Halle Bailey's Little Mermaid performance has the fin of approval from original Ariel

A central Atlantica resident approves of Halle Bailey's performance in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Jodi Benson, the original voice actress of Ariel in the beloved 1989 animated film, praised her successor's "beautiful performance" in the Rob Marshall film on Instagram Story, noting that she was so thrilled and excited for Bailey.

"Halle, you were absolutely amazing!" Benson wrote alongside a photo of the young star and Marshall. "I'm SO proud of you and your beautiful performance as Ariel!" She added of the "brilliant" Marshall, "I'm so thankful of our friendship of over 35 years. Thank you for creating such a stunning film!"

The Walt Disney Company via Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney Jodi Benson, the original voice actress of Ariel in the 1989 film 'The Little Mermaid,' praised her successor Halle Bailey

Bailey re-shared Benson's comments on her own Instagram Story, writing that the praise "means the world to me coming from you." She added, "You made Ariel magical for us."

Disney released the first teaser for the live-action at D23 Expo on Friday, debuting a clip of Bailey, one half of the Grammy-nominated sister R&B duo Chloe x Halle, performing the classic song "Part of Your World." The film, set to feature new music by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the original film's composer Alan Menken, will also star Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, and Awkwafina as Scuttle.

"It's going to be something really amazing," Bardem previously teased to EW during our SAG Awards red carpet pre-show earlier this year.

This isn't the first time Benson has voiced support for Bailey, who was subject to racist backlash following news of her casting in 2019. The original Ariel defended Bailey in the wake of criticism that a Black actress had been unrealistically cast in the role of a mythical sea creature.

"We need to be storytellers. And no matter what we look like on the outside, no matter our race, our nation, the color of our skin, our dialect, whether I'm tall or thin, whether I'm overweight or underweight, or my hair is whatever color, we really need to tell the story," Benson said at the Florida Supercon convention. "I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters. What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart and their spirit is what really counts."

Jodi Benson Instagram

The Little Mermaid arrives in theaters on May 26, 2023. Watch the teaser above.

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