Director Rob Marshall (who made the 2002 Best Picture Oscar winner Chicago) talked about his new live action musical, which brings up the Oscar-winning movie from the past: “When we started this journey it was very important to honor the original” but also reimagine and “bring some depth” to the new film.

The director asked Little Mermaid longtime Disney alum and Alan Menken to collaborate with Lin-Manuel Miranda on four new songs. “They’d never collaborated together before, and it’s magical. We still retain the beauty of the original score by the late great Howard Ashman.”

As the new mermaid, Bailey “came in and claimed the role,” Marshall said. He then debuted the first-ever footage, showcasing Bailey singing the iconic “Part of Your World” song.

Photo: Little Mermaid, 2018 version

Several members of the audience were visually emotional at this heart-stopping performance. “She’s so good,” one viewer said, “I got chills.”

The actress joined the fans to massive applause and shared details from the shoot. It took 3 days to film “Part of Your World.”

Bailey related to the little mermaid as a girl, “Swimming in the pool, imagining I was a mermaid, I never thought I could see that come to life.”

As for the differences between the animated movie and the live action, Bailey’s fins are a bit longer than the cartoon version, and she’s ditched the conical shell bra underwater look for something more sophisticated.

It is adapted from the 1989 film from John Musker and Ron Clements, which was based on the Hans Christian Andersen 19th century fairy tale.

The Little Mermaid tells the story of Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem), the ruler of  underwater kingdom Atalantica. Ariel, fascinated by the world of humans, falls in love with the handsome Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) after saving him during shipwreck, and resolves to meet him in the world above water. Her quest brings her in conflict with her father and the scheming sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy).

The cast also features Jacob Tremblay (Room), Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs as the voices of classic Disney sidekicks Flounder, Scuttle and Sebastian, respectively.

The live-action Little Mermaid is directed by Marshall, who previously helmed 2018’s musical family film Mary Poppins Returns for Disney, as well as movie musicals Chicago and Into the Woods.

The script was written by Jane Goldman and David Magee.

Miranda and Marshall produce with John DeLuca and Marc Platt.

“It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear their words of encouragement, telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the little Black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you,’” Bailey said.

The Little Mermaid hits theaters on May 26, 2023.

Watch the full first look below.