“Part of Your World” by Halle
After much anticipation, the live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic The Little Mermaid finally hit theaters (stateside) on 26 May 2023, this time around with pop songstress (and Beyoncé protégée) Halle Bailey taking on the lead role of “Ariel”.
The film just experienced what may be considered a better-than-expected opening weekend and, being a Disney flick and all, is of course a musical. Meanwhile, whereas it may not necessarily be the most-popular song tune from the original Little Mermaid, “Part of Your World” is the film’s theme song, as rendered by said character.
So of course Halle was tasked with laying down her own rendition, as found on the film’s soundtrack, which is a product of Walt Disney Records.
The Composers of “Part of Your World”
As with the original version of this song, writing credits for the cover goes out to Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. However in this case, Menken is listed as a co-producer, but Ashman is not. Instead, the other producer of this track is musical theater professional Mike Higham.
Other Facts Surrounding this Song
Halle did state that she was allowed to add her own personal touch to this recording, with the songstress being familiar with “Part of Your World” since childhood.
The first time Halle performed “Part of Your World” live was at Disneyworld, as featured on the 14 May 2023 edition of American Idol, which was also dubbed as “Disney Night”.
Halle noted that it “took three days to film” the part of the movie in which “Part of Your World” is sung, due to there being “a lot of physicality and stunt work involved” in the scene.
The Lyrics of “Part of Your World”
The lyrics of this song are pretty much identical to that of the original “Part of Your World“. And as we pointed out in that analysis, what they reflect is a mermaid’s desire to live on the surface world amongst us humans.
That is to say that the aforementioned The Little Mermaid is a fantastical flick, with Ariel being half-woman/half-fish. And those familiar with mermaid lore know that such mythical beings live under water. So as for this character that Halle has taken on, she has grown weary of always being beneath the sea.
In other words, besides her desire to get away from the restrictions of home, more to the point she wants to see the world at large which, once again, at least as far as the surface is concerned, would be off limits to a mermaid.
So besides expressing that longing, we also see that the vocalist really wants to engage in what can be considered everyday human tasks, such as socializing, chillin’ on the beach, learning about fire burn and even jumping and dancing, since she doesn’t actually have legs or feet.
So basically, this is a children’s song or one that an adult has to use a lot of imagination to appreciate. But as for a wider, universal message embedded therein, it can be argued that Halle is also speaking on behalf of all inquisitive, and may we say repressed young women who have reached a point where they desire to get away from home and witness the world at large, regardless of how wealthy a background they may come from.
