Disney used the occasion of the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards to showcase a preview clip from their live-action “The Little Mermaid” adaptation.
The clip shows off the scene with the “Kiss the Girl” musical number. Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King take on the roles of Ariel and Prince Eric for the scene in which the pair are on a boat ride as the little mermaid tries to land a kiss from her love interest to break Ursula’s spell and get her voice back.
The clip offers a look at Flounder voiced by Jacob Tremblay, Sebastian voiced by Daveed Diggs and Scuttle voiced by Awkwafina.
Some of the lyrics of the song have been modified to allow consent. The original song’s writer Alan Menken told Vanity Fair the other week the changes were made because: “People have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel].”
There are also revisions to “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. The cast also includes Melissa McCarthy as Ursula and Javier Bardem as King Triton, along with Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Lorena Andrea, Simone Ashley, Kajsa Mohammar, Nathalie Sorrell, Karolina Conchet, Sienna King
Marshall directs from a screenplay by David Magee. “The Little Mermaid” opens in cinemas on May 26th.
.@LittleMermaid shared a lil' part of their world with the #MTVAwards in this exclusive clip #TheLittleMermaid pic.twitter.com/vmOuPyzDAz
— MTV (@MTV) May 8, 2023
Update: A 50-second clip from the “Part of Your World” song has also been released, check that out below:
