Fans are going wild after spotting Jodi Benson in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
The 62-year-old voiced Ariel in the 1989 animated film, as well as the prequel The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning, and sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea.
The actress also voiced the animated mermaid in the spin-off TV series, which ran between 1992 and 1994.
Jodi briefly appears in the 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid as a villager in Queen Selena [Noma Dumezweni] and Prince Eric’s [Jonah Hauer-King] Caribbean kingdom.
Robbie Marshall, the film’s director, said of the actress’ cameo: “We thought, ‘It is just so perfect to have her in that, if it felt like it could be organic and not too stunt-y.'”
The 62-year-old sweetly passes on the “dinglehopper” to her successor Halle Bailey during her brief time on screen, saying: “I think you’ll be needing this!”
One TikTok user penned: “Such a sweet scene, the passing of the dinglehopper 🥺,” while another said: “her passing onto halle the dinglehopper was so cute🥺.”
@kimmie.xo Replying to @Christinaaa I GASPED! 😱 Dinglehopper 🍴 #thelittlemermaid #jodibenson #hallebailey #ariel #foryou #dinglehopper #thelittlemermaid2023 #disney #disney100 #fypシ ♬ original sound – Kimmy🌺❤️✨
The live-action remake of the classic Disney movie, which hit cinemas on May 26, follows spirited young mermaid Ariel [Halle Bailey] who longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea.
During a visit to the surface, she ends up falling for Prince Eric [Jonah Hauer-King].
Mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, but Ariel follows her heart and makes a deal with the evil sea witch Ursula [Melissa McCarthy] – who gives her a chance to experience life on land like a human.
As per Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale, Ariel trades her voice to Ursula in exchange for a pair of legs.
