Children in awe of Black Disney Princess during The Little Mermaid trailer

SHE MAY BE The Little Mermaid but her impact is huge.

Young Black girls around the world have been watching Disney’s first trailer for their live action remake of The Little Mermaid in awe and adoration — proving the power of representation.

The trailer sees 22-year-old Halle Bailey as the titular character sing the chorus of ‘Part of Your World’ — which also featured in the beloved animation.

After it dropped at Disney’s D23 expo on September 10, it recorded 104 million views globally — making it one of the company’s most viewed trailers of all time.

While the clip’s visually striking and nostalgic for those who grew up watching the original 1989 film — the response to it has been even more emotional.

Families have been filming, and sharing, their daughters’ adorable and touching reactions to a Black Disney Princess. This led one Twitter use to create a compilation video of girls reacting to show the importance of diversity casting in films and televisions for children.

While watching the trailer, one little girl says “I think she’s brown,” before sitting up and holding her chest. “Brown Ariel. Brown Ariel is cute,” she continues.

Another girl excitedly remarked that Bailey is a combination of Disney’s first Black Princess, Tiana, from the 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog and Rapunzel. Except, “She’s got dreads!”

And during a viral TikTok which has been viewed more than 1.4 million times, a dad shows the trailer to his three daughters. His eldest daughter asks, “She’s Black?” and after her dad confirms it, she responds with: “yay! I Just want to watch it now.” His middle child even tears up while absorbing the trailer.

But unfortunately trailer hasn’t been viewed positively by all, with some criticising the casting of a non-white actress to play the Disney mermaid. The response even saw one Twitter user declare he’ll “correct” the full movie upon release by replacing Bailey’s face with that of a white redhead. The racist backlash prompted Disney to disable the trailer’s comments.

Despite some criticism, Bailey — who catapulted to fame as part of the Beyoncé-mentored R&B sibling duo Chloe x Halle — has shared how gratifying it is to be a symbol of change, and a role-model for young Black girls.

“Being a little girl swimming in the pool, imagining I was a mermaid, I never imagined that would come to life,” Bailey said at the D23 expo. She later acknowledged on Twitter, she was “in awe” watching the viral responses to the trailer’s release.

“I just feel like this role was something bigger than me, and greater,” Bailey said during a recent interview with Variety.

“I feel like I’m dreaming and I’m just grateful and I don’t pay attention to the negativity. It’s going to be beautiful and I’m just so excited to be a part of it.”

The Little Mermaid is set to hit cinemas on 26 May 2023.