The reviews are in, and despite a rocky start for Melissa McCarthy‘s Ursula, she’s the real scene-stealer in Disney’s The Little Mermaid remake. After the official trailer dropped and gave us our first look at McCarthy’s Sea Witch, the naysayers swarmed in their masses to try and tear her down, ripping the character to shreds for anything from her makeup to her voice, but that didn’t stop the Bridesmaid star from shining, even with lackluster CGI. If anyone knows Melissa McCarthy, they know that she can take dust and turn it to gold with relative ease, no matter what the task may be. she’s had an extensive career of comedy, but when she needs to, she can switch it up and portray a much more serious part, such as that of writer Lee Israel in 2018’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Although she had the haters telling her she couldn’t, McCarthy went and proved that she can. The Little Mermaid releases worldwide today, May 26, and although there’s an abundance of praise for the leading lady, Halle Bailey, it’s Melissa McCarthy who brings the experience to a whole new level. And as for us poor unfortunate souls, we can’t get enough of her. Over on Twitter, the early reactions are pouring in from audiences who have bagged a morning screening (or a midnight showing, in some cases).
The general consensus is that Ursula is the star of the show, drawing attention away from the love story of Ariel and Eric, which is the plot’s main driving force. But we can’t complain too much, especially as Ursula was also a fan-favorite in the original under Pat Carroll’s masterful direction, so there’s some consistency with the franchise’s roots —a main concern from the get-go.
Awkwafina’s Scuttle was also named as another stand-out performance alongside McCarthy, but our resident Sea Witch is basking in all the glory alone, while the likes of Javier Bardem’s Triton fade into the background. No hard feelings, though, there’s just much more to offer with Ursula’s character than Triton’s. Although she looked the part, many were apprehensive to see McCarthy’s portrayal. There’s always been a heavy attachment to Carroll’s version, so there was big shoes to fill for McCarthy and huge expectations from the ’90s kids who grew up with old-school Ursula.
“She’s amazing as Ursula,” “She performed,” and “McCarthy was the perfect Ursula” are just a few of the shared opinions being tossed around on social media, not just Twitter. It appears that with all the poor aspects of the remake, there are just as many positives, so even though it’s expected to bring home a profit at the box office, it’s reassuring to know that the reviews remain in line with that commercial success.
Catch McCarthy in action as Ursula in The Little Mermaid, showing in theaters now.