Halle Bailey stars as
Halle Bailey as Ariel, a curious, adventurous, and headstrong mermaid princess and King Triton's youngest daughter who is fascinated with the human world. Bailey was announced to have been cast on July 3, 2019. In the early stages of the film's development, Lindsay Lohan expressed interest in playing the role.
A live-action remake of Disney's 1989 movie "The Little Mermaid" was released on Friday. Rob Marshall directs and actor and singer Halle Bailey stars as Ariel. Melissa McCarthy portrays Ursula and Awkwafina voices Scuttle the seagull.
Halle Bailey as Ariel
The youngest of six sisters and a member of the royal family of Atlantica, Ariel is a starry-eyed mermaid whose rebellious nature leads to an absolute fascination with the surface world, much to the chagrin of her over-protective father, King Triton (Javier Bardem).
Disney's live-action remake of the classic 1989 animated film features Halle Bailey as Ariel, a diverse cast and three new songs. Review: “The new, live-action 'The Little Mermaid' is everything nobody should want in a movie: dutiful and defensive, yet desperate for approval,” Wesley Morris writes.
Halle Bailey Makes a Splash in Metallic Dress at 'The Little Mermaid' Premiere and Chloe Bailey Sparkles in Yellow. Halle stars as the iconic mermaid in the live-action film, which will be released in theaters on May 26.
He says they were looking for the best actor for the role of any ethnicity who could not only sing but convey traits such as strength, passion, beauty, joy and intelligence, which they found in Bailey.
So, why the change? One theory is that each of Ariel's sisters represents different oceans that are home to various cultures and ethnicities. It's pretty problematic to have mermaids who all look the same representing such an expansive underwater world.
We are fast approaching the release of the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. The film stars Halle Bailey as a new incarnation of Ariel alongside Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, and Javier Bardem as King Triton.
Daveed Diggs as Sebastian
Daveed Diggs is an actor, singer-songwriter, and rapper, who earned a Tony for his performance as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the critically acclaimed musical, Hamilton.
Vanessa is the tertiary villainess of the 1989 film of The Little Mermaid. She was the name of the human persona that Ursula transformed into leading to the climax of the second act, creating conflict in the third act, "the end" of The Little Mermaid to stop Ariel from fulfilling the deal with Eric.
Javier Bardem, a renowned actor, is cast as King Triton, Ariel's father. Bardem, known for his compelling performances in villainous roles, brings depth and complexity to Triton, a character who opposes Ariel's fascination with the human world.
If you're a fan of the original “The Little Mermaid,” you, of course, remember Max, the lovable Old English Sheepdog of Prince Eric. For the 2023 live-action remake, Hauer-King is seen alongside real-life Sheepdog breed dog actors Gary and Edna, playing the role of Max.
Most of the plot remains the same: a curious, adventurous mermaid princess wants nothing more than to become human and explore the world above. But some mostly minor tweaks do remain: the villain becomes an octopus rather than a squid, a new royal character enters the picture, and a few new musical numbers crop up.
The Little Mermaid is set in the Caribbean
This choice was made by director Rob Marshall because of Sebastian's Creole accent, but also to allow the cast to be more diverse.
In the live-action film, Ariel's sisters rule over the Saithe, Brinedive, Apneic, Chaine, Piton, and Fracus seas, while Ariel herself rules over Carinae Sea.
The Little Mermaid (live-action film)
In this version, like with the Broadway musical, Ursula is the estranged younger sister of King Triton (played by Javier Bardem), thus making her the paternal aunt to Ariel and her sisters in this film.
In the prequel film, the six sisters play a major role in the plot. In the 2023 live-action remake, Ariel's sisters are renamed as Perla (played by Lorena Andrea), Indira (Simone Ashley), Karina (Kajsa Mohammar), Caspia (Nathalie Sorrell), Mala (Karolina Conchet) and Tamika (Sienna King).
Disney's had decades to think about how to update “The Little Mermaid” for new generations of viewers. Which makes the dour, overlong, dimly-lit and still pretty sexist product they've just released completely baffling. They've jettisoned the fish song, “Les Poissons,” purportedly deeming it too cartoonish (what?)
The backlash against this movie is because a black actress is playing the role of Ariel. Since the animated feature film had a white mermaid as Ariel, some people are angry that Disney has gone with a black actress in the live-action.
In the 1989 movie, Ariel was born in the fictional underwater kingdom of Atlantica, which technically makes her Atlantican, not Danish. As Ariel is half fish, she cannot be categorized by our ethnicities and races.
According to Showbiz Galore, Halle Bailey received over $1.5 million for portraying Ariel, the iconic red-headed mermaid. As for her co-stars, Jonah Hauer-King earned $750,000 for the role of Prince Eric, and Javier Bardem received $700,000 for playing King Triton.
The previous slot reserved for an untitled movie for July 2, 2025, will now be filled by the live-action Moana film and has moved to June 27, 2025. Earlier this year during Disney's 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders Webcast, Dwayne Johnson confirmed the project along with him reprising the role.
Halle Bailey was the first to audition for the beloved and coveted role of Ariel in Disney's live-action “The Little Mermaid.” After Bailey belted out the classic showstopper “Part of Your World” from the original 1989 film, director Rob Marshall and the other filmmakers knew that she was the one for the role.