The upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid by Disney has sparked an incredible backlash. The 2023 film’s trailer received millions of dislikes on YouTube, ostensibly because Halle Bailey, a Black actress, plays the mermaid.

Anti-black racism is ingrained into our society. Much of the recent criticism received by the trailer implies that a Black mermaid is off the record in the fairy tale. For this reason, Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on Disney’s live-action of “The Little Mermaid” to gauge the public’s responses. Here are the results.

Highlights:

  • 47.31% know that a black actress will play the role of Ariel in Disney’s live-action of “The Little Mermaid”
  • 27.87% are excited about a black actor playing Ariel
  • 52.17% intend to see the live remake of “The Little Mermaid”

The Little Mermaid After Over 3 Decades

The Little Mermaid animated film is one of Disney’s classics, released in 1989. According to survey results, 52.19% of respondents have watched it, and 25.37% have plans on seeing it. On the other hand, 22.45% are not interested in watching Disney’s 1989 animated film.

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Figure 1: Who watched the animated movie “The Little Mermaid”?

After over three decades, Disney released the first trailer for the live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.” Accordingly, the survey asks respondents if they’ve seen the trailer. In response, 48.67% have, while 28.54% plan to watch it. In contrast, 22.8% are not interested.

The teaser trailer was under two minutes but was more than enough to raise criticisms. The reproval points to Halle Bailey, a talented African-American singer, and actress who will play the beloved princess Ariel. Viewers have complained that she is not the white mermaid originally on the record.

Among the respondents, 47.31% know that a black actress will play the role of Ariel in Disney’s live-action of “The Little Mermaid.” Some (27.66%) have heard some details, while the rest (25.03%) are unaware.

27.87% Are Excited About a Black Actor Playing Ariel

However, others showed outrage on Twitter, Reddit, and other social platforms, and the official trailer reportedly received over 1 million dislikes on YouTube shortly after release. People who have likely never had any interest in Disney films before were suddenly enthralled by the fact that a Black actress would play Ariel. In detail, others felt surprised (11.65%) and happy (8.03%). Some felt confused (7.65%) and proud (7.39%).

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Figure 2: Respondents’ reaction that a black actor will play Ariel

In conclusion, people will have more reasons to watch or not to watch The Little Mermaid. As a result, the survey asks why people would tend to see it. Here, the majority (25.82%) believe people will watch the movie for Halle, the black actor to play Ariel. The rest mentioned the reason to watch The Little Mermaid could be because of the movie genre (12.23%), the other characters (11.33%), or the story or plot (10.98%).

In contrast, there could also be a basis for why people may not watch The Little Mermaid. The majority (26.55%) believe it is because a black actor will play the role of Ariel. Some mentioned the movie genre (13.17%), the other characters (12.11%), and the story or plot (10.75%). A distinct 10.3% stated due to lack of interest.

Read also: Disney Animated Film’s Best Couple, Jasmine & Aladdin

Actors of Color in Traditional White Roles

More actors of color are filling roles previously held by white roles. Given this, the survey asks which actor of color they have seen played a traditionally white role. In answer, most (25.15%) have witnessed Michael B. Jordan play Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four. The rest have seen Idris Elba (13.19%) play Heimdall in Thor, Zendaya Coleman (10.08%) as Jane in Spiderman, and Will Smith (8.26%) as Robert Neville in I Am Legend.

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Figure 3: How important black actor is to play a traditionally white-dominated role

The survey then asks how important the respondents think it is to consider a black actor to play a traditionally white-dominated role. 28.7% say it is very important, 16.78% say it is important, and 13% say it is somehow important. On the other hand, 11.06% say it is unimportant, and the rest (11.19%) say it is very unimportant.

Disney confirmed that the live-action version of the animated classic is hitting theaters on May 26, 2023. The survey results revealed that 52.17% intend to see the live remake of “The Little Mermaid.” However, the rest remain undecided (24.35%) and uninterested (23.46%) in watching it.

Read also: Nearly 67% Watch Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies

Methodology

 
Survey TitleSurvey on Disney’s Live-Action of “The Little Mermaid”
DurationSeptember 27 – October 04, 2022
Number of Participants30,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.