Posted in: Disney, Movies | Tagged: disney, film, jodi benson, the little mermaid

The Original Ariel Approves of The Little Mermaid Film Adaptation

The voice actor who portrayed Ariel in the original version of The Little Mermaid has a lot of appreciation for the live-action adaptation.

With how often Hollywood relaunches popular titles, there's always a little concern (or discussion, at the very least) surrounding the response from those who came before. Just look at the unpleasant debacle between two casts for the Charmed series if you need a reminder!

For the new Disney movie The Little Mermaid, there's officially a nice added seal of approval from one of the all-important actors who just might be able to ease any potential apprehension from diehard fans.

The Little Mermaid is Now Original-Ariel Approved

When speaking to People magazine about the recent live-action version of the timeless animated film, Jodi Benson, the voice actor behind the original Ariel in the animated version of The Little Mermaid, shared her response to the new movie – which includes plenty of praise about the Disney film's attempt to reinvent certain aspects of the source material. Benson explains, "When you look at our film, we started in the studio in 1986, and we were released in 1989. Times change, people change, cultures change. What matters and what is important changes. And as a studio, we need to make those adjustments, and we need to take into consideration what's going on around us. We need to be aware."

After appreciating the film for also expanding on its pre-existing characters through story and in song, Benson doubled down on her immense love for the modernization of The Little Mermaid, telling the magazine, "I do feel all of the nuances and small, slight changes here and there are very important. It's very important to address what's going on right now in our world and to make it effective for our period of time, where we are right now in this generation."

The Little Mermaid is led by director Rob Marshall and stars celebrated singer Halle Bailey as the new version of the titular character. The new adaptation additionally stars Daveed Diggs (Hamilton), Jacob Tremblay (Luca), Awkwafina (Raya and the Last Dragon), Jonah Hauer-King (A Dog's Way Home), Art Malik (Homeland), Noma Dumezweni (Mary Poppins Returns), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) and Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids). The Little Mermaid is set to arrive in theaters tomorrow, May 26.

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