The live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid has been met with a lot of criticism for many reasons and way before the first looks at it were shared, and Melissa McCarthy’s casting as Ursula was no exception. The trend of live-action remakes continues at Disney, and next in line is The Little Mermaid, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale of the same name. The Little Mermaid remake is directed by Rob Marshall with music by legendary composer Alan Menken and new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and it’s expected to tell the same story as the animated classic, but with some changes here and there.
The Little Mermaid, then, will see the title mermaid, Ariel (Halle Bailey), as she transforms into a human after falling in love with human Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) and making a deal with the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) so she would turn her into a human, but this comes with a big prize and Ariel loses her voice. Although only brief looks at The Little Mermaid have been shared, the movie has already been involved in controversy, mostly due to its cast, with Halle Bailey receiving unnecessary and offensive comments, and Melissa McCarthy’s casting also turned out to be quite divisive.
Why Melissa McCarthy’s Little Mermaid Was Criticized
A live-action remake of The Little Mermaid was announced to be in early development in 2016, but casting news didn’t arrive until 2019. In June 2019, after various fan castings and speculation on who would play the iconic sea witch Ursula, Melissa McCarthy was announced to be in talks to play the role, and a couple of days later, Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay were confirmed to voice Scuttle and Flounder, respectively. In July 2019, Halle Bailey was announced as the new Ariel, prompting a lot of backlash due to Disney choosing a Black actress to play the beloved mermaid. Amidst the racist and offensive comments, posts, and videos going after Bailey and Disney, there was also a lot of criticism over the Mouse House choosing Melissa McCarthy to play Ursula.
Bailey’s casting, as well as that of Javier Bardem as King Triton, showed that Disney was looking to be more inclusive and diverse with its live-action movies, but that seemed to have not been the case with Ursula’s casting. The live-action version of Ursula was the perfect opportunity for Disney to have some proper LGBTQ+ representation (something the studio is famously bad at) and even have a drag queen in a main role given the inspiration behind the animated movie’s version of the sea witch, but the Mouse House instead cast a cisgender actress.
Was The Little Mermaid’s Ursula Inspired By A Drag Queen?
Although it’s believed to be an urban Disney legend, The Little Mermaid’s Ursula was inspired by a drag queen, and a very famous one: Divine. Ursula’s design went through many changes during the production of The Little Mermaid, depending on who was going to voice the character. Directors and writers John Musker and Ron Clements wanted Bea Arthur to voice Ursula as they had written the role for her, but her agent refused to present the script to the actress, while producer Howard Ashman tried and failed to get Joan Collins. After a long and tedious casting process, the two finalists were Charlotte Rae and Elaine Stritch, with the latter getting the role only to be fired sometime later, and so Pat Carroll ended up voicing Ursula.
Now, because of this, early sketches of Ursula resembled Charlotte Rae, and Elaine Stritch’s casting inspired a redesign based on manta rays and scorpion fish. After more changes and using other sea creatures as the basis for Ursula’s design, the sea witch’s design ended up being inspired by the legendary drag queen Divine, and there are many similarities between them, most notably their eye makeup, body type, and jewelry. Divine didn’t get the chance to voice Ursula as he passed away in 1988, but his ionic and flamboyant image inspired one of Disney’s most popular villains.
Why Melissa McCarthy Will Be A Great Ursula In The Little Mermaid
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While the criticism over Disney not seizing the chance to cast a drag queen as Ursula in The Little Mermaid live-action remake is understandable, Melissa McCarthy will surely be a great Ursula. Although McCarthy isn’t a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she revealed back in 2014 (via Huffpost) that she used to do stand-up comedy as a drag queen and went by the name of Miss Y, and she was very involved in the community, so she can still pay homage to the inspiration behind Ursula while also giving the character her own touch. What will also be interesting to see is how McCarthy will play a villain (and one who can sing!), as she’s mostly known for her comedic roles, and Ursula isn’t really a comedian. The Little Mermaid can still make a positive change if done correctly, and now it’s only a matter of waiting for it to be released.