The little Mermaid and star Melissa McCarthy made waves at CinemaCon as part of Disney’s presentation Wednesday.
McCarthy, who plays the villainous Ursula, performed the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from the feature film and showed off a singing voice not normally heard by the comedic actor.
“It was truly such an honor to play one of Disney’s most delicious and iconic villains,” said McCarthy. “Ursula is naughty, she is a conniving bitch. Maybe that’s why I’m in a relationship, I don’t know. But you can’t help but love her at the same time.”
The scene was well received in the venue, with a big round of applause from theater owners. The scene also offered glimpses of Flounder (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) and Sebastian (voiced by Daveed Diggs).
Halle Bailey stars as Ariel in the live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic. Other stars include Javier Bardem, Awkwafina and Jonah Hauer-King.
Rob Marshall directs The little Mermaid, with Oscar winner Alan Menken returning to update his score and write a new song with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The feature also includes four new songs.
The remake business has been lucrative for Disney, with Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019) and The lionking (2019) all of which released $1 billion worldwide. Upcoming remakes include snow white, starring Rachel Zegler and scheduled for March 2024. Lilo & Stitch and a Lion King precursor, Mufasa: The Lion King are also in the works.
