The Little Mermaid Animated Spinoff Announces Cast

Disney Junior's Ariel announced more of the voice cast for the animated series. Ariel star Mykal-Michelle Harris is joined by Taye Diggs as King Triton and Amber Riley as Ursula. As an animated program for the Disney Junior audience, the show will follow an 8-year-old Ariel and all of her friend. Atlantica will take on a Caribbean influence in this new series for preschool-aged viewers. Ariel's first look was announced earlier this year to much conversation on social media. Clearly kids enjoyed The Little Mermaid's live-action adventure and Disney is leaning into some of that success.

Here's what the synopsis from Disney Junior says: "Full of charm, big ideas and a powerful voice, 'Disney Junior's Ariel' is coming into her own, learning how to discover and appreciate the world around her and use her voice to inspire others."

Yay! So exciting to see a few additional characters I helped design come to life!!! 💙🩵💙🩵 #ariel #disneyjuniorariel 🥰 pic.twitter.com/PjzH2SIiLK

— tara nicole🦋 (tah-rah not tair-ah) (@nicoledessine) August 18, 2023

Disney Junior's Ariel Launches New Story for Beloved Princess

The company is very excited about this new take on one of their most-beloved stories. Disney Branded Television president Ayo Davis said more near the Annecy Animation Festival: "For more than 30 years, the story of 'The Little Mermaid' has been beloved by audiences all over the world. It brings me so much joy to be able to introduce our new Disney Junior version of Ariel to preschoolers everywhere."

Alyssa Sapire, senior vice president of development, series and strategy for Disney Junior would also add some thoughts about the mermaid, "As we were developing 'Disney Junior's Ariel,' we knew that we wanted to create an atmosphere that was vibrant and magical and showcased our young Ariel's imagination, which, like our preschool audience watching at home, is as big as the sea."

Representation and The Little Mermaid

Over in the live-action side of things, Halle Bailey knew that The Little Mermaid would be a big moment of representation for al the younger viewers out there. Her casting came with a lot of social media reaction. But, in a conversation with Deadline, the actress said that seeing all the young girls dressed up as her version of Ariel was enough to help her know that she made the right decision. Trailer reaction videos were all over the place and its easy to see the impact her performance has had.

"This moment means everything to me," Bailey began. "I'm so grateful to be here. I just feel really honored, and I'm happy the day has finally come where we can all watch it."

"It means the world to me, this moment," Bailey continued. "Especially for the beautiful babies to be able to see a reflection of themselves. I am just honored to be a part of this, and be one of the princesses now. Because for me, it was Brandi as Cinderella, and Anika Rose as Princess Tiana. So the fact that I'm getting to continue this and live on this kind of legacy is really exciting, and I'm just grateful."

Are you excited for Ariel? Let us know in the comments down below!