The Little Mermaid Teaser Trailer: Halle Bailey Takes Us Under The Sea
The release of Disney's live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid" is swimming ever closer, and now, a new teaser is here to show you more of what's under the sea.
Disney released the first teaser for "The Little Mermaid" last September at D23 Expo, where /Film was on hand to provide a description of additional footage not shown online. Both the teaser and convention footage centered on a recreation of the "Part of Your World" sequence from the original 1989 animated version of "The Little Mermaid." We got a look at "Grown-ish" actress Halle Bailey, who is also one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle, singing her heart out as the eponymous mermaid princess, Ariel. Since it was just a teaser, though, there wasn't much to see beyond some quick glimpses of sea turtles, coral, silhouettes, a mermaid fin, and the final shot of the new Ariel's live-action face.
Whether they're poor unfortunate souls or not, if you know anything about the cast and crew of this upcoming remake then you'll know there's much more to see and hear that we haven't until now. Javier Bardem is playing King Triton in "The Little Mermaid," while Melissa McCarthy is stepping in for the late Pat Carroll as the tentacled sea witch Ursula. There's also Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina, respectively providing the voices of Sebastian the crab, Ariel's fish friend, Flounder, and the diving bird Scuttle (formerly a seagull). English actor Jonah Hauer-King is playing Prince Eric, while original composer Alan Menken is returning to co-write the soundtrack with Lin-Manuel Miranda for director Rob Marshall.
All of that seems worth the price of admission. And by "price of admission," I mean giving up two minutes of your time to take a free gander at the trailer below.
Watch The Little Mermaid teaser trailer
I'll leave it to you decide, based on that trailer, if this new live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" is worth your time (more than, say, the live-action "Pinocchio" starring Tom Hanks, which went straight to Disney+ last year). Halle Bailey was first cast as Ariel all the way back in July 2019, which feels like a lifetime ago: before the pandemic or the launch of the Disney+ streaming service. There's been some ridiculous discourse about the historical accuracy of casting a Black actress as Ariel, as if mermaids weren't already mythical creatures with no basis in verifiable reality. However, Jodi Benson, who voiced the original animated Ariel in "The Little Mermaid," has expressed support for Bailey, saying she's "absolutely amazing" and "the spirit of a character is what really matters."
The real question with this "Little Mermaid" remake is whether theatrical audiences are ready to embrace it the way they did with Jon Favreau's photorealistic "The Lion King" remake. That opened just before Bailey was cast, became the second-highest grossing film of 2019 (behind only "Avengers: Endgame"), and still ranks among the ten highest-grossing films of all time.
For years, Broadway attendees and theme park goers turned out to see live-action shows "remaking" their favorite Disney animated films, and "The Little Mermaid" is the one that kicked off the whole Disney renaissance, so it may still hold a special place in people's hearts. However, streaming has undeniably changed the game, and there's no telling how many people might be inclined to wait and watch this movie on Disney+, if at all.
Whatever happens, Disney will likely continue asking, "Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?" until audiences say no. "The Little Mermaid" swims into theaters on Friday, May 26, 2023.