Just 100 days shy of its release, Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid has revealed the first glimpse of Melissa McCarthy as the film’s iconic Disney villain Ursula.
Actress Halle Bailey released the latest look at the Walt Disney Studios live-action adaptation; she stars as Ariel, the fairy tale heroine whose popularity in 1989’s The Little Mermaid helped usher in the Disney Renaissance era in animation. With hit songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, the original film brought more modern musical elements to the studios’ animated films and was the first of the ‘90s era Disney Princess role models with Ariel (originally voiced by Jodie Benson).
And now, following in Benson’s footsteps, is Bailey; you can hear her ethereal and gorgeous take on “Part of Your World” highlighted in the teaser below:
With that orchestral arrangement of Ariel’s “I want” song over the footage of her sisters, who we get a quick glimpse of, and that tease of “Kiss the Girl,” I can’t wait to see more. And hear more, since we’ve yet to experience Encanto’s Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical additions.
And the teaser goes beyond just Ariel and her pals — it also features a quick look at Melissa McCarthy as the baddest sea witch, her tentacles coiled around her while giving us poor unfortunate souls a mere taste of Ursula. She’s got the Divine-inspired eyeshadow in what appears to be a straight out of the animated film look. The cackle that caps the teaser is intriguing — giving us hope she can pull it off — but I’m not entirely sold just yet. What do you think?
The Little Mermaid opens in theatres May 25.