The ‘Little Mermaid’ Remake Will Have Updated Song Lyrics That Include Consent
Well, apparently the words to the songs in the OG Little Mermaid are a bit too inappropriate for today’s climate.
In case you haven’t heard, Disney is dropping a live-action Little Mermaid remake — that looks a little amazing, btw.
Yeah, I know. I’m a little bit tired of the live-action remakes, too.
But, here we are. This one is pretty cool though. The underwater scenes look stunning.
There’s only one little problem.
The former words to “Kiss the Girl” include lyrics that come across as insensitive.
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].
Alan Menken
In the original lyrics Sebastian the crab sings, “Yes, you want her. Look at her, you know you do. Possible she want you too, there is one way to ask her. It don’t take a word, not a single word. Go on and kiss the girl.”
People are concerned that Ariel can’t speak for herself and decline Prince Eric’s advances.
“Kiss the Girl” isn’t the only song that people have taken offense to.
“Poor Unfortunate Souls” has also been updated for a more modern, woke audience.
We have some revisions in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” regarding 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.
Alan Menken
The former lyrics to “Poor Unfortunate Souls” include the lyrics that basically tell a girl to shut her mouth when it comes to getting a man.
The men up there don’t like a lot of blabber. They think a girl who gossips is a bore. Yet on land it’s much preferred for ladies not to say a word. And after all, what is idle babble for — It’s she who holds her tongue who gets a man.
“Poor Unfortunate Souls” Lyrics
Obvi, girls should speak up for themselves, and the updated lyrics are going to reflect just that.
Lin-Manuel Miranda — the genius songwriter behind Hamilton, Moana, and Encanto — has been working with Alan Menken — the OG Little Mermaid songwriter — to come up with more appropriate lyrics.
Now, we don’t know exactly what the new lyrics are going to be, but we’ll find out really soon.
The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid is set to hit theaters on May 26th.
You can see a preview for The Little Mermaid below.
