Disney‘s D23 Expo has offered up an array of trailer drops and announcements. Among them, the official teaser trailer for The Little Mermaid, a live-action remake of Disney’s 1989 animated hit.
Halle Bailey (one half of the sister R&B duo Chloe x Halle and with a role on dramedy series Grown-ish) plays Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s (Javier Bardem) daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
This reimagining is directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rob Marshall (Chicago, Mary Poppins Returns, Memoirs of a Geisha), and written by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (Life of Pi, Finding Neverland), with a live-action story adaptation by Magee, Marshall, and two-time Emmy winner John DeLuca (Tony Bennett: An American Classic).
The cast includes Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, Snowpiercer) as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay (Room) as the voice of Flounder, and Awkwafina (Raya and the Last Dragon) as the voice of Scuttle, among others.
The film will feature fan-favourite songs, plus four new tracks written by Disney-music great Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Moana, In the Heights).
The Little Mermaid will be swimming into Australian cinemas on May 25th and U.S. cinemas on May 26th, 2023.
