A beauty expert has explained why Halle Bailey has the "perfect face" to play Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
Since the trailer for the forthcoming Disney film on the red-haired mermaid dropped, it has been met with both support and criticism, with a Youtube plug-in revealing that over 2 million users disliked the trailer.
Due to the fact that Disney cast a Black actor as the movie's lead star, some people have argued that the movie has failed to stay true to its source material and are upset that the movie is not a reflection of the 1989 animated version.
But body and beauty expert Ellie-Jean - who goes by the handle @bodyandstyle on TikTok - has illustrated why the Grammy-nominated musician's facial features are "perfect" for the lead role.
Watch Ellie-Jean's TikTok below:"Unlike the other Disney princesses, Ariel is actually a fantasy creature. Even though some of the other Disney princesses have other magical powers, they are, at the end of the day, still human," she began.
"Halle has an ethereal essence. Ethereal essence is a type of face that looks slightly uncanny. There’s something otherworldly about them," she explained.
"Another word we use is angelic. So their facial features are very similar to those we find on statues of angels. So, they have elongated facial features that also have a softness to them."
"One of the things that create this ethereal effect is the wide set eyes which we can see on Halle. You can see the sharpness of her features like high cheekbones and pointed chin, and this makes her perfect to play a character who is trying to look human," she added.
“But Halle doesn't pure ethereal essence, she also has Ingenue," she said. "Ingenue is sweet, youthful-looking features. So that’s a short face, lips, a short nose. Which helps her to convey Ariel’s innocence and naivety."
The TikToker's explanation video amassed more than 890,000 views and 200,000 likes on the social media platform, with many users commenting that they agree that Bailey fits the role.
One user wrote: "That’s exactly what I was thinking when she got picked. I was like okay it makes sense because [of] the Disney voice and ethereal look combo."
Another commented: "I thought her face looked perfect for the role the first time I saw it announced."
A third chimed in and said: "This is EXACTLY what I thought!! She has a very ethereal, fantasy look about her and is still so beautiful. She LOOKS like a mermaid."
A fourth shared: "Yes!! it's a shame that people are pretending not to see that because of her skin. She's literally perfect for this."
In addition to Ellie-Jean's video, a marine biologist also came forward to defend the casting and shut down the discourse on why the fictional character - or mermaids in general - can be Black.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Karen Osborn explained: "As you move through the water column - as you dive deeper and deeper - right at the surface, a lot of things are blue, because you blend in with the sky behind you for predators that are down below looking up.
"And then you have a bunch of mirrored animals, so they just reflect whatever's around them and that's a good camouflage in shallow water," she continued.
"As you get deeper, you see animals that are pigmented or deep red [because] there's hardly any red light in the deep sea, so being red is effectively being Black," she said, adding how in the sea there are lots of "ultra-black fish".
Osborn also said that - hypothetically - mermaids would most likely be "transparent" and if they were, this would mean they "can blend in pretty well".
The Little Mermaid will be released in movie theaters on May 2023.