Queen Latifah Transforms Into Ursula for Disney Campaign

Queen Latifah, known more for playing comedic characters rather than villians, is embracing her bad side in a new campaign for Disney Parks titled "Let the Memories Begin." The veteran rapper-turned-actor, who portrayed a physical therapist in the romantic comedy 'Just Wright,' last year, spreads her tentacles as the notorious Disney villain Ursula the Sea Witch from 'The Little Mermaid' in the photo shoot.

"I was excited about doing this project," Queen Latifah said in a statement. "Villains get to have all the fun."

The images, shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, are set to appear in a slew of national magazines. The campaign will premiere as a special insert in the April issues of O, The Oprah Magazine, People, People En Espanol, Real Simple, Essence and InStyle magazine.

Besides Queen Latifah, several other A-list actors and actresses have been tapped to transform into one of Disney's most coveted characters. Olivia Wilde serves as the Evil Queen from 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' Alec Baldwin was cast as 'The Magic Mirror,' and Jeff Bridges stars as the prince and Penelope Cruz as Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast.'

In related Queen Latifah news, the 'U.N.I.T.Y.' creator has inked a new partnership with AOL to executive produce and star in several original web video series that will be splashed across the company's broad network of sites, including a specially-designed hub on AOL's Blackvoices.com.