Halle Bailey: Swimming Into A New Era
posted by Kinaya Gibson | September 20, 2022 | In Arts and Culture, NewsOver the past decade, Disney has been rolling out a series of Live Action films featuring some of their most classic cartoon movies. We have seen Aladdin, The Lion King, Cinderella, Lady, and the Tramp, and more reimagined.
Disney has now decided to diversify one of their classics by casting a black woman, Halle Bailey, as Princess Ariel from the Little Mermaid. It was announced back in July of 2019 that the renowned singer and actress would be taking on a new legacy by being cast as Ariel. Excitement and anticipation immediately began to brew.
As being one of the members of the singing duo ChloexHalle, fans of Bailey’s musical career knew the casting would be fitting by the vocal range she has shown since she was a child. ChloexHalle is signed by the infamous Beyonce Knowles-Carter under her management company, Parkwood Entertainment.
They were discovered through their years of doing musical covers and particularly by covering one of Beyonce’s hit songs “Pretty Hurts,” which has over seven million views on YouTube. They are also known for being the winners of Season 5 of Radio Disney’s “Next Big Thing” competition and appearing on multiple Disney shows and movies, such as Let It Shine and Austin and Ally. Additionally, ChloexHalle has also created a hit song for the soundtrack of the Disney movie “A Wrinkle in Time.”
Bailey’s history with Disney runs deep and makes her casting in the movie logical. However, Disney’s decision to turn a cartoon character that is part fish into a black live-action character has not gone without criticism. Few critics feel like making Ariel a black woman is unnecessary or unfair and have compared it to “cultural appropriation.”
People across the internet have used the example of how it would start an uproar if say Disney recreated The Princess and the Frog with a white Princess Tiana. The Princess and the Frog is set in the 1920s in New Orleans during a time of segregation. The historical context of the movie prevents Princess Tiana from being cast as a white woman. However, Princess Ariel is part fish, therefore, any race could play the role of Ariel because there is no historical and cultural significance to the storyline or the characters.
During Disney’s D23 Expo on September 9th, 2022, they unveiled the teaser for the new Little Mermaid. In the one-minute and twenty-three-second clip you get a brief first look at Bailey as Princess Ariel where she sings a line from the song “Part of Your World.” The teaser has brought over thirteen million views in the first four days. The historic unveiling has brought tears of joy to many around the world due to the significance of the casting and vocals of Halle Bailey. Fans will have to wait until May 26, 2023, to watch the movie in theaters and get the full under the sea experience.
Photo courtesy of Disney
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