Beyond the Sea to the Silver Screen
Disney and Media
The Walt Disney Company was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1923. This October will mark the company’s 100th anniversary, so it is no wonder that in all its years of operation, they have become the entertainment empire of the world.
A conglomerate of film, television, property, consumer goods, parks, and finance, it is now easier to ask, “What doesn’t Disney own?” Apart from its original intellectual property, in recent years, Disney has also acquired brands and companies like Marvel, ESPN, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and Hulu, among many others.
As a company, Disney has always prided itself in making dreams come true. Creating worlds of magic and wonder that leave audiences wanting more. One of Disney’s oldest and most successful ventures comes in the form of animated movies. Disney animated films transcend multiple styles and genres but are undoubtedly the most tried and true.
With the significant commercial and box office success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Disney’s first official fully animated feature-length film, the floodgates of Disney Princess movies were opened. The company hasn’t looked back since.
The First Live-Action Remake
With over a dozen official Disney princesses, Disney has not shied away from capitalizing on their previous successes. This subgenre of animated films has seen a renaissance that spans almost a decade.
The first Disney princess to be adapted in a live-action format was Aurora from Disney’s 1959 animated movie Sleeping Beauty. In May 2014, Maleficent hit big screens across the U.S. and UK. While the movie focused on the story of the fairy Maleficent, portrayed by Angelina Jolie, a large part involved the princess Aurora, played by Elle Fanning.
Much of this movie’s marketing campaign relied on how Jolie played Maleficent. Apart from the star factor of an actor like Angelina Jolie, there was a certain element of mystery and darkness depicted in the promotional materials for this film. Jolie even remarked that some children on set feared her in her Maleficent costume, saying things like, “She’s so scary!”
Some of the movie's other marketing strategies included movie poster taglines with phrases like “Evil has a beginning” and “Don’t believe the fairy tale.” which alluded to a new perspective of the story Disney’s Sleeping Beauty fans know and love. Marketing Maleficent as something new and different from the original animated movie. And it worked; the movie was an enormous success! Making over $758 million against a $263 million budget, making it the 4th highest-grossing film of the year.
In Comes The Little Mermaid
Since Maleficent’s release, Disney has come out with five other live-action remakes of their classic animated princess movies, including a Maleficent sequel, telling the stories of Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, and Mulan. These were considered box office successes, exceeding their commercial expectation, despite general audience sentiment.
The success of the live-action remake depends heavily on the nostalgia of the people who grew up watching these movies, having them show up in theaters and bring their families with them.
And while the numbers show that audiences are going out and watching these movies, the overall opinion surrounding most of Disney’s live-action remakes has been lukewarm.
Fans on Twitter and Reddit making their opinions known about all the remade Disney movies, saying that these films can’t compare to the originals because they are “lacking sincerity.” At the same time, others cite a lack of originality and excitement that came with the original movies. This consensus explains Disney princess fans’ hesitation to get their hopes up when the live-action movie remake of The Little Mermaid was announced in 2019.
Commercially, the live-action Little Mermaid movie has big shoes to fill. The original film was released in 1989 and made over five times its budget of $40 million during its original theater run. Ariel was also the first non-human Disney princess, allowing Disney to create and explore a new underwater world, making this new form of magic extremely marketable to young children who had never seen this type of fantasy world on screen. That, coupled with the original Little Mermaid launching Disney’s Renaissance Era, has made Ariel an all-time fan favorite princess.
The First Look at Ariel
During Disney’s D23 Expo 2022, the first look at Halle Bailey’s depiction of Ariel and the movie’s first teaser trailer was released. The one-minute-long clip gave fans a sneak peek at the underwater world brought to life. Halle’s graceful swimming and singing voice as Ariel were out for the world to judge.
Audience reception was divided, but not for the same reasons as other live-action remakes. While many fans were excited to see this movie in its full glory, others were unhappy with the princess’ casting choice, so much so that the comment section on the YouTube video was disabled due to an onslaught of racially targeted comments towards the actress.
However, this unexpected backlash did not stop the film’s marketing team from marching on.
In fact, they doubled down.
Diversity in Collaborations
Despite the adverse reactions to having a Black actress play Ariel on the big screen, Disney has made it a point that inclusivity and diversity are an integral part of their film and the future of Disney movies. And this is reflected by the brands they have aligned themselves with while promoting The Little Mermaid.
One of this movie's more notable brand collaborations is that of Carol’s Daughter. Carol’s Daughter is a haircare brand founded by a Black woman in 1993 based in Brooklyn, New York. Though now owned by L’Oreal, the hair care product line under Carol’s Daughter focuses on products that benefit and are fit for people with textured and curly hair, whether Black or not.
By initiating this partnership with Carol’s Daughter, Disney is sending the message that inclusivity matters, making people from an underrepresented community in media feel seen while uplifting that community commercially. Another similar collaboration is that with the brand Black Girl Sunscreen. Black Girl Sunscreen is a brand that highlights the importance that people with melanated skin should be using sunscreen too.
They bring light to the common misconception that people with Black and Brown skin don’t need protection from the sun due to their darker skin pigment. Having a brand like Disney elevate this message through this collaboration has been great for both companies.
Halle Makes a Splash!
In April 2023, Disney released seven official character posters for the film. The response to these posters was overwhelmingly positive. People reacted on Twitter with comments like, “The best cast in a while! Disney, you did good!” and “I’m saving the date if my boss doesn’t allow me, then I quit.”
Later that week, an interview and photoshoot of Halle with V Magazine were released, where they made the underwater motif of her film a common theme throughout the shoot.
The Grammy-nominated artist dressed in haute couture was then asked about her role in the movie and how much portraying a Disney princess meant to her, and she stated, “I think the message of the film is universal– go after your dreams and your passions. Especially when you feel like there’s something greater for you, go after it.”
The interview and shoot went viral within hours, behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot being viewed on Twitter over 18,000 times, one fan Tweeting, “Now THIS is a mermaid photoshoot!” This shoot solidified the shifted sentiment around the film from something people were not excited about to a May must-watch! An enormous feat considering where opinions were only a year prior.
The Expectation
The movie will be officially released on May 26 across the United States. However, the world premiere occurred earlier this month at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles and has since gotten mixed reviews from various film critics.
Gizmodo collaborator Germain Lussier took to Twitter to say that people who are excited about the movie will like it. He complements the acting and music while calling it “unnecessary.” Conversely, Hollywood Critics Awards member Zoe Rose Bryant claims the film “retains the heart and soul of the story we know and love.” She continues in another Tweet where she praises the chemistry between the actors before stating that the “VFX aren’t always perfect.”
While there is a lot of positive feedback from early watchers and now massive anticipation from audiences, only time will tell if Disney live-action films will ever live up to their animated counterparts.
