Despite racist backlash, singer-actress Halle Bailey soldiers on to become the modern version of the Little Mermaid
Photos: @hallebailey
Upon seeing the trailer for the first time, Halle Bailey said: “I’m, like, pinching myself!” She also posted the trailer in her Instagram account with the caption: “Can’t believe it’s happening.”
The first trailer for Disney’s live-action, The Little Mermaid, debuted last September 9 starring American singer-actress Halle Bailey.
This modern version of Disney’s beloved tale of a mermaid named Ariel, who fell in love with a human prince, will definitely pull heartstrings from the new generation and from the people who first saw the animated film in 1989.
The 22-year old told People: “It’s modern take. There’s four new songs. I think the meat of everything that everyone loves is still there. Playing Ariel, brought out so much emotion in me, just thinking of everything that she’s going through and her passion and her strength… I’ve learned so much from her. What I most enjoyed about the filming process would definitely be just learning from myself and learning from Ariel.”
Upon seeing the trailer for the first time, Halle said: “I’m, like, pinching myself!”
She also posted the trailer in her Instagram account with the caption: “Can’t believe it’s happening.”
The clip begins with beautiful underwater wildlife being shown before giving a first look at Halle Bailey as mermaid princess Ariel. She gracefully flows through the water before she gets a peek of the sun and quickly swims up for a closer look. Bailey is then heard singing, “Out of the sea…” before viewers see her face for the first time, revealing her auburn red locks.
The classic song, “Part of Your World” was featured in the 1989 original animation and won an Oscar for Best Original Song.
The film, out on May 2023, is a reimagining of the 1989 animated classic. It tells the story of Ariel, who pines for life on land and falls in love with human Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King. Melissa McCarthy plays villainous Ursula, Javier Bardem is Ariel’s dad King Triton, Daveed Diggs voices Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay voices Flounder, and Awkwafina voices Scuttle.
Director Rob Marshall, who previously made Mary Poppins Returns and Into the Woods, both for Disney, told Variety last month about Bailey’s impressive audition for the role, recalling that he was “in tears because she’s so soulful.”
“You could tell right away that she was able to harness Ariel’s passion, her fire, her soul, her joy and her heart. She looks stunning in red hair; not everybody does,” says the 61-year old film director who directed the film version of the 2002 Oscar-winning musical, Chicago.
Marshall teased that Bailey’s performance of the song “Part of Your World” is a particular standout in the movie: “Halle sings that moment up an octave from the original. It’s the most chilling and the most thrilling film moment because it crystallizes not just her incredible vocal ability but the emotional passion she has in singing it.”
Bailey also told Variety about breaking new ground and not letting racist backlash to her casting bother her. Instead, she just hopes she can inspire young audiences with the representation.
The singer-actress opened up on how family supported her during the racist backlash to her casting in the live-action Little Mermaid. She received hate messages online, but her grandparents shared their perspective having experiencing discrimination in their own lives.
“I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they’re special and that they should be a princess in every single way. There’s no reason that they shouldn’t be. That reassurance was something that I needed.
“It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear their words of encouragement, telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the little Black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you,’
“What that would have done for me, how that would have changed my confidence, my belief in myself, everything. Things that seem so small to everyone else, it’s so big to us.”
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