Halle Bailey Talks About Putting Her Own Spin On Ariel For Live-Action 'Little Mermaid'

Halle Bailey talks about how she put her own spin on Ariel for Disney's new live-action 'Little Mermaid'.

Transcript

00:00Everyone was on their feet inside when part of your world was shown at D23.

00:04What was that response like for you?

00:06It was amazing. You know, it's so surreal to just be here.

00:10I kind of feel like I'm floating around, just taking it all in.

00:13But I'm just so excited to be here. It was great.

00:17How did you decide what parts of the song and the character to make your own and put your own spin on?

00:22Yeah, that's a great question, actually.

00:23I think because this film has meant so much to me in my heart since I was a little girl,

00:29I really felt like the little girl inside of me was like,

00:32OK, Hallie, you can't mess this up. You've got to do your best.

00:35So I think just listening to my younger self in my ear and making her proud

00:40made my current self proud, if that makes sense.

00:44That footage we saw was so magical. Of course, Disney is known for its magic.

00:48For you, what's been the most magical part of making this film and this whole journey?

00:53Wow. I think the most magical part of it all is, number one,

00:57the experience that I had in the water, in the air,

01:00and never thinking that me, somebody like me, would be doing this is beautiful.

01:05And the fact that I get to kind of represent all of these little young black and brown boys and girls

01:12who are to come is really special to me because I know that if I had that when I was younger,

01:17it would have changed my whole perspective on life.

01:20Watching that footage, it was amazing seeing, you know, like the shots recreated that we know and love

01:25from the animated movie. What are you most excited for fans of the animated film to see in this movie?

01:30Yeah, like what you said, I think the mirrored shots of the iconic shots that we've all loved,

01:35like the hair flip and when she's in her grotto, I think all those special moments

01:40is going to be really cool to see in live action.

01:42We'll see you next time.