The Little Mermaid live-action trailer has received backlash online with over 1.5 million dislikes on YouTube.
The website has dismantled the dislike counter so that normally on videos, the viewer cannot see how many dislikes each video has.
However, there is a plug-in that can be used and is very popular so viewers can see how many dislikes a video has.
Many negative reviews online have been people commenting that Ariel doesn’t really appear to look like she is under water, destroying the illusion.
Others commented that the visual effects were not up to the usual standard that we now expect from Disney.
The Little Mermaid is a live-action film based on the popular Princess movie of the same name. Starring singer Halle Bailey as the main character, Ariel.
The movie, which will be released to theatres May 2023, also stars Melissa McCarthy, Jonah Houer-King, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs and Simone Ashley.
After the trailer release, videos went viral of young children reacting to the new Disney Princess, many of these kids were young black girls who excitedly watched the trailer and said things like “she looks like me”. Watch the heartwarming video below:
Many people have been praising Disney for their diverse and inclusive cast with many pointing out that representation for young children is so important.
Halle Bailey, the woman who has been cast as Ariel, is well known as a singer and actress.
On speaking about her new role, the 22-year-old said:
“The fact that now it’s getting to be played by me, a person who looks like me, woman of colour, I’m just like, wow, I’m so grateful for what it will do for all the other little Black and brown boys and girls who will see themselves in me.”
“Because I know if I had seen myself when I was younger, I think my whole perspective would’ve changed.”
Watch the trailer below:
