Since the early 2010s, live-action remakes of classic Disney movies have become a recurrent trend. Beginning with the release of Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010, filmmakers have realized the easiest way to make a quick buck is to remake beloved classics they know the public already loves.

The sudden abundance of live-action remakes has made audiences question Hollywood’s originality and creativity, with fans hurrying to online forums and social media as soon as a new remake is announced, making online petitions and spreading hashtags like wildfire begging directors and cast members to not ruin their beloved films with yet another adaptation that is ungenuine and distasteful to the original.

The most recent live-action remake under fire is Rob Marshall’s “The Little Mermaid,” set to be released May 26, 2023. The movie is making waves (no pun intended) because of the decision to cast Halle Bailey as Ariel, the titular little mermaid.

Disney’s version of Ariel, who first appeared in the 1989 “The Little Mermaid” and was voiced by Jodi Benson, is a character most everyone knows, with bright red hair, big blue eyes and white skin. Bailey, a Black woman, challenges this image.

 The hashtag #NotMyAriel has surpassed over 7,800 posts on Instagram and the official teaser trailer for the “Little Mermaid,” which was released Sept. 8, has more than 1.5 million dislikes.

Critics have complained that Bailey needs to be recast, not because of a lack of talent or dedication to the role, but because a Black woman couldn’t possibly be the Ariel we all know and love. They have argued that Ariel can’t be Black for a variety of reasons, ranging from historical accuracy to science, but the simple truth is — Ariel is a fictional character, a cartoon mermaid, and the internet trolls flocking to send hate mail and threats to Bailey and petitions to boycott Disney for being “woke” are just racist.

The story of “The Little Mermaid” is fictional. The character of Ariel never existed and mermaids aren’t real, so her being Black is neither historically nor scientifically inaccurate. 

The casting of Bailey isn’t ”blackwashing” either. The ethnicity of Ariel is not vital to the plot of the film at all. Ariel could be Black, white or Asian and the story would still be the same.

Bailey, a Grammy award-winning singer and actress, landed the part because she is talented enough to. She can act, she can sing and she has the heart and the passion to be Ariel. 

Director Rob Marshall chose Bailey for the role because he thinks she has a “rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence and substance.” If the director of the film has faith in her, audiences should too.

“The Little Mermaid” isn’t the only Disney film in the making to be hit with racist backlash. Marc Webb’s “Snow White,” set to be released in 2024, has been facing criticism about the decision to cast Rachel Zeglar, a Latina actress, as the princess with “skin as white as snow.”

Only the cast list has been released, and yet the internet is already in a storm. 

It’s embarrassing and upsetting to see so many people angry about the ethnicities and skin colors of innocent, talented actresses, but the castings have brought as much love as they have brought hate.

To minorities who have grown up in a white man’s world, seeing a brown-skinned princess is life-changing, especially to the little Black and brown girls who have very limited representation in the world of Disney princesses.

Videos of young Black children reacting to the “Little Mermaid” trailer have gone viral nationwide. These videos document the excitement and pure joy these children experience after finding out the next Ariel is Black. “She’s like me!” a little girl beams in one of the videos.

It’s 2022 and racial justice and equality still have a long way to go, but little steps like these are a great improvement to guaranteeing positive representation to the little mermaids of all skin colors out there.

As long as she has the acting and vocal chops — Her rendition of “Part of Your World” as heard in the teaser trailer should relieve all doubt — I believe Halle Bailey will be the perfect Ariel, just as Rachel Zeglar will be the perfect Snow White and all who come after them.