Congrats, Queen Latifah! The 49-year-old actress has secured the role of Ursula in ABC's live concert version of The Little Mermaid. While on Instagram yesterday (Aug. 5), Queen Latifah shared the exciting news with fans.
Melissa McCarthy proved she had the vocal chops for 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' Portraying Disney's new Ursula − who tricks Ariel into giving up her golden voice for human legs and feet to pursue her true love, Prince Eric − proved to be one of the hottest casting stories in Hollywood.
The star-studded cast list includes big names like Halle Bailey as Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. While the lead cast has been lauded for their performances, it's Jessica Alexander who has gone viral for her brief but impressionable femme fatale performance in the movie.
' Let us explain. “The Little Mermaid Live!” may be named after Ariel, but during ABC's musical event, Ursula stole the show. Queen Latifah portrayed the singing sea witch, voiced by Pat Carroll in the animated film and previously played onstage by Rebel Wilson, Harvey Fierstein and Sherie Rene Scott.
Who is the voice of Ursula in The Little Mermaid 2023?
Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, a treacherous and conniving sea witch and King Triton's estranged sister, with whom Ariel makes a deal to become a human, which is secretly part of Ursula's plan to conquer Atlantica. McCarthy was announced to have been cast on June 28, 2019. She described her character as "so funny.
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Why is Scuttle a girl?
Scuttle is not only changed from male to female but is also now a diving bird instead of a seagull. "This was done specifically so that Ariel would only meet Scuttle underwater, because, at the start of our story, Ariel has never dared go above the surface," director Rob Marshall said in production notes.
Carroll won the part and went on to voice the character in several video games and a 1993 Little Mermaid CBS series. (She also provided the voice for Morgana in the 2000 direct-to-video release The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea.) Patricia Ann Carroll was born on May 5, 1927, in Shreveport, Louisiana.
At the BET Awards 2021, during her acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award, she publicly acknowledged her partner Eboni Nichols and son Rebel for the first time, ending the speech with "happy Pride!"
(MORE: 'Little Mermaid Live': Who will play Ariel, Ursula, Sebastian and more!) Queen Latifah stars alongside actress Auli'i Cravalho who will play Ariel and reggae singer Shaggy who will play Ariel's friend, Sebastian.
Lizzo Reflects on Her 'Terrible' Audition for 'The Little Mermaid' Remake: 'I Was Down to Make Ursula a THOT' "The singing was great. I'll just say that," the singer shared of going for the role.
According to the Disney Blog: "Designed and carefully crafted to capture the essence of evil at its best dressed, the Villains Designer Collection re-imagines the stylish wickedness of classic Disney Villains." Apparently part of this "re-imagination" involves making Ursula lose two-thirds of her body weight.
Lizzo showcased her audition for The Little Mermaid's Ursula in a since-privated viral video. She didn't get the part, but she "was down to make Ursula a THOT, shaking ass." The role went to Melissa McCarthy, whom Lizzo met during a taping of Adele's "One Night Only" concert.
When Ursula and Triton's father died, the pair were given equal share of the sea plus two magical items. Triton received the trident while Ursula received the magic Nautilus shell. Though the two were meant to rule the seas together, Ursula's greed and use of dark magic to usurp Triton led to her being banished.
Smith King said he intentionally did not want the actress to look like a drag queen, preferring to see more of McCarthy than of the makeup. Defending the uneven brows, he said he wanted it to look like Ursula did the makeup herself and did not have it done by a masterful professional.
Rather, Ursula's appearance is radically different from her family, and she sports tentacles that look like a permanent black dress. It's possible Ursula is not a mermaid in appearance because she and Triton did not have the same mother or father. If they're half siblings, Ursula's tentacles make more sense.
With a resume chock full of studio albums, television shows, movies and celebrity spokesperson gigs, Queen Latifah has amassed an estimated net worth of $70 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Queen Latifah is notoriously private when it comes to her personal life but sources are saying that Queen Latifah and her long term partner Eboni Nichols welcomed a child. Reports are that Eboni did indeed give birth to a son and his name is Rebel.
While Ariel is 16 years old in Disney animated The Little Mermaid film, her love interest is not the same age. The character's voice actor, Christopher Daniel Barnes, was just 16 years old at the time of recording the film, leading to the assumption that the character was intended to be the same age.
Morgana is a villainess who appears in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. She is the infamous younger sister of Ursula and the older sister of Ulyana, but Ursula is worse than Morgana.
