Disney gives fans their first look at Ariel in the teaser trailer for the live-action 'Little Mermaid' remake

Disney is whetting fans' appetites with the first official teaser trailer for its upcoming live-action remake of the '80s animated movie, The Little Mermaid.

Online the trailer has received a bit of criticism with commenter after commenter complaining that the supposedly magical and romantic scene between Ariel (Halle Bailey) and Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) was so dark and dingy that they could barely tell what was going on.

True, the scene takes place at night, but even so... "Where's the light? Where's the colour? This looks so dull," grumbled one Twitter user. "Did all the lightbulbs blow at the same time on set," asked another. 

But why is that? One reason is possibly that the directors are trying to distinguish their live-action Disney films from the studio's classic cartoons by giving them more naturalistic lighting.

They want us to know that, even if they're telling stories about flying children and singing crabs, they're telling serious, mature stories about flying children and singing crabs. But, judging by the online response to The Little Mermaid, we're definitely ready for directors to shout, "Let there be light!"

The Little Mermaid will be splashing into theatres on Thursday, May 25th. 

Adapted from the 1989 film, The Little Mermaid tells the story of Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem).

Ariel, already fascinated by the world of humans, falls deeply in love with the handsome Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) after saving him during a shipwreck and resolves to meet him in the world above water.

Her quest brings her into conflict with her father and in the clutches of the scheming sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy).

The cast also features Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs as the voices of classic Disney sidekicks Flounder, Scuttle and Sebastian.

Director Rob Marshall – known for his work on Mary Poppins Returns and Chicago – has also revealed Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda have teamed up to produce four new songs for the film.