Halle Bailey is our new Little Mermaid, and the starlet could not be more excited for fans to finally see the highly-anticipated Disney live-action remake of the classic story of a headstrong teenager moved to take major risks for love and personal passion.
As Disney’s new Ariel, Bailey has now joined Brandy (Rodgers Hammerstein’s Cinderella, 1997) and Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog, 2009) as only the third-ever Black Disney Princess. As the songstress tells ESSENCE in an exclusive interview, the weight of the role she’ll play in a generation of young girls’ lives is not lost on her.
“It feels so amazing to be able to be representation for this new generation, for this big film that we’ve all known and loved for a very long time,” Bailey says. “Ariel has meant the world to me since I was 5 years old, so getting to reimagine her with the color of my skin is so beautiful, and I’m just grateful to be in this position.”
As for what she brought to the role that will be a bit different than what audiences are used to from the original 1989 animated version of the classic fairytale, Bailey says her personal flair was the key.
“I think I just really went into it trying to be myself,” Bailey said of stepping into Ariel’s fins. “I think that I just brought a lot of Halle to the role of Ariel, and I’m grateful for the freedom that I was allowed by Rob Marshall, the amazing, visionary, perfectionist director of this film, who did an absolutely amazing job.”
“As far as the songs, I was allowed to be me; I was allowed to riff and do nuances and they didn’t stop me. They allowed me to just be me, which I was grateful for.”
Speaking of those songs Bailey got the opportunity to reimagine for a new generation, she does have one particular favorite.
“I would definitely say ‘Part of Your World’ was what I was most excited to sing, because it’s such an emotional song, and Jodi Benson [the voice actor of Ariel in Disney’s 1989 The Little Mermaid] did an absolutely amazing job. So, to have this beautiful blueprint that I’ve been singing since I was 5, suddenly learning that I’m going to be able to recreate it was such a blessing and so cool for me.”
Bailey expressed gratitude for the freedom to make the choice to sing the song in a higher key than the original and make an octave jump at the song’s end, giving the new generation a different version of the classic song to resonate with as well.
The Little Mermaid opens in theaters everywhere on May 26, 2023.