Melissa McCarthy is seen for the FIRST TIME as Ursula in The Little Mermaid new trailer – as Halle Bailey belts out the classic Part of Your World
Melissa McCarthy was seen for the first time in character as Ursula in a new trailer for Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid on Tuesday.
As Halle Bailey, who stars as Ariel in the highly-anticipated film, swam through the ocean singing Part of Your World, fans got a first glimpse of the villainous sea witch, who convinces the youngest of King Triton’s seven daughters to give up her voice in exchange for human legs.
In the final seconds of the preview, McCarthy can be heard cackling in the darkness as she gazes into the camera while covering most of her face with a slimy tentacle.
While only her eyes and forehead were visible in the footage, the 52-year-old actress rocked thin, super-arched eyebrows, purple face makeup, a dark eyeshadow and black liner.
Additionally, Bailey can be seen leaning in for a kiss with Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), after tickling a pufferfish.
The villain: Melissa McCarthy was seen for the first time in character as Ursula in a new trailer for Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid on Tuesday morning
Beautiful vocals: As Halle Bailey, who stars as Ariel in the highly-anticipated film, swam through the ocean while singing Part of Your World, fans got a first glimpse of the villainous sea witch that swindles the titular protagonist for her voice
Previously, the singer, who has been nominated for five Grammy Awards alongside her sister Chole, gushed about feeling ‘immensely honored’ to portray the Disney Princess.
In September, she admitted to feeling the ‘pressure’ to do the best possible job after taking on the iconic role.
The performer, who has been a lifelong fan of the 1989 Disney original – based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Danish fairytale, explained she didn’t want to disappoint fans with her portrayal of the redheaded mermaid.
But her casting sparked an inevitable outcry from a minority of fans, with some claiming she was unsuitable for the role because of her ethnicity.
She told E! News: ‘I definitely think that because I love this movie so much, and I’ve treasured it since I was a little girl, I did put a bit of pressure on myself.
‘Just because I want to deliver all of the feels that I saw when I was a little girl.’
The actress also insisted that she gave her ‘110% percent’ to the film and is proud of herself and her performance in the forthcoming adaptation.
The film, which also stars Jonah Hauer-King, Art Malik, Noma Dumezweni and Javier Bardem, goes on general release in May.
First look: In the final seconds of the preview, McCarthy can be heard cackling in the darkness as she gazes into the camera while covering most of her face with a tentacle
True love: Additionally, Bailey can be seen leaning in for a kiss with Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), after tickling a pufferfish
Under the sea: Additionally, Bailey can be seen leaning in for a kiss with Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), after tickling a pufferfish
Role of a lifetime: Previously, the singer, who has been nominated for five Grammy Awards alongside her sister Chole, gushed about feeling ‘immensely honored’ to portray the Disney Princess
Just days after the first trailer for movie brought waves of racist trolls out of the woodwork, Halle found support from another big-screen mermaid in Daryl Hannah.
The blonde beauty, 61, played the mermaid Madison in the 1983 smash hit movie Splash, alongside Tom Hanks, and she showed her support for the young actress on Twitter.
‘The little mermaid is black/I met her/there!’ Hannah tweeted along with the hashtag #dontbearacistdork.
The actress’s praise comes just after Jodi Benson – the voice actress who portrayed the original Ariel in the animated classic – showed her support as well.
Hard work: In September, she admitted to feeling the ‘pressure’ to do the best possible job after taking on the iconic role
The tweet got over 4.5K retweets and over 42K likes in just under a day after it was posted on Wednesday evening.
Bailey herself hasn’t responded to Hannah, or the original voice of The Little Mermaid, Jodi Benson, 60, who showed her support on her Instagram story.
‘Halle, you were absolutely amazing! ‘I’m SO proud of you & your beautiful performance as Ariel,’ Benson began.
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