Halle Bailey lives her musical dreams in ‘The Little Mermaid’ remake
For someone who grew up idolizing a Disney princess, American singer-songwriter Halle Bailey completes full circle as she makes her big-screen debut in the company’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid,” which released in the Middle East this weekend.
Bailey told Arab News in a virtual interview: “Never in a million years did I think I would get a chance to be Ariel for this new generation. “So, I think I just tried to embody all those things that we related to her for, like her soul and her independence and her headstrong ethos and her passion, as well as the beautiful love that she experiences, which I think is, honestly, just the cherry on top to her story.” With her musical background, Bailey was excited to bring her own take to classic songs like “Part of Your World” and “Under the Sea.”
The new work brings back musician Alan Menken, who wrote the original songs, while “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a few new tracks for the film.
Bailey said: “It was lovely working with both of them. The musician in me really appreciated the fact that Alan Menken was so heavily involved in the creation of these new songs as well. “It made me feel like we were honoring and respecting the work that was done in the original, while also kind of giving it this new breath of life. So, I was living my full musical dreams through this movie.”
Based on the animated 1989 film and the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale of the same name, “The Little Mermaid” is directed by Rob Marshall and follows the young mermaid Ariel, who makes a deal with sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) to become human and be with Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King (“The Last Photograph” and “A Dog’s Way Home.”)
Playing young Ariel’s father,
King Triton, is Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who phoned director Marshall as soon as he found out that a live-action version of the Disney classic was in motion. Bardem added: “I said if there’s such a thing as a King Triton with a Spanish accent, I would love to be part of that.
“And he (Marshall) said, ‘Well, we were thinking about you actually.’ So, when he told me that I was surprised because I just gave it a shot, never thinking it’s going to happen. But boom, it happened.”