Scuttle is not only changed from male to female but is also now a diving bird instead of a seagull. "This was done specifically so that Ariel would only meet Scuttle underwater, because, at the start of our story, Ariel has never dared go above the surface," director Rob Marshall said in production notes.
In case you're wondering why Scuttle (voiced by Awkwafina) is swimming, the bird is now a female northern gannet diving bird instead of a male seagull — but she kept the fork (or dinglehopper, as it's called).
In The Little Mermaid remake, Scuttle plays a bigger role than in the original. Instead of Scuttle being a male seagull, Scuttle is a northern gannet which is a female seabird.
He was originally voiced by Buddy Hackett. Now the live-action version of “The Little Mermaid”, Scuttle has gotten a bit of an upgrade. The most notable change is that Scuttle is no longer a seagull or male. She is now a black and white diving bird known as a Gannet.
Is Scuttle a boy or girl in the live-action movie?
The Little Mermaid (2023)
A female version of Scuttle appears in the 2023 live-action adaptation of the film, voiced by Awkwafina, and featured as a gannet, rather than a seagull. This version is portrayed as a diving bird, so the character can be featured in scenes set underwater.
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Why is Scuttle changed to female?
Scuttle is not only changed from male to female but is also now a diving bird instead of a seagull. "This was done specifically so that Ariel would only meet Scuttle underwater, because, at the start of our story, Ariel has never dared go above the surface," director Rob Marshall said in production notes.
Changing the gender of the character as well as the species may seem strange, but the creators wanted to feature a bird who could be in underwater scenes. While a seagull is an iconic beach bird, for practical reasons, it makes much more sense for Scuttle to be a seabird.
Ursula was played by Melissa McCarthy in the 2023 live action remake of The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall. In this version, like with the Broadway musical, Ursula is the estranged younger sister of King Triton (played by Javier Bardem), thus making her the paternal aunt to Ariel and her sisters in this film.
While some of Sebastian's features resemble a lobster, Sebastian is definitely a crab, as is stated in The Little Mermaid itself a few times. This includes the scene where the obsessed Chef Louis refers to Sebastian as a crab, and since he's a professional, he really should know.
So, why the change? One theory is that each of Ariel's sisters represents different oceans that are home to various cultures and ethnicities. It's pretty problematic to have mermaids who all look the same representing such an expansive underwater world.
Ariel kills the Sea Witch at the end of the movie.
At the end of the 1989 animated film, Eric saves the day and kills Ursula. But in the new movie, Ariel is no longer the damsel in distress. She takes matters into her own hands and kills Ursula herself.
Who is the voice of Scuttle in The Little Mermaid 2023?
Now they're co-starring in the director Rob Marshall's ambitious live-action reimagining, currently in theaters: Diggs, 41, as the sympathetic crab Sebastian, and Awkwafina, 34, as the birdbrained gull Scuttle.
While it is known that her mother perished, there is no story attached to the event. However, much later, in 2008, an animated The Little Mermaid prequel revealed that Ariel's mother was crushed by a pirate ship during an altercation between humans and merpeople.
In the animated film, Ursula was a villain who enjoyed messing with people and getting what she wanted. In The Little Mermaid live-action, however, Ursula's backstory gets an adjustment — she is upgraded to Triton's sister and Ariel's aunt, making her revenge and motivations all the more sinister.
The Little Mermaid director Rob Marshall explained why Disney's live-action remake chose not to include Chef Louis. "That's when you realize we're not an animated movie," Marshall told SFX Magazine. "The animated movie stays forever, and people can go and watch that. This needs to work in a realistic way.
All of king Triton's daughters represent their own seas all over the world and as such they are all different ethnicities in the movie. It is not specified where the movie takes place, i.e. where Ariel lives but it's obvious it's not in Denmark.
The way Halle Bailey plays her, the mermaid has more agency and control over her own story. Although she still can't speak for the three days that she's on land, she does sing a few numbers—“For the First Time” and a couple of “Part of Your World” reprises—in her head, narrating her reality in her own way.
During the song, Scuttle is heard squawking instead of singing at times, but then Eric can seemingly understand Sebastian and the other creatures once they start singing.
Ursula was initially going to resemble Joan Collins, however, basing the character on Divine made much more sense. "It just seemed like a funny and quirky idea," Minkoff added, "to take [Ursula] and treat her more like a drag queen."
Description. Meet Uma, fierce leader of the high seas, daughter of Ursula, the sea witch, and the newest villainess-in-training in Disney's Descendants 2!
In addition to being the god of the sea, Once's Poseidon is also the father of Merrin Dungey's Ursula, a concept omitted from Disney's The Little Mermaid in 1989, though later included in the Broadway musical.
He says they were looking for the best actor for the role of any ethnicity who could not only sing but convey traits such as strength, passion, beauty, joy and intelligence, which they found in Bailey.
There were a lot of very confused people a few years ago when it was revealed that Halle Bailey had been cast as the live-action Ariel and people, who did not know Bailey from her music career, believed that Halle Berry had been cast in the role.
