Entertainment Movies Children & Family Movies 'The Little Mermaid' Trailer Unveiled by Stars Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy During Oscars 2023 The Little Mermaid hits theaters May 26 By Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle is an editorial assistant on the Movies team at PEOPLE. Tommy joined PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines and Dory Jackson Dory Jackson Dory Jackson is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE's TV News team. Upon joining the brand in March 2021, she has had the opportunity to interview a long list of celebrities, from Kate Hudson to Pierce Brosnan to Billy Porter. She has also helped recap popular TV shows like 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' 'Sister Wives' and 'Vanderpump Rules.' The New York-based Maryland native graduated from Randolph-Macon College in May 2016 with a focus on Communication Studies and Journalism. She came to PEOPLE in March 2021 after working at a number of major news companies, including Newsweek and Us Weekly. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 12, 2023 09:45PM EDT The Little Mermaid is swimming into movie theaters soon. Stars Halle Bailey (Ariel) and Melissa McCarthy (Ursula) introduced the first, full-length trailer for Disney's live-action reimagining during Sunday's Oscars 2023. Teasing the film, McCarthy, 52, said that "1,735 remarkable film artists, technicians and craftspeople came together to tell this new story." "And I may be biased, but I have enjoyed making this film and it has been a complete joy," she continued. "I absolutely agree," added Bailey, 22. "And it has been such an honor stepping into the iconic role of Ariel. It's been an extraordinary experience, a dream come true for me." The dramatic new trailer showcases Ariel saving Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) after a scary storm erupts across the sea. But her actions come with consequences as her father, King Triton (Javier Bardem), tells her she "broke the rules" by going to the "above world." Kevin Winter/Getty See the Full List of Oscars 2023 Nominations Even though her father urges her to "stop" her "obsession with humans," Ariel says she simply wants to "know more about them." Ariel soon meets evil sea witch Ursula, who insists she can help her "become a human." Ursula demonstrates her magic — and her evil cackle — to turn Ariel's once shiny mermaid tail into human legs and she soon swims to the shore to find Prince Eric. The magical trailer then teases further glimpses of the film, including callbacks to moments from the original animated feature. Disney's new Little Mermaid adaptation features music from Lin-Manuel Miranda and renowned composer Alan Menken, who wrote music for the original Little Mermaid film alongside the late Howard Ashman. "We wrote three or four original tunes, replacing none of the ones you like. All of those are in," Miranda told Variety in 2022 of the classic songs, including "Under the Sea" and "Part of Your World." Walt Disney Studios/YouTube "There's no bigger Little Mermaid fan than me," he added. "... But we found a couple of opportunities for some other music that I can't wait to see." Of the new songs, Miranda said that Bailey's Ariel will sing a track in the second half of the film when she loses her voice and becomes a human. Everything to Know About Disney's Live-Action The Little Mermaid "[Director] Rob [Marshall] found a creative way to hear from Ariel, even though she is sans voice for a little while. We wrote some music [for] her time on land. She experiences a lot of firsts, as someone with legs for the first time, so we got to lean into all of that musically," Miranda explained. The first teaser trailer for the upcoming film have given a first look at Bailey as the mermaid princess and a tease of her performing "Part of Your World." A second, 30-second teaser released in February also teased McCarthy's Ursula. Walt Disney Studios/YouTube The Little Mermaid also stars Jacob Tremblay as Ariel's fish BFF Flounder, Daveed Diggs as the crab Sebastian, and Awkwafina as the seagull Scuttle. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Little Mermaid is in theaters May 26. The Oscars are airing live on ABC. Close