Disney’s latest attempt to update “The Little Mermaid” for modern times falls short in exactly the way its recent string of woke remakes have – it’s just not enough. Despite casting Halle Bailey as the black heroine and making narrative changes including Ariel rescuing her male beau, the new movie still hasn’t satisfied critics calling for more radical changes.
The New York Times critic, Wesley Morris, laments the lack of “kink” and labels the movie “timid and reactive,” even arguing that it fails to truly incorporate black culture. HuffPo also chimes in, criticizing the movie for not adequately addressing “systemic racism.” Far-left critics are never satisfied, even taking aim at “The Little Mermaid’s” source material and the creative forces behind this new adaptation. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art’s chair, Marcus Ryder, compares setting the film in the Caribbean to placing a love story between Jew and Gentile in 1940 Germany while ignoring the Holocaust.
It seems we’ve gone too far down the rabbit hole of wokism, where creative freedom is snuffed out and mediocre content reigns supreme. Disney may try to appease these voices, but the woke effect will undoubtedly dominate its future endeavors.
