Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ Dives Under The Skin With Photorealistic Animals
Look at this stuff. Isn’t it legit?… and perhaps, too legit?
Disney has rolled out character posters for the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid, hyping fans up for who will swim up to the big screen and the actors who play them.
The vibrant visuals showcase Halle Bailey as Ariel, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, and more.
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Stealing the attention this time around, however, are Ariel’s animal friends Sebastian (Daveed Diggs), Scuttle (Awkwafina), and Flounder (Jacob Tremblay). Disney has made some interesting character choices for the live-action reboot. Not only is Sebastian now a crab, and Scuttle a northern gannet diving bird instead of a seagull, but the animals are now depicted as photorealistic à la 2019’s The Lion King, warts gills, pincers, and all.
Daveed Diggs (@DaveedDiggs) is #SebastianTheCrab pic.twitter.com/jbHk8NdYKq
— The Little Mermaid (@LittleMermaid) April 26, 2023
They all look like they’ve seen things… like unspeakable deep-sea things.
Jacob Tremblay (@JacobTremblay) is #Flounder pic.twitter.com/T6z94QkLWZ
— The Little Mermaid (@LittleMermaid) April 26, 2023
Awkwafina is #Scuttle pic.twitter.com/eUrVaWM1Gx
— The Little Mermaid (@LittleMermaid) April 26, 2023
Some media outlets have billed the true-to-wildlife redesigns as “disturbingly realistic” and “unsettling.”
that is fish u get at the market
— Space Faggot (Taylor's Version) (@doolapiip) April 26, 2023
if this thing tried to sing at me i would smash it with a hammer pic.twitter.com/AY7u3DGQmh
— soul nate (@MNateShyamalan) April 26, 2023
A special mention goes to Ursula’s slimy moray eel minions, Flotsam and Jetsam, who are seen menacingly staring on in her poster.
Melissa McCarthy is #Ursula pic.twitter.com/4u5BeT71gZ
— The Little Mermaid (@LittleMermaid) April 26, 2023
Although the characters are much closer in appearance to real-world aquatic creatures, viewers have pointed out that 2023’s Flounder doesn’t portray an actual flounder. He’s a sergeant major or píntano, a striped fish with a yellow top.
for anyone confused they went for the real life fish route which makes sense seeing as it’s a live action, flounder is his name but he’s a sergeant major. pic.twitter.com/idTZKMjzwo
— Smart, Sexy, Genius. (@smartsexygenius) April 26, 2023
For people complaining that’s not real flounder here you go pic.twitter.com/WqdLneOTL1
— mizge (@mihailo____) April 26, 2023
It’s worth reiterating that this is a live-action adaptation, after all. It probably would have been a waste for Disney not to harness all it’s learned about animation since the previous version in 1989.
The Little Mermaid heads to cinemas on May 26.
