New in Theaters: The Live-Action “The Little Mermaid”

The live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic stars Halle Bailey from Chloe x Halle as Ariel, and is directed by “Chicago” director Rob Marshall.  He also did the Disney movies “Into the Woods” and “Mary Poppins Returns”.

Melissa McCarthy is Ursula, British actor Jonah Hauer-King is Prince Eric, Javier Bardem is King Triton, Daveed Diggs from “Hamilton” is Sebastian the crab, Jacob Tremblay from “Luca” is Flounder, and Awkwafina is Ariel’s bird friend Scuttle.

The original composer, Alan Menken, wrote several new songs for this movie with Lin-Manuel Miranda . . . including a RAP for Scuttle.  But all our old favorites are in it too, including “Part of Your World”, “Under the Sea”, and “Kiss the Girl”.

Now, it probably won’t surprise anyone to know that Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel, has a brief cameo in the remake.

She is listed as a Market Vendor in the credits.  Since some of you might not recognize her, here’s a picture of Jodi with Halle at the world premiere, so you can at least show your kids who to look out for.  If you’d like to really challenge your kids’ Disney knowledge , Jodi also had a cameo in “Enchanted”.