Introducing ‘The Little Mermaid’ To A New Generation Of Audiences

For over 50 years, Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs set the gold standard for animated movies, until The Little Mermaid came along in 1989 and breathed new life into the entertainment company’s then-floundering animation division.

Starring singer and actress Jodi Benson as the voice of mer-princess Ariel, The Little Mermaid adapted the fairy tale from Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen, and introduced the first, and currently still the only member of the Disney Princess franchise who is not human, and gave a new generation of adults and children classic songs including Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl. 

Benson’s rendition of Part of Your World became the defining song for the movie so when it came time to adapt the classic for live-action, the primary focus was to find someone who could belt out the iconic tune like Ariel, and also embody her spirit.

While the search landed on African-American singer Halle Bailey back in 2019, the now 23-year-old star had had the privilege of spending the last few years embracing the role and growing up with the character.

“I tell people all the time I feel like Ariel. Ariel truly has helped me find myself and this young woman version of me because it’s been five years of my life now,” said Bailey at a press conference that Geek Culture attended. 

“From 18 to now being 23, those are very intense transformative years as you’re developing as a young woman. I feel like especially these themes of the film and what she had to go through, with her passions and drive and speaking up for herself, and even though it may be scary, she went for it. I feel like those things, I really try to adopt and give to Halle now. She’s taught me so much.” 

The Little Mermaid is being brought to life by Bailey as the red-headed mermaid, Melissa McCarthy as sea witch Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as love interest Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as daddy dearest King Triton, along with Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Awkwafina as Scuttle – Ariel’s three animal companions throughout the film. 

The movie has brought together a diverse cast and while every cast member has a special story on how they became part of the project, it was particularly life-changing for Bailey and Hauer-King who are now officially a Disney Princess and Disney Prince. 

“My first reaction was just sobbing, honestly. I was just crying. I think we had celebrated my sister’s birthday the day before so we were coming home and then I got this call from [director] Rob [Marshall] and I don’t answer unknown numbers and then my baby brother comes running to me like ‘Answer your phone, answer your phone!’ so I answered it and then Rob was like, ‘Hello, I’m looking for Ariel.’” shared a smiley Bailey.

“It’s a great privilege. It’s a huge honour. I think what’s special about this is the whole film feels very grounded in reality. The Disney Prince and Disney Princess aspect is amazing and it’s fun and exciting, but I think watching it last night made me realise that for all of us, even though we’re living in this fantasy space, it just feels really connected to the real world,” said Hauer-King. “Being a Disney prince is weird, isn’t it?” 

The live-action The Little Mermaid retains a majority of its characters (with the exception of Sebastian’s arch nemesis Chef Louis), and is a rather faithful adaptation of the animated classic, it does change some elements. Disney’s take follows a beautiful and exuberant mermaid princess who craves freedom from her patriarchal, underwater mer-society, and yearns for a world apart from her own, one where she can be free from the limits of her rigid and conservative family.

Her desire to join the human world is later intensified after she saves the human Prince Eric from drowning, leading her into direct conflict with her father, and subsequently turning to the dark arts for salvation. Ultimately, it is a tale of a young girl who sacrifices herself to get what she wants, even if it comes with a cost she was not prepared for, and the love of a parent. 

“It’s about a man who is deeply in love as a father with his daughter, and he’s confused his fear and insecurity with that love. He’s blocking her from her being free, so that kind of relationship is what I have to create, and that’s the role I have to play in the tale, for the tale to make sense,” shared Bardem. 

“One of the beautiful themes in the story is that the mother and the father, the adults, learn from their kids. Very important lesson of what love means. They thought they knew, but no, they didn’t have a glimpse of what real love is until they see their own kids departing. It’s always respecting other people’s journey, and that’s what they learn, I guess.”

Ariel and King Triton’s father-daughter relationship is not the only relationship that takes centre stage in this musical film. After escaping the constraints of her controlling father, Ariel finds herself exploring a world different from her own with someone, who just like her, is seeking his own solace away from palace grounds.

Ariel and Eric’s romance – like many Disney princess tales of the time – was based on instant attraction. Be it through the touch of a hand in Aladdin, a glance in Snow White, or in The Little Mermaid’s case, her voice. While Eric still goes on a search for the mystery woman with the amazing voice, his attraction to Ariel grew naturally over the three days they spent together – learning, understanding and befriending each other. 

“Disney romances are always, you know, they’re filled with that instinctive attraction to one another. We all wanna see that but I think what was fun about this, and I think a lot of it came from our off-screen selves as well, was looking at Ariel and Eric as two people who were kindred spirits who felt a little bit restless, who felt like they were behind the four walls of their respective castles, and were very much looking outwards and not in,” explained Hauer-King.

“And I think what was nice about that was that it meant that their relationship feels really earnt. They both felt like they were teaching each other things. They were excited and fascinated by each other’s worlds although they didn’t actually know it until the end.”

Hauer-King believes that such a portrayal and approach to love and relationships is much healthier and better for the new and younger audience. 

He continued, “That was really lovely because I think, actually Melissa said this yesterday, that I think it’s a really good message for what it means to be in love and what it means to be in a relationship is ultimately tied to friendship. That’s the fundamental thing of it. And that’s why it lasts, and that’s what makes it special. So, that was really fun to explore and it was easy ’cause, you know, she’s a riot, so we kinda got on fine.” 

Even though The Little Mermaid is an adaptation of the original movie, it has been refreshed in some ways to suit modern audiences and new views on female empowerment. This includes setting a foundation of friendship in Ariel and Eric’s relationship, Ariel taking charge instead of playing a damsel in distress and lyrics amendments to Kiss The Girl to include consent. 

After all, it has been 34 years since the movie was released. For many members of the cast, introducing a classic tale they grew up with to their own children, or simply an entirely new generation, is an incredibly special experience. 

“I have a hard time wrapping my head around that, honestly. A really good friend of mine, who the day I got cast, was like ‘I’m bringing my daughter to the premiere, whenever that is’ so he brought his daughter to the premiere last night – that was such a special experience,” said Diggs about bringing The Little Mermaid to a whole new generation. 

“And then me remembering that I stood in line to the see The Little Mermaid opening night in Oakland when it first came out. It was just a thing that was sort of a fundamental part of my childhood, is gonna be that for this little girl… who was also terrified of Ursula that I had to introduce her to Melissa afterwards so that she didn’t have nightmares.” 

Hauer-King added, “Same as Daveed. It’s hard to wrap your head around it. The first time I saw it a couple weeks ago, Art Malik who plays Sir Grimsby, brought his grandson who is eight years old and his eyes were wide and he was laughing and crying and just watching it through his eyes was really, really special.” 

The Little Mermaid swims to theatres on 25 May 2023. Read our review here.