The live-action of The Little Mermaid already has its first reviews, and they say it is one of Disney’s best live-action adaptations. Halle Bailey has been praised by the critic for her performance proving she was the best choice for the role.
The truth is, we had no doubt, this live-action film was set to break away from the traditional and give us a true story of mermaids and princes. It even corrected mistakes that we were not very aware of in the past or, rather, normalized to a certain extent. Like the ‘Kiss the Girl’ song which, you should know, promotes nonconsensual behaviors like many other fairy tale stories.
The Little Mermaid‘s Live-Action Changed Some Lyrics for Promoting Harassment
Rob Marshall, director of the live-action The Little Mermaid decided to make some adjustments to the original script of the animated version. Among these, are the lyrics of the song ‘Kiss the Girl,’ as he pointed out that culture and sensibilities have changed in the last 34 years, and he preferred to be respectful of these.
“We asked Lin-Manuel to make some minor adjustments to the original lyrics of ‘Kiss the Girl’ because it’s important to remember that culture and sensibilities have changed over the past 34 years, and it’s vital that we are respectful of those changes,” the director said.
The new lyrics end with Prince Eric pressuring Ariel to be kissed without her consent and reflect much more modern social attitudes. “Yes, you want her. Look at her, you know you do. Possible she wants you, too. There is one way to ask her. It don’t take a word. Not a single word. Go on and kiss the girl,” the original lyrics say.
We were too young to understand it, plus we had romanticized those princess stories. There were also some revisions to Ursula‘s iconic song, ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls,’ especially the bits when she says that men don’t like talkative women. Now everything can be different if we make the necessary adjustments to get out of the traditional way we grew up with.
Story written in Spanish by Kate Nateras in Cultura Colectiva
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