Classics are classics for a reason. Now that Disney is remaking every single animated movie ever created, there’s inevitably going to be comparisons to the source material. The upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid is no different. The issue this time? Actor Daveed Diggs, who plays everyone’s favorite crab Sebastian, just can’t seem to hang when compared to original voice actor Samuel E. Wright, RIP.
Look. I’m not trying to drag Diggs here. He was great in Hamilton, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Snowpiercer, and Black-ish. Obviously, Diggs is a good actor. No one’s making that argument. However, his Sebastian leaves a lot to be desired, especially in comparison.
Disney just released a behind the scenes featurette with a number of the actors, and when Diggs digs in to Sebastian, it just comes off flat and uninspired. Take a look:
It’s a real shame, too, because Awkwafina is a crush fest in her role. Diggs seems like he’s in dire need of a new kitchen counter and that’s why he took the job. Samuel’s Sebastian was bombastic, iconic, and dripping with personality. Diggs’ Sebastian feels like someone giving a tour of a tropical resort, but it’s their last day and they can’t be bothered.
Look, we obviously haven’t seen the movie yet, and we haven’t heard him sing, but it’s really clear that the other characters brought something special to their roles, even if we’re only seeing snippets. Flounder, played by Jacob Tremblay, seems to be exceptionally passionate in his role.
It could be a simple issue of miscasting. It could be that Disney is only showing us a little bit of a Sebastian on purpose. It could also simply be that this is how Diggs decided to tackle the character – by putting everyone to sleep. Who knows? Right now though, it doesn’t look great.
This is understandably a hot take to have, especially because Diggs revealed that he did extensive research on Sebastian, more than he’s ever done for any role ever, per an interview with Collider. Like, a lot. He also said he was, “not sure I’m the smart choice or the person naturally who should be doing it.”
“I’m not of Caribbean descent, doing that kind of work and trying to immerse myself. I’ve spent a lot of time in Trinidad and I went to Jamaica to research, and I did a lot of voice work with Chris Walker and with the late Tony Hall, to try to get the voice right. But more than the voice, the thing about a dialect is that everybody’s voice is actually very different, so consistency is really more important than accuracy. Your speech pattern is based on culture, and that was the thing I didn’t wanna let down.”
Maybe that was the issue? He was trying to get the accent right so he forget to be entertaining? Regardless, the movie will probably do very well despite some unfortunate controversy over the race of its star Halle Bailey, and the dragging of Ursula’s makeup.
We’ll get to decide foe sure when The Little Mermaid swims into theatres on May 25.
