Halle Bailey is the perfect Ariel, many of those who managed to watch the new “The Little Mermaid” are convinced of this. Amazing acting and a great performance of the song “Part of Your World” brought the main actress of the new version of the Disney fairy tale incredible success.

Recently, Holly spoke more about how she understands Ariel’s character and why it was so necessary for the producers that Holly left her hairstyle for the duration of filming!

Afro-braids are not just a real hairstyle for Holly herself, but also an important part of the image of her heroine!

In The Little Mermaid 2023, all of King Triton’s daughters (Ariel, Mala, Indira, Caspian, Tamika, Karina, and Perla) have different skin tones and hairstyles, as each of the girls represents one of the seven seas. Speaking to Glamour, Holly revealed that the film’s producers, including director Rob Marshall, sought to preserve the identity of Holly and other black girls through her character.

[Ariel still] has red hair because it’s a very important part of her lookup, but I really admired the fact that because I’m a black woman and I have braids, [the producers] wanted Ariel to have it too. I’ve had them since I was five years old. I always think about what life would be like if I let them go, but I’ve never had straight hair.

Halle Bailey
American actress

A lot of videos have gone viral on the Web, in which black girls and girls see Holly in the image of Ariel for the first time. Bailey recalled her emotions when watching them: “When I first saw them [videos], I cried. I sobbed uncontrollably. The fact that these babes are looking at me and feeling the emotions they’re feeling is a really beautiful moment.”