Whether we were pining over Cinderella’s gown, Jasmine’s prince or Ariel’s angelic singing voice, each and every one of us grew up engrossed in the fantasy world of Disney – only later developing a more complicated relationship with its characters.
Having been widely criticised for both a lack of diversity and over-reliance on a tired ‘knight in shining armour’ saves ‘damsel in distress’ dynamic, Disney has been changing things up in a recent string of live-action remakes, and after Beyonce-approved The Lion King, 1989 under-the-sea adventure The Little Mermaid is next up.
Directed by Rob Marshall, the film will include many cherished songs from the original (we stan “Part Of Your World” as a timeless bop), plus new tracks composed by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda.
But most importantly, taking on the new and improved Ariel of our childhood dreams is 19-year-old singer and actress Halle Bailey, of R&B duo Chloe x Halle , who confirmed on Instagram yesterday that the role is a “dream come true…”
Stay tuned for the trailer and get ready to cry uncontrollably when it drops.