Halle Bailey has gotten us excited about this remake of Ariel for The Little Mermaid. Disney announced the casting decision in July 2019. Shortly after the news broke, Bailey took to social media to share her excitement.
In the beginning Halle faced some backlash for the recreationg of Ariel being black, but socialites who loved the cultural inclusiveness were all for it.
Halle Bailey never seemed bothered about the bad talk either. She is very excited about playing the role. Halle tweeted, “Dream come true…” Bailey tweeted along with an illustration of an Indian-American Ariel by artist Dylan Bonner.
“It’s so overwhelming, and beautiful, and breathtaking,” she recently told PopSugar. “I’m like, ‘Wow, am I really doing this?’”
“I’ve been a fan of The Little Mermaid since I was 5, so those new songs are very exciting to me, as well as the old,” the songstress said. “That’s probably like, ding, ding, ding! My number one.”
Through all the emotional responses Halle’s been staying focus on her vision for the portrayal of her character.
“Freshness,” she says. “Just being authentically me. It’s amazing that the directors have been so forward in asking me to show my true self. . . that’s been a really fun growing experience.”
While some Ariel fans are still dismayed by Halle Bailey emodying the character, Disney seems to be taking on a different approach. Former, Ariel fans said that casting Halle as Ariel would ruin their childhood, even going as far to create a hashtag saying #notmyariel . Disney seems to have no problem creating new vision or children of this and the next generation. Disney has began to break family biases, and racial boundaries.
Many stars supported Halle’s character and shamed the backlash. Celebrities like, Halle Berry, Janelle Monaé, Mariah Carey, and many more showed their support for Bailey’s casting by sharing how much they’re looking forward to seeing the singer on the big screen.
The original Ariel, Jodi Benson, spoke out as well.
“The most important thing is to tell the story,” she said during the Florida Supercon convention in July 2019. “I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters. What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart, and their spirit, is what really counts.”
The following month, Bailey also spoke out about the #NotMyAriel backlash, revealing that she was not going to let the negativity stop her from living out her dream.
“I’m just grateful,” she said. “I don’t pay attention to the negativity; I just feel like this role is something bigger than me. And it’s going to be beautiful. I’m just so excited to be a part of it.”
