Halle Bailey has spoken out about The Little Mermaid’s live-action remake as she hinted at major plot changes to the original story.
The 22-year-old actress and singer has been hitting the headlines after it was announced she would play the mermaid name Ariel in the remake of Disney’s classic movie The Little Mermaid.
Speaking to Edition, however, Bailey suggested that the producers of the live-action film made sure that Ariel would not be leaving the ocean behind just for the sake of being with a boy.
“I’m really excited for my version of the film because we’ve definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy. It’s way bigger than that,” she teased.
“It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants. As women we are amazing, we are independent, we are modern, we are everything and above. And I’m glad that Disney is updating some of those themes.”
The interview was met with mixed responses and critics saying there was nothing wrong about women falling in love with men in the process of finding themselves.
Elsewhere in the interview, Bailey also opened up about her reaction to criticism that she initially faced as a Black actress portraying a mermaid that was white in the 1989 animated film.
“As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore. I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they’re special, and that they should be a princess in every single way,” she added.
“There’s no reason that they shouldn’t be. That reassurance was something that I needed. It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear their words of encouragement, telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the little Black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you.’”
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