Disney is under fire for ‘wokery’ slipped into its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, which is projected to bring in $100 million for the company despite mixed reviews this Memorial Day weekend.
Critics and audiences have given the reboot of the 1989 animated classic ‘average’ and ‘unfavorable’ reviews on ratings site Metacritic. Some bash the makers’ efforts to update the film to contemporary social mores.
Naysayers have focussed on tweaks to the plot and lyrics that play around with sex, ethnicity and cultural values to make the 125-minute remake fit with Disney’s progressive politics.
Scuttle, a male seagull in the original, has become a female gannet. Halle Bailey delivers a showstopping performance as Ariel, but critics question the decision to switch to a mixed-race family of mermaids and mermen.