Rich and famous people getting things for free is always a source of contention among many people, but Dwayne Johnson‘s recent trip to see The Little Mermaid can be written off as both a wholesome family trip and market research in one fell swoop.
After all, The Rock was recently announced to be starring and producing in a live-action remake of Moana that doesn’t necessarily need to exist, but the exact same thing has been said about the majority of Disney’s blockbuster do-overs. While The Little Mermaid has managed to keep review-bombers at arm’s length, it hasn’t exactly been tearing it up at the box office.
Neither have Johnson’s recent big screen efforts, either, so he’ll be hoping that his return as Maui doesn’t end up suffering a similar fate to DC League of Super-Pets and Black Adam, especially when folks are already adamant that he reneged on his word to stay away from Fast & Furious as a result of his drawing power being on the wane in the face of back-to-back flops.
Taking to social media to relay his findings to the world, Johnson and his cohorts were evidently left enamored by The Little Mermaid, so let’s hope he picks up a thing or two as Moana begins to take shape behind the scenes.
Remaking one of Disney’s best 21st Century animated efforts less than a decade after it released is definitely way too soon, but should Johnson and the rest of the key creative team manage to recapture the magic, it could prove to be a worthwhile exercise after all. Fingers crossed, then, because we’re going to keep getting the big budget reinventions in perpetuity until the wheels come off.
