarded the movie a dismal one-star rating out of a potential ten.
In the wake of the live-action remake of Disney’s beloved 1989 animated movie, where Halle Bailey controversially stars as Ariel, IMDb has had to place a warning note on the movie’s review page citing “unusual activity” amongst its user ratings. It would seem that the public is not so easily swayed by the so-called progressive casting choice.
IMDb’s unexpected alert on the page states, “Our rating mechanism has detected unusual voting activity on this title. To preserve the reliability of our rating system, an alternate weighting calculation has been applied.” It seems that the company has had to resort to unusual tactics in order to combat a wave of perfectly understandable public disapproval.
Since its release, The Little Mermaid has gathered around 43,000 user ratings on IMDb, with a heartening 17,000 of those casting a single star out of ten. This casts a damning light on the movie’s reception, particularly given the movie’s “unweighted mean” stands at 4.7, even though IMDb has officially rated it as a somewhat inflated 7.0 out of ten.
Despite raking in a hefty $117 million on opening weekend, the movie has been subject to severe criticism due to the contentious decision to cast Bailey as Ariel. From the moment her role was announced in 2019, Bailey has faced relentless criticism online – a clear signal that not everyone is buying into Disney’s drastic race-switching gimmick.
Rob Marshall, the movie’s director, seems to be shrugging off the clear concerns of fans, casually telling Deadline, “I didn’t think that it was a big deal, casting a woman of color.” However, with a large portion of the audience taking issue with the decision, it is high time Marshall and Disney took note and listened to the fans who have been devoted to the original Ariel for over three decades.
The questionable trend of race-switching beloved characters is a concerning development in Hollywood’s ever-expanding repertoire of pandering to the liberal minority, all in the guise of “diversity and representation.” It is nothing short of an unwelcome distraction from the storyline and authenticity of these cherished tales. Are we on the cusp of an era where classic characters are no longer safe from the tyranny of political correctness?
Characters like Ariel, who have been immortalized in the hearts of millions, are being recast in a misguided attempt to satisfy the woke brigade’s ever-increasing demand for inclusion. It is as if the industry has forgotten that compelling storytelling and well-rounded characters are the crux of a successful movie. This shift towards arbitrary diversity for diversity’s sake is an affront to original creators and long-time fans alike.
It is becoming clear that Hollywood is more interested in ticking boxes and appeasing the vocal minority than respecting the established canon of the stories they are rehashing. It begs the question: when will this agenda-driven race-bending trend stop? Are they not capable of introducing new characters of color in new narratives without tampering with our beloved classics? The rejection of Disney’s The Little Mermaid by a large swathe of fans serves as a stern warning: Hollywood’s overzealous quest for “diversity” might just end up alienating more audiences than it attracts.
In addition, our favorite aquatic love story got a politically correct facelift, all thanks to composer Alan Menken and his band of lyric rewriters.
The iconic Disney classic was forced to shed its original charm to appease the ever-evolving sensitivities of the PC police. Apparently, “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” – two songs cherished by generations – were deemed not “consent-aware” enough for today’s audience.
Menken, the man who provided the soundtrack of our childhoods, collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda, the poster boy of American songwriting, on this “enlightened” remake. During a chat with Vanity Fair prior to the film’s release, Menken revealed that there had been lyric changes in “Kiss the Girl” because Prince Eric might seem a bit too forward in his pursuit of Ariel. Clearly, the notion of romantic spontaneity became a relic of the past, replaced by a consent checklist, even under the sea!
Who would have thought that a fishy love story could cause such a ripple in the oh-so-fragile liberal sensibilities? But hey, who are we to question the wisdom of Hollywood’s woke warriors?
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