Every day on the internet makes me feel just a teeny bit older — and the most recent thing that made me contemplate my retirement plan was seeing how much Jacob Tremblay grew literally just in the time it took from The Little Mermaid production to its theatrical release.
Jacob was only 12 when he first landed the role of Flounder — and now he's 16! And just like Jacob, there are so many talented young actors and singers who've been on the scene for so long that now they're teens and twentysomethings. Let's take a look back:
1. Here's Jacob Tremblay when he burst onto the scene in Room (2015):
Here's Jacob Tremblay now at age 16, promoting The Little Mermaid:
And here's a side-by-side:
2. Here's Mckenna Grace in 2013:
Here's Mckenna Grace now at 16:
And here's a side-by-side:
Adorably, McKenna and Jacob are close friends, and she recently supported him at The Little Mermaid premiere.
3. Jacob's not the only Little Mermaid star who's been famous for a while! Here's Halle Bailey when she rose to fame in 2012 winning Disney's Next Big Thing alongside her sister, Chloë — she was 12 at the time, so the age that Jacob was when he voiced Flounder...
And here's Halle — now a literal Disney princess at age 23 — on The Little Mermaid red carpet:
And here's a side-by-side:
4. Here's Chloe Bailey — aka Chloë — when she rose to fame along with Halle in 2012:
And here's Chloë now at 24:
And here's a side-by-side:
And of course, here's a side-by-side of Chloë and Halle together:
5. Here's Anna Cathcart when she played Lara Jean's younger sister Kitty in 2018's To All the Boy's I've Loved Before:
And here she is promoting her spin-off series XO, Kitty now at age 19:
And here's a side-by-side:
In extremely cute news, her To All the Boys costar Noah Centineo came to support her in XO, Kitty and recreated a cute behind-the-scenes photo from the original movie:
6. Here's Sophia Grace and Rosie in 2011, after they rose to fame on Ellen:
Here's Sophia Grace (20) and Rosie (16) now:
And here's a side-by-side:
Sophia Grace welcomed her first child — a baby boy named River — in February.
7. Here's Mason Ramsey when he became famous in 2018 after he yodeled in Walmart:
And here he is now at age 16:
And here's a side-by-side:
8. Here's Florence Hunt just after she first played Hyacinth on Bridgerton in 2020:
And here's Florence now at age 16:
9. Here's Will Tilston in 2017 after he starred in Goodbye Christopher Robin — he would go on to play younger sibling Gregory Bridgerton in Bridgerton:
And here's Will Tilston now at age 16:
And here's a side-by-side:
And here's a cute throwback pic of both of them on set just for fun:
10. Here's Mia Talerico when she played a literal baby on Good Luck Charlie in 2010:
And here's Mia Talerico now at age 14:
And here's a side-by-side:
11. Here's Aubrey Anderson-Emmons who played Lily on Modern Family starting in 2011:
And here they are now at age 16:
And here's a side-by-side:
12. Here's Marsai Martin in 2014 when she started starring on Black-ish:
And here's Marsai now at age 18:
And here's a side-by-side:
13. Here's Bella Ramsey during the height of Game of Thrones in 2018:
And here they now at age 19:
And here's a side-by-side:
14. Here's Javon Walton when he rose to fame in 2019 as Ashtray in Euphoria:
And here's Javon now at age 16:
And here's a side-by-side:
15. Here's Iain Armitage in 2016 — around when he starred on Big Little Lies and just before his breakout role on Young Sheldon:
And here's Iain Armitage now at age 14:
And here's a side-by-side:
16. Here's Storm Reid in 2013, after she had her first big film role in 12 Years a Slave:
And here's Storm Reid now at age 19:
And here's a side-by-side:
17. Here's Mackenzie Foy in 2012 — of course, you'll recognize her as THE Renesmee Cullen of Twilight saga fame:
And here she is now at age 22:
And here's a side-by-side:
18. Finally, here's Jenna Ortega in 2014, before she ever even starred on the Disney Channel:
Here's Jenna Ortega now at age 20:
And here's a side-by-side:
