Little Mermaid: Halle Bailey in awe of children's reaction to Disney trailer

Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey says she has been left awestruck by people sharing videos online of young family members revealing their joy on seeing a Disney star who looked like them.

The first trailer for the live action remake movie, which hits the big screen next year, dropped on Saturday.

A TikTok video compilation, tweeted by Brazilian entertainment site Tracklist, has been shared thousands of times.

Bailey, who voices the lead role Ariel, said: "This means the world to me."

She posted: "People have been sending these reactions to me all weekend and I'm in truly in awe."

The trailer shows Bailey's Ariel appearing from the depths of the sea to sing the chorus of Part of Your World, a song which first appeared in Disney's 1989 animated film of the same name.

Reacting to the scene, one young girl in the TikTok video is heard saying: "She's brown like me!"

After watching another video, in which a different girl asked whether the mermaid was the real Ariel, Bailey noted: "I just sobbed watching this thanks, she's so sweet."

The 22-year-old American rose to fame as one half of the Beyonce-mentored R&B sibling duo Chloe x Halle.

After she was cast as Ariel in 2019, Bailey responded to criticism from people who complained she did not look like Disney's original version, who was drawn as white.

"I just feel like this role was something bigger than me, and greater," she told Variety at the time.

"I feel like I'm dreaming and I'm just grateful and I don't pay attention to the negativity.

"It's going to be beautiful and I'm just so excited to be a part of it."