Over the last decade, Disney has released live-action reboots of their beloved movies from the 90s such as The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. Disney is changing how the movies were originally written and told since those films could have something controversial in these modern times. For example, in The Little Mermaid, the modern little mermaid is still the same story but changes the approach. Where the original features a helpless mermaid named Ariel relying on the charming prince to save the day, the live-action remake recasts the lead as a Black and independent woman who does her stuff without needing a man. 

These changes were made for modern viewers who don't want to see the typical man saving the females since it’s a typical cliche that’s been outdated for a while now. Modern viewers want to see the inspirational power of what a strong woman could do, without the assistance of a man. Additionally, there’s a desire for more diverse characters in movies, as white characters have been heavily represented throughout Disney movie history. To counter this, there have been race swaps so these ethnic races could show their heredity while altering the original character. This trend started in the 2010s Americans started to become sensitive on topics relating to race and words used to discuss them.

⬆Here’s a look at Ariel's in the live-action

This issue caused controversy in the United States since they changed a beloved icon. There was a split in audiences who felt the movie did well on the change and made it feel like the origins but better while the other half had the opposite opinion about it. They felt the independent women trope and race swap to be unnecessary including some criticism of her singing. But those who disagreed with Ariel’s race swap were called racist since they didn’t support a Black character leading a movie and how it made an impact on the Black culture. Disney should be recognized for making efforts in their latest live-action reboots to bring more diversity to their movies since they have been underrepresented and have only been stereotyped in older movies. What was the result of this controversy? Well, it seemed to hurt the movie, as The Little Mermaid (2023) made $298 million domestically with a $250 million production budget, thus only making $48 million profit in Northern America.

Aside from the decisions to make changes to the characters of their movie, further issues surface in the live-action reboot. The Little Mermaid's (1989) environment is unique, adding depth to the world that contrasts the kingdom of Ariel is filled with vivid colors while Ursula's Lair is dark to show her villainess side. In the most recent live-action reboot, Ursula’s Lair maintains its vivid character, but the rest of the world, mainly the sea, doesn't feel as vivid or magical as the original. It just seems bland. It loses touch, including the animals that were the best part of Ariel’s story being filled with passion and engagement towards her journey. The live-action does keep the sidekicks, but it loses the feelings that came with those characters we loved. By using CGI to make real-life animals perform the lines, their cartoonish selves are discarded, making them seem less vivid than their original counterparts since you can’t do cartoonish movement in real life, only in cartoons. 

⬆Flounder cartoon and live-action version

Lastly, Disney has been remaking their classic animated movies as live-action films for over a decade. As we continue Disney reboots of series or movies will continue to be remade and released,  leaving no space for new original movies to be developed and released. Modern Disney doesn’t want to explore or try new ideas like they used to. They desire to make reboots of their animated movies since it’s more convenient, and an easy way to make money. The empire Disney had built over the years is starting to collapse due to their decision to reboot their films. If they continue down this road, it could be the downfall of Disney itself.