Jodi Benson was the voice of Ariel in Disney's animated 1989 “Little Mermaid” classic. Starting in 2019, when Halle Bailey was cast in the live-action version, Benson has been nothing but supportive of the 23-year-old being “part of her world.”
Who was originally cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid?
Jodi Benson and Rob Marshall, her director on this year's The Little Mermaid, have a friendship that dates back 40 years. Before Benson became the voice of Disney's Ariel in the original 1989 animated classic, she was a thespian on the New York City theater scene.
Halle Bailey was the first to audition for the beloved and coveted role of Ariel in Disney's live-action “The Little Mermaid.” After Bailey belted out the classic showstopper “Part of Your World” from the original 1989 film, director Rob Marshall and the other filmmakers knew that she was the one for the role.
One of the greatest hidden tributes to the 1989 movie is the brief appearance of Ariel's original actress Jodi Benson, who provided the speaking and singing voice for the red-haired mermaid, as well as Ursula's alter-ego Vanessa.
The Ursula we know (and fear) was almost not. Disney worked through several versions of “The Little Mermaid's” antagonist, from trying to cast Bea Arthur, Joan Collins and Broadway star Elaine Stritch to voice the villain to considering her form to a shark.
Lizzo Reflects on Her 'Terrible' Audition for 'The Little Mermaid' Remake: 'I Was Down to Make Ursula a THOT' "The singing was great. I'll just say that," the singer shared of going for the role.
Again. ABC announced Wednesday that the Fuller House star has been added to the star-studded cast of the network's The Little Mermaid Live!, set to air on Nov. 5. Stamos will play Chef Louis, a role he first played at the Hollywood Bowl's production of the Disney animated classicin 2016.
The film stars singer Halle Bailey in the title role, alongside Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy.
Why did Halle Bailey audition for The Little Mermaid?
In 2019 her agent told her that, after seeing her perform at the Grammys, director Rob Marshall wanted her to audition. Bailey figured the part was “one of the sisters or something like that,” she tells Glamour exclusively.
Director Rob Marshall had auditioned the crème de la crème of young Hollywood for the role, and even Zendaya was rumored to have read for the part. But it was movie newcomer Bailey who won the coveted lead.
How much did Halle Bailey get paid for The Little Mermaid?
It's believed that Bailey made about $1.5 million for her role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, but that number could increase depending on how well the film performs opening weekend and beyond.
Halle Bailey says Jodi Benson told her “how proud she was of me & how I'm handling everything” with THE LITTLE MERMAID. “I appreciate her for being so warm & welcoming to me because she's the GOAT, it was important to get her stamp of approval” (Source: latimes.com/entertainment-…)
In the 1989 movie, Ariel was born in the fictional underwater kingdom of Atlantica, which technically makes her Atlantican, not Danish. As Ariel is half fish, she cannot be categorized by our ethnicities and races.
There were a lot of very confused people a few years ago when it was revealed that Halle Bailey had been cast as the live-action Ariel and people, who did not know Bailey from her music career, believed that Halle Berry had been cast in the role.
(MORE: 'Little Mermaid Live': Who will play Ariel, Ursula, Sebastian and more!) Queen Latifah stars alongside actress Auli'i Cravalho who will play Ariel and reggae singer Shaggy who will play Ariel's friend, Sebastian.
Why was there no chef scene in The Little Mermaid?
The Little Mermaid director Rob Marshall explained why Disney's live-action remake chose not to include Chef Louis. "That's when you realize we're not an animated movie," Marshall told SFX Magazine. "The animated movie stays forever, and people can go and watch that. This needs to work in a realistic way.
The new version stars Halle Bailey, most known for her role in the Grammy-nominated Chloe x Halle R&B duo, as Ariel in the actress's first starring feature film role. This casting of a Black woman as the iconic mermaid has made waves.
In the recently released book, Disney Princess: Beyond The Tiara, it was confirmed that supermodel Christie Brinkley was a huge source of inspiration for the design of The Little Mermaid's Ariel. Meanwhile, a young Alyssa Milano was also an unknowing model for how the famous mermaid would look on screen.
McCarthy has confirmed her performance as Ursula was an homage to drag queens and it's been confirmed by animator Rob Minkoff that the 1989 film's animated character was based on drag queen Divine at the direction of lyricist and creative Howard Ashman.
Singer Lizzo auditioned and campaigned for the role of Ursula. She even dressed like Ursula and sang "Poor Unfortunate Souls" on her Instagram page, but ultimately Melissa McCarthy got the role. Later, Lizzo and McCarthy met at an event and they discussed the audition.
