Halle Bailey made waves when she was cast as Ariel in Disney’s 2023 take on The Little Mermaid—but according to director Rob Marshall and producer John DeLuca, the part was hers from the start. Bailey was the very first person to try out among hundreds of actresses during the audition process. “We saw everybody and every ethnicity, and Halle claimed the role for herself. She set the bar so high it never came close to others,” said Marshall on Monday, at the film’s world premiere in Hollywood. “She came in and sang ‘Part of Your World’ for us. By the end of the song, I was in tears. She’s so deeply connected to what she’s singing about and feeling.”
“The goal was to find someone who was innocent and passionate and strong and vulnerable,” added DeLuca. “And Halle had all the qualities.”
The two filmmakers officially wanted to offer Bailey the part, but had to receive the green light from Disney executives first. Was Disney hesitant to cast a non-white Ariel? “Not at all. Not for one second,” said Marshall. “We did a screen test, and [Disney CEO] Bob Iger saw the screen test and within moments he said, ‘One hundred percent, she is the one.’”
From the moment her casting was announced, Bailey was celebrated by Black families who have shared heartwarming videos of their children watching an Ariel who looks like them. “I just hope that they know they are worthy and we deserve to be in these spaces. I hope that they see themselves through me on the screen,” Bailey said Monday. “I’m just grateful to be here. There were women before me like Brandy and Anika [Noni] Rose who really were the blueprint for me, and even for me to be here today. So I’m taking this moment all in. I’m so excited.”
Of course, not all the reactions to her casting were positive. Bailey also faced a racist backlash from outraged critics who argued that a Black Ariel would ruin the original film’s beloved legacy. “To the people who don’t agree with our casting, it feels so small-minded, and that’s what the film is about—to not be afraid of someone who is not like you,” said Marshall on the arrivals carpet. “I have to say that it feels so archaic. Like, really? We are still discussing racism in this era? Being different, it’s very timely, especially when you see how divided the world has become. My hope is that this beautiful tale of a mermaid can remind us all that we are all one.”
“I say come see the film and just open yourself up,” added DeLuca, who is Marshall’s longtime creative (and life) partner. “Get rid of the barriers that you have, and I guarantee you’ll be swept away.”
Bailey stars alongside a diverse international cast that includes Oscar winner Javier Bardem as Ariel’s father, King Triton; Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle the seabird; Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley as one of Ariel’s seven sisters; British newcomer Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric; Melissa McCarthy as sea witch Ursula; Jacob Tremblay as Flounder; and Daveed Diggs, stealing every scene as Sebastian the crab.
“I spent time in the Caribbean working with vocal coaches and trying to come up with an accent with the right amount of something to sprinkle in, [one] that pays homage to the original character—that sounds like a character who could have agency over the calypso music—but also is still me,” said Diggs. “Just figuring out what my voice is capable of doing when I speak and when I sing was a lot of work.”
Diggs, a Tony winner for his role in Broadway’s Hamilton, sings the iconic tune “Under the Sea” in the remake. “It was terrifying at first,” he said. “The scary part was when Halle came in and sang just a couple of bars. Then [composer] Alan Menken sort of decided on the fly that she should do that in the recording. So I’m recording the song and he goes, “Halle, you should come in and do this.’ I didn’t want to do it next to her—she’s phenomenal. We ended up singing ‘Under the Sea’ together.”
The live-action movie features most of Howard Ashman and Menken’s songs from the original film, including “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl,” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” Menken also teamed up with Lin-Manuel Miranda to create new songs for the film—an Ariel anthem called “For the First Time,” a Prince Eric ballad called “Wild Uncharted Waters,” and a track for Scuttle and Sebastian called “Scuttlebutt,” which is performed when Scuttle is struggling to explain to Sebastian and Ariel that the prince is talking about getting engaged. “I’m tingling with excitement,” said Diggs about his new song with Awkwafina. “It’s fun and a special song. I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
