In a brand-new teaser trailer for the upcoming Little Mermaid movie, Disney gave excited fans a first look at everyone’s favourite most feared sea witch, Ursula.
In the 30-second trailer released Wednesday, Melissa McCarthy, who plays Ursula, is briefly seen with her face obscured by a long, dark tentacle. As the trailer closes with Ariel’s iconic ballad, Part of Your World, McCarthy teases her chilling, evil cackle.
Halle Bailey, who plays Ariel, is seen swimming through coral reefs and bouncing on pillowy groups of jellyfish in the trailer. Disney gave audiences a brief peek of Ariel and Prince Eric’s almost-kiss on a small boat.
Already, the reimagined The Little Mermaid has struck a chord with Disney fans, especially young Black girls who see themselves in Bailey’s mermaid princess. When the first trailer dropped in September, Black Disney fans young and old praised the film for its casting. On social media, parents shared dozens of videos of their children reacting to the first view of Bailey as Ariel.
Sitting directly in front of her TV, one young girl shouted as Ariel appeared on screen, and even did a double-take to make sure what she was seeing was true. Writhing with excitement on the floor, the girl said, “She’s brown like me. I’m so excited.”
The new live-action film is a remake of the Disney animated classic The Little Mermaid from 1989. The story follows a young mermaid, Ariel, who makes a deal with an evil sea witch to grow legs and live on land in order to fall in love with a prince, all at the cost of her voice.
Jonah Hauer-King will be playing Prince Eric, while several other powerhouse performers play various roles, including Javier Bardem as Ariel’s father King Triton, Daveed Diggs as the crab Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Ariel’s best fish friend Flounder and Awkwafina as the seagull, Scuttle.
The film will have its theatrical release on May 26, 2023.