My Opinions on Chloe Grace Moretz’s Departure from The Little Mermaid

I don’t like starting an article with such a negative statement, but I now hate Chloe Grace Moretz.

This comment is nothing to do with her acting (She’s a very prolific and talented actress for someone of her age, and I really loved her work in the wonderful 2011 film Hugo), or even her recent relationship with David Beckham’s son Brooklyn. Instead, it concerns comments she made in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. In this interview, she said that she “pulled the plug on all my movies because I want to reassess who I am and find myself within my roles again.”

The reason why this statement upsets me so much is the fact that one of the movies Moretz has presumably dropped out of is Universal’s adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s iconic Fairy Tale The Little Mermaid, where she was supposed to play the titular protagonist. Moretz hasn’t officially confirmed that she has left this project, but she hasn’t denied it either. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the claim is correct, and The Little Mermaid is now without a lead actress.

Universal’s take on The Little Mermaid has been in development since 2010 (If you want perspective on how long ago 2010 was, it is when Chloe Moretz came to prominence as a 13 year-old in Kick-Ass), when Joe Wright (director of Atonement and Hanna) was attached to direct. In 2014, he was replaced by Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola, but she left the project in 2015, a few months before Chloe Grace Moretz joined it. During this lengthy gestation period, numerous screenwriters have been attached, including Abi Morgan (Who recently wrote historical drama Suffragette) and Caroline Thompson, famous for working with Tim Burton on films like Edward Scissorhands.

Universal have always aimed to create a darker, edgier take on The Little Mermaid, more faithful to Hans Christian Andersen’s tale (where the Little Mermaid doesn’t end up with her prince, and chooses to die rather than kill him) than the Disney film. Although The Little Mermaid is not the easiest Fairy Tale to transform into a feature-length film (due to the emphasis on religious matters, and the large amount of padding), there have been several international and independent adaptations of Andersen’s tale (not counting Disney’s version), proving that it’s not impossible to film, even in Live Action. In addition, Universal are facing competition. Disney are remaking their own version of The Little Mermaid in live action, but this project is still at a very early stage (it doesn’t have a screenwriter or director attached), and probably won’t arrive for another 3 or so years yet, giving Universal plenty of time to get their version made. Unlike with the recent competing versions of The Jungle Book, or Snow White, there will be enough differences between the two versions of The Little Mermaid to allow them both to be popular and successful. The final reason to bring the story to the big screen is the fact that it has been stuck in Development Hell for so long, meaning that it would be really nice to see it get into production as soon as possible- there’s nothing worse than seeing such an intriguing project languish in limbo for such a long time.

I’m going to be honest and say that I wasn’t too enthusiastic about the project when Wright and Coppola were attached. Though I admire many aspects of Andersen’s story (including the fact that The Little Mermaid doesn’t get to be a fairy tale bride), I am not keen on the more nihilistic interpretations of the story, which can sometimes seem to convey the message that its bad to explore or pursue your dreams.  I thought that Wright and Coppola would focus too much on the bleakest aspects of Andersen’s tale, at the expense of more positive and hopeful ones (At the very least, I would like any adaptation to keep the “Daughters of the Air” ending – where The Little Mermaids’ selflessness and tenacity earns her a wonderful reward in the afterlife - or use some variation on it). However, when it was announced that Richard Curtis was writing the new version (with relative newcomer Rebecca Thomas directing it), I got really excited, as Richard Curtis is one of my favourite screenwriters.

People may know him best for his Romantic Comedies such as Four Weddings and A Funeral, but Richard Curtis is a more versatile screenwriter than people have given him credit for. He created Blackadder, one of my favourite sitcoms of all time, co-wrote the Steven Spielberg film War Horse and wrote the wonderful Dr. Who episode “Vincent and the Doctor” about Vincent Van Gogh. In addition, there are scenes in Curtis’ works which demonstrate that he is able to tackle the unrequited love at the centre of Andersen’s story. One of the most notable sub-plots in Love Actually depicts a man unable to speak his mind when the love of his life marries someone else. Can you think of anything that reminds you more of The Little Mermaid’s romantic disappointment? Therefore, I regard Richard Curtis as the perfect person to adapt The Little Mermaid, as he seems like the sort of writer able to strike a satisfactory balance between the sense of wonder which attracts people like me to the story, and the sadder aspects which make it stand out.

Since Curtis was attached to the project, I have been really excited about it. A lot of this was due to Moretz’s promotion of the project, as she talked endlessly about a “Progressive” update which would make a number of interesting modernisations whilst staying true to the appeal of the source material (One alteration she mentioned was changing the Little Mermaid’s desire to gain a human soul so that she instead seeks out “different human emotions that she's never felt or seen or heard before.”) These innovations made me really excited, as they would emphasise the search for adventure and knowledge, which is what any good incarnation of The Little Mermaid should be focusing on (The main reason why I love the Disney film so much, in spite of its deviations from the source material). This is why I’m so frustrated that Moretz quit the film so nonchalantly. I think that an actor should work hard to maintain the support of their fans, so Moretz getting fairy tale fans such as myself excited over such an interesting project, then dropping out of it in this fashion really feels like a selfish betrayal. Even if she had lost her passion for the project, I think that she should have stuck with it, or at least helped Universal to find a replacement as quickly as possible.

In spite of Chloe Grace Moretz’s decision to quit Universal’s version of The Little Mermaid, I really want the studio to stick with this film, and I really hope that even if they find someone new to play The Little Mermaid, that they keep Richard Curtis attached to the project. It would be really nice to see the non-Disney take on the fairy tale get made, especially with someone as talented as Curtis attached.