The first trailer for the new Little Mermaid shows off Halle Bailey’s Ariel
This first glimpse of Halle Bailey as the live action version of beloved mermaid Ariel premiered at D23 today. The brief trailer shows off some of the underwater realm Ariel hails from — but more importantly, shows off Bailey’s singing chops as she croons the ever-iconic “Part of Your World.”
In addition to Bailey as Ariel, the live action Little Mermaid stars Melissa McCarthy as conniving sea witch Ursula, Javier Bardem as overprotective King Triton, and Jonah Hauer-King as the dashing Prince Eric, with Daveed Diggs voicing musical crab Sebastian, Awkwafina voicing zany seagull Scuttle, and Jacob Tremblay voicing Flounder, Ariel’s worrywart best (fish) friend.
How will The Little Mermaid hold up?
The new movie is directed by Rob Marshall, who previously directedInto the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns for Disney. Moana and Encanto’s Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken, the composer behind the animated movie, will write four new songs.
The original Little Mermaid came out in 1989 and was largely responsible for kickstarting the Disney Renaissance and bringing the Broadway musical formula to the studio’s animated movies. Menken worked with acclaimed lyricist Howard Ashman to nail the music, and the rest is history.
The Little Mermaid will hit theaters on May 26, 2023.
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