Since the start of project announcement Mermaid live-action with a black lead actress, Disney has encountered a series of criticism and disparagement from the audience. They think that changing Ariel’s skin color is unacceptable, especially when the audience is so used to the white, red-haired Ariel image. However, after the early critical premieres, the female lead Halle Bailey received “winged” praise, even she was called “The most perfect mermaid on screen”.
The Daily Beast pointed out that Disney’s film actually has many holes with unstable pacing. However, the “miracle” that Halle Bailey brought completely “saved” the whole movie. The actress was praised for bringing the perfect Ariel image and will become “an iconic role for a new generation”.
Many other critics also praised Halle Bailey’s vocals. Variety even compared the song scene Part of Your World in the film with Jennifer Hudson’s top performance in Dreamgirls – the scene that helped Jennifer bring home an Oscar.
In fact, from the very beginning, Disney confirmed the choice of Halle Bailey for the role of the mermaid Ariel thanks to her powerful but still melodious and fairy-tale voice. Therefore, the fact that the star born in 2000 was praised by critics for her voice is not surprising.
Some critics were quite indifferent to the film, saying that Mermaid live-action does not have too much new and interesting. However, all agree that Halle Bailey absolutely shines in the lead actress role. Indie Wire even believes that Halle Bailey’s own story with stepping up to the public opinion to become a black mermaid deserves to be made into a separate movie.
Mermaid The live-action will officially premiere worldwide on May 26.
