Here's The Advice Auli'i Cravalho Got From Original Ariel, Jodi Benson, For 'The Little Mermaid Live'

Auli’i Cravalho is opening up about the advice she sought out from Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in the original animated version of The Little Mermaid.

Speaking with Collider, the 18-year-old actress revealed that she’s become close with Jodi over the past couple years and received some sage advice from the actress in regards to portraying the sea princess for The Little Mermaid Live!

“I met with Jodi, a few months ago, at D23. We had actually met, for the first, at the D23, a few years before that, and she’s always just been such a beautiful, warm individual. She had so much advice to give to all of us Disney princesses because she just knows how it works,” Auli’i shared. “She’s been grateful, every step of the way, and that’s something that she also taught me, a few years ago.”

She continues, “Now that I’m playing Ariel, I asked her, ‘I don’t know how to really make her my own. You played her pretty perfectly, so where do I go from there?’ She was incredibly kind and basically says, just remember that she’s joyous and she has so much love for the ocean and where she comes from, but also she has such a need for adventure and a need to explore. So, with that in mind, I hope to do her proud.”

The Little Mermaid Live! airs TONIGHT, @ 8PM ET/PT on ABC.