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.
Diversity. Ariel had 3 male animal friends, so they needed to make one a girl. Same reason they made Jock a girl (Jacqueline aka Jacque) in the Lady & The Tramp live-action remake.
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. This allowed Scuttle to be included in the underwater scenes which ends up being an important change from the original movie.
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.
The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid made changes to the character design of Scuttle, turning him into a Northern gannet instead of a seagull. The decision to change Scuttle's species was made in order to elevate Ariel's narrative and create a more impactful moment when she breaches the water's edge.
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).
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.
In the live-action version, all of that changes. We learn that Eric, now played by John Hauer-King, is not a prince by birth— he was adopted by the king and queen. It's suggested that Eric's biological parents died in a shipwreck.
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.
Why did Disney change the names of Ariel's sisters?
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.
“I had done a photoshoot for Disney a few years back where Annie Leibowitz shot me as Ursula,” Queen Latifah told “GMA” in an exclusive interview. “So when this popped up, it was like, OK, a TV production. Alright … Once they explained to me the way that they wanted to do it, I thought it was interesting.”
In order to make it so that Ariel. had never been to the surface ever, the Little Mermaid creators made scuttle. a bird that could meet Ariel down under. to offer his misguided wisdom. In this way, Ariel's first appearance above water is extra special.
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 book focused more on family dynamics and didn't even name the characters. Although you might think he's a flounder based on his name alone, Flounder is much more colorful than a true flounder. He is bright yellow with blue stripes and blue fins.
Carroll argued that made Ursula a squid, not an octopus: 'People call her an octopus and I'm so knowledgeable that I have to correct them and say: ''No, she is not an octopus, she is a squid''. She has six tentacles instead of eight,' she noted in a later interview.
The Little Mermaid creators Howard Ashman and Alan Menken had originally planned to have Sebastian be English, but they decided an “English butler” would be too stuffy. They moved Sebastian's origins to the Caribbean so that they could credibly have Sebastian sing songs with calypso and reggae rhythms.
Was Sebastian Jamaican in the original Little Mermaid?
Sebastian (full name Horatio Thelonious Ignacious Crustaceous Sebastian) is a red Jamaican crab and one of the main protagonists in Disney's 1989 hit film The Little Mermaid, its prequel film, its TV series, and its sequel.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Queen Athena was the wife of King Triton, and the mother of Ariel and her six older sisters. She was the Queen of Atlantica, and beloved by her family and subjects.
The original character in the 1989 movie was inspired by the triple threat drag queen, actor, and singer Divine, a fact that was mere speculation at first, but has since been confirmed by those involved with the film. Divine catapulted to cult fame after appearing in Pink Flamingos, John Waters' filthy 1972 comedy.
