'The Little Mermaid' trivia and fun facts
Lizzo wanted to be Ursula
Singer Lizzo auditioned and campaigned for the role of Ursula. She even dressed like Ursula and sang "Poor Unfortunate Souls" on her Instagram page, but ultimately Melissa McCarthy got the role. Later, Lizzo and McCarthy met at an event and they discussed the audition. Not knowing Lizzo auditioned, her response to Lizzo was "why the hell did I get the part"?
Maya Hawke
Maya Hawke had auditioned to play Ariel. She considers not landing the role to be the biggest disappointment of her career so far.
Patas de cangrejo
Contrary to the animated film, Sebastian has the correct amount of legs: 10 (including two pinchers). The animated Sebastian had eight (including the pinchers), because at that time that was much easier to animate.
Ariel's hair
Halle Bailey joked that when she recreated the famous 'hair flip' scene (where Ariel swims to the surface and flips her hair after her human transformation), she nearly broke her neck because her wig was so heavy.
King Triton Candidate
Terry Crews expressed interest in playing King Triton.
Melissa McCarthy didn´t know she could sing
Melissa McCarthy had no idea she could actually sing before production of this film. She was coached by vocal coach Eric Vetro to prepare for her role as Ursula, and did all of her own singing in the film.