Source: Disney
Of all the recent live-action remakes of classic animated Disney films, the upcoming Halle Bailey-starring version of The Little Mermaid has easily garnered the most headlines outside of Beyoncé’s superstar impact on 2019’s The Lion King.
While we know the decision to switch Ariel into a Black girl caused major controversy (and still does!) amongst Disney purists and downright racists, the latest talking point actually gave us a bit of a chuckle.
It all centers back to the recent character reveal of Ariel’s six sisters — each a different ethnicity, leading many to assume that King Triton had a different baby momma for all Seven Seas.
RELATED: Op-Ed – Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ Is Only Controversial Due To 150 Years Of Whitewashing
It’s quite plausible to believe that Triton could have been that busy with that many “merwomen” — “mermaidens”? — especially when a man like Nick Cannon gives us such a glowing example in real life. Joining Halle Bailey, a Georgia-born African American woman, the sisterly lineup includes Asian Princess Mala, Caucasian Princess Karina, Middle Eastern Princess Indira, Spanish Princess Perla, African Princess Tamika and Caucasian Princesses Caspia and Karina. Veteran actor Javier Bardem, who plays King Triton, hails from Spain.
This wouldn’t be the first time Disney decided to ignore racial boundaries and operate strictly on fictional terms. The 1997 pioneering live-action remake of Cinderella featured a Black lead star in the form of R&B icon Brandy paired with Filipino prince Paolo Montalban, who himself had a Black mom with Whoopi Goldberg and white dad with Victor Garber. Even Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters were of mixed races, with late actress Natalie Desselle playing a biological daughter of Bernadette Peters.
Overall, there’s a lot you can do in the world of imagination when the topic of discussion is a film about a mermaid who can talk to fish, birds and crabs. We’re sure the haters will learn to deal with her “assorted” set of siblings.
Be sure to watch Disney’s The Little Mermaid in full live-action when it splashes into theaters on May 26, 2023. Take a look below to see the jokes many had for King Triton’s penchant to flounder — oops, we mean philander:
Thot Triton? See The Funniest Reactions To Ariel’s Biracial Sisters In ‘The Little Mermaid’ Live-Action Film was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
1. “it’s unrealistic of king triton to have seven daughters of different ethnicities” it was unrealistic for a white man and a black woman to have an asian son, but we watched it and didn’t complain a bit bc we didn’t care. this is FICTIONAL!
via @VERONASFILMS
2. Thread See new Tweets Conversation JOLLY J✨ @DynamoSuperX I love how ariel’s sister being different races implies that king triton is just a ho. that’s 7 different baby mamas.
via @DynamoSuperX
3. Never forget they cast the Broadway show of The Little Mermaid this way and nobody batted an eye! We were blessed with THE Norm Lewis as King Triton 😍
via @lara_a
4. King Triton was slinging and slanging that trident all across Atlantica
via @RobynDMarley_
5. Happy for all the diversity but all I can think is damn, King Triton really collected daughters from all around the world like they’re refrigerator magnets
via @KimChi_Chic
6. KING TRITON NEEDS TO PUT HIS TRIDENT AWAY JESUS
via @KaiserNeko
7. So does King Triton have like 7 mail order brides? How do you get 6 daughters from blindingly different ethnicities? Sorry. Even small children see through this.
via @CAMELOT331
8. King Triton was cutt’n up in them 7 seas. IKTMFR.
via @Scooteuxr
9. so king triton the nick cannon of the seven seas
via @brentonsbong
10. King Triton for the streets I see.
via @UpToTASK
11. Dang. They should’ve cast Nick Cannon as King Triton…
via @BlankSpaceProd
12. Had a girl in each of the seven seas. King triton was trifling
via @wyldeflowerrr_
13. Everybody got a different momma like King Triton just slutted tf out
via @mar3uss
14. Ariel’s sisters show that King Triton really took “there’s plenty of fish in the sea” to heart. 😂👩🏻🦰🧜🏾♀️ #TheLittleMermaid
via @Autumn__Fox
15. King Triton just out here fucking every fish in the Ocean… creating new variants like Covid 💀
via @PaigeChristieUK
