Singer and actress Halle Bailey has seen the first footage of herself as Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake of the Disney classic The Little Mermaid, and it left her feeling rather emotional. Speaking with ET, Bailey revealed that seeing clips of herself as the mermaid princess left her feeling overwhelmed, even reducing her to tears, and she attempted to come to terms with the wonder on screen and the image of her as the beloved Disney character.

“I've seen little clips... and I cried the other day. Because I was like, "I don't understand how this is happening! How this is even me?" It's very overwhelming. I get really emotional just talking about it.”

Clearly, starring in The Little Mermaid is an emotional experience for Bailey, as she cannot believe that it is her up on screen in this remake of the Disney classic. No doubt many fans of the animated original will feel similarly moved when the first footage from the live-action The Little Mermaid makes its way online.

The Little Mermaid is directed by Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns) from a screenplay by Jane Goldman and David Magee and is produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Much like the 1989 original, which is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale of the same name, the movie will tell the story of a young mermaid who makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her voice for legs to win the love of a human prince.

Halle Bailey’s Co-Stars Have Heaped Praise on Her Performance as Ariel

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Disney

Halle Bailey is not the only one to have responded with such overwhelming positivity to the remake of The Little Mermaid, with her co-stars having heaped praise on her central performance in the titular role of Ariel. Actor Javier Bardem, who will star in The Little Mermaid as Ariel’s father and the king of Atlantica, Triton, has teased Bailey’s superb singing voice. "[When you're] close to Halle, it's impossible to sing... She was warming up her voice near me, and I was like 'What was that?' She goes, 'Oh, I was just warming up... It would take me five years to do that!" Bardem said.

Daveed Diggs, who stars as loyal crab Sebastian in the remake, has also applauded Bailey’s performance, describing her as “a force.”

“I had a great time doing it. I recently got to do an ADR session, which is the first time I got to see anything of anything in it, which was pretty wild. It’s weird, and wild, and beautiful. I’m very excited, and Halle [Bailey] is a force. I’m just happy to be playing the crab that gets to sit next to her.”

Making up the rest of the Disney cast of familiar characters are Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, Melissa McCarthy, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle. Additionally, Jude Akuwudike, Noma Dumezweni, Jessica Alexander, Russell Balogh, Adrian Christopher, and Emily Coates have been cast in supporting roles.

The Little Mermaid is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 26, 2023.