Original Ariel, Jodi Benson, Opens Up About Her 'Thrilling' Cameo in 'The Little Mermaid' Live Action

If you’ve not headed to your nearest cinema to catch The Little Mermaid yet, make sure you’re prepared with enough tissues to see you through. Disney’s live-action adaptation of the 1989 animated film was released last Friday, and even though it’s only been out for a week, it's already amassed more than $209 million at the box office and is currently sitting at the top spot as the number one movie in the world. Starring Halle Bailey as Ariel and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, the film retells the classic fairytale of a mermaid who wants to know what life is like above the sea.

Although mermaids might conjure up images of long, flowing, low-maintenance waves, it seems the actual cost of turning actress Halle Bailey into one was a little more on the expensive side. For the actress’ appearance as Ariel in Disney’s hit live action remake of The Little Mermaid, hairstylist Camille Friend revealed the true cost of getting those mermaid-worthy waves, and you could buy a house for the price.

Unless you’ve been living under a pop culture rock for the last couple of months, you’ll know that Disney’s live-action adaptation of the 1989 classic, The Little Mermaid has just dropped in cinemas. Everywhere. Starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, there was no holding back on any aspect of this film.

The Little Mermaid 's live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic has once again faced criticism, this time for its makeup choices. Disney received backlash when a timelapse video showcasing Ursula's makeup was shared, drawing negative comments from drag queens.The clip, posted on Twitter last week, sparked a debate among drag performers who argued that Melissa McCarthy's makeup should have been done by an LGBTQ+ artist.

Paloma Faith, a singer and actress in shows like Pennyworth and Dangerous Liaisons, watched The Little Mermaid over the weekend and is calling out the storyline.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.It is expected to enjoy a $104 million three-day weekend, according to Deadline.The Post called the flick, produced in part by Lin-Manuel Miranda, “more lifeless than far better two-dimensional painted drawings.”“Fast X,” which was in the No. 1 spot last Friday, slowed down to second, with $6.3 million in sales.The 11-title “Fast and Furious” franchise already sped past $7 billion in the global box office.

Two songs from the original The Little Mermaid were cut from the live-action remake – Just Jared Jr Jamie Bell now has primary custody of the son he shares with Evan Rachel Wood – Celebitchy Kim Zolciak is reportedly begging for her RHOA job back – DListed New couple alert?! – Just Jared Jr

The Little Mermaid” is making quite the splash at the domestic box office this weekend, with an opening day total of $38 million. The fantasy, which is opening in 4,320 theaters, is expected to gross between $120 million and $130 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. The musical remake, starring Halle Bailey as the mermaid princess Ariel, took in $10.3 million in previews on Thursday, ranking as the seventh-highest haul for a movie rated G or PG. That puts the film on track to gross well over $100 million over the holiday weekend. With a $250 million production budget, “The Little Mermaid” must bait box office success in order to make a reasonable return.

 gives audiences a mix of their favorite classics with modern tweaks, including three new songs and several updates to the soundtrack's iconic tunes.The music reflects the film's refreshed story, which director Rob Marshall, producer John DeLuca, and screenwriter David Magee have explained they tweaked to implement specific changes showcasing a more modern Disney princess, addressing criticism that the original film featured a young woman who was too wrapped up in a man, and giving Ariel more agency.The soundtrack features the vocal talents of the film's new cast, including GRAMMY-nominated singer Halle Bailey as the titular mermaid, Princess Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and Javier Bardem as King Triton, with Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian the crab, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle.Lin-Manuel Miranda, who teamed up with legendary composer-songwriter Alan Menken to write the film's new songs, previously told ET that «getting to write music for these characters that are probably the reason I started writing musicals in the first place, was actually easier than I thought.»«But the hardest part was my own intimidation working with Alan Menken, and that was entirely self-imposed,» acknowledged Miranda, who also serves as a producer on the film, alongside Marc Platt. «But when it came to how these characters speak and what they say, I've known that all my life.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor If anyone knows how to get the right shade of red for Black hair, it’s Camille Friend. The Oscar-nominated hair department head, whose credits include “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” experimented with adding color into Lupita Nyong’o’s hair, and now she’s doing it again. This time, it was for Halle Bailey in Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid.” But doing so didn’t come cheap. Her challenge was taking Disney’s most famous redhead, Princess Ariel, and creating a look for Bailey that would work. On top of that, maintaining Bailey’s natural hair was an important requirement she needed to meet. Bailey, who sports long locs, wanted to stay true to her Black heritage. And maintaining them without a wig would herald an important moment for representation and Bailey’s identity, as the movie presents Disney’s first Black Ariel (and first Black princess in a live-action movie.)

Khloe Kardashian threw an incredible private screening of Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, a day before the official release of the movie. The highly-anticipated reboot of the 1989 animated film is set to be released in the US and UK on Friday May 26, with Halle Bailey starring as Ariel.

We’re just one day away from The Little Mermaid officially hitting theaters!

Halle Bailey talked her hair in The Little Mermaid – Just Jared Jr Princess Catherine re-wore one of her outfits to attend her latest event – Celebitchy Lizzo shared a special tribute to the late Tina Turner – Popsugar Two Chilling Adventures of Sabrina stars are set to reunite in a new project – Just Jared Jr

The Little Mermaid” cast did their best at playing Variety’s “Name That Fish” on the red carpet at the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles Melissa McCarthy (Ursula), Jacob Tremblay (Flounder), Noma Dumezweni (Queen Selina), Daveed Diggs (Sebastian) and Javier Bardem (King Triton) were put to the test by Variety’s Marc Malkin to see just how much they know about life under the sea. When quizzed with images of various fish, answers included “basketball with spikes,” “sad fish,” “not Spongebob,” “swordy-thing” “not edible” and “definitely a fish.”

Disney’s return to live-action takes of their animated vault in the fullest theatrical form happens this weekend with Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid which is eyeing a $180M worldwide start.

The Little Mermaid is opening in theaters in just a couple of more days and many fans are looking forward to it.

boasts a star-studded cast that loves one thing even more than working together --  about their time working together!Speaking with ET's Nischelle Turner ahead of the film's May 26 release, Melissa McCarthy and Javier Bardem, who portray Ursula and King Triton, respectively, couldn't help but gush about their leading lady, Halle Bailey.When asked about their favorite song from the new film, Bardem can't help but praise Bailey's rendition of Princess Ariel's iconic tune, «Part of Your World.»«What she does with her voice in that song, it's very special. And also, it's the first song in the movie,» he notes.

The Little Mermaid star is venturing away from home for the very first time. In her , the 23-year-old singer and actor shared that she moved into her first solo apartment after returning to Los Angeles from London, where she'd been filming the Disney live-action remake. After relocating from Georgia to California with her family in 2012, Halle recently took an important baby step toward independence by moving into a place of her own…in the same building as her 24-year-old sister “It’s nice because we’re neighbors and she’s always there when I need her, but we have our own space,” Halle told Glamour.

The soundtrack for The Little Mermaid has been released!