Disney's upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has premiered, and the reviews are rolling in! The film is set to hit movie theatres May 26.
Oscar-nominated Chicago and Into the Woods director Rob Marshall helms the remake, penned by Jane Goldman and David Magee. Check out the film's trailer here.
Halle Bailey stars as Ariel, the titular little mermaid, in the new take on the 1989 animated classic, which featured songs by Little Shop of Horrors' Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman. Menken has teamed with Lin-Manuel Miranda to pen new songs for the remake.
Read the reviews here.
Associated Press (Lindsey Bahr)
Black Girl Nerds (Stacey Yvonne)
The Daily Beast (Coleman Spilde)
Entertainment Weekly (Maureen Lee Lenker)
Evening Standard (Charlotte O'Sullivan)
Geeks of Color (Joshua Mackey)
The Hollywood Reporter (Lovia Gyarkye)
The Independent (Clarisse Loughrey)
Los Angeles Times (Justin Chang)
Slash Film (Vanessa Armstrong)
Vulture (Angelica Jade Bastién)*
*This review requires creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Joining Bailey on screen are Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women, The Last Photograph) as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat) as Ursula, Javier Bardem (Skyfall, No Country for Old Men) as King Triton, Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation, The Tempest) as Grimsby, Lorena Andrea (Warrior Nun) as new character Perla, and Kajsa Mohammar (Misbehaviour) as new character Karina, with Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) voicing Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay (Room) voicing Flounder, and Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) voicing Scuttle.
Disney brought The Little Mermaid to the Broadway stage in 2007—replacing another Disney show, Beauty and the Beast—at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where it began previews November 3, 2007, and opened January 10, 2008. It played 685 performances and 50 previews, earning nominations for Best Original Score and Best Lighting Design of a Musical.
The Little Mermaid is executive-produced by Allison Erlikhman, Jeffrey Silver, and Jessica Virtue. Miranda and Marshall produce alongside Marc Platt and John DeLuca, joined by co-producers Michael Zimmer and Russell Allen. Caroline Roberts is associate producer.
Halle Bailey
Jonah Hauer-King
Jonah Hauer-King and Halle Bailey
Noma Dumezweni
Melissa McCarthy
Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King
Javier Bardem
Jonah Hauer-King and Halle Bailey
Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King
Halle Bailey
Jonah Hauer-King and Halle Bailey
Halle Bailey
Halle Bailey
Halle Bailey
