The official trailer for the highly anticipated live-action film The Little Mermaid premiered at the Oscars ceremony.
During the 95th Annual Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night, Disney finally unveiled the full-length trailer for the upcoming The Little Mermaid adaptation, which stars R&B singer Halle Bailey as the red-headed mermaid, Ariel.
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Melissa McCarthy, who plays the evil sea witch Ursula, and Halle Bailey took the stage to introduce the new trailer. “It has been such an honor stepping into the iconic role of Ariel,” said Bailey. It’s been an extraordinary experience, a dream come true for me.”
The trailer delivers a proper introduction to Bailey’s Ariel and gives viewers a first-look at McCarthy’s Ursula, Sebastian the crab, Ariel’s friend Flounder, Scuttle, and her father King Triton. Other key moments from the clip include Ariel and Prince Eric’s beach meet-cute and their “Kiss the Girl” boat ride.
Watch the full trailer below.
Halle Bailey is the Next Ariel
This film will mark Bailey’s feature film debut. The singer is one half of the singing duo Chloe x Halle and stars in the Freeform sitcom, Grown-ish. In an interview with Variety, director Rob Marshall said Bailey was the only person he could see playing Ariel. “After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role.”
Earlier this week, Bailey shared a glossy new poster for the film, which depicts s well-known scene from the original animation. Ariel is sitting on a rock on the ocean’s surface no doubt dreaming about a life in the human world.
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Following the trailer reveal Sunday night, Disney released another colorful poster with Bailey surrounded by sea creatures.
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The actress also shared an emotional video that debuted the new Ariel doll based on Bailey’s likeness. “The little girl in me is pinching herself right now,” she wrote. “I have my own Little Mermaid Ariel doll!!! I can’t believe how much she captures my version of this iconic character.”
About The Little Mermaid
Also joining Bailey is Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder, Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric. Art Malik will also star as Sir Grimsby with Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy as the evil sea witch Ursula.
The Little Mermaid will include songs from the original animated picture and four new songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken.
THE LITTLE MERMAID WILL RELEASE IN THEATERS ON MAY 26, 2023.
