Black American actress and singer Halle Bailey said she was honored to play the lead role of Ariel in Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, Reuters reported.

Bailey, who is 23 years old, takes on the role of the mermaid princess Ariel, who dreams of becoming a human.

The film had its world premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, more than 30 years after the original was released.

"My hopes for this film are just that people are left with love and joy and happiness after seeing it, and most of all, that all black little boys and girls can see themselves in a project of this magnitude," Bailey told Reuters.

After the film's trailer was released last year, numerous users shared racist comments online.

However, videos also emerged that showed the admiration of many black children for the new Disney princess.

Actress Melissa McCarthy plays the evil sea witch Ursula, Javier Bardem plays King Triton, and Jonah Hauer-King is Prince Eric, with whom the mermaid Ariel is in love.

"We all love that spontaneous love that happens between Disney characters, but in the live version we wanted something even deeper," Hauer-King said of the new film's approach to the love story.

The premiere of the film took place against the background of the almost week-long strike of thousands of film and television screenwriters in Hollywood, BTA adds.

The writers' strike in Hollywood halted work on new projects

"You can't tell stories without writers.

They are at the heart of what we do, and I hope they get the respect and treatment they deserve in these negotiations,” Bardem said.