The original Ariel passes her beloved 'dinglehopper' to her daughter in a proud moment

Movie characters voiced or played by some people are truly iconic. So much so, that it gets difficult to find their replacement when the time comes. Also, it isn't easy for a new artist to step into a celebrated artist's shoes. It becomes an even bigger thing when those shoes belong to your mom. Jodi Benson, the voice behind Ariel in the original 1989 animated movie witnessed the most heartwarming moment when her daughter Delaney Benson played Ariel. Her daughter Delaney will play the role from July 11 to August 4 in Area Stage and Loxen Productions’ immersive adaptation of The Little Mermaid at Area Stage in South Miami, per Miami Herald's Mamas Uncut.

The moment when Delaney sang live sitting close to her mom in the audience was also captured by Jess, who goes by @coolzjay on TikTok. The woman captioned the video, "Watching Delaney Benson play Ariel and Jodi Benson being the most supportive mom was honestly such an honor! So lucky to have been able to witness this!" As the video began, Delaney sitting beside her mom sang, “Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete?” She was holding a "dinglehopper," a fork that was an artifact from a sunken ship found by Ariel and Flounder. “The girl who has ... everything,” Delaney continued as she kept a hand on her mom's shoulder and got up amid cheers.

She went to the stage where Prince Eric gave her a hand. Everyone was clapping and cheering, but the camera zoomed in on her mom who was blowing kisses and recording the performance on her phone. The video received over 4.4 million views and more than 722.5k likes. People took to the video's comments section to appreciate the beautiful moment between the mom and daughter and applaud the iconic performance.

@theonewithkoda wrote, "She looks JUST like her Mom!! What an incredibly beautiful moment to be a part of! Thank you for sharing this magic with us!" @texaspete86 commented, "How lucky - what an honor to have seen this and she sounds like her mother. I would've been bawling my eyes out." @spocksdescendant asked, "It says Miami but where is this performed? Is it Broadway on tour or...? I want more info, my guys." The creator replied, "Hi! Sorry I tried to pin my comment but I don’t think I can. Area Stage is the company that created the show. The show is running for three more weeks."

@caeljharden remarked, "Not gonna lie, I totally thought that was Jodi singing until I looked over and saw her sitting there. She’s literally an exact copy of her mother." @laynaminor shared, "Omg Delaney!! I was in a production with her a couple of years ago and she and Jodi are so sweet! Love this video!"

Jodi Benson talked about passing her "dinglehopper" to her daughter with TODAY and shared, "I was completely blown away by Delaney’s brilliant performance. She was truly born to play Ariel. The whole experience was so surreal. I wept throughout the show. I am so honored to pass on my treasured 'dinglehopper' to my daughter. Delaney has created her character of Ariel with such love, strength, vulnerability, curiosity and honesty. I’m so incredibly proud of my daughter!" While Delaney shared, "It's just really nice to have parents who believe in me because that doesn't always happen."

You can follow Jess (@coolzjay) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.