Halle Bailey Hits Ariel’s High Notes in First ‘Little Mermaid’ Trailer

The first full-length trailer for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid—which you can watch in the video player above–debuted at the 2023 Oscars on Sunday night, sending the Academy under the sea for a moment.

The stars of Disney’s upcoming film, Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, presented the trailer, giving viewers a first look at what looks like it will be a gritty-but-still-magical reimagining of Disney’s 1989 animated film of the same name. The trailer opens with a harrowing scene of the human prince Eric (played by Jonah Hauer-King) being battling a fierce storm while sailing, and falling overboard. Thankfully, everyone’s favorite mermaid princess, Ariel (played by singer and actor Halle Bailey) shows up to rescue her man.

We also get to see Javier Bardem as Ariel’s father, King Triton; hear Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Ariel’s fishy friend Flounder; and, of course, we finally get to see Melissa McCarthy as the tentacled, formidable sea witch known as Ursula. But perhaps most exciting is that The Little Mermaid trailer gave viewers a chance to hear Bailey sing Ariel’s famous ballad, “Part of Your World.” Reader, she sounds fantastic. She absolutely slays that high note.

The Little Mermaid (2023) is directed by Rob Marshall, with a screenplay written by David Magee and Jane Goldman. The music, of course, comes from celebrated Disney composer Alan Menken, along with a few new songs co-written by Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina also star in the film in voice roles.

The release of the trailer also came with a new poster, which you can see below.

The Little Mermaid will open exclusively in theaters on May 26, 2023.