The Little Mermaid Trailer Debuted During The Oscars – And We’re Already Obsessed

little mermaid trailer

by Hanna Woodside |
Published on

It's one of the most-anticipated films of the year - and in a genius move, the official trailer was aired during the Oscars telecast. The film’s stars Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy (who plays Ursula) came out on stage to present the official trailer.

While the 1989 animated version will always have a special place in our hearts, from what we've glimpsed of the 2023 remake, it promises to hit all the right notes.

Here's everything we know about the film so far...

Watch The Little Mermaid trailer

Who's in The Little Mermaid cast?

Halle Bailey - the Grammy Award nominee and Grown-ish actress - stars as Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem), with Bridgerton's Simone Ashley playing one of Ariel's sisters, Indira. Melissa McCarthy stars as evil sea witch Ursula (and if the trailer is anything to go by, it was an excellent casting choice).

Other cast members include Awkwafina as the voice of seagull Scuttle, and Hamilton alum David Diggs as the voice of Sebastian. Jacob Tremblay (of Room and Wonder stardom) is the voice of lovable Flounder, while Jonah Hauer-King will play Prince Eric.

Will the story be the same?

The official synopsis reads: 'A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch: trading her beautiful voice to get human legs so she can discover the world above water.' So the fundamentals of the tale will be the same, although we're expecting some updating for a 2023 audience. There are new characters to get to know, including Queen Selina (played by Noma Dumezweni), Perla (Lorena Andrea) and Karina (Kajsa Mohammar).

Will there be new music in The Little Mermaid?

Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda is co-producing the film and has teamed up with composer Alan Menken, who wrote music for the original Little Mermaid film. As well as reimagining the original songs from the movie, they have written some new music for the remake.

'We wrote three or four original tunes, replacing none of the ones you like. All of those are in,' Miranda told Variety. So don't worry, Under the Sea and Part of Your World will be in there.

What is the UK release date for The Little Mermaid?

The Little Mermaid is released in UK cinemas on Friday 26 May - which also happens to be the start of the final bank holiday weekend in May.

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