The voice of The Little Mermaid, Jodi Benson, absolutely made one bride’s day when she made a surprise appearance at her wedding to sing the iconic song from the movie “Part of Your World”. It was quite a sight to see the star singing the part of the teenage mermaid Ariel in real life, and Benson pulled out all the stops to really make the performance a magical one. The bride Kersten sings along word for word, making for a super adorable moment.
The wedding had a lowkey Disney theme and the video starts with the emcee asking the bride Kersten what her favourite Disney movie is, which of course is The Little Mermaid. The emcee then nonchalantly walks out with Benson on his arm and the bride instantly recognises her and holds her hands up to her mouth in shock, clearly elated with the surprise appearance. Check out the performance below, which has gained 4.3 million views on YouTube.
It’s clear to see Kersten is indeed a megafan of the movie, as once she drops her hands you can see her mouth just about hit the floor due to how big the surprise has hit her. The emcee then introduces Benson as the voice of Ariel from The Little Mermaid, which gets a big cheer from the crowd.
An elated Kersten and Benson share a hug and then the actress tells the audience this is the first time she has ever sung at a wedding that isn’t for her family. Bensen then launches into the song, and despite it being several years since she sang for the movie, she’s lost none of her singing chops. She also brings the same childish joy and wonder to the song that made it such a classic Disney moment. You can watch the original scene from the movie where Benson sings “Part of Your World” below.
Fans online commended Benson for taking the time to appear at the wedding, and also for putting on such a great performance, adding comments such as “I love that she still remembers Ariel. She doesn’t only sing the part, she also acts the part. Brilliant!” and “The fact that the bride was the only person that knew who she was made it 10 times more special since you could tell that movie really meant a lot to her.”
Benson provided both the singing and speaking voice for Ariel in the 1989 Disney blockbuster The Little Mermaid. She actually pulled double duty on the film by also voicing Vanessa, the human alter ego of the villainous sea witch Ursula. Benson has frequently reprised her role of Ariel over the years while singing at numerous big ticket events, such as Disney’s 100 Years of Magic and The Walt Disney World 25th Anniversary Spectacular.
Both The Little Mermaid film and soundtrack were critical and commercial successes, with the soundtrack taking home Best Original Score at the 62nd Academy Awards. The song “Under the Sea” also won Best Original Song at the event and “Kiss the Girl” scored a nomination in the same category.