The Little Mermaid: Fans in shock following first look of Flounder

The Little Mermaid is facing another wave of criticism after the live-action remake, starring Halle Bailey, unveiled a first look of the movie’s beloved plump yellow fish Flounder.

In the individual character poster revealed on Wednesday, fans were left horrified to see that the revamped version of the fish, markedly known for his yellow and blue colour, emerged as a largely silver fish with blue stripes and a touch of yellow.

Not only this, Flounder 2.0’s slimmer physique also became the centre of controversy as it was polar opposite to its plump predecessor.

Initial reactions of the new look made it apparent that the animators "did Flounder so dirty" and that he got "the Steve Buscemi treatment". 

Others began  giving their hilarious takes on why the animators did the fish dirty.

"He’s so skinny because he’s always swimming around!" another theorized.

"He also looks baked as hell," a second else declared.

"How about 'Dont Make the Movie' then?" another one pointed out. 

"Children are gonna have nightmares," another critic said.

The Little Mermaid: A sinking ship in the making 

The live-action remake has been no stranger to controversy as the movie received backlash after it emerged that its titular character Ariel, who was white, was to be played by Bailey, a black actress.

Criticism ranged from creators ruining the integrity and realness of the Disney original to others accusing the move to be performative as a means to stay relevant. 

To this Bailey said on her YouTube account: "Today, with all of the kind of commentary and people’s opinions going on, it just reminds me to be number one grounded and grateful that I have this opportunity and the fact that it’s sparking such a discussion like this for all of us."

"I know what it would have meant to me as a little girl to have been able to see a black Ariel when I was younger. If I would have seen that, it would have changed my whole outlook on life."