Melissa McCarthy recently joined Good Morning America to discuss her experience portraying the iconic sea witch Ursula in the upcoming live-action adaptation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. The actress expressed her excitement about taking on the role and even shared some behind-the-scenes stories.
McCarthy fondly recalled her history with the animated film, saying, “It is weirdly, it’s the movie that I have watched more, more than any other movie in the world. I was a nanny, so we watched it for like two years, every night, that’s what we wanted to watch.” This deep connection made stepping into Ursula’s tentacles an extraordinary experience for her.
One of the most memorable moments for McCarthy was singing Ursula’s iconic song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” She admitted to feeling a bit intimidated following the footsteps of the original voice actress, Pat Carroll, but described the experience as “ridiculously fun.” McCarthy confessed to “nerdishly practicing” her singing and even shedding tears when it was all over because she would miss her “singing practice.”
When discussing the transformation into Ursula and her inspiration for the character, Melissa shared, “The best of Ursula is such a dishy broad, and all of my favorite drag queens rolled up into one delicious cocktail.” She went on to explain how Ursula’s unabashed confidence and self-acceptance made the character a blast to play.
