Ultimately, the inspiration for the cauldron-stirring tentacled witch — voiced by Pat Carroll — came from an unlikely place: Drag. Specifically, Divine, the drag alter ego of Harris Glenn Milstead.
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.
Ursula is loosely based on the nameless sea witch from the original Hans Christian Andersen tale, while her characterization takes inspiration from the drag queen Divine.
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.
Rob Minkoff, the original movie's animator, told Vogue that it seemed like a “funny and quirky idea” to “take (Ursula) and treat her more like a drag queen.” Named the “Drag Queen of the Century” by People Magazine in 1988, Divine is known for starring in John Waters' movies “Pink Flamingos” and “Hairspray.”
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.
A squid has six arms, which is probably why Pat Carroll, the late voice actress who portrayed Ursula in the original film, claimed she was a squid. But Carroll didn't mention that most squid also have two tentacles and two legs—used for moving and swimming—while their arms are for grabbing and feeding.
[The Little Mermaid] (1989): Ursula's pseudonym, Vanessa, was an intentional reference. "Vanessa" was a name made up by Jonathan Swift (that's not an important part) for a character based on a woman named Esther Vanhomrigh, "Van" from her surname and "Essa" being a then-common pet name form of Esther.
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.
A female queen, diva queen, or hyper queen is a drag queen who is a woman. These performers are generally indistinguishable from the more common male drag queens in artistic style and techniques.
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.
Ursula, from the feminist perspective represents a character that exposes the realities behind society's expectations of women and as well as a more truthful relationship between men and women.
While Ariel is 16 years old in Disney animated The Little Mermaid film, her love interest is not the same age. The character's voice actor, Christopher Daniel Barnes, was just 16 years old at the time of recording the film, leading to the assumption that the character was intended to be the same age.
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 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.
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.
In short, Ursula represents feminism, the fluidity of gender and young Ariel's empowerment. Ariel can be anything she wants, yet she chooses the role of young bride and human conformity.
As the story goes, Ursula gives Ariel feet so that she can walk on land and hopefully get the hapless Prince Eric to fall in love with her. In exchange, Ursula takes Ariel's siren song from her throat.
And when Ariel asks how she can cause Eric to fall in love with her without it, Ursula tells her a whopper of a lie—a lie about her real worth. “You'll have your looks!” Ursula tells her. “Your pretty face. And don't underestimate the importance of body language!”
The movie is loosely based on the fairy tale, so Disney has the freedom to give Ariel any skin color they want. In the 1989 movie, Ariel was born in the fictional underwater kingdom of Atlantica, which technically makes her Atlantican, not Danish.
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.
