Is The Little Mermaid woke?
Movie · 2023
The Little Mermaid has a wokeness score of 7/10, which we rate as Strongly Ideological. Woke messaging is very prominent and often feels forced or shoehorned in. Characters and plot are primarily shaped to serve the ideology. Many viewers feel the agenda overshadows the entertainment.
Key points
- Race-swapped Black Ariel deviates from fair-skinned original, sparking backlash and poor box office.
- 'Kiss the Girl' rewritten with consent lines to push #MeToo feminism, diluting romance.
- Gender swaps, drag-inspired Ursula, and empowerment tropes prioritize ideology over story fidelity.
Wokeness analysis
The Little Mermaid (2023) exemplifies heavily ideological, message-driven filmmaking where progressive agendas overshadow the original's innocent escapism. The most glaring element is the race-swapped casting of Halle Bailey, a Black actress, as Ariel—a character depicted as fair-skinned with red hair in the 1989 animated classic and Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. This colorblind casting was not organic but a deliberate diversity checkbox, sparking global backlash from audiences rejecting the alteration of cultural folklore, as seen in poor box office performance in markets like China and South Korea. Conservative reviewers and sites like Breitbart and Worth it or Woke labeled it a 'woke-a-thon,' noting how it prioritizes representation over fidelity, turning a timeless story into a battleground for identity politics. Song alterations further shoehorn modern sensibilities: 'Kiss the Girl' was rewritten with explicit consent lines like 'use your words, boy, and ask her' to align with #MeToo feminism, diluting the romantic whimsy into didactic lectures. Gender swaps, such as Scuttle from male seagull to female gannet voiced by Awkwafina, add unnecessary inclusion tweaks. Ariel's motivation expands beyond love to 'exploring the unknown,' softening patriarchal critiques while injecting empowerment tropes. Ursula's drag queen inspirations, acknowledged by Melissa McCarthy, nod to LGBTQ+ signaling. Even left-leaning critics complained it wasn't woke enough, ignoring slavery in its vague 19th-century setting or not making all characters Black. These changes feel forced, with characters and plot bent to serve ideology—Bailey's family is multiracial merfolk amid mostly white humans, creating visual dissonance. Review-bombing defenses by IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, adjusting scores for 'unusual voting,' reveal industry protection of the agenda. For audiences weary of Hollywood's relentless push, this remake prioritizes virtue-signaling over joy, confirming Disney's shift from family entertainment to cultural indoctrination. The story endures, but the agenda dominates, alienating traditional viewers.
Plot
The Little Mermaid (2023) is a live-action remake of Disney's 1989 animated classic. Ariel, the curious youngest daughter of King Triton, dreams of the human world despite her father's ban on surface contact. Fascinated by human artifacts, she rescues shipwrecked Prince Eric and falls in love. Desperate to join him, Ariel strikes a deal with sea witch Ursula, trading her voice for legs—but only for three days, or she becomes Ursula's forever. Mute on land, Ariel wins Eric's heart through adventure, aided by Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle. Ursula schemes to usurp Triton's throne, leading to a climactic battle where Ariel defeats the witch. Emphasizing empowerment and curiosity, the film features stunning underwater visuals, Halle Bailey's vocals, and new songs amid updated classics.
Analyzed by AI on January 1, 2026