See How Melissa McCarthy Brought Ursula to Life in Behind-the-Scenes ‘The Little Mermaid’ Video (Exclusive)

“The Little Mermaid,” starring Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy and more, is now available on digital

Melissa McCarthy/Instagram

Melissa McCarthy

Lots of “wild” filmmaking went into creating Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula for the live-action Little Mermaid.

In a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, shared exclusively with PEOPLE, McCarthy, 52, walks fans through how she and a crew of stunt performers and prop masters created the villainous sea witch’s movements.

“Ursula’s movements, the keyword for me was always like ‘slinky’ and ‘sliding off a barstool,’ ” she says.

“We had all of these amazing, incredible stunt people. There were these kind of like giant, moveable teeter-totters with seven people manning them,” explains McCarthy as footage shows her being moved above the ground on set.

She adds, “It was, like, full-blown running, fully holding on and pulling back and leaning back until they bring us to a halt, spinning. It was a wild thing to watch.”

The Oscar nominee also had puppeteers present to bring her tentacles to life.

“Every time I would dance from the waste up, I had these eight amazing dancers and each one had a tentacle. So when I would do things they really would come up and, like, you know, coif my hair or something. It was incredible.”

Related: Original Little Mermaid Jodi Benson Says Pat Carroll Would ‘Love’ Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula (Exclusive)

Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage

From left: Jonah Hauer-King, Jacob Tremblay, Melissa McCarthy, Halle Bailey, Rob Marshall, Javier Bardem and Daveed Diggs in May 2023.

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The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall, stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, plus Javier Bardem, Jonah Hauer-King, Awkwafina, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay and more.

In June, after the film debuted in theaters, McCarthy shared photos from the making of the movie and wrote, “Swipe for some more sea witch goodness!! So thrilled you have all been loving our not-so-little movie. The amount of incredible humans it took to bring it all to life is amazing.”

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McCarthy added in another upload that she hoped the film “brings you as much joy and love as we felt making.”

In April, McCarthy told PEOPLE she “threw myself in front of [director Marshall’s] car and begged him” to play Ursula. “I didn’t really, but I did beg him to talk to me. That part’s true,” she added.

Courtesy of Disney Melissa McCarthy as Ursula in “The Little Mermaid”

“I loved her so much. She’s such a broad, I just wanted to have a drink with her,” McCarthy continued of Ursula. “And, yes, she’s the villain, but I was like, I think I get her. She’s been ostracized. Especially after COVID, I think we all get Ursula a little bit more. Spending all that time alone. I just thought she was funny. And I love that it was about this young woman who was just trying to figure out what she wanted.”

The Little Mermaid is now available on digital, then on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD Sept. 19. It includes bonus features, like a sing-along version of the film, song breakdowns, bloopers and more.

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