NewJeans Danielle was cast as Ariel’s voice actress in the movie “The Little Mermaid”.
Although Danielle is similar in age to Ariel and has a clear tone, there are concerns as it is her first acting challenge.
Walt Disney Company Korea announced on May 12th that the main character of Ariel in the Korean version of “The Little Mermaid” was NewJeans Danielle. Walt Disney said, “Danielle will take on the role of Ariel and show a different side of herself by performing dubbing and singing OST.“
Walt Disney explained that Danielle was selected as the main character because she is similar in age and charm to Ariel.
The still cuts showed Danielle, dressed in a costume reminiscent of the Little Mermaid, closing her eyes and concentrating on singing.
Up until this point, there was a lot of concern about Danielle playing Ariel. First of all, Danielle is an “acting beginner” who has no acting experience and has not received any special acting lessons. Some even said that Walt Disney cast Danielle based only on her popularity.
However, the situation changed rapidly when the teaser and full version of Danielle’s “The Little Mermaid” OST “Part of Your World” were recently released. It was because of Danielle’s expressiveness that helped everyone feel the pure heart of Ariel, who is curious about the outside world. Aside from singing skills, Danielle’s pure character expression was impressive.
According to Walt Disney, Danielle has been a fan of Walt Disney’s works since childhood, and she did her best by practicing dubbing and musical singing from the audition preparation stage.
Walt Disney Company Korea explained they decided to cast her after taking into account her singing and dialogue delivery skills, which are fitting for the role of Ariel. They added, “It was not an easy challenge to perform Korean songs and lines according to Ariel’s English mouthing and timing on the screen of ‘The Little Mermaid’, but it drew a good response from those involved.”
Danielle is a dual citizen of Korea and Australia and has a high understanding of English lines. Her pure and lively tone also worked as an advantage. Although she has not received any special acting lessons, Walt Disney believed that she can bring out “Ariel’s charm of a bright and curious teenage girl”.
The music video teaser for “Part of Your World” sung by Danielle received enthusiastic responses from many countries/regions, including Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, and has currently exceeded 2.25 million views on YouTube. In addition, the full version of “Part of Your World” is receiving explosive attention, such as surpassing 2.6 million views in less than a day.
An official in the film industry said, “The blackwashing issue about Halle Bailey has been controversial all over the world. Even now, the fact that Halle Bailey is black, unlike the original, is still causing dissatisfaction from some audiences. The casting of NewJeans Danielle, who is loved by a wide age group in Korea, is a factor that can offset the controversies surrounding ‘The Little Mermaid’ in Korea.
Source: Naver
