Disney cast Halle Bailey as Ariel in Little Mermaid and people are praising them

4 July 2019, 14:44

By Nicky Idika

Halle Bailey has been cast as Ariel in the upcoming Little Mermaid live-action film and director Ross Marshall praised Halle's "spirit, heart, youth, innocence" and "glorious singing voice".

Actress and singer Halle Bailey will play Ariel in Disney's upcoming live action Little Mermaid film. The announcement was made this week with the film's director Rob Marshall praising the "spirit, heart, youth, innocence" and "glorious singing voice" of the young actress.

You may know Halle Bailey from her role as Sky on Grown-ish and from musical duo, Chloe X Halle, with her sister Chloe Bailey. The internet's response to the Ariel casting news has been mostly positive, though some online have expressed ~ thoughts ~ about Halle's race.

People online have since come to the actress' defence, with many praising the casting choice and slamming problematic criticism.

Some questioning the casting have expressed "disappointment" over the fact that the original Ariel had red hair and blue eyes – and was white. "She is so pretty and talented but I’m disappointed that Disney is not sticking to the character. Would’ve like to see a live action of the Ariel I was raised with," wrote one fan on Twitter.

"If Ariel’s black, her whole fam will be. Triton, her sisters, her mother. It’s turned into a black film and that’s fine but I’ll never accept it as the little mermaid because it’s not," wrote another.

It should be noted that Ariel's race doesn't actually factor in the story at all because she is a mermaid and mermaids don't actually exist.

Anyway, people are standing up for Halle's casting and a black Ariel in general.

Halle Bailey wrote on Twitter that the casting was "a dream come true".

Meanwhile, Grown-ish fans noticed a mermaid reference in last night's (July 3) episode. When Zoey suggests adult colouring books and holds up one with a mermaid on the cover, Sky and Jazz express disinterest in the activity.

We love a coincidence (or maybe an easter egg???). What do you guys think of Halle Bailey's casting in the upcoming live action Little Mermaid remake?