Young Black girls are seeing themselves in The Little Mermaid

Disney’s live-action version of the classic movie stars Halle Bailey – the reaction of young girls to seeing a Black mermaid is beautiful

Hero image in post
photo: The Little Mermaid
Hero image in post
photo: The Little Mermaid

Disney’s live-action version of the classic movie stars Halle Bailey – the reaction of young girls to seeing a Black mermaid is beautiful

By Eve Walker15 Sep 2022
2 mins read time
2 mins read time

Disney has finally released the trailer for the live-action version of The Little Mermaid. It’s been highly anticipated, and we’re finally seeing the iconic mermaid reimagined. Most heartwarming are the reactions from some very young fans, seeing themselves in the first Black woman as Ariel.

Parents have shared videos of their very young Black daughters reacting to the first look at Halle Bailey as Ariel, reaffirming how vital representation is as their faces light up.

There are currently only two official Black Disney princesses – Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose in The Princess and the Frog, and now over a decade later, Bailey’s portrayal of Ariel. Bailey spoke to People about the significance of playing the flame-haired, stunning voiced Disney princess.

“The fact that now it's getting to be played by me, a person who looks like me, woman of colour, I'm just like, wow, I'm so grateful for what it will do for all the other little Black and brown boys and girls who will see themselves in me.

“Because I know if I had seen myself when I was younger, I think my whole perspective would've changed.”

The studio unveiled the sneak peek at its D23 Expo. Packed with a star studded cast, the film also features Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle, Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, and Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder.

As the blind reactions gained traction on social media, one Twitter user compiled a thread of all the best clips.

“Her skin… it looks like mine,” one girl said to her mother.

Others exclaimed, “She's Brown like me!” and “Brown Ariel is cute!”