Halle Bailey’s Little Mermaid is arriving in theaters soon and fans are excited.
The singer even met a young fan while on a trip to Disney World, sharing snippets of their interaction on her Instagram Story. In one video, Bailey can be seen holding the girl who’s hugging her, when a woman in the background says, “Arielle’s her favorite.”
Bailey can be heard telling the girl, whose name is Mila Rose, that she’s “so pretty,” “beautiful,” and “sweet.” Someone else comments on their embrace, saying, “She won’t let go.”
“Met this beautiful baby Mila Rose who made me cry,” Bailey captioned the clip. “She just hugged me so tight.” At the end, she asked the girl if she wanted to take a picture.
Bailey faced backlash when the first trailer for the live-action remake came out last fall because Disney went with a Black Arielle. It was a big role for her, partially because she’s been a fan since the age of five, but also because she had to film in London and endured long 13 hours days of shooting water scenes.
“I pushed myself as far as I’ve ever pushed myself in life,” she told Edition Modern Luxury. “And I feel like the message from her was to know that you’ve always had it in you.”
Rather than follow the original storyline, where Arielle wanted to become human for love, Bailey wanted the storyline to dig a little deeper: “We’ve definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy,” she said. “It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life, and what she wants.”
The Little Mermaid cast also includes Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, and Awkwafina as Scuttle. The film arrives in theaters on May 26.