The New Statesman
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66% Informative
The 1989 cartoon The Little Mermaid was a box-office hit, partly because Ariel was Disney’s first heroine with spunk.
But conversation about the remake has been dominated by the racist backlash to Halle Bailey being cast as a black Ariel.
The filmmakers’ hope seems to be that if they use diverse casting the result will look like a culturally rich story.
The problem is that it doesn’t feel like one.
We are supposed to think Eric is a benevolent, multiculturalist prince.
But he just gives off the vibe of a bloke who hasn’t felt fully himself since he went backpacking.
The Little Mermaid has plenty of neat, ostensibly progressive additions, but it is not the deep reimagining that Ariel’s story deserved.
VR Score
55
Informative language
46
Neutral language
35
Article tone
informal
Language
English
Language complexity
45
Offensive language
likely offensive
Hate speech
possibly hateful
Attention-grabbing headline
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Known propaganda techniques
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Time-value
medium-lived
External references
6
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