Halle Bailey spoke out about the importance of representation onscreen and why her hair was key to Ariel's look.
“We all yearn for something greater,” Bailey explained of Ariel. “We all relate to feeling like we want something better for ourselves, and I think the strength in her is that she goes for it. She goes after what she wants and what she sees for herself, and she knows she should be somewhere else. I just admire that strength of hers, and was really trying to play that in this version.”
She also confirmed that the film’s story has evolved for the original 1989 animated version. The actress told EW that this take on the fairy tale narrative is not just about “falling in love and wanting a boy and wanting the above world.” Bailey added, “It’s more about what [Ariel] sees for herself and her future and her passion.”
News of Bailey’s casting as Ariel initially drew ire from some Disney fans, who took issue with a Black actress embodying the role of the fictional princess. The Grammy Award nominee “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,” she said. “There’s no reason that they shouldn’t be. That reassurance was something that I needed.