Halle Bailey shows new Ariel doll inspired by her 'Little Mermaid' role
Growing up, actress and singer Halle Bailey would pretend to be Ariel from the animated Disney movie “The Little Mermaid” whenever she went swimming.
As a little girl, she told Variety last year, she wondered: “What if one day I could be just like a mermaid, you know, part of that world?”
On Monday, Bailey cemented her place in that world as she revealed a doll created to coincide with the May release of Disney’s new live-action film version of “The Little Mermaid,” in which she plays Ariel.
“This means so much to me, and to have one that looks like me, that’s my favorite Disney character, is very surreal,” Bailey said in a video posted on social media.
“And look,” Bailey added, pointing to the new doll’s forehead. “She even has my mole! See!”
The new mermaid doll mirrors Ariel’s appearance in the upcoming movie, which shows the princess with Brown skin and long dreads — a portrayal hailed by many as an important representation for children watching the film.
The doll is the latest in a long lineup of Disney character-inspired toys from Mattel, which in recent years has been aiming to create more diverse, inclusive and realistic dolls. The new Ariel is a shift from Mattel’s previous “The Little Mermaid” offerings inspired by Disney’s 1989 animated film, which features the character with red hair and fair skin.
Though “The Little Mermaid” remake is not Disney’s first movie with a Black princess, it was the first time the company cast a woman of color to play a princess previously depicted as White.
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When the trailer was released in September, it drew emotional reactions from Black parents and their daughters who were seeing an on-screen heroine who looked like them.
Share this articleShareReactions to the trailer quickly went viral on TikTok. In response, Bailey wrote: “Seeing these little babies reactions makes me so emotional.”
When introducing the doll on Monday, the Grammy-nominated artist wrote that “the little girl in me is pinching herself right now,” adding that she couldn’t believe how much the doll “captures my version of this iconic character.”
But accepting the part came with early challenges. Since Disney announced in 2019 that Bailey would play Ariel, the actress has faced criticism from those upset by the departure from Ariel’s classic appearance.
Bailey relied on support from her family as she took on the role. She told Variety that her grandparents told her: “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.”
Upon seeing herself as Ariel in the new doll, Bailey wrote that she was going to “go cry.”
“I’m just stunned,” Bailey said in the video. “So, I don’t quite know what to do with it, but I’m going to steal this and take it home and hide it forever.”
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