Halle Bailey Shares Emotional Response to Filming “Part of Your World” for Disney’s Live-Action “Little Mermaid

Production is finishing up on Disney’s new live-action retelling of The Little Mermaid (1989) with the film set to debut in 2023. Singer, songwriter, and actress Halle Bailey, who is playing the role of Ariel in the new adaptation, has previously shared her excitement with fans over the opportunity to play such an iconic Disney character, and she recently shared the details of one song from the film that has gotten her especially emotional so far.

Bailey recently spoke with STYLECASTER about production on the film that has just wrapped over the summer, specifically on what it was like to film such an iconic scene from The Little Mermaid as the moment in the film when Ariel sings, “Part of Your World.”

On the subject of “Part of Your World,” Bailey says, “It was really surreal to film. It was really emotional for me. It was three days of intense being all over the place. I was crying the whole time because I was just like, ‘What the heck?’ We’re all connected to that song and it means a lot to each of us.”

“Part of Your World is one of the most memorable Disney songs, coming at a pivotal point in the story of The Little Mermaid when Ariel uses the song to express her desire to become human to be with Prince Eric. The original song was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken for the 1989 film where it was performed by Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel in the animated film. The song went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song in a Movie.

The new live-action version of the story with Bailey as the titular character will premiere on May 26, 2023. Production teams so far have promised many original characters from the animated version will be making returns as well as lots of iconic moments and visuals that made the original film so well-loved by generations of Disney fans.

As for changes to the story in the live-action film, we are not expecting anything too drastic but Bailey and others who have worked on the production so far have mentioned some changes to certain themes in the film, particularly when it comes to Ariel’s character. Bailey shared with STYLECASTER, “I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised by some updates of the themes of the film. More so on Ariel’s side of women empowerment and her taking her power back.”

The upcoming retelling of The Little Mermaid has a truly all-star cast in addition to Bailey including Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy. The film is directed by Rob Marshall, who is also producing alongside John DeLuca, Marc Platt, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.