Halle Bailey has been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love from young Black girls who will soon see themselves as Ariel in the adaption of The Little Mermaid.
Since the release of the live-action film’s teaser trailer, Black parents have been recording their children as they watch the one-minute video and react to their discovery that Ariel is now a Black woman with red locs. “She’s brown like me,” one young girl said in complete amazement.
Bailey took to Instagram on Tuesday (Sept. 13), four days after the trailer initially dropped, to express love for the girls’ positive reactions and gratitude.
“People have been sending these reactions to me all weekend and i’m in truly in awe [heart emoji],” Halle affectionately wrote in her post’s caption. “Seeing these little babies reactions makes me so emotional, this means the world to me, thank you all for your unwavering support.”
The teaser for the upcoming remake of The Little Mermaid was premiered during the D23 Expo on Friday (Sept. 9). According to Deadline, the singer spoke to the crowd about the clip, admitting it was the first time she saw herself in the movie.
“Being a little girl swimming in the pool, imagining I was a mermaid, I never imagined that would come to life,” Bailey said. “The three days filming ‘Part of Your World’ was the most beautiful experience of my life — feeling all the feelings she feels, her passion, discomfort, everything she’s experiencing. It was so exciting for me to play those emotions and to have Rob directing me and being such a moving force on this film was really an honor.”
The Little Mermaid live-action-remake is based on the 1989 original animated film by Disney. The new iteration is set to add new songs by the film’s original composer Alan Menken. Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda will also pen the lyrics.
Watch the teaser trailer and the young Black girls’ reactions below.