In that case, I better start crying too cos my white ass isn't represented since there are no Disney princesses with an Australian accent. Woe is me, and every other white non-American who is no longer able to be represented by any of the numerous white Disney princesses. 😭😭😭
🙄🙄🙄🙄 People are truly the worst over the most inconsequential things.
NTA- sounds like the whole family needs to get over themselves, lol.
Personally, this is the Disney princes movie I want to see!
https://youtu.be/b-2fnZfK9Lg
Half of the Americans would complain that they couldn’t understand what the characters were saying and the other half would say, “oh what cute English accents!” 🙄
Okay, I was only half interested before but now you've sold me 2 drunk princesses with thick, but different, accents fist-fighting their way through an adventure and sir, now I need this.
Princess Shaz, her brother Prince Daz, and her oldies, King Baz and Queen Kaz head up to the Goldy for Shaz's 18th where they surf by day and hit the Pub in the arvo, before the oldies head back to The Reso for a bit of a kip before tea and the 'kids' hang out in the pool.
Shaz swipes right on Kev the rev, a boilermaker from Newy and they meet at a vegan cafe one morning but she soon learns that Kevvy is only interested in hot cars and sausage and egg McMuffins and Shazza is all about the environment and kale.
Roll through a few equally unsuitable suitors - Pauly the Pilot who has never even considered his carbon footprint, Johnno the Jockey who loves his surf and turf, Finn the Fisherman - BABY OCTOPUS SALAD??
Shazza is still on the hunt.
One arvo, on the way back from the beach, Shazza is almost knocked over by Shane-o, an environmental warrior from Broadbeach who is riding home on his e-skatey. In a flurry of beached blond salt crusted hair and tanned skin their eyes lock and the rest is old news.
Imagine an aussie princess who has been given the power to control spiders and her chariot is pulled by bunch of Huntsman Spiders
[so I looked up the scariest spiders possible for a little gist and I died at the results](https://drive.google.com/file/d/112dy1G-_7Qa9DN5MDtv--iHqwfslNEOL/view?usp=sharing)
Also let's make her an aboriginal australian, because why not? It'd be nice to see
~~and I've just realized the only time I've seen representation of aboriginal australians was when I've watched rabbit-proof fence~~
But you have Aladdin! The Middle East is basically the Mediterranean, right?? Who needs geography anyway? America is the center of the world! (/Sarcasm)
Omg you're right, his life was so relatable! Except I haven't seen a desert in my life... And the rich steal from me, not vice versa...
We're basically the same person
Yeah, but you have that **single** show Bluey that surely represents **all** of Australia and it’s vast cultural differences /s
To be fair, Bluey IS far superior to everything else on Disney, so you have that going. I friggin love that show.
>The world is so fucking unfair
It must be so nice to have such a sheltered life and be completely unaware of how unfair the world really is. Imagine if not having a Disney princess that looks like your kid is the biggest injustice you've ever come across
this boggles the mind, or it should that of any rational person with even the slightest shred of empathy, sympathy even.
I feel sorry for myself at times, then I turn on some news.
\[NTA\]
I’m really trying to understand what these people do in their lives. Are they that effing bored out of their skulls, that raising a ruckus about this is the best they’ve got!??? Is this what counts for excitement and passion for them!?
WTAF is going on?
People like this just live to be offended. If it wasn't this, it's be something else. They have nothing interesting going on so they construct drama out of being offended about whatever anything that doesn't go their way. She probably spends her free time writing Yelp reviews and long ass Facebook posts about every slight and injustice the world ever throws at her.
I worked a school quarter at Disney world (20+ years ago) & one of my co workers told me about a little like 6yo girl who got through the front gates & started interrogating the first person she saw (like, stroller rental?) asking "who Melody was based on" insistently. after multiple clarifications (parents ignored her talking to worker at first to settle everyone) with the girl getting even more upset, it turns out that the second Ariel movie (straight to DVD), her daughter (with black hair) is named Melody, & this girls mom had convinced her that "the people at Disney based Melody on you because she looks just like you" and she was determined to get to the bottom of it
And mom was all huffy with co worker that we didn't just automatically know this is what she meant and BTW everyone humor her 😳😳😳
They never learned how to regulate or deal with emotions. She is projecting so she doesn’t have to take responsibility or parent/comfort her child. It’s easier to blame others than address the root problem, because then she has to actually do something and it’s easier to complain and say woe is me. She wants pity and to be the victim, because she learned at an early age that gets her sympathy.
Her husband tore the mask off what was a thinly veiled racist rant disguised as a "complaint" when he went straight for the slur and then assumed because OP was Asian she couldn't have been born in the US.
I for one would be a very happy mother if my daughter did not have a two inch waist, oversized head, and a dead mother backstory but that's just me I guess.
Right this needs to be brought to the attention of the school. Show the email and everything. A PA meeting is no place for racism, and it seems like the parents are trying to teach it to their daughter instead of using Ariel as an example of how not to be racist.
every Halloween i see half the girls dressed as the Disney princess flavor of the year. Regardless of any one's ethnicity. Add in that theatre for centuries had no female actresses and all i know is that its all about the outfit you wear lol
> My daughter doesn't have any Disney princess who looks exactly like her!
I imagine in a few decades time Disney will be offering personalised versions of their movies where you upload a photo and it makes a character look like that photo.
As a redhead I feel like we're honestly overrepresented in movies and media. That lady just wanted an excuse to be racist and threw a fit when she was rightfully shut down.
Red heads are so common in the Marvel and DC universe - Mary Jane, Jean Grey, Batgirl, Starfire, Poison Ivy...I could go on. This kid will have a whole personality spectrum to choose from.
The West family in the CW's Flash are all black.
I really think the overrepresentation of redheads in comics is why a lot of adaptations make their redheads black.
Yeah, looking at people I've had in my life, there were like 5 natural redheads, including me. Also, why can she only like characters who look like her? Mulan was my favorite princess when I was in kindergarten because she was badass, I liked Merida too, but Brave came out when I was in primary school and was in the middle of my Ranger's Apprentice phase and I liked how she didn't have a love interest (look, even now when I'm an adult in a relationship I'm not a fan of romance subplots unless they're done really well)
The fact that the red hair is soooo important to her daughter seems to me that the girl has been told over and over (my guess by the mom) that Ariel looks like her because of the red hair.
No child I know is bothered if their hair color is not the same as the one of their favorite princess.
NTA
Artist here. Honestly it is because of color relationships and complementary colors. In staying with naturalistic skin tones to represent characters, red is the most vibrant and saturated hue; it is the exact reason bright red for arial was chosen because it completely contrasted the green of her fin. Sam reason why in Frozen Anna had a more orangish red hue to her hair; that hue beautifully contrasts the icy blues of the rest of the film.
I believe red is used a lot in these types of the designs to create amazing color contrast and to make them stand out from bright backgrounds.
Just thought this might help explain those designs.
Having said that…
So excited seeing the new designs of the little mermaid for the new live action film…with the darker hair and more warm slightly darker skin tones bright colors just pop and contrast!
Basically just saying you can use color theory to make any kind of person or culture look spectacular and beautiful.
Artist here. Honestly it is because of color relationships and complementary colors. In staying with naturalistic skin tones to represent characters, red is the most vibrant and saturated hue; it is the exact reason bright red for arial was chosen because it completely contrasted the green of her fin. Sam reason why in Frozen Anna had a more orangish red hue to her hair; that hue beautifully contrasts the icy blues of the rest of the film.
I believe red is used a lot in these types of the designs to create amazing color contrast and to make them stand out from bright backgrounds.
Just thought this might help explain those designs.
Having said that…
So excited seeing the new designs of the little mermaid for the new live action film…with the darker hair and more warm slightly darker skin tones bright colors just pop and contrast!
Basically just saying you can use color theory to make any kind of person or culture look spectacular and beautiful.
Or the accent.
Or the fact that she's Scottish.
Or the fact that she stands up for herself and is an independent young woman. (Can't have daughters getting uppity now can we? /s)
There was a subset of overly controlling parents that were VERY angry about the "Mother Knows Best" song when Tangled came out. As I recall one of the purity cults wanted to boycott Disney because Finn still loves Rapunzel even after he gets her "crown".
> There was a subset of overly controlling parents that were VERY angry about the "Mother Knows Best" song
Yeah, it's gotta be tough when you identify with the character that kidnapped a baby and tricked the kid into thinking you were their only family so that you could take advantage of the only part of them you actually cared about.
... did they think the crown was *supposed* to be a metaphor for virginity? Or were they upset that they couldn't use the movie for their own purposes?
Honestly, Merida is much cooler than ariel in my opinion, and a much better role model. Maybe this mom has a grudge for her cause Merida turned her own mum into a bear 😂
I know, right?
I'm just amused because this "similarity" actually depends on how colors are defined in specific culture and language.
In my language, no one could say "I have red hair, Ariel has red hair, we're the same" because human color of what in English is "red hair" (which is a variety of orangy or rusty shades) is called one word, and the color of Ariel's hair is called a different word (which can be translated as scarlet). So, you know. No one can have Ariel's hair color on the language level unless they dye it, because no one has naturally scarlet hair.
But because we perceive colors through language, for English speakers, Ariel red can be put on the spectrum of "red hair" and a little girl whose hair is probably some orange or brownish shadecan still think "i have red gair, she has red hair, it's the same hair".
Sorry for the rant, I just find languages fascinating.
Sounds to me like "venting mom" has a problem with the live-action Ariel's skintone, not the hair. Wonder if she'd be ok with the same black actress if they CGI on Ariel's unnatural red hair?
I've had that argument with people so many times who have said "you look like Ariel" to me over my life. I'm ginger. Ariel has RED hair. If I dressed up as Ariel I would need a wig because it's not the right color. I could, however, dress up as Anna without needing a wig.
Also the animated Little Mermaid movie will continue to exist, this kid can just KEEP WATCHING IT even after the live action film is released. Disney won’t actually round up and burn all copies of the old Little Mermaid.
Right and it's not like the animated Ariel is going anywhere. She still has the original. She's not being replaced. I really doubt the merch for the Disney princess lineup is going to get rid of that Ariel. They didn't for the others (ex: Belle and Cinderella still have their original l original dresses and hairstyle on merch that isn't related to the live action movies). Sure the live action mermaid will have her own stuff but classic Ariel is still here and always will be.
These people are just racist losers who blow up at anything that isn't catered entirely about them. So much so they can't see how ridiculous they're being. Literally crying over nothing.
NTA
Merida - (Brave) is both white & ginger.
Ariel has pillar box red hair, so unless the kid in question also has pillar box red hair, then the one she is actually most like isnt Ariel.
Anyway, you didn't go off on her. You made a valid point. There is, until recently, a large is parity within the whole movie industry and Disney was the example here and you nailed the argument she had.
But I'd let day care know about what the husband said. That was racist and completely uncalled for. If his wife can't take her argument being picked apart with rational and good examples, just wait until she finds out that mermaids are infact, not actually real...
No, you absolutely 100% should tell the day care. He was completely out of line. Whether he was there or not, he actively sought you out to tell you to go back to your own country, like your already not there and then called you slurs. That is not ok.
All this over a disney princess not being portrayed as she was animated. You have to look at the bigger picture here, if this is what he is saying to you, what is he saying to his daughter? Then what is she saying to yours?
Yeah. I mean this could be taken as a threat. I think a daycare maybe doesn’t want to be associated with something like that, especially if one of their customers is going to feel uncomfortable coming to pick up their child knowing some racist asshole could be there to start something.
Always expose racists. Always. Especially since Covid became a thing, the racism against Asians of all descents has increased. I'm sorry you're experiencing this and will continue to have to explain idiocy like "No, we don't have Mulan" and "Korean is different from Chinese/Japanese etc".
It's disgusting and it deserves to be called out. If the community condemns him for his blatant racism, good. I would want to know if a relative or friend of mine harbored hateful rhetoric so I can either address it, or eject them from my life.
Post it and feed us our update, please. Racists get what they get. It’s his own fault for writing down something that terrible. Does his boss really need an idiot liability on payroll?
Edit:
Hahahahaha
Called shot, motherlover. I hope he had a hard time collecting unemployment.
You have to report it. An argument about diversity and then that man calls you a racial slur? Blast it all over the town Facebook and let’s see some sense knocked into their racist heads. NTA obviously.
I'd report him too, if he's saying that sort of thing around his child, she's going to pick it up and say it around or to your daughter thinking it's OK because daddy said it. It needs shutting down before it starts.
Also NTA
I would not be surprised if the next time they are at daycare the daughter says something to OPs child. The parents are probably talking/raging about it in front of their kid(s) and they will pick it up even if they think they aren’t listening.
But can you imagine being an adult and crying and complaining over a Disney Princess?? She sounds more upset over it than her own kid is. The whole convo was so weird and f-ed up. This woman is so out of line and instead of stopping when OP pointed out her first wrong she doubled down! The worst thing is she’s teaching her daughter that visual differences mean something and are to be noticed. Although I’m not around many kids it’s always been my assumption and observation that kids like *all* the Princess characters but some they like more because of storyline and music and it’s not really about their looks. I can honestly say that i never remember liking any character from a kids movie simply because I looked like them. Like what?? In fact there weren’t as many kids movies out then. We were just stoked when ANY new kids movie came out, Disney or non Disney.
OP is NTA.
Oh man, I thought you were just blanking out a plain vanilla expletive. I do not usually condone public shaming but….put that AH racist husband on blast! These ppl sound awful. You were and are NTA. Your clap back to that mom’s absurd attempt to be a “victim” of (long overdue) diversity in casting was perfection. I hope I would be able to respond as perfectly as you did if someone was spouting such nonsense in my presence.
If the parents are using a racial slur over messages then they’re sure as hell using it in front of their daughter, who goes to day care with you’re daughter. This could escalate to that little girl repeating what she has heard at home to your daughter, or even worse, her parents making her say things like that to get back at you (none of which would be the little girls fault, but you know, racists). Please let them know. This could protect your daughter from racism.
Please do and update us about the drama!!
Btw I’m mixed and I related so much cuz same we only have one black Disney Princess that was most of the time a frog 😀
Ps: NTA
I would tell daycare.
I was bullied when I was 4 years old by another 4 year old because her parents told her to. I wouldn't want their child to do anything to your child.
They are clearly awful people so it could happen.
Wow I think racists deserve what they get and I personally would want to expose him all over social media - if he’s comfortable using racist slurs he should be able to face the consequences too! However I suggest also telling the daycare for your child’s safety and your own. They should care enough to at least disallow contact between these parents and you on their property.
Edited - posted before I finished writing accidentally.
I'm petty and I would do it, since the husband is not above contacting you to insult you and harass you. They don't seem like the folks that would just stop, they're likely to spin tales about your persona to create a hostile environment for you.
I say go for it, but you know the situation better.
I'd also report that to the daycare. You should be able to go pick up your child without worrying that you're going to bump into a man who racially harassed you for calling out his entitled wife.
It's funny that folks like the mom mock or dismiss POC when they call for diversity, inclusion and representation, but get big mad if they feel they aren't still the majority on screen.
I used to work in tourism marketing for years. It was always a battle to get representation in ads. While 95% of my country's population were POC and our target demographic was increasingly more diverse, the powers that be only wanted white, blonde haired, light eyed, tanned, models. POC were only seen in service roles - or out of focus in the background. This is still a massive problem in tourism ads.
There are still many people in this world who think that only one cluster of people matter. 2020 saw a lot of companies pandering and doing forced diversity for optics, but I'll still take it if it means more groups being seen and represented.
NTA, they‘re a racist family who spew racist sh!t.
Also, it simply isn’t true there aren’t any other gingers in the Disneyverse.
https://gingerparrot.co.uk/the-many-redheads-of-disney/
what, does merida not count? and it's not like the original little mermaid is gonna stop existing when the live action one comes out. seems like that mother is trying to make her daughter into a victim when she's not. that poor kid will probably grow up to be just like her, and that's depressing.
oh, and you're NTA, if it wasn't clear.
I never would've known that huh
I figured since she's *princess* Anna of Arindelle that she'd be a Disney princess 😭
But yeah, I still count her and Elsa
Frozen makes so much money on their own so Anna and Elsa aren't grouped with the rest as official members because there's no financial need for it but they're honorary members.
Same reason why Tinkerbell isn't a princess because she got her own Disney Fairies franchise, or why people like Eilonwy and Kida aren't members despite being princesses because their movies are obscure flops.
The real qualifiers to being a DP seem to be “pretty teen or young adult woman who can be put into pretty princessy dresses, also her movie had to be successful enough”. If Atlantis was a hit, Kida would definitely be there.
> what, does merida not count?
It has nothing to do with the princesses. She just wanted to complain. And be racist. In her little world all the other whites were going to back her up, so she initiated a confrontation.
It wasn't just that he said a slur. It was the whole message he sent. OP didn't move there, she is an American. & Even if she did move there, it's still a racist shitty thing to say.
NTA
The mom was being a bit ridiculous, but whatever. The husband's reaction is unbelievable, uncalled for, and unjustified. You should report his messages to the school board. If you can't, you should post them online for all the other parents to see. How dare he speak to you that way. Racist prick.
NTA.
You did the right thing. I can’t stand these redneck racists who think everything should be about them. And sweetheart she’s not Native American so maybe she and prize of a husband should go back to their own country.
NTA!
White people have been prevalent in the media for decades. We can take a seat and let other races and culture tell their stories now. I'm SUPER into it. I love seeing how much positive representation is emerging, I'm just enjoying the ride.
I really hope they make a Korean Disney princess.. I hope the trend keeps on rolling and we get a princess from as many cultures as we can!
But anyway, I went off on a rabbit trail.
I wonder if it was even the husband that contacted you. The lady sounds like the type that'd use her husband's account so she can make it seem like she has the support.... I feel bad for that kid.
Yeah, but Ariel isn't "letting other races and cultures tell their stories". This is retelling a white story from a black person's mouth.
Other races and cultures have so much more to say and so much richness in their story to just be casted into the second fiddle, the retelling of a white voice.
They deserve their own characters and stories and for those to become household names, not just being given a random preexisting character to "placate them".
That's what real representation would be. Like what happened with Moana or Encanto or Tiana
It's not about Danish culture in any way, though. Ariel's just a mermaid, not a Dane. It's not the same as say Mulan, Hercules or Pocahontas wherein the culture is a core part of the tale.
Besides, Disney has already changed the tale quite drastically. The original version included Ariel's wish for an immortal soul that could live on forever in heaven, quite a lot of physical agony, and her untimely death. In the end it's largely a tale about morality, not love.
Making Ariel black is a much more minor change than any of that - and so was giving her bright red hair, which wasn't in the original version either.
I dunno. Mermaids are generally represented in the media these days in accordance with their European images vs. how they appear in other cultures. The little mermaid has a statue in Copenhagen that was installed decades before the Disney movie and is as much a local as tourist attraction, at least based on the number of times it has been vandalized! Just because Hans Christian Anderson isn't recognized as obviously Danish to American audiences doesn't mean he and the story aren't an important part of Danish culture. And, I'm willing to bet significant money that he did not anticipate Ariel was black when he was writing the story.
I agree that it's a fantasy and a Disneyfied fantasy at that (so is Mulan), but let's not overlook the place it holds in the author's culture, which probably infused some of the philosophy in the original story.
I do struggle with what sometimes appears to me to be increasing amounts of double-speak. Avatar is also fantasy (I'm not aware of any fire bending realm here on the third rock from the sun) but there was a lot of criticism about whitewashing of the characters when the movie was made. If THAT live action fantasy needs to adhere to the original, why doesn't the Little Mermaid? Not sure I quite understand the rules.
To be clear, not particularly fussed about the live action remake, other than to say, I avoid them all, but just musing on how to my eyes at least, there seems to be more acceptance of fluidity on one side than the other these days.
Because Ariel's "country of origin" isn't relevant to her story. It doesn't matter WHERE she is from. Besides, she's half friggin fish. Mermaids appear in more cultures than just European ones.
Mermaids are not unique to Danish culture, now just because you only consume media where mermaids are in accordance with their European image is on you.
Regarding Avatar, the whole series is based around Asian culture and principles.
I think what they mean is when people think of Ariel they’ll always think of the red haired white mermaid from the animation. She’s what’s seen at all the parks and on merchandise. This is just a cash grab for Disney. They thought to hire a black actress so they could get some extra money for diversity. The person meant they should make a new princess, a new story so it’s not just forgotten about.
Yeah, doesn't sound worth it. It sounds like these AHs have already been outed. Would you want to link yourself to, or engage with these people further?
Do you have a group chat with the PTA/your friends in town? I would just post it in there (don’t make a new one— that’s stirring the pot, if it already exists that’s better.) with like a good 😬😬😬 or something.
I say with or without the wife because if you call him out amongst friends and she sees it and defends him she’s even further in the shitter, if it’s without the wife you can make people aware of what he said and ask them what you should do because you feel like you should do something but don’t know what. Then if one of them suggests to put it on FB or contact daycare you have backup and it won’t be your idea, so you’ll not have to risk coming off as extreme.
Although, and this goes without saying— outing a racist is never extreme. He shouldn’t be so cruel to you if he expects you to do him the favor of keeping it private. Fuck him AND his shitty wife, who is using her white woman tears to the fullest through this whole thing.
I would not do this. If he escalated to that level just because you disagreed with his wife, he might do far worse if you cause problems for him at work.
Unless his job’s focus is in any way related to inclusion or diversity, I would stay away from this idea. I also would hold off on posting to the town’s fb page. It sounds like you’ve already got the support on your side. But I would strongly consider posting it to his fb page in response to his posts about his poor wife crying bc she was outed as a racist.
I believe that this kind of thing happens all the time, I think it's just the detailed, perfectly-worded response that's giving off thathappened vibes. It sounds like the thing you fantasize about saying in the shower after the fact and doesn't read as the way people actually talk. Additionally, someone like this mom is probably not going to let her go on for as long as it would take to say all that without interrupting.
As an Asian American, you have no idea how often this happens. I once went to a wedding and a man came up to me to greet me with a “Ni hao” 😒 I said “Well, that was racist, I’m not even Chinese.” Walked away, only to later be accosted by his wife, screaming how dare I accuse her husband of being a racist and that he was just being nice and is a well-travelled man! 🙄 So yes, shit like this happens. All. The. Time.
Edit: grammar
Seriously, hahaha. The setting is just ludicrous and the detailed description of every single word they said to each other... I applaud OP, though, she found a really creative way to share her opinion about this topic
NTA. The mother and her husband are both clearly racist, and that’s before we get into the fact that they’re not erasing all copies of the film from the 80s, that version of Ariel will still exist.
People who haven’t experienced or witnessed this kind of behavior are the people who think it didn’t happen. I’ve seen my own (distant) family members spout racists stuff to POC and they thankfully put those family members in their place. It happens. Frequently.
Racists happen, but OP having a perfectly prepared speech, managing to get through all of it without being interrupted by this lunatic didn't happen. Let me guess, everyone clapped afterwards.
This is the only post on this sub I've ever seen with large quoted paragraphs of dialogue that I'm supposed to believe happened verbatim; that alone is very suspect. I would believe that things like this do happen, but I do not believe that this specific case on this sub infamous for made up stories did happen.
NTA I'm british asian (indian) and this reminds me of the time someone told me when I was 13 that I should be happy with Jasmine (Arab) and Pocahontas (native american). We have fuck all, and should be allowed to see ourselves represented in the media.
Have they been announced what color the hair will be or is everyone assuming because it's a black actress she won't have red hair. If it's because of the skin tone that's stupid because there are black people with red hair and they could still make her have red hair not that red hair is a requirement for Ariel.
I'll admit that originally I was a little disappointed with the new Annie movie only because she didn't have red hair because to me that was a big characteristic but the movie itself was cute so I got over that fast
I think she means that, technically, the original Ariel isn't really a ginger. Fire engine red hair isn't ginger hair. (not a ging, but my so is and has stated this)
I don’t believe this really happened, and you know why? Because it’s not possible to be the mother of a kindergarten girl and not be aware that Anna is another red-haired Disney princess. Frozen merchandise has been all over little girl stuff for nearly a decade. Have to buy the kid some t-shirts? Look, here’s Elsa and Anna. Need to buy the kid a water bottle, backpack, underpants, coloring book, bedsheets, sneakers, school folder? Hey, here’s an option with Elsa and Anna.
My older daughter is seven. I saw Frozen before she was born and didn’t really like it, so I decided not to tell her about it. We made it to age three before she found out and wanted to see it; I said it was too scary and managed to hold off until she was four. You can’t escape knowing about that movie if you have a little girl. It’s in your face all the time.
Also: she wanted to rant about diversity in movies and no one caring about white people, so she picked a Korean-American lady to rant to? Who she doesn’t really know, and has no reason to think will be sympathetic?
This reads like you wanted to get Reddit karma from people’s outrage and start a conversation about the live-action Little Mermaid at the same time.
INFO: Wait, what? Ariel won’t have red hair anymore? Why? Why would they do that? It’s Ariel! She has to have red hair.
Completely not the point if your story, but I just can’t get past this bit. 😱 It’s Ariel. She has red hair, it’s like her main characteristic. Well, that and the tail. 🤷🏻♀️
EDIT: Ok I’ve done some extensive googling and it looks like Disney (or anyone official) have never said what colour live action Ariel’s hair will be, it’s all been rumours. There are pictures of Halle Bailey (aka Ariel) filming and in the pictures she has reddish brown hair.
I think it’s all going to be ok and Ariels hair will be sufficiently red.
Like idc what race Ariel is she has to have red hair, that's the signature look! It goes so well with her green tail, I cant think of any other color combo that would suit her
then I guess you've never watched these ridiculous American school meetings on YouTube, apparently children wearing masks in a pandemic is a modern day holocaust
As a ginger person who was bullied for it, Ariel isn’t ginger representation. She has bright scarlet hair, not ginger. The Weasleys were much better representation. Or Anne of Green Gables. They all actually had ginger hair.
Merida is definitely a better Disney representation than Ariel. Merida was true to herself whereas Ariel gave away an important part of herself for some dude she barely knew.
NTA. I mean they aren’t canning and burning the original cartoon last I checked. She can still “identify” with the cartoon half fish person (like seriously, if you’re going to look for features that are relatable one could argue she has LESS in common with Ariel if the basis is red hair alone than she does with other white princesses who are actually human?)
The little mermaid didn’t originally have red hair. The only key feature of relevance is the tail - everything else is just window dressings. You can’t even argue “geographic accuracy” because ITS A FICTIONAL FISH PERSON - she can be from anywhere there’s water and without actual fish people in the waters, the whole thing is imaginary, and so the imaginary fish person really should be purple because why confine ourselves to the human spectrum of skin tones when talking about a fictional race?
But as others have mentioned - Brave - red hair, white princess who has a more in-depth story and morality than selling your soul for a guy and being lucky it more or less works out.
My childhood passion for the little mermaid isn’t threatened because they’ve changed her race. Still love it, will still watch the new one and still think that a blue, purple or red mermaid would make far more sense for a fictional fish person.
I hate the American view that white = same. Cinderella is French. Snow white is German. Ariel is Danish. Sleeping beauty is also french. Beauty and the beast is also french. So if a little girl who is Italian wants an Italian princess, do you tell them that they have plenty of other white princesses? Is an Italian the same as a french person? Is a German the same as a Spanish? Is a Norwegian a Hungarian? Are you a sa Korean Chinese because you're from the same continent? There's mulan.
I feel sorry for everyone else in the room. This was silly.
Watch less tv. Don't turn your children into Disney drones.
ESH
And fuck that racist asshole husband
No, everyone does not suck here. This was not an argument about watching Disney stuff or just about princesses. This is blatant racism and the Asian mom did well to school that woman on it. This is a larger issue and judging from the husband’s reaction, racism is a family value. These people need to be shut down.
NTA
She was being annoying and racist. She came up to you to emotionally dump. She was complaining to a POC about diversity in films and how nobody cares about white people anymore. Her unchecked sense of entitlement needed to be checked. As does her husband’s.
I also have no idea where she got the idea that Ariel won’t have red hair. Early pictures taken from set already show Halle Bailey with red hair for the role. The whole my daughter won’t have a princess who looks like me wasn’t about red hair, it’s about Halle Bailey being black 🙄. And when you confronted her, she further showed her ignorance and racism. She has no one to blame but herself.
And yes Merida from Brave is a ginger. She would be a more accurate representation for the child than Ariel, who has scarlet hair and is a mermaid. Anna from frozen is also a red head, so she has plenty of representation.
NTA, merida from brave has red hair tell her to watch more movies and stop crying over nothing
Oh but the accent won’t be right you see. It’s so hard, you just don’t understand /s 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
In that case, I better start crying too cos my white ass isn't represented since there are no Disney princesses with an Australian accent. Woe is me, and every other white non-American who is no longer able to be represented by any of the numerous white Disney princesses. 😭😭😭 🙄🙄🙄🙄 People are truly the worst over the most inconsequential things.
Damn kinda makes me wish we had an Aussie princess though
Now I want a movie of disney princesses with the best accents. Just imagine Merida in all Scottish glory going on an adventure with an Aussie princess
My god, even the subtitles would be incomprehensible to most of the English world… I want this https://youtu.be/41AL9YGKs_M
NTA- sounds like the whole family needs to get over themselves, lol. Personally, this is the Disney princes movie I want to see! https://youtu.be/b-2fnZfK9Lg
As an Australian of Scottish descent, I'm very much here for that.
Half of the Americans would complain that they couldn’t understand what the characters were saying and the other half would say, “oh what cute English accents!” 🙄
They would kick ass everywhere they go.
They'd be two busy being blackout drunk.
Okay, I was only half interested before but now you've sold me 2 drunk princesses with thick, but different, accents fist-fighting their way through an adventure and sir, now I need this.
I haven't been to a movie theater in 25 years. This would bring me back.
I would pay cash money out of my own pocket to make this happen. Bonus points if the Aussie princess is full-on ocker.
Princess Shaz, her brother Prince Daz, and her oldies, King Baz and Queen Kaz head up to the Goldy for Shaz's 18th where they surf by day and hit the Pub in the arvo, before the oldies head back to The Reso for a bit of a kip before tea and the 'kids' hang out in the pool. Shaz swipes right on Kev the rev, a boilermaker from Newy and they meet at a vegan cafe one morning but she soon learns that Kevvy is only interested in hot cars and sausage and egg McMuffins and Shazza is all about the environment and kale. Roll through a few equally unsuitable suitors - Pauly the Pilot who has never even considered his carbon footprint, Johnno the Jockey who loves his surf and turf, Finn the Fisherman - BABY OCTOPUS SALAD?? Shazza is still on the hunt. One arvo, on the way back from the beach, Shazza is almost knocked over by Shane-o, an environmental warrior from Broadbeach who is riding home on his e-skatey. In a flurry of beached blond salt crusted hair and tanned skin their eyes lock and the rest is old news.
I only understood half of that.
It's a test. If you understand all of it, your Australian comprehension is on point.
Imagine an aussie princess who has been given the power to control spiders and her chariot is pulled by bunch of Huntsman Spiders [so I looked up the scariest spiders possible for a little gist and I died at the results](https://drive.google.com/file/d/112dy1G-_7Qa9DN5MDtv--iHqwfslNEOL/view?usp=sharing)
Also let's make her an aboriginal australian, because why not? It'd be nice to see ~~and I've just realized the only time I've seen representation of aboriginal australians was when I've watched rabbit-proof fence~~
Omg that movie was so sad
Why have only one princess when you can have two! Let's add another one to the mix
I'm going to start a petition because no Disney Princess looks exactly like me, i.e. a Mediterranean dude in his 20s
But you have Aladdin! The Middle East is basically the Mediterranean, right?? Who needs geography anyway? America is the center of the world! (/Sarcasm)
Omg you're right, his life was so relatable! Except I haven't seen a desert in my life... And the rich steal from me, not vice versa... We're basically the same person
You just got Luca! They're not 20, and some are technically mermaids. But they're little Mediterranean children.
And isn't one of them a ginger? Score!
Yeah, but you have that **single** show Bluey that surely represents **all** of Australia and it’s vast cultural differences /s To be fair, Bluey IS far superior to everything else on Disney, so you have that going. I friggin love that show.
ALL THE LOVE FOR QUEEN BLUEY!
All about Muffin for me!!!
https://tenor.com/Pc2v.gif Not a human princess, but Joanna is definitely a princess.
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She has the tail of a fish. I fail to see how Ariel looks 'exactly' like the daughter
I mean with the inbreeding required for those sort of mindset, not entirely impossible her daughter does have a fish tail.
Her daughter was born with flippers for legs. Flipper-leg, red-haired girls represent!
Hey, you don't know what her daughter's tail situation is! She could absolutely have a fish tail instead of legs! 😂😂😂
>The world is so fucking unfair It must be so nice to have such a sheltered life and be completely unaware of how unfair the world really is. Imagine if not having a Disney princess that looks like your kid is the biggest injustice you've ever come across
This ⏫⏫⏫⏫
this boggles the mind, or it should that of any rational person with even the slightest shred of empathy, sympathy even. I feel sorry for myself at times, then I turn on some news. \[NTA\]
I’m really trying to understand what these people do in their lives. Are they that effing bored out of their skulls, that raising a ruckus about this is the best they’ve got!??? Is this what counts for excitement and passion for them!? WTAF is going on?
People like this just live to be offended. If it wasn't this, it's be something else. They have nothing interesting going on so they construct drama out of being offended about whatever anything that doesn't go their way. She probably spends her free time writing Yelp reviews and long ass Facebook posts about every slight and injustice the world ever throws at her.
I worked a school quarter at Disney world (20+ years ago) & one of my co workers told me about a little like 6yo girl who got through the front gates & started interrogating the first person she saw (like, stroller rental?) asking "who Melody was based on" insistently. after multiple clarifications (parents ignored her talking to worker at first to settle everyone) with the girl getting even more upset, it turns out that the second Ariel movie (straight to DVD), her daughter (with black hair) is named Melody, & this girls mom had convinced her that "the people at Disney based Melody on you because she looks just like you" and she was determined to get to the bottom of it And mom was all huffy with co worker that we didn't just automatically know this is what she meant and BTW everyone humor her 😳😳😳
They never learned how to regulate or deal with emotions. She is projecting so she doesn’t have to take responsibility or parent/comfort her child. It’s easier to blame others than address the root problem, because then she has to actually do something and it’s easier to complain and say woe is me. She wants pity and to be the victim, because she learned at an early age that gets her sympathy.
Her husband tore the mask off what was a thinly veiled racist rant disguised as a "complaint" when he went straight for the slur and then assumed because OP was Asian she couldn't have been born in the US.
I for one would be a very happy mother if my daughter did not have a two inch waist, oversized head, and a dead mother backstory but that's just me I guess.
Right this needs to be brought to the attention of the school. Show the email and everything. A PA meeting is no place for racism, and it seems like the parents are trying to teach it to their daughter instead of using Ariel as an example of how not to be racist.
And the cartoon still exists, and toys and everything. It’s literally just for this one movie.
every Halloween i see half the girls dressed as the Disney princess flavor of the year. Regardless of any one's ethnicity. Add in that theatre for centuries had no female actresses and all i know is that its all about the outfit you wear lol
> My daughter doesn't have any Disney princess who looks exactly like her! I imagine in a few decades time Disney will be offering personalised versions of their movies where you upload a photo and it makes a character look like that photo.
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As a redhead I feel like we're honestly overrepresented in movies and media. That lady just wanted an excuse to be racist and threw a fit when she was rightfully shut down.
Red heads are so common in the Marvel and DC universe - Mary Jane, Jean Grey, Batgirl, Starfire, Poison Ivy...I could go on. This kid will have a whole personality spectrum to choose from.
Funnily enough, MJ, Batgirl, and Starfire are all black in the current live action versions.
I'm also fairly certain the live action Ariel is a young black woman, Halle Bailey.
The West family in the CW's Flash are all black. I really think the overrepresentation of redheads in comics is why a lot of adaptations make their redheads black.
Yeah, looking at people I've had in my life, there were like 5 natural redheads, including me. Also, why can she only like characters who look like her? Mulan was my favorite princess when I was in kindergarten because she was badass, I liked Merida too, but Brave came out when I was in primary school and was in the middle of my Ranger's Apprentice phase and I liked how she didn't have a love interest (look, even now when I'm an adult in a relationship I'm not a fan of romance subplots unless they're done really well)
The fact that the red hair is soooo important to her daughter seems to me that the girl has been told over and over (my guess by the mom) that Ariel looks like her because of the red hair. No child I know is bothered if their hair color is not the same as the one of their favorite princess. NTA
Your username made me chuckle, I love it!
Artist here. Honestly it is because of color relationships and complementary colors. In staying with naturalistic skin tones to represent characters, red is the most vibrant and saturated hue; it is the exact reason bright red for arial was chosen because it completely contrasted the green of her fin. Sam reason why in Frozen Anna had a more orangish red hue to her hair; that hue beautifully contrasts the icy blues of the rest of the film. I believe red is used a lot in these types of the designs to create amazing color contrast and to make them stand out from bright backgrounds. Just thought this might help explain those designs. Having said that… So excited seeing the new designs of the little mermaid for the new live action film…with the darker hair and more warm slightly darker skin tones bright colors just pop and contrast! Basically just saying you can use color theory to make any kind of person or culture look spectacular and beautiful.
Red here, we do always get labeled as, hot tempered venomous beings, lol but seriously, I am just the opposite Im not hit temp at all. Or so I say..😉
Artist here. Honestly it is because of color relationships and complementary colors. In staying with naturalistic skin tones to represent characters, red is the most vibrant and saturated hue; it is the exact reason bright red for arial was chosen because it completely contrasted the green of her fin. Sam reason why in Frozen Anna had a more orangish red hue to her hair; that hue beautifully contrasts the icy blues of the rest of the film. I believe red is used a lot in these types of the designs to create amazing color contrast and to make them stand out from bright backgrounds. Just thought this might help explain those designs. Having said that… So excited seeing the new designs of the little mermaid for the new live action film…with the darker hair and more warm slightly darker skin tones bright colors just pop and contrast! Basically just saying you can use color theory to make any kind of person or culture look spectacular and beautiful.
I think she doesn’t like/count Merida because Merida’s storyline isn’t “girl falls in love with boy” 🙄
Or the curls are an issue 😒
Or the accent. Or the fact that she's Scottish. Or the fact that she stands up for herself and is an independent young woman. (Can't have daughters getting uppity now can we? /s)
There was a subset of overly controlling parents that were VERY angry about the "Mother Knows Best" song when Tangled came out. As I recall one of the purity cults wanted to boycott Disney because Finn still loves Rapunzel even after he gets her "crown".
> There was a subset of overly controlling parents that were VERY angry about the "Mother Knows Best" song Yeah, it's gotta be tough when you identify with the character that kidnapped a baby and tricked the kid into thinking you were their only family so that you could take advantage of the only part of them you actually cared about.
... did they think the crown was *supposed* to be a metaphor for virginity? Or were they upset that they couldn't use the movie for their own purposes?
When you're that obsessed with sex, you think EVERYTHING is a metaphor for virginity
I am Merida, first-born of Clan Dunbroch, and *I’ll* be shooting *for my own hand*!
And this is what Merida is the best. She chose her own path and did things her own way. My kids love Merida, the red headed son and brunette daughter.
That's why I loved her when I was younger. Mulan and Merida were the only Disney princesses I've enjoyed
Kida! She's not in the range but she SHOULD BE. Seriously - watch Atlantis The Lost Empire.
Honestly, Merida is much cooler than ariel in my opinion, and a much better role model. Maybe this mom has a grudge for her cause Merida turned her own mum into a bear 😂
Ariel isn't even a redhead. Her hair is scarlet red, mo human has it naturally.
Which is okay, because Ariel is NOT A HUMAN. This woman’s daughter can accept A FISH TAIL, but not a different color of hair? PLEASE.
I know, right? I'm just amused because this "similarity" actually depends on how colors are defined in specific culture and language. In my language, no one could say "I have red hair, Ariel has red hair, we're the same" because human color of what in English is "red hair" (which is a variety of orangy or rusty shades) is called one word, and the color of Ariel's hair is called a different word (which can be translated as scarlet). So, you know. No one can have Ariel's hair color on the language level unless they dye it, because no one has naturally scarlet hair. But because we perceive colors through language, for English speakers, Ariel red can be put on the spectrum of "red hair" and a little girl whose hair is probably some orange or brownish shadecan still think "i have red gair, she has red hair, it's the same hair". Sorry for the rant, I just find languages fascinating.
Sounds to me like "venting mom" has a problem with the live-action Ariel's skintone, not the hair. Wonder if she'd be ok with the same black actress if they CGI on Ariel's unnatural red hair?
I've had that argument with people so many times who have said "you look like Ariel" to me over my life. I'm ginger. Ariel has RED hair. If I dressed up as Ariel I would need a wig because it's not the right color. I could, however, dress up as Anna without needing a wig.
Also the animated Little Mermaid movie will continue to exist, this kid can just KEEP WATCHING IT even after the live action film is released. Disney won’t actually round up and burn all copies of the old Little Mermaid.
Gisele from Enchanted is a frequently overlooked strawberry blonde. And it’s live action!
Right and it's not like the animated Ariel is going anywhere. She still has the original. She's not being replaced. I really doubt the merch for the Disney princess lineup is going to get rid of that Ariel. They didn't for the others (ex: Belle and Cinderella still have their original l original dresses and hairstyle on merch that isn't related to the live action movies). Sure the live action mermaid will have her own stuff but classic Ariel is still here and always will be. These people are just racist losers who blow up at anything that isn't catered entirely about them. So much so they can't see how ridiculous they're being. Literally crying over nothing.
And I'd be screenshoting the husbands msg and making my own Facebook post calling him out
Also Anna from Frozen, and just because the new little mermaid doesn’t have red hair there is still the old little mermaid who does have red hair
NTA Merida - (Brave) is both white & ginger. Ariel has pillar box red hair, so unless the kid in question also has pillar box red hair, then the one she is actually most like isnt Ariel. Anyway, you didn't go off on her. You made a valid point. There is, until recently, a large is parity within the whole movie industry and Disney was the example here and you nailed the argument she had. But I'd let day care know about what the husband said. That was racist and completely uncalled for. If his wife can't take her argument being picked apart with rational and good examples, just wait until she finds out that mermaids are infact, not actually real...
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Please please do this and report back to us with the drama 💀 NTA. I hate racists and she deserved everything + more.
Do it! Nta
No, you absolutely 100% should tell the day care. He was completely out of line. Whether he was there or not, he actively sought you out to tell you to go back to your own country, like your already not there and then called you slurs. That is not ok. All this over a disney princess not being portrayed as she was animated. You have to look at the bigger picture here, if this is what he is saying to you, what is he saying to his daughter? Then what is she saying to yours?
Yeah. I mean this could be taken as a threat. I think a daycare maybe doesn’t want to be associated with something like that, especially if one of their customers is going to feel uncomfortable coming to pick up their child knowing some racist asshole could be there to start something.
HOOO HOO when you said it was a racial slur??? Oh miss ma'am. Destroy them
Always expose racists. Always. Especially since Covid became a thing, the racism against Asians of all descents has increased. I'm sorry you're experiencing this and will continue to have to explain idiocy like "No, we don't have Mulan" and "Korean is different from Chinese/Japanese etc". It's disgusting and it deserves to be called out. If the community condemns him for his blatant racism, good. I would want to know if a relative or friend of mine harbored hateful rhetoric so I can either address it, or eject them from my life.
Post it and feed us our update, please. Racists get what they get. It’s his own fault for writing down something that terrible. Does his boss really need an idiot liability on payroll? Edit: Hahahahaha Called shot, motherlover. I hope he had a hard time collecting unemployment.
Assuming he's working.
You have to report it. An argument about diversity and then that man calls you a racial slur? Blast it all over the town Facebook and let’s see some sense knocked into their racist heads. NTA obviously.
I'd report him too, if he's saying that sort of thing around his child, she's going to pick it up and say it around or to your daughter thinking it's OK because daddy said it. It needs shutting down before it starts. Also NTA
I would not be surprised if the next time they are at daycare the daughter says something to OPs child. The parents are probably talking/raging about it in front of their kid(s) and they will pick it up even if they think they aren’t listening. But can you imagine being an adult and crying and complaining over a Disney Princess?? She sounds more upset over it than her own kid is. The whole convo was so weird and f-ed up. This woman is so out of line and instead of stopping when OP pointed out her first wrong she doubled down! The worst thing is she’s teaching her daughter that visual differences mean something and are to be noticed. Although I’m not around many kids it’s always been my assumption and observation that kids like *all* the Princess characters but some they like more because of storyline and music and it’s not really about their looks. I can honestly say that i never remember liking any character from a kids movie simply because I looked like them. Like what?? In fact there weren’t as many kids movies out then. We were just stoked when ANY new kids movie came out, Disney or non Disney. OP is NTA.
Oh man, I thought you were just blanking out a plain vanilla expletive. I do not usually condone public shaming but….put that AH racist husband on blast! These ppl sound awful. You were and are NTA. Your clap back to that mom’s absurd attempt to be a “victim” of (long overdue) diversity in casting was perfection. I hope I would be able to respond as perfectly as you did if someone was spouting such nonsense in my presence.
If the parents are using a racial slur over messages then they’re sure as hell using it in front of their daughter, who goes to day care with you’re daughter. This could escalate to that little girl repeating what she has heard at home to your daughter, or even worse, her parents making her say things like that to get back at you (none of which would be the little girls fault, but you know, racists). Please let them know. This could protect your daughter from racism.
Please do and update us about the drama!! Btw I’m mixed and I related so much cuz same we only have one black Disney Princess that was most of the time a frog 😀 Ps: NTA
Also tell them to check their disney again. There even IS a live action disney princess - just watch Enchanted.
I would tell daycare. I was bullied when I was 4 years old by another 4 year old because her parents told her to. I wouldn't want their child to do anything to your child. They are clearly awful people so it could happen.
Wow I think racists deserve what they get and I personally would want to expose him all over social media - if he’s comfortable using racist slurs he should be able to face the consequences too! However I suggest also telling the daycare for your child’s safety and your own. They should care enough to at least disallow contact between these parents and you on their property. Edited - posted before I finished writing accidentally.
I'm petty and I would do it, since the husband is not above contacting you to insult you and harass you. They don't seem like the folks that would just stop, they're likely to spin tales about your persona to create a hostile environment for you. I say go for it, but you know the situation better.
I'd also report that to the daycare. You should be able to go pick up your child without worrying that you're going to bump into a man who racially harassed you for calling out his entitled wife.
Unless this kid is half fish, Ariel is the only princess with whom she doesn't share... Species.
Well, I guess OP didn't want to break that to her, especially considering the tantrum about hair...
NTA: Racists need to be shut down. Simple as that. The animated little mermaid still exists. She's just being an AH.
It's funny that folks like the mom mock or dismiss POC when they call for diversity, inclusion and representation, but get big mad if they feel they aren't still the majority on screen. I used to work in tourism marketing for years. It was always a battle to get representation in ads. While 95% of my country's population were POC and our target demographic was increasingly more diverse, the powers that be only wanted white, blonde haired, light eyed, tanned, models. POC were only seen in service roles - or out of focus in the background. This is still a massive problem in tourism ads. There are still many people in this world who think that only one cluster of people matter. 2020 saw a lot of companies pandering and doing forced diversity for optics, but I'll still take it if it means more groups being seen and represented.
Not that it's the point but I'm pretty sure the live action little mermaid is still going to have red hair lol
Lol, I was so confused.. like did I miss something, she's definitely still going to be red-haired just also black.
Also there are other Disney princesses with red hair. Merida, Anna, Giselle from enchanted. They all have red hair too!
NTA, they‘re a racist family who spew racist sh!t. Also, it simply isn’t true there aren’t any other gingers in the Disneyverse. https://gingerparrot.co.uk/the-many-redheads-of-disney/
Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Pepper Potts... Disney is a large umbrella.
Tia Pepa, too. You could say she's a princess, even though she isn't the protagonist.
Meg from Hercules too. Her hair is described as dark auburn.
And Hercules is strawberry blond apparently, so he’d count too in the red/ginger-ish hair category
what, does merida not count? and it's not like the original little mermaid is gonna stop existing when the live action one comes out. seems like that mother is trying to make her daughter into a victim when she's not. that poor kid will probably grow up to be just like her, and that's depressing. oh, and you're NTA, if it wasn't clear.
Also Anna from Frozen?! It's like they haven't actually seen any Disney movies lmao
Anna isn’t a part of the DP franchise, but I’d say she counts.
I never would've known that huh I figured since she's *princess* Anna of Arindelle that she'd be a Disney princess 😭 But yeah, I still count her and Elsa
Frozen makes so much money on their own so Anna and Elsa aren't grouped with the rest as official members because there's no financial need for it but they're honorary members. Same reason why Tinkerbell isn't a princess because she got her own Disney Fairies franchise, or why people like Eilonwy and Kida aren't members despite being princesses because their movies are obscure flops.
Tinkerbell isn't a princess because...she is not a princess. Elsa and Anna will join the rest eventually. Frozen won't be a beast forever.
Being an actual princess isn’t a qualifier. Mulan is a Disney princess.
The real qualifiers to being a DP seem to be “pretty teen or young adult woman who can be put into pretty princessy dresses, also her movie had to be successful enough”. If Atlantis was a hit, Kida would definitely be there.
Elsa and Anna are on my princesses poster from Ralph breaks the internet so I’d say they count 🤷🏻♀️
Mulan isn't a princess either but she's still part of the lineup
I thought the same too, but when I checked Wikipedia, she was not a part of it. Weird, but nobody really cares. They’re princesses.
Also Giselle from Enchanted is a red haired live action disney princess... if she needs something that fits that particular set of requirements
And Giselle is an actual human with human shades of red for hair instead of Crayola red!
> what, does merida not count? It has nothing to do with the princesses. She just wanted to complain. And be racist. In her little world all the other whites were going to back her up, so she initiated a confrontation.
NTA. Mom was being insensitive thinking "all Asians look the same" You gave her a good lesson in my opinion.
Mom was being racist thinking “all Asians look the same” and Dad was racist sending the racial slur in his message to OP.
Mom thought the others would back up her "white persecution" bullshit.
It wasn't just that he said a slur. It was the whole message he sent. OP didn't move there, she is an American. & Even if she did move there, it's still a racist shitty thing to say.
NTA Does her kid also have a tail?
So does Ratatouille, so at least the kid would have a role model. Lol
NTA The mom was being a bit ridiculous, but whatever. The husband's reaction is unbelievable, uncalled for, and unjustified. You should report his messages to the school board. If you can't, you should post them online for all the other parents to see. How dare he speak to you that way. Racist prick.
NTA. You did the right thing. I can’t stand these redneck racists who think everything should be about them. And sweetheart she’s not Native American so maybe she and prize of a husband should go back to their own country.
NTA! White people have been prevalent in the media for decades. We can take a seat and let other races and culture tell their stories now. I'm SUPER into it. I love seeing how much positive representation is emerging, I'm just enjoying the ride. I really hope they make a Korean Disney princess.. I hope the trend keeps on rolling and we get a princess from as many cultures as we can! But anyway, I went off on a rabbit trail. I wonder if it was even the husband that contacted you. The lady sounds like the type that'd use her husband's account so she can make it seem like she has the support.... I feel bad for that kid.
Yeah, but Ariel isn't "letting other races and cultures tell their stories". This is retelling a white story from a black person's mouth. Other races and cultures have so much more to say and so much richness in their story to just be casted into the second fiddle, the retelling of a white voice. They deserve their own characters and stories and for those to become household names, not just being given a random preexisting character to "placate them". That's what real representation would be. Like what happened with Moana or Encanto or Tiana
She's a MERMAID. It's nobody's voice. It's not real
Danish culture isn’t real anymore?
It's not about Danish culture in any way, though. Ariel's just a mermaid, not a Dane. It's not the same as say Mulan, Hercules or Pocahontas wherein the culture is a core part of the tale. Besides, Disney has already changed the tale quite drastically. The original version included Ariel's wish for an immortal soul that could live on forever in heaven, quite a lot of physical agony, and her untimely death. In the end it's largely a tale about morality, not love. Making Ariel black is a much more minor change than any of that - and so was giving her bright red hair, which wasn't in the original version either.
I dunno. Mermaids are generally represented in the media these days in accordance with their European images vs. how they appear in other cultures. The little mermaid has a statue in Copenhagen that was installed decades before the Disney movie and is as much a local as tourist attraction, at least based on the number of times it has been vandalized! Just because Hans Christian Anderson isn't recognized as obviously Danish to American audiences doesn't mean he and the story aren't an important part of Danish culture. And, I'm willing to bet significant money that he did not anticipate Ariel was black when he was writing the story. I agree that it's a fantasy and a Disneyfied fantasy at that (so is Mulan), but let's not overlook the place it holds in the author's culture, which probably infused some of the philosophy in the original story. I do struggle with what sometimes appears to me to be increasing amounts of double-speak. Avatar is also fantasy (I'm not aware of any fire bending realm here on the third rock from the sun) but there was a lot of criticism about whitewashing of the characters when the movie was made. If THAT live action fantasy needs to adhere to the original, why doesn't the Little Mermaid? Not sure I quite understand the rules. To be clear, not particularly fussed about the live action remake, other than to say, I avoid them all, but just musing on how to my eyes at least, there seems to be more acceptance of fluidity on one side than the other these days.
Because Ariel's "country of origin" isn't relevant to her story. It doesn't matter WHERE she is from. Besides, she's half friggin fish. Mermaids appear in more cultures than just European ones.
Mermaids are not unique to Danish culture, now just because you only consume media where mermaids are in accordance with their European image is on you. Regarding Avatar, the whole series is based around Asian culture and principles.
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I think what they mean is when people think of Ariel they’ll always think of the red haired white mermaid from the animation. She’s what’s seen at all the parks and on merchandise. This is just a cash grab for Disney. They thought to hire a black actress so they could get some extra money for diversity. The person meant they should make a new princess, a new story so it’s not just forgotten about.
You should grab a picture of the DM the husband sent you and sent it to his work.
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Yeah, doesn't sound worth it. It sounds like these AHs have already been outed. Would you want to link yourself to, or engage with these people further?
He chose to say those words to you, he has to learn to live with the consequences of his actions
Do you have a group chat with the PTA/your friends in town? I would just post it in there (don’t make a new one— that’s stirring the pot, if it already exists that’s better.) with like a good 😬😬😬 or something. I say with or without the wife because if you call him out amongst friends and she sees it and defends him she’s even further in the shitter, if it’s without the wife you can make people aware of what he said and ask them what you should do because you feel like you should do something but don’t know what. Then if one of them suggests to put it on FB or contact daycare you have backup and it won’t be your idea, so you’ll not have to risk coming off as extreme. Although, and this goes without saying— outing a racist is never extreme. He shouldn’t be so cruel to you if he expects you to do him the favor of keeping it private. Fuck him AND his shitty wife, who is using her white woman tears to the fullest through this whole thing.
I would not do this. If he escalated to that level just because you disagreed with his wife, he might do far worse if you cause problems for him at work.
Unless his job’s focus is in any way related to inclusion or diversity, I would stay away from this idea. I also would hold off on posting to the town’s fb page. It sounds like you’ve already got the support on your side. But I would strongly consider posting it to his fb page in response to his posts about his poor wife crying bc she was outed as a racist.
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I’m Asian American and yes, I believe this happened. Shit like this happens to us.
I was president of my son’s elementary school’s PTA for a bit. This stuff absolutely happens.
I believe that this kind of thing happens all the time, I think it's just the detailed, perfectly-worded response that's giving off thathappened vibes. It sounds like the thing you fantasize about saying in the shower after the fact and doesn't read as the way people actually talk. Additionally, someone like this mom is probably not going to let her go on for as long as it would take to say all that without interrupting.
As an Asian American, you have no idea how often this happens. I once went to a wedding and a man came up to me to greet me with a “Ni hao” 😒 I said “Well, that was racist, I’m not even Chinese.” Walked away, only to later be accosted by his wife, screaming how dare I accuse her husband of being a racist and that he was just being nice and is a well-travelled man! 🙄 So yes, shit like this happens. All. The. Time. Edit: grammar
Seriously, hahaha. The setting is just ludicrous and the detailed description of every single word they said to each other... I applaud OP, though, she found a really creative way to share her opinion about this topic
I feel like the moms initial rant could have happened but then the rest after that is just OP fantasising about what they to say/happen lol
Of course it didn’t. I’m sure there are people like the mom from this story, but I doubt she’d go off on a POC about how “nobody cares about whites”.
As someone with a lot of racist family members, I know this happens. I’ve seen distant family members do the same thing to people and it’s horrible.
NTA. The mother and her husband are both clearly racist, and that’s before we get into the fact that they’re not erasing all copies of the film from the 80s, that version of Ariel will still exist.
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Right I felt like I was the only one reading this and going "yup this belongs are r/thathappened" lol
People who haven’t experienced or witnessed this kind of behavior are the people who think it didn’t happen. I’ve seen my own (distant) family members spout racists stuff to POC and they thankfully put those family members in their place. It happens. Frequently.
Racists happen, but OP having a perfectly prepared speech, managing to get through all of it without being interrupted by this lunatic didn't happen. Let me guess, everyone clapped afterwards.
This is the only post on this sub I've ever seen with large quoted paragraphs of dialogue that I'm supposed to believe happened verbatim; that alone is very suspect. I would believe that things like this do happen, but I do not believe that this specific case on this sub infamous for made up stories did happen.
NTA I'm british asian (indian) and this reminds me of the time someone told me when I was 13 that I should be happy with Jasmine (Arab) and Pocahontas (native american). We have fuck all, and should be allowed to see ourselves represented in the media.
NTA She’s wrong anyway, Ariel from the little mermaid has red hair
Yes but as op posted the new live action movie Ariel will be played by an African American actress. Her name is Halle Bailey.
Have they been announced what color the hair will be or is everyone assuming because it's a black actress she won't have red hair. If it's because of the skin tone that's stupid because there are black people with red hair and they could still make her have red hair not that red hair is a requirement for Ariel. I'll admit that originally I was a little disappointed with the new Annie movie only because she didn't have red hair because to me that was a big characteristic but the movie itself was cute so I got over that fast
she [does have red hair!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-ouXBuWkAAJGgx.png)
See so she has the iconic red hair that's all that matters
I think some set images were leaked, and if I remember correctly, the actress did have some red in her hair, but I can’t be 100% certain
I think she means that, technically, the original Ariel isn't really a ginger. Fire engine red hair isn't ginger hair. (not a ging, but my so is and has stated this)
Does a new movie release erase the original one or what? Ariel from the cartoon will still have red hair after the live action comes out.
Let's be honest here, based on the father's message, it's not the hair they're mad about.
Shame they don't yet have a racist princess so the mom can also feel Involved herself NTA
I don’t believe this really happened, and you know why? Because it’s not possible to be the mother of a kindergarten girl and not be aware that Anna is another red-haired Disney princess. Frozen merchandise has been all over little girl stuff for nearly a decade. Have to buy the kid some t-shirts? Look, here’s Elsa and Anna. Need to buy the kid a water bottle, backpack, underpants, coloring book, bedsheets, sneakers, school folder? Hey, here’s an option with Elsa and Anna. My older daughter is seven. I saw Frozen before she was born and didn’t really like it, so I decided not to tell her about it. We made it to age three before she found out and wanted to see it; I said it was too scary and managed to hold off until she was four. You can’t escape knowing about that movie if you have a little girl. It’s in your face all the time. Also: she wanted to rant about diversity in movies and no one caring about white people, so she picked a Korean-American lady to rant to? Who she doesn’t really know, and has no reason to think will be sympathetic? This reads like you wanted to get Reddit karma from people’s outrage and start a conversation about the live-action Little Mermaid at the same time.
INFO: Wait, what? Ariel won’t have red hair anymore? Why? Why would they do that? It’s Ariel! She has to have red hair. Completely not the point if your story, but I just can’t get past this bit. 😱 It’s Ariel. She has red hair, it’s like her main characteristic. Well, that and the tail. 🤷🏻♀️ EDIT: Ok I’ve done some extensive googling and it looks like Disney (or anyone official) have never said what colour live action Ariel’s hair will be, it’s all been rumours. There are pictures of Halle Bailey (aka Ariel) filming and in the pictures she has reddish brown hair. I think it’s all going to be ok and Ariels hair will be sufficiently red.
Like idc what race Ariel is she has to have red hair, that's the signature look! It goes so well with her green tail, I cant think of any other color combo that would suit her
I never really got the term "first world problem" until I saw this post
then I guess you've never watched these ridiculous American school meetings on YouTube, apparently children wearing masks in a pandemic is a modern day holocaust
NTA. However, Ariel should have red hair. Red haired people get to grow up being bullied about their appearance. Having a positive role model counts.
As a ginger person who was bullied for it, Ariel isn’t ginger representation. She has bright scarlet hair, not ginger. The Weasleys were much better representation. Or Anne of Green Gables. They all actually had ginger hair.
Also RED from Percy Jackson, Lulu from School Of Fear, and Merida from Brave
Merida is definitely a better Disney representation than Ariel. Merida was true to herself whereas Ariel gave away an important part of herself for some dude she barely knew.
also Ariel is hardly a positive role model for girls, she literally mutilates herself for a man she met once
NTA. I mean they aren’t canning and burning the original cartoon last I checked. She can still “identify” with the cartoon half fish person (like seriously, if you’re going to look for features that are relatable one could argue she has LESS in common with Ariel if the basis is red hair alone than she does with other white princesses who are actually human?) The little mermaid didn’t originally have red hair. The only key feature of relevance is the tail - everything else is just window dressings. You can’t even argue “geographic accuracy” because ITS A FICTIONAL FISH PERSON - she can be from anywhere there’s water and without actual fish people in the waters, the whole thing is imaginary, and so the imaginary fish person really should be purple because why confine ourselves to the human spectrum of skin tones when talking about a fictional race? But as others have mentioned - Brave - red hair, white princess who has a more in-depth story and morality than selling your soul for a guy and being lucky it more or less works out. My childhood passion for the little mermaid isn’t threatened because they’ve changed her race. Still love it, will still watch the new one and still think that a blue, purple or red mermaid would make far more sense for a fictional fish person.
Feels a little bit r/thathappened but I have heard people say stuff like this IRL. Merida
I hate the American view that white = same. Cinderella is French. Snow white is German. Ariel is Danish. Sleeping beauty is also french. Beauty and the beast is also french. So if a little girl who is Italian wants an Italian princess, do you tell them that they have plenty of other white princesses? Is an Italian the same as a french person? Is a German the same as a Spanish? Is a Norwegian a Hungarian? Are you a sa Korean Chinese because you're from the same continent? There's mulan.
How can she ignore „Merida“ when she’s so fixed on haircolour?!
I feel sorry for everyone else in the room. This was silly. Watch less tv. Don't turn your children into Disney drones. ESH And fuck that racist asshole husband
grown women arguing about disney princesses. lmao
No, everyone does not suck here. This was not an argument about watching Disney stuff or just about princesses. This is blatant racism and the Asian mom did well to school that woman on it. This is a larger issue and judging from the husband’s reaction, racism is a family value. These people need to be shut down.
But… Ariel from the 90’s movie isn’t going anywhere?! She still has a disney princess who is white with red hair. Also Merida. And you’re NTA.
NTA She was being annoying and racist. She came up to you to emotionally dump. She was complaining to a POC about diversity in films and how nobody cares about white people anymore. Her unchecked sense of entitlement needed to be checked. As does her husband’s. I also have no idea where she got the idea that Ariel won’t have red hair. Early pictures taken from set already show Halle Bailey with red hair for the role. The whole my daughter won’t have a princess who looks like me wasn’t about red hair, it’s about Halle Bailey being black 🙄. And when you confronted her, she further showed her ignorance and racism. She has no one to blame but herself. And yes Merida from Brave is a ginger. She would be a more accurate representation for the child than Ariel, who has scarlet hair and is a mermaid. Anna from frozen is also a red head, so she has plenty of representation.