"Overly Defensive" vs "Maintaining the Musical's Essence"
No Mention of Black Hailee Bailey Casting
The movie 'The Little Mermaid,' which gained attention by casting a Black actor as the lead, has been unveiled, but evaluations among audiences and critics are sharply divided.
Released on the 24th, Disney's musical film 'The Little Mermaid' is a live-action adaptation of the 1989 animated film of the same name. However, the casting of Black singer Halle Bailey as the lead role of Ariel sparked controversy. Critics argued that Bailey, being Black, did not match the image of Ariel from the original, who has white skin and red hair.
Because of this, some netizens claimed it was the result of excessive political correctness?a movement to eliminate prejudice based on race, ethnicity, language, religion, gender discrimination, etc. On social media, posts using the hashtag '#NotMyAriel' were repeatedly uploaded.
The film, which faced noise even before its release, continues to be controversial after its premiere. Reactions among audiences and critics alike are polarized.
In particular, critics focused less on Halle Bailey's appearance and more on the overall quality of the film. Wesley Morris of The New York Times (NYT) pointed out, "The Little Mermaid takes an overly defensive stance, lacking all the joy, fun, mystery, and danger the film should have." Carla Meyer of the San Francisco Chronicle harshly criticized, "Simply put, the film does not delve deeply enough."
On the other hand, there were positive reviews. Brian Lowry of CNN praised, "Thanks to Halle Bailey, the musical maintains the essence of the original while updating its shortcomings." Odie Henderson of The Boston Globe also said, "A much better Disney remake than previous works."
Currently, 'The Little Mermaid' holds a score of 58 on the overseas film review site Metacritic.
Domestic audience evaluations are also divided. While some gave harsh reviews such as "The story and CGI are both poor," "The excessive live-action adaptation makes the characters feel awkward," and "The lead's acting is not good," others praised it, saying "The ocean is fantastic," and "Halle Bailey's performance was outstanding."
Meanwhile, the film attracted 47,624 viewers on its opening day in Korea, ranking second at the box office.
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