The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey shows love for a young fan's emotional trailer reaction to the teaser trailer. For the last couple of years, Disney has been busy remaking several iconic animated films in live-action format, including Aladdin, Mulan, Cinderella, The Lion King, and many more. One of their upcoming releases is Rob Marshall's The Little Mermaid, which has been in the works since 2016 when the project was put into development. Grown-ish star and singer Halle Bailey is playing Ariel in the Disney adaptation, following the story of a mermaid's passion for the human world.
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While the film isn't coming until May 2023, Disney debuted the first official Little Mermaid teaser trailer for the musical remake at this year's D23 Expo. In less than a week, the trailer received over 104 million global views, giving viewers a taste of the iconic Disney story. The Little Mermaid teaser also featured bits of Bailey's rendition of "Part of Your World," which is just one of many iconic songs that will be adapted from the animated version. After the trailer dropped, viewers were quick to share their reactions, making Bailey emotional.
One fan reaction to the teaser trailer that went viral came from a mother who recorded her young daughter watching it for the first time and how she teared up when Bailey's Ariel came on screen. It didn't take long before The Little Mermaid star herself saw the passionate fan's trailer reaction, as Bailey took to Twitter with a heartfelt response.
The reaction to Bailey's Ariel speaks volumes of how important The Little Mermaid remake will be, especially to young Black girls. Since Bailey's original casting in 2019, the 22-year-old actress has been on the receiving end of racist attacks and harassment. Many naysayers have expressed how much they are against the idea of an African-American woman playing Ariel, who is Caucasian in the animated incarnation, which created the #NotMyAriel campaign. Bailey recently talked about the backlash of her Ariel casting and how landing the Little Mermaid gig impacts a Black actress like herself, mainly due to the lack of princesses of color during the Disney Renaissance.
Even though Hollywood still has room for improvement, the industry is getting more inclusive, both in front and behind the camera. In The Little Mermaid's case, Black girls will be able to see themselves represented in a massively iconic role like Ariel. While there will always be negative and racist responses for race-bending and gender-bending, they are a vocal minority as there are more people who are happily in favor of seeing new takes on classic characters like Ariel. Another The Little Mermaid character getting re-imagined for the remake is Ariel's father, King Triton, played by Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who has had nothing but praise for Bailey in the live-action film. While The Little Mermaid will likely not have another trailer until early 2023, expect to see more young fans having emotional reactions to seeing Bailey's Ariel.