The Little Mermaid’s Alan Menken: Halle Bailey’s Ariel ‘Brought Me to Tears’

With the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid arriving in theaters on May 26, Alan Menken, who composed the music for both the 1989 original and the upcoming remake, reflected on how powerful Halle Bailey’s performance as Ariel was to him.

“Her voice and performance style is a magical combination that brought me to tears as I watched and listened to her,” Menken told The Face. “She’s an Ariel who breaks your heart — and will live powerfully in everyone’s hearts.”

Bailey herself had plenty of praise for the acclaimed composer, stating he was quite open to the new interpretation of Ariel.

“I mean, oh my gosh, he’s just a genius,” Bailey said of Menken. “I just remember looking at him like: ‘This is really cool!’ I was really grateful for his feedback on my singing and him being open to this new version of Ariel.”

For this new version of The Little Mermaid, Disney paired Lin-Manuel Miranda with Alan Menken — who also wrote the songs in the 1989 animated film alongside Howard Ashman — to create a blend of old and new songs that will be featured in the upcoming big-screen version.

Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid made over $211 million at the box office and became a bestseller on home video, popularizing songs like “Under The Sea” and “Part of Your World.” The upcoming film is based on the short story by Hans Christian Andersen and the 1989 Disney animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker.