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Twitter Dreamcasts Ursula The Sea Witch For The Upcoming Live-Action 'The Little Mermaid'

By Mieka Strawhorn | Film | October 18, 2018 |

By Mieka Strawhorn | Film | October 18, 2018 |


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Earlier this week, ScreenRant posted an article claiming there was a rumor that Lady Gaga was “high up on Disney’s wish list” to play the role of Ursula The Sea Witch in an upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. While some folks on Twitter embraced the idea of the Mother of Monsters getting her mollusk on, others were less than stoked at the idea of a skinny blond snagging one of the only roles out there calling for a big fat badass bitch.

With Zendaya already rumored to be the front-runner for the role of Ariel (which, nope, sorry. Zendaya is Meechee. Period. Forever and forever, amen), people #tooktotwitter to express their thoughts on the matter.

With a quickness, the dream-casting began with Lizzo becoming a clear front-runner. And why the fuck not? She’s got the voice, she got the attitude, and she’s got the body-ody-ody to pull it off. I’d definitely be on high alert if Lizzo oozed out from under a rock with a sultry smile and a shady proposition. Even better, Lizzo is down to clown. Disney, take note: She ready.

Others on Twitter have pointed out that the character of Ursula was actually based on drag legend Divine and should, therefore, be played by a drag queen. According to The AV Club:

Early on, The Little Mermaid’s directors and animators created several iterations of Ursula. One was a manta ray inspired by Joan Collins. Another was a “beautiful but deadly” scorpion fish, recalled director John Musker. None worked, until an animator named Rob Minkoff drew a vampy overweight matron who everyone agreed looked a lot like Divine.

If I could, just for a moment, cry a single tear for the loss of a Joan Collins inspired Disney villain? Of course I’m glad they went with Divine inspiration, but they could have pulled the Joan Collins baddie out for another movie. Although I guess we’ll always have Cruella. At any rate, the idea of a drag queen playing Ursula seemed to spark excitement.

Some have suggested that Ursula should really be played by a black woman, given her strong Auntie Who Don’t Take No Shit vibe.

And with that, the field opened up to a plethora of black actresses who could positively slay as Ursula.

Here’s The Roots suggestions for Ursula, which include several drag queens in possession of the cunning, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to bring Ursula to undulating life.

Of the folks on that list, I think the most inspired choice would be the immensely talented Tituss Burgess.

Not only can he sing and act, he’s already been in The Little Mermaid on Broadway. And he wanted to play Ursula, but they wouldn’t let him Be Best. They cast him as Sebastian The Problematic Crab. That didn’t stop Titus from grabbing the mic and getting down to nefarious sea business at his own cabaret though.

Now, I’ve already expressed my opinion on Zendaya as Ariel (#NEVERNOTMEECHEE), so here is one final casting suggestion that only the internet could dream up.

And while we’re at it, I’ll throw this on the pile.

Joe Jonas as Ursula and Priyanka Chopra as Ariel? Any takers? No? Ok, I’ll squeeze myself back under my rock now.



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