Kulturkampf

[HaughtyFrank]

Oh wow you're right. I glanced at a headline awhile ago that said the WW numbers weren't horrible but assuming it won't have legs much longer...that's gonna be what a 500-600m total gross? Whereas if they had just cast [random white girl singer] it prob does double. And while that says some ehh things about overseas markets at the same time if you're signing the checks how much longer are you gonna go in this direction...

Have to disagree with you here. 

In addition to these remakes being some of the most cynical cash-grabs ever made, trying to jam the casting down everyone's throat with the massive PR campaign really put the focus on how this was offering nothing EXCEPT for the casting choice.

That's what they don't get. Focus on the fact that you've cast a real talent in the role and how this is going to give viewers something new and fresh and most people don't give a fuck.

I agree they're cynical cash grabs but Lion King and Aladdin both grossed over a billion dollars. There's a clear demand for this trash, and it's looking like this one will only do about half of what the others did. There's gotta be a reason for that.

They say she was the best person who auditioned. I'm sure that's the case when it comes to singing, since she's one of the best young vocalists in the US. But I doubt she was the best actress, given her limited experience in that realm. The weird thing to me is that Disney already has a black princess and while the Princes & The Frog wasn't great it's prob the best fit for film adaption compared to the other ones.

I think something often that often gets mixed up with race swapped movies like the little mermaid is the assumption that people are simply racist vs people simply disliking the race swapping. 

Like, we know that the international audience will show up for black lead or non-white lead movies, Aladdin is the perfect example of a non-white Disney remake being a big success. 
Of course, there's going to be racists who just refuse to watch any non-white movie but I think overall people are more annoyed by act of the race swapping itself than the idea of a black main character, as race swapping characters is mostly perceived as a pure social statement (and that's also how Disney presents it). It can be pretty unfair to the actress or even Director (maybe he really just picked the best actress for the job) but at this point it seems like almost everything is perceived as a larger statement than just wanting to make the best movie you can.