Parents Are Sharing Reactions Of Their Kids Learning The New Little Mermaid Is Black, And It Will Make Your Day
The videos perfectly illustrate why representation is so important.
The long-awaited trailer of the newest Disney classic to be made into a live-action feature film has been released, and the world is totally losing it over the first look of ‘Ariel’ in The Little Mermaid.
Conversations surrounding the casting have been swirling for some time, and while the public knew that our favorite fishy protagonist would be singer Halle Bailey, seeing her on the big screen hits different — and the reactions from kids everywhere are proving that representation matters.
The singer from Chloe x Halle recently shared her own compilation of reactions to the new trailer, captioning the post, “People have been sending these reactions to me all weekend, and I'm in truly in awe ♥️seeing these little babies reactions makes me so emotional 💗this means the world to me 💗😭thank you all for your unwavering support.”
The video features girls of different ages giving faces of total shock and surprise once Halle hits the screen in the iconic opening scene of The Little Mermaid, where Ariel is Black, and her long red hair is actually dreadlocks.
One child says, “What is this?” and later proclaims, “She’s Black!” others gush, “She’s brown like me,” and “her skin is like mine.”
*insert Kim Kardashian’s ugly cry meme*
Followers flooded the post with praise, sharing, “Everything our community needs fr. Rewriting history each day 🧡👏🏾,” and “Ugh, this is absolutely beautiful. The best cry I’ve had in a long time. ❤️, and “That video makes me cry 😭 representation is so necessary, congrats, queen.”
This trailer has Disney fans everywhere in a chokehold, and now everyone to wait until May 2023 for it to drop?! Sigh.
At least we all have reaction videos to watch on a loop until then.
Celebrities are also showing their support for the film, like award-winning actress, Taraji P. Henson, who shared reactions from TikTok on her Instagram. #RepresentationMATTERS #whoscuttingonions #WhyIdoWhatIDO ‼️ GOD IS #Period SO PROUD OF YOU, my sweet baby @hallebailey,” she captioned the post.
The parent who posted the original video shared wrote on the video, “she stopped playing as soon as she saw Ariel! I’m so glad my kids will have her as the little mermaid.”
Keke Palmer was also candid on the topic when she appeared on Good Morning America in July.
“What's up y'all, it's me, the black Cinderella," Keke began. “I know you're scared because Hollywood is making an effort to be more diverse in the people that they show onscreen. But let me ask you this: why can't a mermaid be black? Why is that too unrealistic for you - because you do know she's friends with a talking crab, and I know you're not the sharpest people, but crabs can't talk. In fact, the entire thing is fiction! And since the beginning of the entertainment industry, the most roles for black women were that of the maid. So it's about damn time we get to play the mermaid,” she shared.
Say it louder for the people in the back, Keke.
The Millennial generation had Brandy as Cinderella, and now our children will have Halle Bailey as Ariel, and it’s a beautiful thing.
