Before anyone had even seen Disney’s fresh take on The Little Mermaid, the live-action remake was swathed in a cloud of controversy. Halle Bailey’s casting felt like a challenge to the image of the white, red-headed mermaid everyone spent their formative years watching. For the first time, Princess Ariel would be Black — and there was no reason for her not to be. Disney has remixed their established IP before with colorblind casting, and often to great success. But “fans” were absurdly protective over the character from the 1989 cartoon — that, or incensed by the apparent assault on their culture.
