Dorian, 2, was just speechless when she met Ariel, her mom says.
Andrea Pugh-Kelley posted a TikTok May 26 of her daughter, Dorian, meeting Ariel at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. In the video, Dorian has a huge smile on her face and walks with Ariel to take a picture in front of an ocean together.
“She just immediately lit up when she saw her,” Pugh-Kelley tells TODAY.com. “My daughter ended up being just speechless. She was staring at the waves in the background. And we just saw the movie, so she was recognizing small things that were small features that they added in (the meet and greet area). It was just amazing.”
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The film opened in theaters Friday. "The Little Mermaid" meet and greets began Friday as well and are available at Disney campuses in Florida, California and Paris, France, for a limited time, according to a press release from Walt Disney World.
At Disneyland, meet and greets with the live action Ariel occur in a setting inspired by Prince Eric's castle library, fittingly surrounded by "whosits" and "whatsit," as depicted in the film.
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At the Florida resort, Ariel greets guests on a re-creation of the terrace of Prince Eric’s castle, overlooking the sea.
Pugh-Kelley says she was impressed with how similar the decor was to scenes in the movie. The background had moving waves in it, she says, and all the other details and Ariel’s costume were spot on.
Pugh-Kelley says when she, her husband and their daughter saw the movie in a special viewing on May 24, Dorian was mesmerized.
"She was just still sitting in the seat, stuck," Pugh-Kelley describes, referring to her daughter's reaction to the end of the film. "She said absolutely nothing."
Dorian is too young to fully communicate verbally, but there was one clear indicator that confirmed Dorian enjoyed herself, her mom says.
"She stayed awake the entire movie," Pugh-Kelley says. "We didn't get out of there until about 10 p.m., and my daughter did not miss one beat. She was locked in the entire movie. She recognized the songs."
In the car ride to the theater, the family listened to "Part Of Your World" and "Under The Sea," Pugh-Kelley says.
"As soon as those songs started (in the movie), she sat up," Pugh-Kelley remembers. "Every time a song started, she was ready to get back in position."
Watching the film with her daughter was a full circle moment for her, she says.
"We're three generations of Disney lovers, so that was such a fun moment to be singing along to those songs with my daughter like I did with my mom growing up," she says.
It also marked a new generation of Disney princesses she didn't have while growing up.
"I love live-actions like just period," she says. "This one really did it for me because not only was it a retelling of the story, but a retelling that also looks like me and my daughter. Growing up, Black and brown girls did not have that representation."
"I cried so many times during the movie because, not only was the movie visually beautiful, but just everything that it represented was so beautiful," she adds.
At the same time, Pugh-Kelley says her daughter has seen both versions of "The Little Mermaid," and there's no casting difference to her.
"She recognizes both Ariels as Ariel, which is so beautiful to me," she says. "Kids are just so innocent. She just knows her as Ariel. It's not about differentiating the two. They're both Ariel to her."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
