Jodi Benson defends Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid!

Actress Jodi Benson defends Halle Bailey who has been cast as Ariel, the starring role, of Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid!

According to Comicbook.com, Jodi Benson defends Halle Bailey by saying “the most important thing is to tell the story. And we have, as a family, we have raised our children, and for ourselves, that we don’t see anything that’s different on the outside”. Likewise, she also described Ariel and said “that the spirit of a character is what really matters” and then she said “I’m really, really old — and so when I’m singing ‘Part of Your World,’ if you were to judge me on the way that I look on the outside, it might change the way that you interpret the song. But if you close your eyes, you can still hear the spirit of Ariel.”. To her, Jodi believes “the most important thing for a film is to be able to tell a story”.

Jodi also said that “no matter what we look like on the outside, no matter our race, our nation, the colour of our skin, our dialect, whether I’m tall or thin, whether I’m overweight or underweight, or my hair is whatever colour, we really need to tell the story,”. That Disney is known for its storytelling and that’s their aim for this film. To create a live-action version of the beloved animated classic so audiences can “fall in love with the film again”.

Variety, even before announcing Halle Bailey as Ariel, described her as the “clear front runner from the beginning”. That after searching far and wide for the perfect Ariel, Rob Marshall said that Halle possessed “all the intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role”. We look forward to seeing Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid!

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A Disney lover from across the pond (England). If I'm not in the parks, I'm dreaming of my next trip. My favourite Disney character is Simba and my favourite Disney ride would have to be Space Mountain!
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5 thoughts on “Jodi Benson defends Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid!

  1. I think as long as she can sing well, she will be okay.However, she is an R&B singer, so I’m not sure if that’s the right genre of music for Ariel.And I hope they some how find a way to use ariel’s red hair.

  2. See Will Smith, now Halle Bailey, Disney cartoon characters will replace white females actors soon.

  3. It has nothing to do with racism when one prefers continuity of Disney characters. I do not want Tatiana to be white, either. I believe Halle will do a beautiful job, and do not(personally) have a real issue with it. I do understand preferring the live characters remain as near the animated versions as possible, though.

  4. I think Halle Bailey will make a GREAT Ariel! I have seen negative comments about the casting, but I totally disagree with the negativity. I remember when I was a child in the 1960’s, one of my favorite fairy tales was annually televised – the musical version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella”. In 1997, when “Cinderella” was redone with an interracial cast, with Brandy in the title role and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother, I thought the production was delightful. I am looking forward to seeing Halle Bailey as Ariel.

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