Ariel
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The Little Mermaid: Directed by Rob Marshall. With Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem. A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.
- (159K)
- Adventure, Family, Fantasy
- Rob Marshall
- 2023-05-26
The Little Mermaid is a 2023 American musical romantic fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay by David Magee.
The Little Mermaid (2023) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
- Overview
- Background
- Appearances
- Live-action appearances
- Printed media
- Video games
- Musical
- Disney Parks
- Disney Princess
“A girl rescued me. She was singing. She had the most beautiful voice.”
―Prince Eric talking about Ariel
Princess Ariel is the titular protagonist of Disney's 1989 animated feature film The Little Mermaid. She is the seventh and youngest daughter of King Triton and Queen Athena, rulers of the undersea kingdom of Atlantica. Ariel lived through much of her young life with a passionate - yet forbidden - admiration of the human world and longed to someday experience life on the surface.
Ariel is loosely based on the nameless protagonist of the Danish fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, but unlike the Andersen fairy tale in which the mermaid loses her prince, dies, and gains an immortal soul, the Disney adaptation has a happy ending.
Official Description Development
Walt Disney himself and artist Kay Nielsen began work on the story of The Little Mermaid in the 1930s and early 40s. The feature was to be a very faithful adaption to Hans Christian Andersen's tale with the Mermaid dying and turning into sea foam in the end. However, after writing the script and illustrating the storyboard, the project was shelved to focus on other projects also in the works such as Dumbo, Bambi, and Fantasia. There have been alternate statements, however, that indicated that Disney may have intended to go for the happy-ending route. In the mid-1980s, the project was finally reopened, yet Disney decided to disregard the dark and grimy aspects of Andersen's story and make the film a more child-friendly version with a much happier ending which worked better for the company's brand. However, the development team indicated that the changes given for the film coincidentally matched up with the changes Walt Disney made during his attempted take on the film. During development, the studio officially gave their Little Mermaid the aquatic-like name of "Ariel". Ariel's original design was developed by animator Glen Keane, who had reportedly said in an animation lecture that she was based on his own wife. Her appearance was also based on model Sherri Stoner, who provided live-action references for the animators during the development of the film and also inspired the look for Belle. A challenge in animating her for the film was the color required to show her in the changing environments, both under the sea and on land, for which the animators required 32-color models, not including costume changes. The sea-green color of her mermaid tail was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab; the color was named "Ariel" after the character. She has been compared to past Disney heroines from Walt Disney's lifetime, but is more physically similar to Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Belle from Beauty and the Beast, as they all have big eyes, a broad forehead, and a small mouth and chin.
Personality
Ariel is a bright, spirited, and headstrong mermaid princess with a strong passion for adventure and exploration. Her tendency to explore the more mysterious depths of the ocean (or more importantly, the world beyond the ocean) can lead to an array of problems for both herself and her friends, and in the confines of her personal life - as seen when she gets into an argument with her overprotective father, King Triton. Despite this, Ariel's selflessness, compassion, and intuitive way of thinking often resolve such problems, as she always takes full responsibility for her actions. At the start of the original film, Ariel is shown to have a burning obsession with the human world and a desire to learn more about their culture. Unlike her father at first, she views humans as aspiring creatures, astonished by their ability to constantly create, and heavily goes against the idea of them being "barbaric" and selfish as a result of this. This passion is revealed to have been prominent throughout Ariel's life years before the events of the film, as seen in the television series. By the point of the film, as seen through her lament, "Part of Your World", Ariel's obsession with the human world has reached unimaginable heights, as she spends most of her time focusing on finding, observing, and collecting various human objects that have sunk into the sea. Her obsession has also taken a toll on her emotionally, as the song begins with a sense of wonder and enchantment, but ultimately climaxes with a soft end, filled with hopelessness and despair, representing Ariel's dying hopes of ever experiencing life upon the surface. These feelings of desperation and despair are the prime motive behind Ariel's eventual deal with the sea witch Ursula, to become human and experience the world above the surface. Despite not having the best relationship with her father, especially regarding their respective views on humanity, she nonetheless is very loyal to him as well as her sisters. After Ursula explained the deal to her, Ariel expressed some hesitance as she realized that if she succeeded in the deal (never mind if she failed her end of the bargain), she wouldn't be able to see Triton or her sisters again, and later when Ursula cursed Triton, Ariel's first action was to attack Ursula to avenge him, even calling the sea witch a monster for what she did and for the sea witch not fulfilling her end of the bargain. Ariel is extremely compassionate and loving towards almost all living things; more so platonically than romantically. This is most notably seen through her friendship with her closest companion, Flounder, and even her father's court composer, Sebastian, who, despite being against Ariel's recklessness and overly adventurous nature, is given a considerably large amount of love and respect from the princess, which is often reciprocated. With Flounder, she is comforting and patient, as well as protective, with the tendency to risk her own life for the guppy on various occasions. Her ability to befriend various creatures, including an abandoned killer whale, an irrationally feared sea creature, and even the son of one of her nemeses is displayed throughout the franchise. She is also one of the very few to be patient with Scuttle as she barely gets annoyed with the seagull's absent-mindedness and quarks. Before she met Eric, she was rarely interested in romantic relationships, not even with any of the merman princes that Triton tried to get her to marry. The only known exception was Prince Waverly of the Pacifica Kingdom, with whom she was infatuated. However, after meeting Eric, Ariel is revealed to be a romantic, willing to make daring sacrifices for the sake of true love. Her love for him is validated by Eric's returned selflessness and sacrificial actions for the sake of love; notably seen during the climax of the film. Like Ariel's father, Triton, she has a bad temper if she is ever provoked, although her temper is not as short as his. Although spirited, even she has had some degree of self-doubts about herself, as she actually at one point considered her father might have been correct and that she may have been a freak for having any fascination for humanity. She also had a degree of seeing the good in things, as she also doubted that humans could have been pure evil from their tools and artworks. Also, despite her usual naivety and impulsiveness, Ariel has shown to be serious, careful, and very intuitive on many occasions. One example of her occasionally showing intuitiveness was just before exploring the sunken ship, where she suggested that Flounder stay outside and be on the lookout for sharks in the area when the latter tried to fake illness. In The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, as an adult, Ariel has matured into a sophisticated and distinguished woman, fully embracing her responsibilities as a mother and the princess consort of Eric's kingdom and fully adapting to her human body that she has had for some time now thanks to her father's magic. However, when Morgana threatens Melody at her christening, Ariel becomes overprotective of her daughter similar to how she was treated by Triton in the first film. As a result, she severs all ties with Atlantica and the ocean in hopes of preventing Morgana from using Melody's heritage to her advantage. Despite being happy with her new life as a human mother and wife, she misses her father and sisters but keeps this hidden from Melody for the latter's own safety. Later, she comes to realize that this decision does more harm than good. However, at one point, Ariel subtly alludes to her true heritage, as she mentions to Melody when sympathizing with her about not fitting in that she was "a fish out of water", with Melody not quite believing her. Regardless of Ariel's few flaws, she is very much selfless, sweet-natured, and inspirational. However, her most notable trait was her deep love and fascination for humans, having desired to become human during the first film's events, even before meeting her future husband, Eric. However, she did not always have this trait; until she was 15 years old, she expressed a deep fear of humans similar to Triton's prejudice towards humans, although her witnessing a human saving a beached dolphin changed her views on the matter. Ironically, the human responsible for saving the dolphin was Eric, although she never knew it.
Physical appearance
Ariel is a beautiful adolescent mermaid with an hourglass figure, fair skin, red lips, red hair, and large, aqua-blue eyes. In stark contrast to the three previous Disney Princesses created before her (Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora), who were drawn with smaller eyes and smaller heads in proportion to their bodies similar to adult women, Ariel is drawn with somewhat semi-neotenous features, with larger eyes and with a head more similar to a child's than an adult's in proportion to her body, giving her an appearance of youth rather than maturity. This suggests the combination of youthful innocence and physical maturity that Ariel represents and it eventually became the design basis of most Disney Princesses created after her in recent years, such as Jasmine, Rapunzel, Anna, Elsa, and Moana. From childhood to her teenage years, she wore a lavender seashell bikini top. As a child, her lips were the same color as her skin, and as a teenager, they are bright red. Ariel's most defining feature is her long, flowing, thick, bright red hair. From the waist down, she has a green horizontal fish-like tail with sea-green scales and sea-foam green fins and a matching V-shaped waistline resembling fish lips that reveals her midriff and her belly button. She most likely has the reproductive organs of a cetacean. In Little Mermaid's Island, her seashell top looks more like a strapless top that covers all of her torso. She is also fairly tall in human form, being only a few inches shorter than Eric, himself a fairly tall human. When Ariel becomes a human, the only article of clothing she wore was her seashell bikini top, leftover from her mermaid form. She eventually wears an old sail from a shipwreck with some rope to keep it closed, fashioned by her friend Scuttle. Being prepared for dinner, she wears a pink-and-white gown, silver barrettes in her hair, and pearl white earrings. Getting ready for bedtime, she wears a pink nightgown. After being taken in by Prince Eric, she wears a multi-shade-of-blue dress consisting of a powder-blue blouse with long sleeves, a midnight-blue bodice, and a cobalt-blue foot-length skirt, along with black heels. She wears a big royal blue bow in her hair. While wearing the outfit when she swims through the boat to stop the wedding between Eric and Vanessa (Ursula in disguise) before her feet revert to her mermaid tail, her hair is worn loose and she does not wear the heels. After she's turned into a human once again, she wears a periwinkle, glittering dress. After she kisses Eric and during their wedding, she wears a white wedding dress with pale green trimming, big puffy sleeves, and a sparkling golden tiara on her veil. During and after her daughter Melody's christening, she wears a gold-and-white dress and has her hair in a low ponytail decorated with a white bow. She also wears a periwinkle gown with an up-do decorated, a golden tiara with green and white gems, a golden necklace and earrings with a green gem, and periwinkle heels with a yellow ornament during Melody's 12th birthday party with her hair being a bit shorter due to it being adjusted and pulled in a bun. She still wears the same up-do with a green peasant dress, with black ballet flats, when she's on Eric's ship and a blue-and-white dress with light blue earrings in the song "Here on the Land and Sea" in the second movie. In one of the video games, she wears an aqua-colored gown with a matching flower on the side of her hair.
The Little Mermaid
At the film's start, Ariel, and her fish friend Flounder swim through a shipwreck where they salvage human items. During their adventure, they are chased out of the sunken ship by a shark, but Ariel manages to outwit him. After escaping him, Ariel and Flounder swim up to the surface, where they speak to Scuttle to identify human objects. He misidentifies a fork as a "dinglehopper" used to straighten their hair and a pipe as a "snarfblatt" used to make music. The identification of the latter reminds her of the concert she was supposed to be a part of which she had forgotten about. Ariel hurries home to Triton and Sebastian, who both rebuke her for missing the concert. Hearing from Flounder about her encounter with a seagull, Triton reprimands Ariel for swimming up to the surface and demands that she never does so again, driving Ariel to tearfully swim off to her secret grotto. There, Ariel's collection of human objects is kept, hidden away from the other merpeople. She feels that collecting them isn't enough and gets more curious about the human world, even expressing her desire to actually live in it. As Sebastian tries to talk Ariel out of her obsession, the mermaid spots a ship passing above. Curious, she quickly swims up to the surface and towards it. Among the humans aboard, Ariel's attention is drawn to a male human named Eric. Just then, a storm moves in and destroys the ship. Ariel looks around for Eric and finds him floating unconscious in the sea. She saves him from drowning and takes his body to shore, where Eric starts to breathe again. Ariel sings to Eric as he steadily regains his consciousness. Eric's manservant, Grimsby, suddenly arrives in search of the prince, though he fails to notice Ariel. As Eric is taken into care, Ariel watches on, even more determined to accomplish her dreams of living alongside humanity. Back at Atlantica, Ariel's sisters hear her humming dreamily, causing them to realize she has fallen in love. Ariel comes up with a plan to somehow see Eric again, but Sebastian tries to talk her out of it, telling her how life under the sea is better than the world up above through the song "Under the Sea". Flounder arrives and takes Ariel away to show her a surprise at her grotto, the statue of Prince Eric that he somehow salvaged from the wrecked ship. Unfortunately, King Triton soon appears, having learned from Sebastian (when his anxiety gets the best of him) that Ariel had rescued a human from drowning and he berates her for breaking his rules of association with humans, though Ariel replies that Eric would have died if she hadn't saved him and he shouldn't be so quick to judge him. After Triton once again lectures Ariel on how bad humans are, she declares that she loves Eric and doesn't care if they are different species. Shocked and enraged at this display of blasphemy from his youngest daughter, Triton loses his temper and, in a blind rage, proceeds to destroy all the human objects in the grotto with his trident, including the statue of Eric. Devastated, Ariel breaks down in tears, and an ashamed Triton leaves while regretting what he has done. Sebastian, who has accompanied him, tries to console Ariel, only for her to tell him to leave her alone, blaming him for her grotto's destruction by squealing on her to Triton. After Sebastian and Flounder exit, Flotsam and Jetsam appear to convince Ariel to see their mistress, Ursula, who may have the power to make her dream come true. She, after initially attempting to refuse, reluctantly follows them to Ursula's Lair, while Sebastian and Flounder follow her, with Ariel making it clear to Sebastian that she is still upset with him for tattling on her regarding Eric. At the fortress, Ursula - who knows that Ariel is in love with a human through spying on her via Flotsam and Jetsam - makes a proposition: in exchange for her voice, Ariel will become a human for three days, during which she must get a kiss of true love from Eric before the sun sets on the third day. Should she succeed, she will remain human permanently; should she fail, she will turn back into a mermaid and will belong to Ursula forever, possibly becoming the latest polyp victim in her garden of other merpeople who made deals with Ursula and failed to fulfill their ends of the agreements. Ariel ponders over this, knowing that being a human would mean she would never be with her father or older sisters again, but eventually out of desperation and her love for Eric, she accepts the deal and signs a contract conjured by Ursula. Then Ursula started doing the spell and Ariel started singing, then the spell took Ariel's voice out of her throat and into Ursula's necklace. Ariel is then turned into a human and is helped to the surface by Flounder and Sebastian due to her now having the inability to swim and breathe underwater. At the shore, Sebastian goes into a nervous panic over the predicament and begins to trot home to seek help from the king. Ariel pleads for Sebastian to stay, giving him the most pleading look she can muster without her voice to talk him out of it, and out of sympathy and guilt for being responsible for her grotto's demise, he agrees reluctantly. Scuttle provides some "clothing" for Ariel in the meantime in the form of an old sail and rigging rope, just as they are discovered by Eric's dog, Max, who leads his master to them. Eric faintly recognizes Ariel but doesn't believe her to be the girl who rescued him from the shipwreck, due to her inability to speak. Nevertheless, he takes her to his castle, where Ariel is given a bath and proper clothing. At dinner, Ariel notices a fork and uses it to comb her hair, leaving Eric and his servants dumbfounded. Ariel then notices Grimsby's pipe and tries to use it as a musical instrument, covering Grimsby with soot. Despite Ariel's initial embarrassment, Eric finds her antics funny. Carlotta even notes that this is the first time Eric has smiled in quite some time, much to Ariel's delight. Eric then invites Ariel on a tour of the kingdom, which she accepts. During their outing, Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle anxiously watch on, awaiting the kiss. Ariel is more preoccupied with taking in the atmosphere of the human world; she even learns how to dance and ride a carriage. That evening, she and Eric go out for a boat ride in a lagoon. In hopes of initiating a kiss, Scuttle tries to provide some "vocal romantic stimulation". However, his terrible squawking (mistaken for singing) which embarrasses both Ariel and Eric prompts Sebastian to lead some animals of the lagoon to create a more fitting mood with his song "Kiss the Girl". Sebastian's plan seems to have a positive effect on Ariel and Eric, as they steadily draw closer to each other. Before they can kiss, however, Flotsam and Jetsam purposely tip the boat over by order of Ursula (who's been watching Ariel and Eric's development from her fortress). This ruins the moment, thus ending Ariel and Eric's date. The next day (which is the third and last of Ariel's human days), Scuttle delivers the news that Eric is getting hitched. Believing herself to be the girl in question, Ariel excitedly runs downstairs, only to see Eric with a dark-haired girl named Vanessa, whom he intends to marry. Devastated, Ariel breaks down in tears and runs off. As the wedding ship departs with Eric aboard, Ariel is left at the port to mourn her losses as Sebastian and Flounder do the same. Meanwhile, Scuttle discovers that Vanessa is actually Ursula in disguise and flies back to warn Ariel. Determined to save both herself and Eric and retrieve her voice, Ariel swims to the wedding ship with help from Flounder, while Sebastian returns to Atlantica to receive help from King Triton. Scuttle, meanwhile, rallies the lagoon animals to stall the wedding by assaulting Vanessa. Eventually, Ursula's necklace is destroyed, releasing Ariel's voice and freeing Eric from his trance. Ariel calls out to Eric as her first time ever word as a human and the two embrace each other as Eric finally realizes that Ariel is the girl who rescued him all along. Before they can kiss, however, the sun sets, and Ariel turns back into a mermaid. Vanessa transforms back into Ursula and returns to the sea, taking Ariel as her prisoner. Triton, having been alerted by Sebastian, confronts Ursula and orders Ariel’s release, though his efforts are futile due to Ursula’s legally binding contract. As Ariel is gradually transformed into a writhing polyp, Ursula offers the princess’s freedom in exchange for Triton’s soul. Triton surrenders, overwriting Ariel's signature on the contract with his own. While Ariel is freed, Ursula’s black magic seizes control of the king, transforming him into a polyp. Ursula then takes his crown and trident, declaring herself queen of the seas. Ariel retaliates by physically attacking the sea witch, though the mermaid is quickly overpowered. As Ursula threatens to kill Ariel, Eric intervenes by striking the sea witch with a harpoon. A battle ensues, in which Ursula orders Flotsam and Jetsam to capture the prince. As Ursula prepares to blasts Eric with her trident, Ariel redirects the shot, which instead kills Flotsam and Jetsam. Mourning the loss of her eels, an enraged Ursula grows herself to massive size, determined to exact vengeance on Ariel. Ariel urges Eric to escape while he still can, but the prince refuses to abandon her. They are then faced with Ursula, now giant and all-powerful. The sea witch declares herself as ruler of the ocean, commanding the waves, the sea, and all its spoils. Ursula creates a rainstorm and summons a whirlpool, within which she traps Ariel. Eric, meanwhile, takes control of a resurfaced shipwreck, directing it towards the witch. Ursula remains unaware of the prince, instead focusing her attention on the imprisoned Ariel, whom she attempts to strike with the trident. As Ursula prepares to deliver the killing blow, Eric steers the ship towards the witch and plunges its splintered bow through her abdomen, killing her. As Ursula’s lifeless body sinks to the ocean floor, her spells upon the unfortunate merpeople are broken, freeing them from the binds. Among them is King Triton, who transforms back into a merman and reclaims the trident. Eric manages to swim to shore, where he collapses from exhaustion. A crestfallen Ariel, no longer human, mourns the loss of her prince from the sea. Triton, realizing the love between them is true, uses the power of the trident to permanently transform Ariel into a human, granting his daughter’s wish. After the transformation, Ariel walks up to the shore, where she is happily reunited with Eric. Sometime later, the two are married, holding a wedding ceremony at sea, which is attended by both humans and sea creatures. Ariel silently bids farewell to Scuttle and Flounder, while also reconciling with her father; quietly proclaiming, “I love you, daddy.” before the two part ways. As Ariel and Eric sail off into the horizon, Triton casts a rainbow over the sky to wish the couple well as they start their new future together.
The Little Mermaid: The Series
The prequel series, which had debuted in 1992, takes place during an indeterminate time chronologically before the 1989 film and revolves around Ariel's adventures as a 15 to 16-year-old mermaid living under the sea. Most of her adventures involve her meeting various creatures, getting into trouble and usually getting out of it successfully. Her friends, Flounder and Sebastian, are also featured prominently. She is also shown to have mermaid friends named Urchin, an orphaned merboy, and Gabriella, a deaf-mute Latina mermaid. It also has her meeting Hans Christian Andersen, which also hints at both her possible birth year (i.e. during his lifetime, yet at least 16 years before the writing of The Little Mermaid, which, in a manner of speaking, makes him her creator) and the possible chronological events of the series, due to her being a direct influence on the creation of the story. She also gets along well with Sebastian's young Crab Scouts, as she is shown cradling one of them when they're tired in "Tail of Two Crabs". Ariel continues to be fascinated with human objects in the series and is shown collecting them for her grotto; she gives them strange names such as calling an ordinary telescope a "thingamabob", and giving many human objects as "majigers" in quite a number of episodes e.g. calling a magnifying glass a "biggermajiger" in "Charmed". Many episodes show her working to foil enemies who would do harm to Atlantica. Eric is sometimes shown, but she always just misses seeing him, preserving the continuity that she sees him first in the 1989 film.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
In this 2000 direct-to-video sequel, Ariel serves as the deuteragonist. Here, she serves as the princess consort in Eric's kingdom following their marriage. It is shown that she has given birth to a daughter named Melody (the new protagonist) prior to the start of the film. When we first see her playing with the beautiful newborn Melody, many toys of Flounder, Sebastian and other fish can be seen in the room, showing that she misses her old friends and family with how long she's been human thanks to Triton and living happily with Eric. When Melody's safety is threatened by a sea witch named Morgana (Ursula's younger sister), seeking revenge for her sister's demise, Ariel and Eric decide they must keep Melody away from the sea, and to this effect, they build a large wall separating the castle from it. It remains like this for Melody's first twelve years of her life, until her 12th birthday. Ariel also leaves the locket Triton gave Melody on her christening day with him to have released into the ocean to sink to where it would never be found, while also knowing that this may be the last time she would see her father while he sent out his royal guards to hunt down Morgana and bring her to justice. As a consequence, this also meant Ariel couldn't visit her ancestral home, making her miss Triton and her sisters deeply, but only when alone so Melody doesn't learn the truth of her mermaid heritage. Unknown to her or Eric, however, Melody was secretly swimming out on shore while they weren't noticing. On her daughter's 12th birthday, Ariel becomes homesick as she misses her family and friends, and she secretly puts her feet in the water, before she goes upstairs when Melody notices her. As she helps Melody get ready for the birthday party, Ariel hears from Melody that she doesn't want to attend the party since her peers think she is strange, to which Ariel sympathizes with, and tells her that she had a similar experience to hers. Melody looks at the sea and is about to tell her mother what she really wants, but is interrupted by Eric, who brings the girl to the party. Ariel decides to continue the conversation with Melody after the party. It seemed like things were going well at the party, but Sebastian, who was accidentally tied up in Melody's dress while following her, bit Melody's partner and was sent up into the air, crashing into her birthday cake. Melody shows concern for Sebastian's safety but is laughed at by the other guests for talking to a crab. This causes Melody to be humiliated as she leaves the party and runs back to her room. Ariel tries to comfort her crying daughter, before she is shocked to find out that Melody found the locket she gave back to Triton years earlier. This causes her to realize Melody was sneaking out into the ocean, despite that she wasn't supposed to. Melody confronts her mother about why she cannot go to the sea and about the locket. At first, Ariel considers telling the truth, but she hesitates and instead punishes her daughter for her disobedience and forbids her from going near the sea again since it is "dangerous". Angry and confused at her mother's refusal to give her proper answers, Melody snatches the locket from Ariel's hands and runs out of her room. Ariel realizes that she is only pushing herself away from her daughter and decides to tell her the truth. When Melody goes out to the sea and falls into Morgana's clutches, Ariel is forced to temporarily resume her mermaid form in order to rescue and save Melody from Morgana's scheme, with Triton using his trident to revert the spell that turned Ariel human originally, returning her to her old mermaid body so she could return home to Atlantica after so long. In this time, Ariel briefly returns to her grotto as seen in the first film, and studies the objects, (which we are left to presume survived Triton's anger in the first film) and keeps looking for Melody. This features Ariel becoming an overprotective parent for Melody, effectively taking over the role of Triton in the first film. Ariel, alongside Flounder, Sebastian, and Triton, looks for Melody in Athlantica, before Ariel notices that Triton's trident is gone. In truth, after being tricked by Morgana, Melody took the trident to give it to her. Ariel then notices Melody's locket that she dropped and realizes that she was the one who took the trident, and wonders how she could have gotten in Atlantica. Just then, Ariel and Flounder see Cloak and Dagger, and Ariel recognizes them as Morgana's minions. The two decide to follow the manta rays, hoping they will lead them to Melody. Meanwhile, Melody successfully arrives at Morgana's place with the trident. Before Melody can give Morgana the trident, Ariel stops her and warns her not to listen to Morgana, before they are both shocked to see themselves in mermaid forms. Melody is heartbroken that her mother has been keeping the truth from her, and Ariel attempts to explain why she did it, but it is too late. Melody ends up giving the trident to Morgana, who reveals her true colors and kidnaps Ariel while imprisoning Melody and Flounder inside an ice cave. Soon, Triton, Sebastian, and Eric arrive, swearing to fight Morgana and rescue Ariel. Ariel is freed by Scuttle who grabs Morgana by her hair, thus giving her a chance to escape and rescue Eric after he is dragged underwater by Cloak and Dagger. Melody and Flounder escape the cave thanks to Tip and Dash's help. However, Morgana, now powered with the trident, forces everyone (including Ariel and excluding Melody) to bow down to her. She is freed from Morgana's spell after Melody defeats her. Ariel apologizes to Melody for her overprotectiveness as she realizes it was for the best that Melody now knew about her true heritage. She is also seen to be proud of Melody for reuniting land and sea by destroying the wall that separated them by the end of the film. Ariel is the first and only Disney Princess to date to become a mother.
Once Upon a Time
Ariel is a recurring character on the hit show Once Upon a Time. She is portrayed by JoAnna Garcia. In her debut episode, she saves Snow White from drowning after Snow jumps off a cliff to avoid the Evil Queen Regina's guards. Ariel tells Snow that once a year a mermaid can walk on land, though only for the twelve hours between high tides. She then tells Snow she saved Eric (played by Gil McKinney) a year before and has been in love with him ever since. Snow, knowing what love, at first sight, is like, understands the mermaid and convinces her to go to Eric's ball. At the ball, he is immediately drawn to Ariel and asks her to dance with him. While they dance he tells Ariel that he will be leaving the next morning on an adventure to see the world and asks Ariel to go with him. Ariel relays this information back to Snow, who tells Ariel to be honest with the prince. However, Ariel is reluctant as she does not want to be rejected by the prince by telling him she is a mermaid. Ariel is later seen at the seashore asking the Sea Goddess Ursula for guidance. After she seems to have given up, Ursula appears in front of Ariel. However, this is not the true Ursula; this is Queen Regina in disguise. Regina gives Ariel a magical bracelet that will trade her tail to whomever she gives it to. Ariel gives the bracelet to Snow White, thinking that if Snow is a mermaid, she could escape into the sea and be free from the Queen. Regina then appears and reveals her deception. The Queen gives Ariel an ultimatum: either go and find her prince and let the Queen kill Snow White, or die along with her. Ariel, not willing to let her friend die, attacks the Queen with a fork, distracting her long enough for Ariel and Snow to get away. After Ariel and Snow have escaped to a nearby beach, Snow tells Ariel to go back to the Prince and tell him the truth. Ariel happily listens to Snow and returns to the dock by Eric's palace as she is about to yell Eric's name her voice vanishes. Regina appears on the dock and reveals that she took Ariel's voice so that she could never tell Eric how she felt, as vengeance for the mermaid's siding with Snow White against her. In tears, a muted Ariel heads back to the sea. Twenty-eight years later in Neverland, Regina, working with Rumplestiltskin, returns Ariel's voice in exchange for her help. Ariel agrees to return to Storybrooke and retrieve a weapon from Rumplestiltskin's shop that will be strong enough to stop Peter Pan. If the mission succeeds, the Queen promises to make Ariel human permanently and be with Eric. Ariel's next appearance in Once Upon a Time is titled "Dark Hollow". This episode immediately picks up after the events of "Ariel". Gold shows Ariel how to get to Storybrooke and tells her to find Belle and give her a sand dollar with a message from him. Though Regina chooses not to tell Ariel where to find Eric, she does warn her that she only has one hour. When Ariel arrives in Storybrooke, she meets with Grumpy, who takes her to Belle. After learning that Ariel was sent by Rumplestiltskin, Belle takes her to Gold's shop, where Belle deciphers Gold's coded message and retrieves the item that he requires: Pandora's Box. However, before they can do anything, they are ambushed by John and Michael Darling, who is now working for Peter Pan. John and Michael the two of them up and take the item to destroy it. To get out of the ropes, Belle removes Ariel's bracelet, which allows Ariel to wiggle free from the ropes and undo Belle's bindings. Ariel then puts the bracelet back on and goes after John and Michael. Belle and Ariel find John and Michael just before they destroy the box. Belle is able to stop them by activating a mine cart on the tracks, which throws Michael and John off their feet. Using the time to her advantage, she grabs the box and kicks their gun away. John and Michael reveal that the only reason they are working for Pan is that he has been holding their sister Wendy hostage. Belle manages to convince them, however, that if they help her, the ones in Neverland will be able to use Pandora's box to defeat Pan. Ariel returns to Neverland and gives Pandora's box to Gold. As a reward, Regina enchants the bracelet, so that Ariel can become a human whenever she wishes. Before Ariel departs, she tells Regina and Gold about Wendy's situation. Regina exhibits no concern about Wendy since she only cares about Henry. However, Ariel manages to convince her and Gold to do what they can to help Wendy. Upon returning to Storybrooke, Ariel finds Eric working as a fisherman. The two of them are then reunited and reconciled. After the fairy-tale characters are sent back to the Enchanted Forest, Eric is captured by the pirate Blackbeard. Ariel, however, believes that Captain Hook is responsible and tracks him down. Upon learning that Blackbeard also has his ship, Ariel and Hook agree to work together. To take his ship back, Hook throws Blackbeard over the edge without learning where Eric is. Ariel is forced to rescue Blackbeard so that she can rescue Eric. She eventually relocates with Eric to Hangman's Island. The guilt Hook still feels for his nearly sacrificing any attempt to rescue Eric is later exploited by the Wicked Witch of the West. She impersonates Ariel so that she can get Hook to admit he loves Emma Swan in a "plea for redemption." Using this, she is able to curse his lips. She also reveals that Ariel and Eric are alive on Hangman's Island. It is later revealed that after Hook sold the Jolly Roger back to Blackbeard, he used it to terrorize people, including Princess Anna and her fiancé, Kristoff, of Arendelle. After her return to Arendelle, Queen Elsa is trapped it in a bottle and Ariel accidentally becomes trapped inside as well. She is freed after Hook restores his ship in Storybrooke. After Ursula throws Hook overboard, Ariel saves his life and helps him discover a new plan to help restore Ursula's happy ending. She later helps contact Ursula's father, Poseidon and brings him to Storybrooke so he can reconcile with his daughter. After this, Ariel returns to Hangman's Island. A while later, she enters her hut to discover Hook, Jasmine, and Aladdin have broken in and triggered a trap. She is pleased to see Hook and Jasmine again and soon also becomes acquainted with Aladdin. After learning of their plight and that they were led to her hut while tracking Jafar, she brings out a lamp which she believes to be Agrabah. Jasmine takes the lamp and, assured by the presence of Ariel, Hook, and Aladdin, who she believes to be heroes, prepares to face her fears and Jafar. However, when Jafar emerges, he is easily able to break the genie curse, much to Ariel's surprise, and proceeds to freeze Ariel, Aladdin, and Hook in place, before he faces Jasmine alone. After Jasmine has used magical dust to transform Jafar into a staff, the trio is freed from the sorcerer's magic and regains mobility. Jasmine then reveals that Agrabah is inside the ring she has been wearing, and she now knows how to bring it back with true love's kiss, and proceeds to kiss Aladdin, magically transporting Agrabah back to its proper place and the four heroes with it. Now that the ring no longer contains the kingdom, Ariel asks for permission to keep it as a trinket. Afterward, Hook asks Ariel if she can get back home, and she states that she will be able to use her mermaid powers by swimming in the nearby Agrabah Gulf. Realizing that she can help with Hook's problem of being separated from Emma, Ariel offers a magic conch shell that Hook can use to communicate as long as there's someone on the other end. Hook begins to speak into it, telling Emma the truth of what happened, though he is unsure if she is on the other end.
Other roles
Live versions of Ariel also appear in Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree, Sebastian's Party Gras, Beach Party at Walt Disney World (played by Jodi Benson), and Let's Go to Disneyland Paris.
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Ariel appears in the 2023 live-action remake of the 1989 film. She is portrayed by Halle Bailey. Ariel is introduced at the beginning of the film where she swims with her fish companion Flounder at a sunken ship curiously interacting with a fork she found. As Flounder fears that there might be sharks coming, a great white shark, Glut, swims in front of Ariel and Flounder, chasing them and attempting to eat them. Throughout the chase, Ariel drops a barrel onto the shark, causing him to chase after her across the ship which she then leads Glut to crash into a mirror by using her reflection to her advantage, leaving him unable to move and allowing the two to escape. Ariel and Flounder then encounter Scuttle who dives underwater for a meal Ariel shows her a fork she found at the sunken ship which Scuttle incorrectly calls a "dinglehopper" and as Ariel attempts to show her another object she collected (a corkscrew), Sebastian who was out looking for her alerts Ariel to return to her father. Ariel approaches King Triton, her father, who is very upset with his daughter because she missed the Coral Moon. Ariel was supposed to attend this event with her sisters and Triton scolds her for not attending the event. Ariel visits her grotto showing a collection of objects as she sings the musical number, "Part of Your World" to help her father understand. Later that night, Ariel hears explosions from above the surface, which she thinks is dangerous, much to Flounder's worry only to find out that she is seeing fireworks exploding into the sky because Prince Eric is celebrating his birthday on his ship. All of a sudden, Eric's ship crashes into a rock formation, causing Eric, the surviving crew, and his dog Max to retreat, Ariel then notices Eric sinking underwater, leading her to save him from drowning. The next day, Ariel approaches an injured Eric where she sings a reprise of "Part of Your World", only for Ariel to retreat from a group of castle guards searching for Eric just as the guards bring him back home to safety. Back underwater, Ariel approaches Sebastian who tells her to stay under the sea, convincing her that the above world is very dangerous for mermaids, telling her that life under the sea is much better than anything they got up there. Throughout the musical number "Under the Sea", Sebastian tries to convince Ariel to stay out of the human world and feel comfortable living under the sea just as the sea creatures continue dancing, only for Ariel to disappear. Sebastian and the other sea creatures notice this, making Sebastian worry that Ariel left just as the other sea creatures leave. Later, Ariel approaches King Triton who becomes furious with her for saving a human from drowning. When Ariel genuinely refuses to promise her father to never see Eric again, Triton furiously destroys all the treasures in Ariel's grotto, much to Ariel's sadness. Ariel then plans to meet Ursula in her lair by following Flotsam and Jetsam to change her fate. As Ariel enters Ursula's lair, she encounters various merpeople who were turned into polyps. She encounters Ursula who gives her an opportunity to change her fate regarding her love interest Eric. During the number "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Ursula gives Ariel a deal to find true love's kiss in falling in love with Eric within three days or she will turn into a mermaid forever. Accepting the deal, Ariel trades her mermaid tail, her voice, and her ability to breathe underwater, causing Ariel to turn into a human. Ariel swims up to the surface where she is rescued by a fisherman who takes her to Eric's castle. Now in human form, Ariel sings in her thoughts during the musical number "For the First Time" as she adapts to her life living on land. Ariel, now wearing a dress, spends her first day in the castle attempting to fall in love with Eric whom he was searching for. Her attempt is a failure due to Ariel's inability to talk. On the second day, Eric gives Ariel a tour around the kingdom while Sebastian realizes that Ursula, the sea witch, was the one who put a spell on her, causing Ariel to forget that she has to kiss Eric before the last day. That night, Ariel and Eric sit on a boat sailing across the lagoon during the musical number "Kiss the Girl" where Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle sing to the couple for them to kiss, but Ariel's attempt to kiss Eric is unsuccessful, due to Ursula's eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, knocking them off the boat. On the third day, Scuttle reports to Ariel what she heard about Ursula who is disguised as "Vanessa" planning to hypnotize and marry Eric. Ariel then arrives at the area where the wedding between Eric and "Vanessa" is taking place at Eric's castle. Ariel confronts "Vanessa" and shatters the shell necklace to reclaim her voice, causing "Vanessa" to be revealed to be Ursula as well as Eric freed from Ursula's spell. However, before Ariel and Eric can kiss, the sun goes down and Ariel suddenly regains her mermaid tail, transforming her from her human form back to her mermaid form just before Ursula reveals her true form and takes her hostage, diving back into the ocean. During an underwater battle, Ursula attempts to attack Ariel, but her father King Triton confronts her for what she did to his daughter only for Ursula to destroy Triton. Throughout the battle, Flotsam and Jetsam strangle Ariel and attempt to kill her by generating electricity. Eric throws a harpoon to attack Ursula and as Ursula sees Eric escaping, Ariel defends Eric from getting struck by Ursula using Triton's trident, causing her blast to destroy Flotsam and Jetsam instead. As Ursula uses the trident, she transforms into the size of a gigantic sea monster and creates a storm to kill Ariel and Eric. Ariel pulls herself onto a surfaced ship where she steers the ship towards Ursula, causing the broken bowsprit on the ship to impale her, killing the sea witch. After Ursula is defeated, Ariel reconciles with her father who is brought back to life just as the two recognize each other's sacrifice. Ariel feels unhappy that she cannot live without Eric just as Triton allows her to marry him by turning Ariel into a human so that she can reunite with him. Afterwards, Ariel marries Eric and the two fall in love just as Ariel bids a farewell to her father just as Ariel continues to live a happy life with Eric, starting with a travel around the world.
The Little Mermaid Disney Comics serial
Ariel was the main character in a few of the comic stories in the four-issue serial. The timeframe takes place at least a year prior to the film, due to Ariel being referred to as 15. The first and second issues had her disposing of a creature called the Serpentine in a failed negotiation with the Moray people. She also ended up abducted by a metallic fish in the final issue.
The Little Mermaid Marvel serial comics
She was the main character in the 12-issue Marvel serial comics that, like the TV series, took place prior to the events of the first film. One of the issues also had her acting as a knight. She also saved Flounder from petrification in the penultimate issue. In the final issue, after a fight with Triton, she managed to learn the history of Atlantica and Atlantis from a wizard fish. She eventually told Triton this, but when she tried to find the wizard fish, he disappeared, although not before leaving a note. Besides the main storyline, Ariel was also featured in the 12th Issue of the anthology series Disney Comic Hits!, which had been a previously unpublished story.
Novelizations
Ariel also appeared in several novelizations, both in human form and in mermaid form: In Reflections of Arsulu, Ariel is suspicious of the newcomer mermaid named Arsulu and eventually uncovers that the latter was actually Ursula in disguise. She proceeded to expose Arsulu's true identity with a flock of reflecting scaled fish. In Ariel and the Aquamarine Jewel, she, after becoming human, was requested by Triton to find several of Atlantica's treasures after a storm cast them out to sea, also necessitating that she return to mermaid form. She managed to retrieve them all, and Triton rewarded her by letting her keep one of the treasures and aquamarine necklace. It's implied in this story that she became much more well-versed in the knowledge of human behaviors and items, as she managed to politely correct Scuttle about what a human item was with some amusement. Another story had her having a picnic with her sisters (herself sitting on an offshore rock, due to her being human during that time). Another story, Ariel's Dolphin Adventure, had Ariel and Eric creating a wall so her old friends could be with her due to her missing them but unintentionally trapped a baby dolphin inside. The wall was eventually destroyed by Triton after Ariel requested his assistance.
The Little Mermaid (NES)
After Ariel signed her contract in an alternate version of the original story, Ariel and Eric plan to wed, but the sea witch Ursula has taken control of the ocean. So Ariel becomes a mermaid once more and sets off to rescue the sea. The game takes place from a side view, and Ariel (swimming most of the time, but hopping around on the land occasionally) can shoot bubbles to trap her foes and can then throw them at each other or into nooks and crannies (to potentially find treasure). She can also dig through sand to find treasure and pick up seashells to break open chests. Some of her old foes, such as the shark, Glut and moray eels, Flotsam, and Jetsam, have returned as stage bosses, while others are new. After Ursula is defeated for good, Ariel attempts to return to the surface and become human, but she cannot return to being a human. Much like in the original film's ending, Triton then attempts to help Ariel out by transforming her back into a human, and their wedding continues as planned. Although this game is not canon, this exact situation where Ariel had to be turned back into a mermaid would be duplicated in The Little Mermaid II, where she leaves a much larger boat (Eric's lead fleet ship) rather than his rowboat as in the NES game. In addition, her bubble attack is later referenced as a spell card in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
Ariel: The Little Mermaid
The Genesis game features Ariel (or Triton) on a quest to save the transformed Atlanteans (and either Triton or Ariel, depending on whom the player chooses to play as) from Ursula's spell. This game most likely takes place before Ariel saves Eric from the shipwreck. The gameplay allows the player to move in 8 directions, with the goal being to locate and transform Ursula's polyps back into Merfolk. The player is given a "normal attack" and a "special attack". During the gameplay, the player can collect treasure, which after finding his icon, can trade with Scuttle for health, special characters (like Flounder and Sebastian), and special powers to aid them on their quest. After saving all the Atlanticans in a stage, the player must face a boss, the final encounter being Ursula herself, and the transformed Triton (or Ariel if the player chooses to play as Triton), the final polyp that must be rescued.
Kingdom Hearts series
Ariel appears in the Kingdom Hearts series. She is featured in the game, not as one of the seven Princesses of Heart (her spot is taken by Alice from Alice in Wonderland), but as one of two female warriors, along with Mulan, to join Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the fight against the Heartless. She makes her series debut in Kingdom Hearts, where she encounters Sora, Donald, and Goofy for the first time during her latest phase. The young mermaid expresses her desire to see the mysterious worlds beyond the sea, though her father forbids it. Even so, she's soon manipulated by Ursula into revealing the legendary keyhole of her world in exchange for her dream come true. Fortunately, enough, Sora and friends are able to defeat the sea witch with Ariel's help, restoring peace and unveiling the keyhole, which Sora must lock. In the sequel Kingdom Hearts II, Ariel's dreams of traveling the worlds were put aside for the simpler dream of living upon the surface, as events in this game followed the original 1989 animated film more closely. A dream that was only pushed further upon discovering the handsome Prince Eric. With Sora, Donald, Goofy, Sebastian, and Flounder by her side, Ariel challenges her struggles and makes her dream a reality, with King Triton eventually giving his blessing, like in the film, after seeing Eric risk his life for Ariel's safety at the hands of a revived Ursula. Before leaving upon opening the keyhole, however, Sora and Ariel vow that they'll see each other again. Ariel would also appear in the title Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, but as a fragment of Sora's memories and with a much smaller role. Ariel appears in Kingdom Hearts III as a Link Summon. She has an ability called Lagoon Showtime, involving her summoned through a current of water where Sora will swing her overhead when she enters. Her initial attacks allow Sora to dive through platforms like water, while her final attack consists of Ariel and Sora entering an encore dance as water spouts from the ground akin to waterworks.
A stage musical version of the 1989 film had its world premiere in Denver, Colorado in 2007 for its pre-Broadway tryout, and on January 10, 2008 debuted on Broadway. The character of Ariel for the stage adaptation was originated by Sierra Boggess. Jodi Benson, her original voice actor, attended the opening night.
A few new songs were added to the score, accompanying the songs in the film that were moved to the stage. "The World Above" is Ariel's introductory song, and in the revised book after closing on Broadway, the show's opening number, replacing the entire shark-chase sequence in the film. In Act 2, although Ariel has become mute, she sings two songs expressing her thoughts and feelings, these songs being "Beyond My Wildest Dreams", where Ariel explores the human world for the first time, and "If Only", in which Ariel laments that she cannot express her feelings to Eric. Additionally, Ariel's voice can be heard in the extended opening of "Fathoms Below", although she is not seen on-stage.
Ariel makes appearances as a face character in all the Disney parks. At Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Tokyo DisneySea, she can be found for meet-and-greets at her own special location known as Ariel's Grotto in her mermaid form, while her human form is available for meet-and-greets at Fantasy Faire in Disneyland and the princess meet-and-greets at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. In her human form, she's often seen wearing a white dress similar to the one she wore at her wedding in the movie, sans the veil and tiara.
However, she has rarely held any meet-and-greets with Guests in her grotto in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom since it was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and has not been reopened yet, but she has appeared in human form in her redesigned dress with Prince Eric outside the grotto for meet-and-greets during special events, such as Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. During the winter months, she'll wear a long-sleeved, coat-styled version of her redesigned dress in human form to keep warm in the colder weather. Her grotto reopened to welcome Guests to see her in her mermaid form somewhere between the end of 2022 and the start of 2023.
The 2023 live-action version of Ariel began making meet-and-greet appearances at Disneyland and Walt Disney Presents at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 26 (the live-action film's release day), as well as at a limited-time celebration at Disneyland Paris on an unconfirmed date.
Interestingly, Ariel is rather common in terms of cameo appearances in a few attractions. She can be spotted in Peter Pan's Flight amongst the other mermaids of Mermaid Lagoon and in the Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland versions of It's a Small World.
Ariel is one of the twelve official members of the Disney Princess line―a prominent franchise directed at young girls. The franchise covers a wide variety of merchandise, including, but not limited to, magazines, music albums, toys, clothing, and stationery. Ariel is usually depicted in her mermaid form on merchandise, but also appears in her human...
"The Little Mermaid" is visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall’s live-action reimagining of Disney’s beloved animated musical classic, the story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure.
- Rob Marshall
- Halle Bailey
May 24, 2023 · “ The Little Mermaid is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel...
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May 26, 2023 · Lawrence Yee. May 26, 2023 @ 1:50 PM. Disney’s live adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” swims into theaters this weekend. The film stars singer Halle Bailey as Ariel, a spirited and...
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