OG Ariel Jodi Benson praises politically correct updates to ‘The Little Mermaid’

Did you know that the original animated version of “The Little Mermaid” began production in 1986?! The movie was released in 1989, before many millennial moms were even in kindergarten. Now the delightful OG Ariel from the animated classic, Jodi Benson, is heaping praise on the modern updates to the new live-action version of “The Litle Mermaid.”

In “The Little Mermaid” 2023 version starring the amazingly talented Halle Bailey as our mermaid heroine, there are new songs, plot lines, and minor lyrical changes to accommodate changing times—changes that Benson approves of and says were “necessary.”

“When you look at our film, we started in the studio in 1986 and we were released in 1989. Times change, people change, cultures change,” Benson tells PEOPLE exclusively. “What matters and what is important changes. And, as a studio, we need to make those adjustments, and we need to take into consideration what’s going on around us. We need to be aware.”

In the original version, Ariel was just 16 years old when she began dreaming of a life beyond the sea—which means she was 16 when she married Prince Eric. She falls in love with him, loses her voice to a sea witch who tells her “men up there don’t like a lot of blabber,” has a wildly controlling and overbearing father, and the list goes on.

Related: “The Little Mermaid” was VERY problematic—here’s hoping Disney’s re-make isn’t sexist

“I do feel all of the nuances and small, slight changes here and there are very important,” she continues. “It’s very important to address what’s going on right now in our world and to make it effective for our period of time, where we are right now in this generation.”

Benson says she particularly loves how the film goes more “in-depth” with each character to expand the story lines in ways the animation industry simply couldn’t do in 1989. But in case anyone is feeling anxious that any beloved moments from the original will be lost, have no fear. Director Rob Marshall did the OG film justice, Benson says.

“The way that they paid tribute to the integrity of our original film just comes shining through in such a beautiful way. It really is just breathtaking.”

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Benson explains that all these years later, she still feels a powerful connection to the character of Ariel.

“I’m very protective of her, and there’s just only a handful of us that are still at the company that were involved with our original film,” she says. “I’m very protective of [Ariel], and I do feel that these changes that have occurred, especially with the live-action telling, are really important. Her integrity has been maintained. It’s really a special retelling, and I’m just so thrilled.”