Disney released a new teaser trailer for the upcoming live action remake of The Little Mermaid on Wednesday. The film is scheduled to be released on May 26.
The teaser features Ariel (Halle Bailey) singing the song “Part of Your World.” It also features Flounder (voiced by Jacob Tremblay), Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), and the villainous sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy).
Bailey previous played Sky Forster in Freeform’s Grown-ish. She is also a singer who performs with her sister Chloe Bailey as the duo Chloe x Halle. The duo’s first studio album, The Kids Are Alright, was released in 2018. It was followed by Ungodly Hour, which was released in 2020.
The film was directed by Rob Marshall. Marshall previously directed Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Into the Woods (2014), and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) for Disney.
The original animated film was released by Disney in 1989, and was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. It stars Jodi Benson as Ariel, Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Eric, and Pat Carroll as Ursula. The Little Mermaid went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Score. It also won an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Under the Sea.”
The success of The Little Mermaid kicked-off an era for the studio known as the Disney Renaissance, which lasted from 1989-1999. Some of the other films released during the era include Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994).
A direct-to-video sequel, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, was released in 2000. The film introduced Ariel and Prince Eric’s daughter Melody (voiced by Tara Strong). A prequel film, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning, was released in 2008. Benson also reprised the role in an animated television series spin-off, which aired on CBS from 1992-1994.
The live action remake of The Little Mermaid will be released on May 26. The new teaser trailer for the film can be watched below:
