On the coattails of the #NotMyAriel Twitter debate about Halle Bailey's casting as Ariel in the upcoming Little Mermaid film, some die-hard Disney fans weren't too happy Sunday after the debut of the live-action Mulan trailer.
Some fans of the original 1998 animated Mulan were angered not by what saw in the trailer for the movie starring Yifei Liu as the title character, but by what they did not see: Their beloved not-a-lizard character Mushu, who was voiced by Eddie Murphy in the original.
"Dear @DisneyStudios: Your #Mulan movie looks truly dazzling! But you can have my money once you show me the Mushu! Mulan & Mushu are like Pinocchio & Jiminy Cricket, so do Mushu," on Twitter user wrote.
"I don't see Mushu, cricket, Yao, Chien-Pao, Ling, Shang, and singing," another person observed. "This does not feel like a Disney movie."
"Mulan has always been my favorite princess and my favorite movie," one Twitter user prefaced. "But no Mushu?! Come on man! Where's gonna be my comedy?!"
Mulan is among the growing list of live-action remakes of classic Disney cartoons. Recently, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin were given a live-action twist, with The Lion King coming later this month. More are in the works, including The Little Mermaid, which made news this week over Disney's pick for the title character.
While many praised Disney in response to Bailey's casting as the beloved mermaid Wednesday, some responding by claiming that having a black actress play Ariel "weird."
Culture writer Evette Dionne tweeted: "Halle Bailey, as a Black teen who wears locs, being cast as a Disney princess is what dreams are made of. Imagine what just seeing her onscreen will do for this generation of Black girls."
In response to another tweet, @StonewallTabor tweeted: "How is it racist, out of curiosity? In EVERY representation of Ariel I've ever seen, including video games, Ariel has been a white female. I'm not saying she can't be black, but it's just strange. That's like having a white guy play Martin Luther King Jr. Just weird."
Along with the mixed feelings of Ariel's casting, Twitter also wasn't too keen about rumors of Melissa McCarthy's being hired to play the story's villain Ursula last month. Many Twitter users, including queer writer and activist George M Johnson, asked for either a drag queen — as the animated character design was reportedly based on drag star Divine — or Lizzo, who had actively campaigned on Instagram for the role — to be cast instead.
"TS Madison, Lizzo, Danielle Brooks," Johnson tweeted at the time. "That's the list. That's it. Cast one of them or keep it on the playground."
It's not clear when the live-action rendition of The Little Mermaid will hit theaters, but Mulan will hit the big screen on March 27, 2020.
Correction on Tuesday, June 9, 2019, at 1:50 p.m. ET: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Chloe Bailey as the person cast as Ariel for the live-action remake of Disney's The Little Mermaid.
