Little Mermaid fans are horrified by the live-action Flounder
Fans of The Little Mermaid are shocked by the “very realistic” portrayal of Flounder in the upcoming live-action remake, which claims the CGI fish looks like a “skinny” and “depressed” Steve Buscemi.
New character posters were released this week in anticipation of the May 26 premiere of the Disney adaptation, but many people think the creators went too far in their portrayal of Ariel’s animal friends.
Most of the backlash has been directed at Flounder, who is voiced by Jacob Tremblay and bears almost no resemblance to the adorable chubby character in the 1989 animated film.
Critics say the cartoon fish has gone from chubby cheeks with bright yellow and blue gills to slender, sallow and sad.
Fans of The Little Mermaid have criticized Flounder’s portrayal in the upcoming live-action remake after Disney released new character posters this week
According to critics, the cartoon fish has gone from plump cheeks with bright yellow and blue gills in the 1989 animated film to slender, sallow and sad in the edit.
Jacob Tremblay voices Flounder in upcoming movie, starring Halle Bailey as Ariel
Twitter users have been sharing side-by-side photos of the original Bot and the CGI version as they express their outrage at its hyper-realistic makeover.
“Maybe I’m going outside the box here, but I expected the characters from The Little Mermaid to be idk… CUTE,” one person complained. ‘Live action animation doesn’t have to be expressionless. At least give our boy Flounder his chubby cheeks back!!!!!’
‘Why does Flounder look like a depressed 40-year-old chain smoker with three children and a mortgage he can’t pay,’ another wondered.
NOT MY BOT GETTING THE TREATMENT FROM STEVE BUSCEMI. Y’ALL I’M CRYIN,” another tweeted.
The Southlake Department of Public Safety (DPS) declared the new image “a crime,” adding, “We’re just trying to figure out which one.”
A number of people referenced the updated bot’s sleek appearance and accused it of taking the trendy slimming drug Ozempic and going under the knife to remove buccal fat.
‘Not that they put Bot on Ozempic! Why is he so skinny??? This fish looks like Steve Buscemi,” one person tweeted.
“They also put Bot on Ozempic,” someone else added. “No one is safe.”
“Flounder got the buccal fat removal surgery omg,” replied another.
Twitter users have been calling out Flounder’s new CGI makeover, saying he looks “skinny” and “depressed.” Some even claimed that he looks like actor Steve Buscemi
Others argued that the new Flounder is more like a bot, which is to be expected for a live-action remake.
“Everyone wants a photorealistic live-action Little Mermaid until it’s time to deal with what a real bot looks like,” one Twitter user commented.
“I really don’t mind,” someone else admitted. “This IS the fish Bot was based on…lol.”
“Love the new Flounder,” shared another. “I like how he looks sad, like he’s barely holding it together. I hope he drives Ariel crazy with obnoxious, self-deprecating comments. Little poisonous boy.”
The complaints about Flounder’s appearance follow the racist backlash over Halle Bailey playing Ariel in the highly anticipated adaptation.
The snide comments first started when the actress announced her casting in 2019 and continued until the release of the official trailer last month.
“As a black person you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore,” Bailey shared The face earlier this year. “I know people say, ‘It’s not about race.’
“But now that I’m her… People don’t understand that when you’re black, there’s a whole different community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves.’
Some Twitter users referenced Bailey’s mistreatment while bashing the new Bot, emphasizing that this is the image people should have been concerned about.
“Can’t believe there’s still pressure about a POC Ariel when THIS is the real issue,” one person tweeted.