I think the strongest argument to prefer a white actor is simply for the fact that the fable was written by a Danish person where, at the time of its writing, I'd guess 99% of all Scandinavian countries where light skinned. "Clear and delicate" may not be describing the little mermaid's skin color, but from what we know of the cultural context that Christian found himself in there's a very good chance he saw her looking like other young Scandinavian girls during his time.
Was Halle's casting based on merit, being the best out of all the potential actresses given an audition, or what it a diversity hire? It's hard to say, at least on my end. I'll have the audacity to gander that it was a bit of both. I don't doubt Marshall was impressed, but this is Disney. Many directors compromise on who their leads are too, or simply are fine with whatever actor producers out forth.
If there is ample proof that past iterations of The Little Mermaid were unfaithful to the source material there is as much proof that Disney saw Halle as checking off more than two boxes to fulfill their diversity quota (just see the entire cast of Marshall's Little Mermaid). I am sure you are well aware that since 2020 Disney has gone full DIE (Diversity, Inclusivity, Equity)
Unlike sports, tv/film acting is highly subjective where politics do factor in on who gets cast. It's who's trending and who's not. It's who has the better agent and who doesn't. It's whether the studio wants to cast an unknown, an up-and-comer or an established, prestige actor. Let's not be naive: studios, producers and agents have categorized actors like Home Depot categorizes all their stock. This is why tv and film actors are usually categorized as such on most sites of talent agencies. That's just the surface of weird things in the industry. What they don't show you is even more interesting. No doubt they have lists of "white, black, brown, blonde, brunette, redheads, black-haired etc." actors to pull from. Need a Hispanic up-and-coming actress? Not a lot of them currently, but there are some. Need a white actress? There's a lot but we need to further split hairs. Up-and-comer? No, no - we need an established one for the lead. Cast an up-and-comer for one of the two secondary female leads. (Usually for this latter group whomever has the slightly better filmography and better agent will win the role.)
Personally, I don't really buy the argument that because past iterations weren't 100% faithful to Andersen's fable that it would justify further unfaithful adaptions. Two wrongs doesn't make a right. I'd respect that argument better IF we acknowledge the reality of casting noted above and IF we see that the first "wrong" made way for present "wrongs" and future "wrongs."
But in the end does it matter? Yes and no. Yes because we know that studio execs will cast non-white actors in what were originally historically white roles under the pretense of "diversity." No because people who watch tv/film for mostly entertainment purposes will forget whomever was cast because they aren't involved in the politics of casting let alone are the ones cast. As much as I loved Brandy as Cinderella I would still prefer a white actress to play the part. Why? Because non-white actors make up a small percent of working actors, so casting a non-white actor in a historically white role will garner some questions - from me at least.
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