Even though the first reactions to The Little Mermaid have been overwhelmingly positive following its recent premiere, it’s almost certain that the next live-action remake of a Disney animated classic to roll off the production line is going to be review-bombed into oblivion, especially after Rotten Tomatoes was forced to step in and handle the campaign against Peter Pan & Wendy.
With a critical approval rating of 62 percent, Pete’s Dragon and The Green Knight director David Lowery’s flight of fancy has been deemed a solid-if-unspectacular addition to the constant churn of reimagined content. However, the user average has taken a severe pounding in the face of ongoing backlash against the film, leaving the company with no other choice but to take matters into its own hands.
In an unprecedented step, the aggregation site temporarily removed Peter Pan & Wendy‘s audience reviews from public view and disabled the feature, with the numbers having been whittled down to a mere 12 percent, comfortably making it the lowest-rated Disney do-over by far.
While the movie’s page has since returned with the figures there for all to see, it’s clear that the company has to do something about the review-bombing issue when it’s almost entirely driven by negativity and unfounded hatred at the expense of any creative or artistic shortcomings.
Not to put too much of a downer on things with The Little Mermaid less than two weeks away from coming to theaters, but is anyone going to even be remotely surprised if director Rob Marshall’s aquatic adventure suffers an identical fate? Good luck, Rotten Tomatoes website team, you’ve got a hell of a job on your hands.
