Live-action Flounder

About

Live-action Flounder refers to the design of the character Flounder, a fish, in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Unlike the character's design in the original Disney animated film, live-action Flounder looks more realistically like a fish, leading to jokes online.

Origin

On April 26th, 2023, the official Twitter account for the Disney Little Mermaid^[1] remake posted an image of Flounder in the film, announcing he will be voiced by Jacob Tremblay (shown below).

Spread

Jokes about the character's design began instantly, as many joked about the less friendly look of Flounder compared to his animated predecessor. Some joked that Flounder had gotten on "Ozempic," a Diabetes medication that has become a controversial weight loss drug in some circles.^[2] On April 26th, 2023, user @RohitaKadambi^[3] posted a tweet about Flounder taking Ozempic, gaining over 1,000 retweets and 15,000 likes in two days (shown below, left). User @mediumsizemeech^[4] posted a similar joke, saying Flounder looked like Steve Buscemi, gaining over 170 retweets and 3,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Others joked that live-action Flounder looked withered and depressed, as though harsh life experiences had affected him. For example, on April 26th, user @voicesbyzane^[5] imagined a dark Flounder monologue, gaining over 140 retweets and 780 likes in two days (shown below, left). User @sablaah^[6] posted a comparison between animated and "live-action" Flounder, saying live-action Flounder represented joining Twitter today as opposed to 2009, gaining over 3,600 retweets and 17,000 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References