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Credit: DisneyDisney’s officially gearing up for awards season but seems to have already pulled its The Little Mermaid (2023) remake from the competition for one category.
If you can count on two things in the movie industry, it’s that Disney will remake all of its animated films and that each live-action remake will be met with overwhelming controversy.
Related: Disney Permanently Removes Cartoon ‘Little Mermaid’ From Experience
This year’s remake of The Little Mermaid was even more controversial than usual. From the moment Disney cast Halle Bailey as Ariel, a very specific demographic of Disney “purists” found fault with the fact that Bailey was Black and Ariel (voiced by Jodi Benson) was depicted as white in the original 1989 animation.
While Bailey’s performance was widely praised upon the film’s release, The Little Mermaid faced criticism due to its use (or, specifically, overuse) of CGI and its decision to censor some of the original lyrics in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and “Kiss the Girl” to avoid offending contemporary audiences.
The film made a splash at the domestic box office in its opening weekend but floundered in some international territories. The Little Mermaid flopped in China and South Korea amid reports of racist backlash. It ended its theatrical run with $569.6 million on a budget of $250–265 million.
Regardless, some fans are still hopeful about the chances of a sequel. Some have floated the idea that Disney may adapt The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000), the direct-to-video sequel to the original animated film. This focused on Ariel and Eric’s daughter, Melody (Tara Charendoff), who longs to swim in the sea despite being forbidden by her parents.
The odds of a live-action Return to the Sea seem pretty slim. What seems slightly more realistic, however, is Disney’s current bid to enter The Little Mermaid for Oscar consideration.
Disney is only submitting one original song from The Little Mermaid for Oscar consideration this year (“For the First Time”).
Disney is only submitting one original song from The Little Mermaid for Oscar consideration this year ("For the First Time") pic.twitter.com/PiEPuCLsyl
— Will Mavity (@mavericksmovies) September 17, 2023
As is tradition, Disney has listed the categories for which it hopes The Little Mermaid remake may be recognized by the Academy.
Until recently, this list covered Best Director (Rob Marshall), Best Actress (Halle Bailey), Best Supporting Actress (Melissa McCarthy, Awkwafina, and Noma Dumezweni), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Art Malik), and Best Original Score (“For the First Time” by Alan Menken, Lin Manuel Miranda, and Halle Bailey).
It also included suggestions for Best Film Editing, Best Picture, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, and Best Cinematography.
Related: Live-Action ‘Little Mermaid’ Receives Cartoon Treatment for Disney Junior
Now, however, it appears that Disney has withdrawn its For Your Consideration campaign for Best Original Song. The official website now no longer lists the category.
If a studio decides not to submit an entry to a category for the Academy Awards, then it is not eligible for the award. If Disney has, in fact, declined to push “For the First Time” – the tune sung by Ariel when she first arrives on land as a human and comes face to face with Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) – then The Little Mermaid is no longer in the race for Best Original Song.
This is a surprising move considering the film’s previous triumph in the category. Thanks to the lyrical work of Howard Ashman, the 1989 original is often considered the first film that merged Broadway-style music with animation. Two of its tracks, “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl,” made the shortlist for Best Original Song at the 1989 Academy Awards, with the former going on to win the category.
“For the First Time” was positively received by critics. The Little Mermaid star – who typically performs as a duo with her older sister, Chloe Bailey, under the name Chloe x Halle, and was personally mentored by Beyonce – received endless praise for her vocal performance throughout the film.
As some X (formerly Twitter) users pointed out, the decision to pull “For the First Time” but continue with the awards campaign for the likes of Awkwafina (Scuttle) as Best Supporting Actress and Javier Bardem (King Triton) as Best Supporting Actor seems like an odd move from Disney, to say the least.
I’m somewhat confused by these FYC spreads. Do they seriously think they’ll get an Awkwafina nomination?
I’m somewhat confused by these FYC spreads. Do they seriously think they’ll get an Awkwafina nomination?
— Joe Hoeffner (@HoeffnerJoe) September 17, 2023
Javier…? can they be so serious 💀
Javier…? can they be so serious 💀
— rendi 💞 (@rend139) September 18, 2023
However, Next Best Picture’s Will Mavity stepped in to clarify that studios are “often contractually obligated to include certain cast members in the FYC listings.”
We’ll have to wait until January 24, 2024, to find out the Academy’s official nominations for each category. While “For the First Time” may seemingly be out of the running, let’s take a moment to mourn the real loss here: no Oscar for “Scuttlebutt.”
Which categories would you like to see The Little Mermaid remake nominated for? Let us know in the comments!