Growing up, Halle Bailey was obsessed with The Little Mermaid wearing out her family’s VHS tape watching and rewatching the 1989 Disney animated hit and pretending to be Ariel every time she went swimming. Her sense of longing her searching for herself was something that I could resonate with Bailey says. She knew where she wanted to go and she was not going to let anybody stop her.
Bailey can relate. Now it will fall on her 22 year old shoulders to bring Ariels quest for true love and independence to life on screen for a new generation of movie fans. Four years ago Bailey best known as one half of the Grammy nominated duo Chloe x Halle, landed the title role in the live action remake of the classic film which has wrapped shooting and will open in theaters in May 2023.
Before Baileys casting only one other Black actor had been crowned a Disney princess Anika Noni Rose as the voice of Tiana in The Princess and the Frog so she understands the barrier-breaking importance of donning Ariels fins. I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they are special and that they should be a princess in every single way Bailey says. Theres no reason that they should not be. That reassurance was something that I needed.
Most fans were thrilled at the news that Bailey would play Ariel but the trolls were just as vocal decrying the prospect of a Black mermaid princess with the hashtag Not My Ariel. The criticism stung. Chloe Bailey the actors sister says their tight knit family banded together against the backlash. Its important Chloe says to have a strong support system around you. Its hard to carry the weight of the world on your own.
Bailey also got important perspective from her grandparents who shared memories of the racism and discrimination that they had endured in their lifetimes. It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear their words of encouragement telling me You do not 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 recalls
0 Comments