The Little Mermaid action takes place under the sea, in the kingdom of Atlantica that is supposedly located in Denmark, where Hans Christian Andersen is from. This may be true for an original story and in fact there is even a statue of Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.
The short answer is we're not told in either the original story or the film. The slightly longer answer is “in the story, probably Denmark; in the film, definitely somewhere in Disney's fictionalised version of Europe, maybe Portugal or an ahistorical France”.
The 2023 live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid takes place in the fictional underwater kingdom of Atlantica and a town on the coast of the Caribbean. Still, the movie's cast and crew never ventured to the Caribbean to film scenes.
Ariel's story really begins in Ancient Greece. According to lore, she is a nereid, one of the dozens of daughters of the sea-god Triton. This isn't the first time that the internet has been set alight over the suggestion that famous figures of antiquity could be anything but white.
This decision was taken by director Rob Marshall because of Sebastian's Creole accent, and also to allow the cast to be more diverse. The narrative occurs during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, when the Caribbean Islands were colonised by Europeans.
When & Where Does Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989) Take Place?
Which country is The Little Mermaid set from?
In Denmark, there is a little mermaid statue that is meant to represent the heritage of the story. Since Hans Christian Andersen was Danish, it is widely theorized that the fairy tale was set around Denmark.
What island was The Little Mermaid supposed to be?
The Little Mermaid Remake Hints At A Location Change From The Original Movie. The Little Mermaid animation was set under the sea in the kingdom of Atlantica and its adjacent surface world, both of which were believed to be located in Denmark.
As Ariel is half fish, she cannot be categorized by our ethnicities and races. The animated “Little Mermaid” movie only portrayed her with light skin and red hair because that was the American interpretation at the time.
On the significance of casting a Black actress as Ariel
Sherri Hope Culver: To have a Disney character who is not just a princess but a live-action, real flesh and blood person that children can be inspired by is important. This is because people of color are less likely to see themselves reflected in the media.
That means Frozen's Elsa is singing in Norwegian, Ariel in Danish, Jasmine in Arabic, Mulan in Mandarin Chinese, and Rapunzel in German. In the second video, Belle is singing in French, Snow White in German, Megara in Greek, Anna in Norwegian, and Aurora in French.
Where is Prince Eric's Castle located in the movie?
And it was in Sardinia that the teams decided to set up the cameras and start rolling. These rare outdoor scenes were shot in the regions of Santa Teresa di Gallura, Castelsardo and Golfo Aranci. The magnificent cliffs of the Sardinian coastline are home to the fictional palace of Prince Eric, up high above the sea.
Fans of the animated film will know that it is set in the Caribbean – so it might come as a surprise that Disney decided to shoot the remake in Sardinia (with sets built in Pinewood Studios, London).
Principal photography of Mermaids began September 25, 1989 in Massachusetts, and completed on December 15 of that year. The Flax house exterior was built for the film in Coolidge Point near Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, and downtown Rockport, Massachusetts served as the fictional village of Eastport.
Originating from the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, Ariel's aquatic escapades unfold in the waters surrounding Denmark. A visit to Denmark's capital city, Copenhagen is like stepping into the pages of the story, with the iconic Little Mermaid statue serving as a cherished homage to the character's Danish roots.
Eric's castle is located on the shore of a Danish-like country, surrounded by mountainous regions, making entry into the kingdom by land risky. The castle is kept on the edge of a sharp cliff-face, limiting land entry to the main gate area, unless one were to scale the cliffs down to the shore.
“It makes me think I can do this, I can do it without anyone stopping me.” In the original 1989 Disney animated classic, Ariel's character is White, with straight red hair.
There are several instances when Eric's mother Queen Salina (Noma Dumezweni), who is Black and adopted him as a child when he washed up from the ocean, chastises him for his obvious love for beings that are considered other.
Jodi Benson was the voice of Ariel in Disney's animated 1989 “Little Mermaid” classic. Starting in 2019, when Halle Bailey was cast in the live-action version, Benson has been nothing but supportive of the 23-year-old being “part of her world.”
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.
Since the animated feature film had a white mermaid as Ariel, some people are angry that Disney has gone with a black actress in the live-action. Some people also believe that Hans Christian Andersen described the Little mermaid as a white mermaid in his book.
Emily Zemler's new book Disney Princess: Beyond The Tiara explains that “[a]nimator and Disney Legend Glen Keane, who was largely responsible for Ariel's look” primarily drew inspiration for these and other elements of Ariel's design from four women: his wife Linda, model Christie Brinkley, actress Alyssa Milano, and ...
The film is set in the Caribbean in the 18th century. It does not specify exactly when, but judging from the ships, clothes and other references it is during a time of African chattel slavery. And yet there is not a single direct reference to slavery and the islanders live in racial harmony.
Is The Little Mermaid set in Denmark or Caribbean?
The Little Mermaid takes place in an underwater kingdom called Atlantica. This magical kingdom lies on the seafloor near a small island town known as Salem, which is located off the coast of Denmark.
