It’s kind of funny to think that people who had anything to say about Halle Bailey might have anything at all to say about Harry Styles being selected to play Prince Eric. Wouldn’t that be a bit of hypocrisy at this time? After all so long as the story goes the way it needs to, which is to say it remains a Disney-fied version of the classic tale, who cares who fits which part? A lot of folks want to believe that color shouldn’t matter and to be quite honest it shouldn’t, but Harry Styles does seem to be the guy that Disney wants and there are a few reasons that Tatum Dooley from Teen Vogue could give as to why this should be.
From a teenage point of view it’s kind of easy to see why a lot of young girls would want to see Styles as the prince since a lot of young women tend to find him absolutely stunning when it comes to looks, and they happen to like his wildly popular singing voice as well. When you really think about it though Eric didn’t do any singing in the original movie, but that seems like it could change quickly in the live action version since, well, Disney could easily make it so. But on top of this is the fact that he’s just another pretty face that can act, sing, and that people happen to like. That combination is something you don’t get all the time since there’s usually one or more reasons why people would bother saying anything other than ‘yes please’ to a star like this being cast in a movie that so many are willing to watch. Styles is kind of an obvious pick since among all the eligible young men he’s also closer in age to Halle Bailey than others and it does make some kind of sense to pay attention to the age gap, since not a lot of people want to learn that a guy in his upper 20s to 30s is going to be doing a romantic scene with a young woman that’s not even in her 20s. New age, new way of thinking or not, that’s a little creepy even if it’s being supervised by those making the movie.
Billy Nilles of E! News makes it known that the controversy surrounding The Little Mermaid as far as casting goes isn’t the first time that people have had problems with one or more characters taking on roles that they had an issue with, but anyone trying to say that Harry Styles should be supplanted by someone of color needs to get their nose out of joint and accept that this will likely be the pick that Disney goes with. Ariel being a young black woman instead of being white has already stirred up a bit of noise and for no better reason than because people wanted to see the same thing that was delivered when the animated version came out. What’s truly funny however is that Jodi Benson, the woman that voiced Ariel in the animated version, has thrown her full support behind Halle, something that might make those posting “Not My Ariel” drop their jaws as they realize that the woman responsible for bringing one of their favorite characters into being is all for a change. And why not? There’s nothing to say that Halle, or Harry, will do anything but the best when it comes to their time on screen. And given that they can both sing it might even be a better pairing than the animated version since any new songs and parts written just for Prince Eric would be in good hands since Harry happens to know how to use his voice to great effect.
The backlash that’s being felt over casting when it comes to The Little Mermaid is, simply put, kind of childish and not at all realistic. There have been rumors that Idris Elba or even Terry Crews would be considered for the part of King Triton, and to be honest either man might be great. While it’s not really known how far the changes are going to go it’s still interesting to think how many of those that are opposing them are going to go and see the movie out of spite. It’s a wonder that said people don’t realize that despite hating something that contributing to its success is extremely counter-productive to their own cause, but hey, let’s not stop them. Harry Styles would no doubt be a great choice since whether he’s on stage or on screen he’s proven to be a star that knows what he’s doing and can deliver on a consistent basis. Those who want to rant and rave about one thing or another when it comes to casting might want to watch the movie before they make any snap judgments.
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