Remember the excitement to hear an animated musical? Looking back, the Disney animation renaissance filled our hears with song and dance. And no other film did that so spectacularly well then The Little Mermaid.

Now in a day and age where Disney seems to be dropping live-action adaptations of their animated classics every year or so, it’s easy to see why some may be worried about how it will all turn out in the end.

While some films are cursed with the fact that they are poor imitations of the original, the Rob Marshall-directed The Little Mermaid may turn out to be something more magical. Especially when you put Halle Bailey, one half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle, in a role that she was destined to play. But first, check out the trailer.

“It was very important for us to honor the original beauty of this also reimagine it and bring some depth, and also find a way into this epic piece that was deep emotional does it is,” Marshall said. “And so we went to Alan Menken right now. And who was delighted to work with and also our dear friend. And together before and they have their four new songs in this film that opens up the film has a completely different way.”

Marshall — who is very familiar with the world of Disney having directed films like Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Mary Poppins Returns — is back. And not only is he bringing his eye for film adaptations of musicals, he’s also adding Lin-Manuel Miranda to the musical team. And Miranda will be collaborating with the aforementioned Menken to write four new songs.

“Getting this film working with Rob is such a dream come true for me. I mean, I’m sure all of you in here can relate to Ariel and how special she is to all of us. And you know being a little girl swimming in the pool imagining I was a mermaid I never thought one day I can actually see that come to life. So I’m just honored and super super grateful to be here in front of you all,” Bailey said.

Bailey added that she spent three days filming the “Part of Your World” musical sequence that brought everyone who saw the clip to tears. Of course, many of us can relate to dreaming of being a part of something more or just being our own person, but to see that sequence we are all so familiar with, in live-action delivers a different kind of impact.

Written by Jane Goldman and David Magee, The Little Mermaid also stars Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy, with Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina in voice roles.

The Little Mermaid swims into theaters on May 26, 2023