Jacob Tremblay mentioned his live-action character being illuminated in Little Mermaid.
Disney’s latest live-action remake is set to be released later this month, and after the studio released a first look at some of the characters in April, many mocked Flounder’s design.
The one-sheet poster of the fish Flounder, voiced by Jacob Tremblay in the film, was sent out because it was too flat – and essentially incomparable to the cartoon version of the character.
“The little yellow shade is all the soul left in Flounder after Disney tried to suck the soul out of him,” wrote one, with another declaring: “YOU ARE NOT THE FLOUNDER YOU ARE.”
“Hey Disney… there must be a REASON that all fish are animated…” an additional tweet said, with one person writing: “I feel bad for the animators when they told them to personify the crab AND make him come true, Disney failed them.”
Tremblay, 16, was asked about his reaction to Flounder by Diversity at the movie premiere.
He replied, “I actually got to see the design when I auditioned. I completely trust Rob [Marshall, director]. I think it looks great because it’s like the puppet they had on set.
Tremblay continued: “And of course, when I went to the movies – I saw it last night – and I thought everything went very well.”
He said that, although he “can imagine” Flounder “looking differently,” he believes the design team is “genius” for making it work.
Flounder in ‘The Little Mermaid’
(Disney)
Halle Bailey plays Ariel in the film, which is an update of the 1989 animated film.
Those who sing along to the film’s hit songs, however, will find they’ve got the lyrics wrong, as co-writer Alan Menken changed the lyrics, with the help of Lin-Manuel Miranda, to make them more relevant to today’s audience. .
Little Mermaid hits theaters on May 26.
