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.
Smith King said he intentionally did not want the actress to look like a drag queen, preferring to see more of McCarthy than of the makeup. Defending the uneven brows, he said he wanted it to look like Ursula did the makeup herself and did not have it done by a masterful professional.
In the past, Ursula was a resident of King Triton's palace, before being banished and exiled by order of the king. Scorned, she has since vowed to exact vengeance by harnessing the power of the king's trident and installing herself as ruler of all the ocean.
Rather, Ursula's appearance is radically different from her family, and she sports tentacles that look like a permanent black dress. It's possible Ursula is not a mermaid in appearance because she and Triton did not have the same mother or father. If they're half siblings, Ursula's tentacles make more sense.
But in a desire to re-market these ladies to a chic clientele, it appears that they decided to shave more than a few pounds off of Ursula the Sea Witch and Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts. Because in order to be fashionable, you must be thin. The fact is, Ursula was fashionable.
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.
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 this novel, Ursula is King Triton's younger sister who was betrayed by him as a child for choosing a tentacled form instead of a mermaid's tail, and grew up as a human in the town of Ipswich with an adoptive human father.
In the 2023 film version of The Little Mermaid, Ursula is presented as being Triton's younger sister, who had been exiled from their underwater kingdom. This also makes Ursula Ariel's aunt, bringing to mind Disney's long line of wicked matriarchs.
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.
Drag kings have historically been mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of an individual or group routine.
Halle Bailey was the first to audition for the beloved and coveted role of Ariel in Disney's live-action “The Little Mermaid.” After Bailey belted out the classic showstopper “Part of Your World” from the original 1989 film, director Rob Marshall and the other filmmakers knew that she was the one for the role.
According to the Disney Blog: "Designed and carefully crafted to capture the essence of evil at its best dressed, the Villains Designer Collection re-imagines the stylish wickedness of classic Disney Villains." Apparently part of this "re-imagination" involves making Ursula lose two-thirds of her body weight.
Ursula's plan was not only to trick Ariel, so she could own her but also to get rid of her, so she could replace King Triton and thus rule over the oceans. However, her reasons to do so, for her resentment towards King Triton and company, and for her banishment and isolation weren't revealed in the movie.
what makes Ursula black? She was based of Divine, who is white She was voiced by a white woman When she takes human form she's white," yet another well-versed Little Mermaid fan noted. "She was originally meant to be King Tryton's sister, and [he's] white."
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.
The backstory of Ariel and Eric's daughter. Let's break. down the tale of a princess who was half human and. half mermaid: the adventurous, kind, and brave.
In The Little Mermaid, the chef scene from the animated version. wasn't included in the live action remake. This is because marine animals. like founder and Sebastian are photorealistic, and it would have been too much to see them.
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.
Ariel was offered by Ursula to become a human for three days and would become human permanently if she shares a kiss of true love with Eric, but will turn back into a mermaid and be bound to Ursula for eternity if she fails to kiss Eric.
