The Little Mermaid made an unexpected choice when it cast Melissa McCarthy as Ursula in the live-action adaption, but according to the trailer, this was no mistake. Halle Bailey made headlines in 2019 when she was cast as the lead princess Ariel for good reasons and bad. Disney infuriated some over casting a black actress as a princess that was portrayed as white in the animated film. Luckily, this fury was soon washed away by excitement. In September, a slew of videos went viral of young black girls reacting to The Little Mermaid teaser, expressing enthusiasm for seeing someone who looks like them playing the role of Ariel.
