Yahoo Finance 'Little Mermaid' Sneak Peek: Hear Updated Version of 'Kiss the Girl' in New Clip from Film
The Little Mermaid swims into theaters May 26
Disney fans are getting an early look at an iconic scene from the upcoming Little Mermaid live-action film.
As part of the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards broadcast on Sunday, Disney debuted an exclusive clip of "Kiss the Girl," sung primarily by Daveed Diggs as Sebastian.
The footage plays the final few lines of the song as Ariel (Halle Bailey) and Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) lean in for a kiss while being serenaded by Sebastian and other animals — before they are thwarted by Ursula's (Melissa McCarthy) henchman eels and thrown overboard into the lagoon.
Fans on Twitter went crazy over the scene, known for its romantic aesthetic as Ariel and Eric float along surrounded by majestic wildlife, lush greenery, blue waters and twinkling lights.
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Related: Everything to Know About Disney's Live-Action The Little Mermaid
While the lyrics sung in the MTV-exclusive clip reflect those of the version from the original 1989 animated film, some of the lyrics in "Kiss the Girl" will be updated with the times.
Composer Alan Menken — who wrote the music for the original Little Mermaid movie — said he and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda modified some of the song's lyrics for the live-action film because of their negative messaging, according to an interview with Vanity Fair published March 31.
"There are some lyric changes in 'Kiss the Girl' because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]," revealed Menken, 73.
He added of the villain's signature song, "We have some revisions in 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn't speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice."
Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively last month at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, McCarthy, 52, called getting to play Ursula something of "a fever dream."
"I think it took quite a while for me to kind of digest that," she added.
The Oscar-nominated actress — who recently graced the cover of PEOPLE's 2023 Beautiful Issue — also opened up about the process of becoming the iconic Disney villain, and the many "extremes" of playing the famous sea witch.
"[Ursula] is just bigger than life," McCarthy said. "So then to kind of have to live with her for that long and really think about, like, what is she afraid of? What is she insecure about? By the end, I really fell in love with her in such a different way."
The Little Mermaid swims into theaters May 26.
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