First Look: Halle Bailey Sings ‘Part of Your World’ as Ariel in Disney’s Live-Action ‘The Little Mermaid’ [Video]

BY: Denver Sean

Published 2 years ago

The first footage of the  anticipated “Little Mermaid” live-action remake starring Halle Bailey as Ariel has just been unveiled at Disney’s D23 expo.

via Variety:

Director Rob Marshall, of “Chicago” fame, celebrated the fact that this was a live action musical. Bringing up his Oscar-winning movie from the past “When we started this journey it was very important to honor the original” but also reimagine and “bring some depth” to the new film Marshall explained. The director also asked “Little Mermaid” longtime Disney alum and Alan Menken to link up with the award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda to come up with four new songs. “They’d never collaborated together before, and it’s magical…. We still retain the beauty of the original score by the late great Howard Ashman.”

Advertisement

As for the new Mermaid, Halle Bailey “came in and claimed the role,” Marshall said. And claimed it she did, shortly after the intro Marshall debuted the first ever footage from “The Little Mermaid” showcasing Bailey singing the iconic “Part of Your World” song (for the D23 crowd only). The hall was silent taking in this familiar, but new, rendition. Several members of the audience were visually emotional at this heart-stopping performance. “She’s so good,” a crowd member yelled out, “I have chills” another said.

The actress then joined the fans to massive applause and shared details from the shoot. It took three days to film “Part of Your World.” Bailey related to the little mermaid as a girl, “Swimming in the pool, imagining i was a mermaid, I never though I could see that come to life.”

As for the differences between the animated movie and the live action, Bailey’s fins appear to be a bit longer than the cartoon version, plus she’s ditched the comical shell bra underwater look for something a bit more sophisticated.

Adapted from the 1989 film from John Musker and Ron Clements, itself based on the Hans Christian Andersen 19th century fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid” tells the story of Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem), the ruler of the underwater kingdom Atalantica. Ariel, already fascinated by the world of humans, falls deeply in love with the handsome Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) after saving him during a shipwreck, and resolves to meet him in the world above water. Her quest brings her in conflict with her father and in the clutches of the scheming sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy). The cast also features Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs as the voices of classic Disney sidekicks Flounder, Scuttle and Sebastian.

Advertisement

The live-action “Little Mermaid” is directed by Rob Marshall, who previously helmed 2018’s musical family film “Mary Poppins Returns” for Disney, as well as movie musicals like “Chicago” and “Into the Woods.” The script was written by Jane Goldman and David Magee. The film will feature the songs Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman created for the original, plus Menken returned to compose the score and write new songs with Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda and Marshall produce with John DeLuca and Marc Platt.

In an interview for Variety‘s 2022 Power of Young Hollywood issue, Bailey spoke about her longtime love for the original film, and addressed the racist criticism towards her casting from trolls on social media. Bailey recalled receiving support from her grandparents during the backlash, who reminded her of the impact a Black princess on the big screen would have.

“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,’” Bailey said.

“The Little Mermaid” hits theaters on May 26, 2023. Watch the full first teaser trailer below.

Advertisement

Share This Post