"She Looks Like Me": Internet's Wholesome Reaction To The Little Mermaid Trailer

The Little Mermaid trailer dropped on September 10, 2022 and the reactions to Disney princess Ariel being Black are priceless. Though it was announced earlier that African-American singer Halle Bailey will be playing the role of Ariel in the movie, the actual video teaser amazed the viewers greatly.

On September 13, Disney released the trailer of the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid movie that will be releasing in May 2023. The trailer begins in the depth of the ocean and we see Ariel swimming from the depths nearer to the surface. Her singing voice is heard before her face comes in view and we see Halle Bailey with long orang-ish red hair singing about her desire to see the world outside of ocean. Many of us will be familiar with the classic story of Ariel and Prince Eric and we have known Ariel to be white since forever. However, this time Ariel is Black and has got Black kids and Disney fans around the world elated to witness this.

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Internet Reaction To The Little Mermaid Trailer

A video was shared on Reddit by MadeMeSmile which is a compilation of reactions of Black kids to the trailer and we can see their faces light up to see that Ariel is Black. One of the kids says "I think she's brown" while another looks at her mother in amazement. We see a girl totally in awe of the Disney princess as she says, "That is Ariel..." and another one asserting, "She's a Black girl". We see a group of children celebrating and cheering "She's Black" and a little girl saying, "She's like me". But Disney is not limited to kids only, people have grown up watching these movies and to finally see your community being represented is emotional as we see a young adult crying and another one yelling "She's Black" and telling her mother as if confirming if it is possible.

The video is a testimony that Black community still lacks proper representation in mainstream cinema. Disney itself has only one Black mainstream princess which is Tiana from The Princess and The Frog. Hence, such a step from Disney, which immensely influences young minds, is intended to expand the dimension of characters and become more inclusive. There have been very few iconic Black characters in movies and only a handful of Black actors like Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Samuel L Jackson, Viola Davis and Tessa Thompson.

Black representation in a cinema is a need and a due recognition to the talent that resides in African-Americans. From dolls, toys to protagonists and lead characters, Blacks were often looked down upon. Even when the cinema started to become a little liberal and included Black actors in movies, they were handed down the stereotypical characters of servants, slaves and not-so-serious and dumb side characters.

There have been times when good and positive characters were considered white by default while the wicked ones were considered of colour. This stereotype finds its roots from centuries of oppression and mistreatment directed towards the Black community. However, as the world hopes to progress to modernity, it needs to drop the stereotypes and become a more inclusive and accepting place. It is important to give equal opportunity and thought to represent Black community in a more appropriate way.