Under the SeaPart of Her World! Halle Bailey’s Quotes About Playing Ariel in Live-Action ‘Little Mermaid’

‘A Long Time Coming’

“It’s been a long time coming,” Halle says of the film’s release, during an interview with Glamour in May 2023. “I auditioned for the film when I was 18, and I turned 23 this year.”

“I freaked out, I was screaming,” she said of her reaction to the news that she’d been cast as Ariel. “I was like, ‘Is this real life?’ I was catapulted into this new world.”

‘About Time’

“It’s about time that a role like this is played by a Black woman, by somebody who is just a part of this beautiful community. We deserve to have images that look like us and to see ourselves in the media on big screens and everything,” Bailey told POPSUGAR in March 2023. “So I’m just grateful that we’re getting to see ourselves finally on such big projects.”

‘Sobbing’ the Whole Movie

“I’ve seen a rough cut, and I was just sobbing the whole time,” she told E! News at the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards. “It’s just very weird to watch myself. I’ve never seen myself that way and I just get really emotional just thinking about it.”

“I am ready for everyone to finally see this film, for it to finally be out,” Halle continued. “We have worked on it for a long time, we’ve been talking about it for a long time, but now we’re finally going to see it and I’m just grateful.”

‘More Modern’

“What’s beautiful about this version of The Little Mermaid is that it’s a lot more modern,” Halle told The Face in February 2023. “When we saw it, when we were younger, she gave up everything for the guy. But I don’t think [that] reflects modern women today. So [now] it’s more about Ariel finding freedom for herself because of this world that she’s obsessed with.” Prince Eric, Ariel’s handsome love interest, ​“is a cherry on top. But it’s not all about him.”

‘I Did My Best’

“I don’t feel any pressure anymore,” she explained of playing Ariel during an interview with E! News in November 2022. “I think that before I started filming, I did feel some nerves naturally because the film is so important to so many people.”
Halle explained that relying on her family and friends helped her deal with the pressure. “I just lean on them and I know that I just give it my 100 percent,” she continued. “I did my best, that’s all I can do. I’m just really grateful to see it all play out.”

‘Really Overwhelming’

“It’s been really crazy, really overwhelming. I’ve been so emotional when I see all the babies,” Halle gushed to Entertainment Tonight in October 2022 about the reaction to the first The Little Mermaid trailer. “So, I’m just really honored and just pinching myself.”

“I’m so excited for the release,” she continued. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for so long — we’ve been talking about it for a long time, but now that the rollout’s starting, I’m really grateful that everyone’s gonna get to see. I hope everyone likes it. We’ll see.”

‘Reassurance’

“I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they’re special, and that they should be a princess in every single way,” Halle explained an August 2022 interview with Variety. “There’s no reason that they shouldn’t be. That reassurance was something that I needed.”

She revealed how her younger self would have been inspired if the cartoon version of Ariel had been a person of color. “What that would have done for me, how that would have changed my confidence, my belief in myself, everything,” Halle said. “Things that seem so small to everyone else, it’s so big to us.”

‘How Is This Even Me?’

The actress and singer spoke with ET at the 2022 BET Awards, where she revealed that she’s seen a few scenes of Disney’s live action movie. “I’ve seen little clips … and I cried the other day,” Halle recalled. “Because I was like, ‘I don’t understand how this is happening! How this is even me?'”

“It’s very overwhelming,” she added. “I get really emotional just talking about it.”

Original Song

The singer told Entertainment Tonight in April 2022 about her wish to record an original song for the live-action remake of the Disney classic.

“That would be so cool,” Halle gushed. “Yeah, I mean it’s always a dream, so, I’ve just been writing and stuff, but I’m so excited.”

Favorite ‘Little Mermaid’ Song

When asked what her favorite Little Mermaid song was by Brandon Maxwell at the 2022 Oscars, the actress responded, “Of course, ‘Part of Your World.’ Yep, that’s my number one.”

Looking Back at Her Audition

“Getting that role felt very surreal. It was much of a shocker for me,” Halle said on the Facebook Watch series Talks With Mama Tina in December 2021. “Even when I was asked to audition, I looked at it and I was like me? For Ariel? That just doesn’t … ‘Cause you know, my image of Ariel that I’ve had is the red hair, the pale skin, and the tail, and she was amazing to me. I loved her, like we all did. But that’s what I’ve seen her as for so long.”

She continued, “So, even the auditioning process, I remember being so scared and so nervous. I think my dad, he one time was like, ‘Let’s run through the lines.’ And I started reading them and I just started sobbing. He’s like, ‘Halle, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?’ I’m just, ‘I can’t believe I’m even gonna go for this.’ But [I’m] so grateful that I kind of get to reinvent Ariel and show other young, beautiful Black and Brown children that hey, you can be this too. You are magical and mythical and all of the wonderful things in between as well.”

Shedding Some Tears

Halle told Extra in December 2021 that she got emotional when seeing herself as Ariel for the first time.“It’s very just surreal because, you know … of course, there’s all this post-production that’s happening … And so I think I went in for some ADR and, you know, it was just very surreal to seeing yourself that way,” she explained. “I get really emotional, and I was trying to hold it in, and then after I was driving home in the car, I just was, like, crying. It just doesn’t really hit me until certain moments … We still have a long time to wait, but I’m just very grateful for that opportunity in my life.”

Relating to Ariel

“It has definitely been a whirlwind of an experience,” the actress told Flaunt magazine in August 2021. “I really connected with how Ariel feels. She just wants to discover something new. She wants to see a whole different world that has never been introduced to her before.”

Pinch-Me Moment

“It feels really amazing. I’m just really grateful and honored. I pinch myself about it every morning,” Halle shared during a September 2020 interview with SiriusXM. “I’m really excited.”

Feeling Supported

Halle told Cosmopolitan in September 2020, that she couldn’t have done the movie without her sister’s support. “Whenever we’re apart, I feel like my right arm is missing,” she explained. “I say this all the time: I’m not sure what I would do if I was by myself going through this whole thing.”

Taking the Journey

“I’m very honored. I feel so blessed to be in this position. The Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorite movies since I was a little girl, so being able to make Ariel mine in a way has been a beautiful process and a beautiful journey, and I’m just so excited to go on it,” she told NPR in June 2020. “I just hope people love it. I definitely hope that a lot of beautiful young Black girls can know that they can be princesses, too. And that they are beautiful in every single way.”

Experiencing the Disney Magic

“It’s so overwhelming, and beautiful, and breathtaking. I’m like, ‘Wow, am I really doing this?'” she told POPSUGAR in January 2020. “Just being authentically me. It’s amazing that the directors have been so forward in asking me to show my true self . . . that’s been a really fun growing experience. … I’ve been a fan of The Little Mermaid since I was 5, so those new songs are very exciting to me, as well as the old.”

Filming Solo

“It is definitely a little bit nerve-racking because I am the little sister,” Halle explained to Variety in August 2019. “I am so used to [us] always going through these challenging moments in our career together, [but] I am beginning to understand that this film is so much bigger than me.”

Feeling Grateful

“It means so much to me,” Halle explained to Entertainment Tonight in August 2019. “I feel really honored and grateful for the opportunity. Ariel was one of my favorite princesses growing up so it’s a dream come true. I’m very excited and happy.”

The Casting Announcement

After news broke in July 2019 that Halle would be playing the role, she told fans on Twitter that it was a “dream come true.”