In Anderson's telling and the original Disney film, the mermaid possessed white skin. In Disney's upcoming live action version of the story, Ariel will be portrayed by black actress and singer Halle Bailey.
In Andersen's fairy tale, the Little Mermaid is described as follows: "her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea." And if you're wondering if Andersen's Little Mermaid had that signature bright red hair that has become synonymous with mermaids, the answer is unclear.
“Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Little Mermaid in 1837. It's not 'a folk tale' or a myth,” Twitter user ViragoX said. “Her skin is described as translucent green. Her hair color is never mentioned.
In the original Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen the protagonist is described as having skin that 'was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf'. So unless you want Ariel snot green, please stop pretending your 'concerns' are about authorial intent.
“I remember the first thumbnail sketches,” Benson tells EW of the first iterations of Ariel. “She had blonde hair. She looked like one of the exaggerated faces from [the] Peter Pan era. She looked a little bit glamorous and a little bit mature to me.”
Jodi Benson - Part of Your World (Official Video From "The Little Mermaid")
Why did they make Ariel black?
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.
In the 1989 movie, Ariel was born in the fictional underwater kingdom of Atlantica, which technically makes her Atlantican, not Danish. As Ariel is half fish, she cannot be categorized by our ethnicities and races.
The sea-green color of Ariel's mermaid tail was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab; the color was named "Ariel" after the character. The choice of red as Ariel's hair color was the subject of dispute between the filmmakers and studio executives who wanted the character to have blonde hair.
A noticeable absence from this film: Ariel's shell bra.
I just think we wanted to have a more fishlike quality to the girls. Having them all plonk seashells on their breasts seemed like a weird way to go. And when you start putting shells on real bodies, it's hard to make them look good, believe me.
ariel's pink dress is *quite* controversial so it doesn't really surprise me that disney decided to change her dress in merchandise to make her more unique and recognizable (even if it shows up nowhere in the film).
The reported box office result of The Little Mermaid 2023 remake is about $560 million. On paper, these numbers look good. The film grossed over $298 million domestically and more than $263 million internationally.
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.
Disney's live-action version of the 1989 animated classic 'The Little Mermaid' hits theaters on Friday. This highly-anticipated film is also marking a moment in Disney history with Halle Bailey as the first Black Ariel.
Did Ariel have red hair in the original Little Mermaid?
In the original, Ariel's character has fire-engine red hair. By contrast, in the live-action version, Ariel's hair appears to be a more muted shade of red.
The Little Mermaid is a literary fairy tale. The plot is drawn from Hans Christian Andersen's imagination rather than a specific folktale. However, Andersen's writing was influenced by traditional folklore about merfolk and water nymphs.
In her initial film, Ariel is referred to as having a “most beautiful voice” multiple times. She is known throughout Atlantica for her immense vocal prowess. Her temporary disability of muteness is more noticed by characters later.
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.
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 casting is beautifully “colour blind”, with the prince being white and his mother being Black (he is adopted). At the same time, the Little Mermaid's father is white, while her mermaid sisters are of various different races and ethnicities.
And while creators of The Little Mermaid originally wanted Ariel to have blonde hair to stay in keeping with the fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, Splash's massive popularity was still too hot to ignore. So, in a bid to stand out from the crowd, an iconic change was given to the underwater princess.
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.
