Human Interest Kids' Heartwarming Reactions to Seeing Halle Bailey in 'The Little Mermaid' Trailer Go Viral: Watch The reaction to Disney's first trailer for the live-action reimagining of The Little Mermaid highlights the importance of representation in media By Abigail Adams Abigail Adams Instagram Twitter Digital News Writer, PEOPLE People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 13, 2022 05:38 PM Share Tweet Pin Email The reaction to Disney's first trailer for the live-action reimagining of The Little Mermaid is highlighting the importance of representation in media. Released Friday, the teaser shows a brief glimpse of star Halle Bailey as she sings Ariel's signature song "Part of Your World." Since then, several videos showing young Black girls reacting with joy at seeing themselves in their favorite Disney princess have gone viral — with one fan's emotional reaction even capturing the attention of the 22-year-old star. Halle Bailey Says 'Part of Your World' Was Her Favorite Song for Live-Action 'Little Mermaid' In the viral clip, which has been viewed more than 4 million times on TikTok and Twitter, a young girl excitedly watches the trailer for the first time, not knowing what to expect. "It's a new Ariel!" the girl's mom says from behind the camera as her daughter's jaw drops. "That is Ariel?" she responds quietly. "Are you sure that's the real her?" Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. Moved by the little girl's reaction, Bailey responded by writing on Twitter, "k i just sobbed watching this thanks 😭💕she's so sweet ❣️." For more on The Little Mermaid, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. Another clip, posted by @workingmama on TikTok, shows another youngster's excitement over Bailey's role. Halle Bailey, Disney's New 'Little Mermaid' , Shares Her Excitement Over Role: It's a 'Dream Come True' "She's Black?" the girl exclaims in the video, which has been liked more than 675,000 times on TikTok alone. "Mama, she's Black! Mama, they made a Black Ariel!" In a third video, shared by @thedfwdad on TikTok, a trio of kids gleefully watch the trailer together. "She's Black? Yay!" cheers one little girl, later adding, "I just want to watch it now!" The trailer even left one little girl with tears in her eyes, as seen in a video shared by @devyncoulson on TikTok. Why Halle Bailey Was 'Sobbing' After 'The Little Mermaid' : 'I Had Come Out of This Cocoon with Ariel' The upcoming Little Mermaid film is a reimagining of the 1989 animated classic, which tells the story of Ariel falling in love with human Prince Eric, played in the upcoming live-action film by Jonah Hauer-King. Other cast members include Melissa McCarthy as the villainous Ursula, Javier Bardem as Ariel's dad King Triton, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle. Over the weekend, the trailer for the highly-anticipated release was viewed over 104 million times, Variety reported. The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid hits theaters in May 2023.