The Little Mermaid was released in 1989 and, simply put, that was a very different time. The upcoming live-action remake will be considerably more diverse than the animated movie it's based on, with Halle Bailey's Ariel and many of the character's sisters (and father) now hailing from different ethnic backgrounds.
Despite some predictable online backlash about Bailey's casting, The Little Mermaid being more representative of today's world is far from a bad thing. However, composer Alan Menken has now confirmed that some big changes have been made to at least two of movie's songs.
Why? Well, all in the name of avoiding offence, it seems!
"There are some lyric changes in 'Kiss the Girl' because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]," he tells Vanity Fair (via Toonado.com). "We have some revisions in 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn't speak out of turn."
We're not sure whether Menken approves of the alterations as he'd go on to make a point of saying that, when it comes to the latter, "Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice."
Ultimately, we can understand why those lyrics have been rejigged, and it's unlikely to have too much of a negative impact on how The Little Mermaid plays out. Bailey has already talked about giving Ariel more agency in the remake and making her story less about falling for Prince Eric, while we recently learned of other shake ups being made to the plot and characters.
The Little Mermaid also Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder, Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Art Malik as Sir Grimsby, Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, and Javier Bardem as King Triton.
Helmed by visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall, The Little Mermaid opens in theaters on May 26, 2023.