“Why isn’t he fat???” – that’s how ugly Fabius is in the new Arielle movie

The first images of the “Little Mermaid” trailer went viral a few months ago when it was confirmed that the Disney princess will be played by black actress Halle Bailey. Now Disney published the advertising posters for the May 26 (in US cinemas) theatrical release on Instagram on Thursday – and is again causing a stir.

This time, however, it’s not the actors that take center stage, but the animated animals. These do not match the expectations of the fans at all. Especially the interpretation of Fabius – Arielle’s fish friend – evokes many (negative) emotions. In the cartoon, the fish is depicted as a cute, colorful and, above all, chubby companion. Not much is left of all these attributes in the remake. “Flounder” – as the fish is called in English – is now a flat, very clumsy flounder.

“In Hollywood, even a fish can’t be fat anymore”

The comments below the Instagram post are teeming with stunned fans. “Fabius, what have they done to you?!” one user writes, while a second says, “Now you’ve really gone too far.”

But it is not only Fabius’s performance that is criticized, Sebastian and Scuttle also do not seem to like the fans at all. Some outraged fans are even demanding that the film cancelled will be.

“Why isn’t Fabius fat???”

The new photos are also a hot topic on TikTok. There are dozens of videos where creators get angry about the depiction of the animals. Above all, the body of Fabius is the subject. For example: “By the way, body positivity. In Hollywood, even a fish can’t be fat anymore,” or, “Why isn’t Fabius fat???”

While most are concerned about the disappointment over Fabius’ appearance, few feel that Fabius’s ugly image would be a clever marketing strategy to generate more attention. Finally, there is also negative publicity.