A part of her world! Halle Bailey excitedly unveiled the new doll version of her Little Mermaid character on Monday (March 6) via social media.
“I have something really exciting to reveal to you all. I am gonna cry,” the younger half of Chloe x Halle said in an Instagram video. “This is the new Little Mermaid doll! I am literally choking up because this means so much to me. And to have one that looks like me, that’s my favorite Disney character, is very surreal. And look, she even has my mole! See? And the hair, and the tail…I’m just stunned, so I don’t quite know what to do with it, but I’m gonna steal this and take it home.”
Indeed, the new version of Ariel is modeling exactly after Bailey’s character in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the 1989 animated classic, and the actress added even more context about how meaningful the toy was to her in her caption.
“Omg…the little girl in me is pinching herself right now ..I have my own Little Mermaid Ariel doll !!!” she wrote. “I can’t believe how much she captures my version of this iconic character…brb gonna go cry now.”
Late last year, Bailey opened up in an interview with E! News about letting go of the “pressure” she initially felt to step into Ariel’s fins. “I think that before I started filming, I did feel some nerves naturally because the film is so important to so many people,” she said, going on to add, “The fact that all these little Black and Brown babies are going to be able to feel like they’re being represented is really special to me. I know that if I had that when I was younger, it would have changed a whole lot for me and my perspective on who I am as an individual.”
The Little Mermaid is set to hit theaters nationwide on May 23, and the latest teaser gave fans a brief glimpse of Melissa McCarthy’s villainous Ursula, as well as Flounder and Prince Eric.
Watch Halle’s adorable reaction to seeing her Ariel doll for the first time below.
