'Why remake it if you wanna change it': 'The Little Mermaid' song rewrites shredded online
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of the legendary animated feature ‘The Little Mermaid’ is undoubtedly one of the highly-awaited releases of the year 2023 and fans cannot wait to see the movie on the biggest screen possible. The movie stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, a mermaid who strikes a deal with a sea witch to trade her voice for human legs. There will be a lot of similarities between the upcoming film and the iconic animated movie. However, to make the movie a bit different from the 1989 classic, ‘The Little Mermaid’ remake composer revealed that the lyrics to the two songs from the classic animated feature will be updated with new lyrics so that they sound less offensive.
In an interview given to Vanity Fair, the composer Alan Menken noted that two of the most iconic from the original film, ‘Kiss the Girl’ and ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’, will be updated with some new lyrics so that the current generation doesn’t find them offensive. He added, “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]. 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, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.”
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During the song ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’, the evil sea witch Ursula tries to convince Ariel to trade her voice for human legs. She sings, “The men up there don't like a lot of blabbers. They think a girl who gossips is a bore. Yet, on land, it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word.” Looks like lyrics like these are the reason why Disney has taken the decision of changing the lyrics.
Fans want to know "WHY?"
But it seems Disney’s decision to change the lyrics has completely backfired because fans are not ready to accept the changes that are being made to such iconic numbers. Kelly Keegs, a fan of the original ‘Little Mermaid’ film and a member of the Barstool Sports, shredded the idea of changing lyrics by saying, “I refuse to accept a change in any lyrics in any of ‘The Little Mermaid’. They're trying to change some of the lyrics to Poor Unfortunate Souls as well because it's like, you know, Ursula implies that women should keep their mouths shut. Hello? Do you not understand what that song even is? It's ironic she's saying this s**t because she's manipulating aerial obviously. But also she's saying things that she doesn't actually believe she's saying things that like we're trying to trick a man we're not being silent for anything. I'm sick of it.”
I will not stand for lyrics being changed in the Little Mermaid songs pic.twitter.com/3vAwsbI6VT
— Kelly Keegs (@kellykeegs) April 6, 2023
Keegs was not the only one who ridiculed the idea of changing the lyrics. One of the fans noted, “The whole point of that section of Poor Unfortunate Souls was for Ursula to lower Ariel’s self-esteem and manipulate her into giving her voice, without that part of the song Ariel will just accept giving up her voice with less manipulation from Ursula?” Another social media user tweeted, “it makes sense that the villain say those things, maybe instead of changing the lyrics, teach kids to think and reflect about those topics so they can develop critical thinking.” Another social media user wrote, “Not sure why you'd change a villain's song to make it less villainous? Ursula was an empowered woman and then some. She's always been my favorite character. Still, hopefully, the song is still good.”
The whole point of that section of Poor Unfortunate Souls was for Ursula to lower Ariel’s self esteem and manipulate her into giving her voice, without that part of the song Ariel will just accept giving up her voice with less manipulation from Ursula?
— Anny Mation (@MationMiss) April 6, 2023
it makes sense that the villain say those things, maybe instead of changing the lyrics, teach kids to think and reflect about those topic so they can develop critical thinking
— Juanma Gazapo (@JuanmaGazapo) April 5, 2023
Not sure why you'd change a villain's song to make it less villainous? Ursula was an empowered woman and then some. She's always been my favourite character. Still, hopefully the song is still good.
— Jack Bottomley (@JJB888) April 6, 2023
This is like changing the way you make a sandwich when you already have the perfect combo.
— anime/manga (@peoplelcourt) April 5, 2023
“This is like changing the way you make a sandwich when you already have the perfect combo,” said another one.
Will there be any other change?
Apart from these changes in lyrics, it has already been announced that one of the main plot lines of the movie will also be changed. In the original movie, Ariel chooses to trade her voice for human legs out of her love for a human named Eric. However, in the upcoming movie, Ariel will be more concerned about her own personal freedom so that story remains relevant among the current generation of moviegoers.
The movie also stars Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Simone Ashley, Jacob Tremblay, Daveed Diggs, and Jessica Alexander in pivotal roles.
‘The Little Mermaid’ is scheduled to hit theatres on May 26th, 2023.
(This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.)