‘There’s no reason to make this film’: ‘The Little Mermaid’ director says what we’re all thinking about Disney’s live-action remakes

To quote Marge Simpson, it’s true — but he shouldn’t say it. While discussing why he fought hard to offer up a different take on The Little Mermaid than what we’ve seen before, the man behind the latest of Disney’s never-ending live-action remakes has slightly stuck his foot in his mouth by putting into words the question I — and many other fans — have been asking the Mouse House for years.

While speaking to IndieWire about The Little Mermaid‘s many changes from the beloved 1989 original, Rob Marshall admitted what his first thought was when the project landed in his lap. And, surprisingly, it was much the same as the rest of us: what exactly is the point of this new film existing? While the world might still be waiting on an answer, Marshall himself tried to give it purpose by revisiting the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale.

“I thought, why are we making this film now?” the director said. “There’s no reason to make this film unless it has something important to say. It was there in the 1800s, 1830s, when it was written, it’s not fearing someone that’s different than you. It’s about tolerance and the passion and what [Ariel] goes through to build that bridge to that other world. I found it very profound, very moving. … I wanted to keep the elements of the piece, but why not give it some more depth?”

Unfortunately, for all his talk of adding “some more depth” to the storyline, Marshall elected not to get really bold and bring back the insanely dark ending to the original story. Now that would’ve made it worth watching. Alas, I’m still waiting on the Disney movie that ends with the princess being condemned to purgatory for 300 years.

What Marshall’s comments do inadvertently encapsulate, though, is the Catch-22 the Disney remakes suffer from: if they make changes, they get criticized. If they do things exactly the same, they get criticized. The director’s attempts to stress some timely themes buried in Anderson’s work are admirable, but nothing can disguise the fact that all of the live-action reboots have no compelling storytelling reason to exist.

Don’t believe me? A glimpse at their Rotten Tomatoes scores — including The Little Mermaid‘s, sadly — might convince you. When describing his studio’s work ethic, Walt Disney memorably said, “We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies.” Not to act like ol’ Walt was a saint himself, but it’s easy to argue that Disney has moved away from that maxim over the years.

“Why are we making this film now?” Marshall asks. Money, Rob – plain and simple.