Disney on Tuesday announced a new animated children’s series based on its 1989 film. The little Mermaidwhich will again feature a black Ariel, like the live-action adaptation released in theaters last month.
Title Disney Junior Arielthis musical series for toddlers is currently in production and is due out next year.
It chronicles the underwater adventures of 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel and her friends across the Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica.
“I’m very excited about Ariel, I didn’t think we would have an iconic character like her” in a cartoon for toddlers, rejoiced Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, a subsidiary dedicated to TV content. , during a press conference at the Annecy animation festival, in France.
“I’m also really excited to have a character that my daughter can relate to,” the African-American leader added.
This project is not trivial for Disney, which suffered racist comments on social networks after giving the role of Ariel to R&B singer Halle Bailey in her latest film rather than a white actress like the fictional character. of origin.
The firm with big ears, which has multiplied its positions in favor of diversity in recent years, is notably engaged in a showdown with the governor of Florida whose policies are deemed homophobic, Ron DeSantis, rival of Donald Trump in the Republican primaries for the presidential election of 2024.
Disney’s first black princess didn’t appear until 2009 as Tiana in the animated feature The princess and the Frog.