Social media and news outlets have been abuzz since it was revealed in an article in Vanity Fair that some of the lyrics from popular songs in the live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid had been updated. The changes were made to the movie’s songs “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” Composer Alan Menken, who was also one of the original composers of the 1989 film, shared that the changes were made because people have become “sensitive” to certain implications in the songs. “There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl’ because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” he said. “Kiss the Girl” will make changes to include encouraging consent. Addressing changes to “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” Menken said the original song included “lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.”

The news of changes to a classic film was met by a number of detractors. One Twitter user stated, “Why are they rewriting the lyrics that made Disney? Why do they hate their past.” Another user claimed that Ariel is the one going after Prince Eric in the film, writing, “Ariel is the one wanting to go stalk a dude on the land… now she the victim. I’m gonna go out my way to stalk the prince to make him fall in love with me… but if his mate tells him to kiss me… well, that’s never [right].” Other users claimed it was a “woke” change to an originally loved classic. Other changes to the film will include an expanded back story to the film’s villain, Ursula (played by Melissa McCarthy), who will be Ariel’s aunt, estranged from her father, King Triton. The connection was never portrayed in the original film but was included in a musical as well as the 2016 book Poor Unfortunate Soul. McCarthy also acknowledged her past experience as a drag queen for inspiring her rendition of Ursula, a role that some in the LGBTQ+ community wanted to go to an actual drag queen due to the original character’s look supposedly being inspired by drag queen Divine. 

Lyric changes are not the first controversial change to the original either. Some fans of the film accused the remake of “race swapping” after it was announced that black actress Halle Bailey would be playing the role of Ariel, who is white and red-headed in the animated film. The film’s director, Rob Marshall, claimed there was “no agenda” in selecting Bailey. “We just were looking for the best actor for the role, period. The end,” he said. Bailey has called her casting a “win” for representation. “…the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they’re special and that they should be a princess in every single way,” she said. This is not the first instance of a Disney live-action film being accused of “race-swapping,” with Disney’s upcoming Snow White live-action film announcing it will have a Latina actress portray the traditionally light-skinned titular character. 

Usually, fans who decry “race swapping” or even “gender-swapping” what they consider to be “established characters” are accused of racism or sexism. “Taking the detractors at face value, however, you have a pantheon of geeks who just want to see their beloved tales left alone. These fans now face repeated battles as they watch one franchise after another fall into the clutches of progressive directors and writers who insist on — gasp — casting women in the lead roles or — gasp — casting actors of color in roles long reserved for white people,” wrote Vox’s Aja Romano. Stuart Heritage, writing for The Guardian, wrote that the “woke vs. racist” argument misses the overall problem. “If the previous live-action Disney remakes are any indication, then it will barely even qualify as a film. It’ll be a rote, loveless exercise in maintaining an existing IP, which won’t hold a candle to the original. When was the last time you felt excited about seeing Guy Richie’s Aladdin remake? Or Tim Burton’s Dumbo? A new live-action Pinocchio just dropped on Disney+, and I’ve yet to meet a single person able to summon even an atom of energy to watch it. There are plenty of legitimate reasons not to want to watch The Little Mermaid; to focus on the casting of the mermaid herself seems an incredible waste of energy,” he wrote.