Is Melissa McCarthy going to be Ursula?
Melissa McCarthy is in early talks to be in new live action Little Mermaid movie as Ursula. How true are these rumors?
People hoping to see a live action version of The Little Mermaid have something to celebrate this week. Variety got a scoop that features several details about the upcoming production, including who’s directing, and the fact that Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda is going to help write new songs for it is very intriguing. Another big-ticket news is that Melissa McCarthy is in early talks to play that helper of poor, unfortunate souls, Ursula.
Now, nothing is finalized yet, but honestly, this would be a solid casting choice if Disney and McCarthy make a deal. Here’s why.
It can play to some of Melissa McCarthy’s Strengths
Think about Ursula for a minute. She was canny enough to find people who felt like they lacked something. She then used her eels to convince them she could help, and was confident enough to convince her marks that she could “solve” their problems. She was also conniving enough that she chose a handicap for those “poor, unfortunate souls” that all but assured they would be added to her garden of seaweed slaves. She’d also have to seem like somebody who genuinely wants to help.
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Melissa McCarthy has confidence and presence to spare. Her comedic talent, and eager to please nature comes through in movies like Bridesmaids. In Gilmore Girls McCarthy proved that she can also deliver trust-earning warmth. McCarthy’s established screen persona could make it easy to see how Ariel trusts her enough to give up her voice, her single most prized possession.
It would allow McCarthy the chance to try a new kind of role
McCarthy is not the first name that comes to mind when you think of a villain. Make no mistake, Ursula is a villain. She’s clearly still resentful of being cast of Triton’s kingdom. The way that she leers at the seaweed slaves she keeps in her lair tell us all we need to know about her oil black heart.
Not content to stack the deck against Ariel by taking her voice, Ursula used her magic to take a human form and pretend to be the woman who saved Prince Eric. In a ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ reprise just before the wedding, she sings to herself that “Things are working out according to my ultimate design./ Soon I’ll have that little mermaid / And the oceans will be mine.”
These are the words of a villain. They’re delivered with too much glee to be the words of a conflicted one.
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Playing this kind of turned up to 11 bad girl could be a lot of fun for an actresses like McCarthy. She’s always committed to physical comedy with gusto; but in the past, every Melissa McCarthy character is someone who the audience is supposed to like. She has never played a character as uninhibited, as repellent, as Ursula. Letting loose like that can be a very liberating feeling for a performer, and I feel she could nail it if well-directed.
So what do you think? Do you want Melissa McCarthy to play Ursula? Sound off in the comments below!