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Official ‘The Little Mermaid’ live-action trailer shows Ariel’s first meeting with Prince Eric

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on March 13, 2023

The new, official trailer for the live-action film The Little Mermaid is finally here.

The trailer debuted during Sunday night’s Oscars televised broadcast and featured actress Halle Bailey as Ariel. The clip begins with her fateful first meeting with Jonah Hauer-King‘s Prince Eric, whom she saves from drowning.

The scene plays out nearly identically to the 1989 animated film, with her bringing Prince Eric to safety and him slowly opening his eyes to a blurry vision of Ariel. Unfortunately, he is unable to catch a clear glimpse of her face before she retreats.

The trailer features plenty of scenes that mirror the animated classic, including the visually stunning moment Ariel finishes singing “Part of Your World” as a wave splashes behind her.

The trailer also highlights the rest of the cast, including a bigger but fleeting glimpse of Ursula, the antagonist played by Melissa McCarthy. The clip obscures most of what McCarthy looks like while playing out the moment Ariel trades her voice for a pair of legs so she can try to win Prince Eric’s heart.

Other characters featured or making their first full appearance include Sebastian the crab, voiced by Daveed Diggs, Scuttle the seagull, voiced by Awkwafina, and Flounder the tropical fish, who is voiced by Jacob Tremblay. Fans also get to see Javier Bardem as a burly King Triton, who is seen angrily lecturing Ariel about her fascination with the human world and expressing his distrust of humans.

The Little Mermaid swims into theaters on May 26, 2023.

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