Latest Disney News: ‘The Little Mermaid’ flips critics the bird as the film’s director opens up about omitting fan-favorite characters

Photo via Disney

It’s been a long time coming, but Disney’s biggest day of the year is finally here. The Little Mermaid is making its splash in theaters, but as predicted, the complaints have started rolling in. However, one look at early box office numbers and the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes score will tell you that the ire isn’t originating from the fans this time around. (Shocking, I know). 

In Disney Plus land, we have a convolution of excitement and sadness over shows gearing up for releases like Ahsoka, and those which we may never see again, like Willow. The conversation is more complex than just that though, as pointed out by several creators of axed shows, some of whom are actually… pleased that their series have been discarded. 

The Little Mermaid scores $10.3 million in previews, suggesting it just might surpass Aladdin at the box office after all

Ever since Mena Massoud threw subtle shade at The Little Mermaid on Twitter, the two live-action remakes were forever pitted against each other. Massoud expressed confidence that the underwater mermaid princess would not beat his film at the box office, but the $10.3 million The Little Mermaid earned in just previews alone says otherwise. For comparison that’s over $4 million more than Aladdin made in previews, meaning The Little Mermaid just might snag that coveted membership to Disney’s billion-dollar club of which Aladdin, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast are a part. 

The Little Mermaid proves critics wrong by becoming the second-highest audience-rated Disney remake on Rotten Tomatoes

It’s happened before, and it’s happening again. The Little Mermaid is experiencing a downward trajectory in its critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. After originally debuting with a mediocre 71%, the movie has now dropped to 67%. That’s a far cry from its audience score, which is sitting pretty at 95%, making it the highest audience-rated live-action Disney movie on Rotten Tomatoes second to Cruella and tied with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Indeed, we don’t need Rotten Tomatoes to tell us what to think about our favorite Disney movies — we can do that on our own thank you very much, since those are the very movies that have made over a billion dollars despite their critical reception. 

Sorry, your favorite polyp people just don’t have a place in Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid remake

Not everything can make it into a live-action remake and for good reason. According to The Little Mermaid director Rob Marshall, getting rid of the polyp people in Ursula’s lair was to ensure the film didn’t accidentally cause a chuckle in the audience. After all, just imagine Javier Bardem turning into one of them. Admit it, you’d laugh.

Ahsoka gets an exciting casting rumor update as the creator of Willow expresses…happiness that the has been axed from Disney Plus

At this point, actor Temuera Morrison has been in virtually all of Star Wars’ live-action Disney Plus shows, from The Mandalorian to The Book of Boba Fett to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now, he’s rumored to star as Captain Rex in Ahsoka. Truly, the guy can do it all.

Then we have the fan-favorite fantasy series Willow on Disney Plus which officially met its end on the platform as of today. Instead of being sad over the news, showrunner Jon Kasdan said he’s “kind into it.” What he’s really trying to say is that separation makes the heart grow fonder, which is why the Disney Plus Purge might not actually be a bad thing after all.

About the author

Cody Raschella

Cody Raschella is a Staff Writer and occasional Editor who has been with WGTC since 2021. He is a closeted Swiftie (shh), a proud ‘Drag Race’ fan (yas), and a hopeless optimist (he still has faith in the MCU). His passion for writing has carried him across various mediums including journalism, copywriting, and creative writing, the latter of which has been recognized by Writer’s Digest. He received his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Northridge, which he has done absolutely nothing with ever since.