Sebastian and Scuttle saw some divisive changes in the 2023 remake of The Little Mermaid, but many of these were justifiable. Disney's live-action remakes often invite criticism from fans who have long loved the originals. This is especially true for the classic fairytale original by Hans Christian Anderson since the 1989 animated version has been regarded as a classic for decades. Beloved characters like Scuttle and Sebastian hold an important place in the childhoods of many. Therefore, since the Little Mermaid remake changed its characters, Disney has been met with backlash.
Though the animated The Little Mermaid is full of fun colorful characters, Sebastian and Scuttle are the two that were closest to Ariel during her adventures on land. The duo was an unlikely team since the only thing they had in common was their love for the mermaid princess. Sebastian was proper, organized, and highly anxious, while Scuttle was chaotic, impulsive, and carefree. This foundation was translated to the 2023 The Little Mermaid, where Sebastian was voiced by Daveed Diggs and Scuttle by Awkwafina—but a variety of other changes left some feeling that their old childhood friends had been violated.
The Little Mermaid's Sebastian & Scuttle Backlash Explained
The backlash surrounding Scuttle and Sebastian comes from several different factors. Though the character's personalities are more or less the same, their presence in The Little Mermaid has a significantly different feel. The most superficial reason for this comes from their appearances. As a live-action remake, Disney's 2023 version of the sea creatures look much more true to life, but this is always difficult to pull off. Without the expressive eyes and human-like mouths of animation, characters like Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle looked unsettling in the Little Mermaid remake—very different from their comforting 1989 counterparts.
These appearance changes were taken much further with Scuttle, who not only was made to look more like a realistic bird but was made to be an entirely different species. In the 1989 animated The Little Mermaid, Scuttle was a seagull—perhaps the most obnoxious type of seabird. This jived well with his personality since Scuttle was meant to be loud, uncouth, and impulsive, just like a seagull. In the live-action remake, the character was changed to a species known as a Northern gannet—a diving bird who could Ariel underwater but who was far less recognizable to most viewers.
Another divisive change to these characters came down to their voices. In the 1989 The Little Mermaid, Sebastian was voiced by Samuel E. Wright and Scuttle by Buddy Hackett—both of whom had highly recognizable voices. Wright's baritone had a comforting quality that, combined with Sebastian's Jamaican accent, made the character's voice nothing short of iconic. This made Diggs' slightly higher voice—affected with a faux Trinidadian accent instead—seem less authoritative and altogether younger than his predecessor's.
However, Sebastian's voice changes were mild in comparison to Scuttle's. The character's species wasn't the only thing that changed since Scuttle was turned into a girl in the 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. This allowed her to be voiced by Awkwafina—an actress who seems to specialize in quirky and fun characters—but meant a bigger change than some audiences had been ready for. In the end, Scuttle seemed like an entirely new character, which only seemed to layer on the displeasure fans of the 1989 The Little Mermaid felt over the remake's changes.
No, Sebastian & Scuttle Aren't Like The Originals – That Doesn't Make Them Bad
With so many changes to Sebastian and Scuttle's characters, it's no wonder that fans of the original The Little Mermaid movie were left feeling betrayed. They came looking for the same familiar characters they had grown used to and found a crab and diving bird who was entirely different. However, this doesn't mean that these new characters were bad. In fact, it would have been far more disastrous if Disney had attempted to imitate the animated characters exactly.
If the live-action versions of Scuttle and Sebastian had been closer to their more expressive and human-like animated counterparts, they would have been even more unsettling than the hyperrealistic creatures seen in the 2023 The Little Mermaid. Moreover, since original actors Wright and Hackett have ed away, keeping their voices precisely the same would have been impossible. Perhaps new actors who could produce similar voices could have been cast, but this would have ultimately felt like a poor imitation. In the end, this would have meant further damage to these actors' (and characters') legacies.
Daveed Diggs & Awkwafina Do Good Jobs Of Making Sebastian & Scuttle Their Own
Ultimately, the best thing that Disney could do to avoid doing damage to Sebastian and Scuttle's 1989 characters was to create something entirely unique in the 2023 The Little Mermaid. A good deal of this came down to their designs, but far more was left in the hands of Diggs and Awkwafina, who had to use their voices to provide the far less expressive hyperrealistic characters with all the personality they could. In the end, they were each extremely successful since—though different—audiences walked away from the new movie was a solid idea of who these characters were.
Diggs' voice may make Sebastian seem younger than in the original The Little Mermaid, but this meant the little crab had even more to prove. This made his final decision to stand up to King Triton all the more impactful since he put even more on the line to help Ariel. Awkwafina's version of Scuttle was undoubtedly different from Hackett's, but she gave the bird a heartwarming enthusiasm (especially in her added musical number "Scuttlebutt") that made her good-natured kookiness even more fun and heartwarming. Really, they aren't the same characters, just like the 2023 The Little Mermaid isn't the same film as its predecessor—and that's okay.
