The highly-anticipated ABC adaptation of The Little Mermaid Live provided its first look with a new trailer dropping on Sunday. The new insight provided fans with what they can expect when Auli’i Cravalho takes on the title role as Ariel. The trailer opens with Cravalho belting out the tune of the iconic movie hit, “Part of Your World,” while the clip provides a run through of the cast in their roles.
Queen Latifah portrays the sea witch, Ursula, Shaggy takes on the role of Sebastian, Graham Phillips will play the part of Prince Eric and John Stamos appears as Chef Louis.
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The show is set to appear on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
This won’t be the only live adaptation of the classic Disney movie. Earlier in the year it was revealed that the big screen will be getting its own version with Hailey Bailey taking on the leading lady.
The decision to cast Bailey caused quite the response on social media. There was never any doubt in the mind of the film’s crew, especially with director Rob Marshall.
“After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role,” Marshall provided in a statement.
Jodi Benson, who originally voiced Ariel in the 1989 flick, even came to the forefront to show her support for Bailey after the negative feedback began to overwhelm the headlines. She was attending the Florida SuperCon panel at the time of her remarks. Benson wanted the fans to know the only thing that matters about Ariel is “to tell the story” and that it doesn’t matter what we look like or what’s on the outside.
“I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters. What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart, and their spirit, is what really counts,” Benson said. “And the outside package — cause let’s face it, I’m really, really old — and so when I’m singing ‘Part of Your World,’ if you were to judge me on the way that I look on the outside, it might change the way that you interpret the song. But if you close your eyes, you can still hear the spirit of Ariel.”
The live-adaptation film does not have a release date yet. Production is set to begin next April.
