Ariel's features are based on actress Alyssa Milano's. He used photos of the actress from when she was younger to perfect Ariel's facial features, but Milano said she didn't know she was the inspiration behind the character until the company asked her to host "The Making of the Little Mermaid."

Who inspired the look of Ariel?

In the recently released book, Disney Princess: Beyond The Tiara, it was confirmed that supermodel Christie Brinkley was a huge source of inspiration for the design of The Little Mermaid's Ariel. Meanwhile, a young Alyssa Milano was also an unknowing model for how the famous mermaid would look on screen.

Who is Ariel The Little Mermaid based on?

Ariel is loosely based on the nameless protagonist of the Danish fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, but unlike the Andersen fairy tale in which the mermaid loses her prince, dies, and gains an immortal soul, the Disney adaptation has a happy ending.

Who modeled for The Little Mermaid?

A common misconception is that Ariel was only modeled after a young Alyssa Milano. While the live action model for Ariel was an obscure actress named Sherri Stoner, Alyssa did exemplify the 80's teenager, which was reflected in Ariel.

What is Ariel's disability?

The Mermaid after transition becomes a metaphor for disability as she becomes abnormal in the human eyes. The fairy tale verbalizes her bodily denigration to a physical inability that can be surveyed as a locomotive disability, and she also sells her voice to the sea witch, surmising her as a speech-disabled person.

ARIEL Live-Action References in Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ (1989) COMPARISON

What is Ariel's mental illness?

In the movie The Little Mermaid (Clements & Musker, 1989), Ariel displays symptoms of disposophobia, which is defined as the fear of getting rid of things.

Which Disney character has schizophrenia?

Who was Ariel's face based on?

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 ...

What race is Ariel in the original Little Mermaid?

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.

Who was Gabriella in The Little Mermaid based on?

The deaf character Gabriella was based of an interpretation of Gabriella Angelina Bommino, who passed away from leukemia at the age of 2, on November 17, 1992.

Why did Disney make Ariel black?

Representation of an African American woman as a love interest and a beautiful being should become natural. This version of The Little Mermaid is great for young people because it allows them to better appreciate diversity and gain a better sense of the world.

What happened to Ariel's mom?

Ariel's Mother Had a Brutal Disney Death

Athena took too long to try and escape (going back for a music box she'd gotten for her husband as a gift), and she ends up crushed between the pirate ship and the rocks of the cove. Ariel's mother is far from the only material figure in Disney Animation to die.

Was Ariel supposed to be blonde?

“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.”

Which princess is based on a real person?

Pocahontas is the only Disney princess who is based on a real person, rather than a mythical figure. Born on the land that is now known as Virginia, the real Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, the powerful leader of an alliance of local tribes.

Who is Belle modeled after?

Animated by James Baxter and Mark Henn, the former of whom based the character's graceful gait on those of impressionist Edgar Degas' ballerinas, Belle's European facial features were inspired by those of British actresses Vivien Leigh and Audrey Hepburn.

Was the original Little Mermaid a dark story?

The original story behind The Little Mermaid

In Hans Christian Andersen's original story, things don't end so rosily. In fact, the story is tragic throughout, with Ariel's transformation to human causing her constant agonising pain, before her heart is broken when her prince marries someone else.

Why are Ariel's sisters different races?

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.

What did The Little Mermaid look like in the original story?

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.

What is Ariel's original ethnicity?

The little mermaid is based on a Danish folktale. So it should be undisputed that she's white because its set in a European country just like Mulan was set in China. Yet in Mulans remake she kept her original race. Yet Ariel changed.

Who is Ariel modeled after?

During film production in the late 1980s, animators used actress Alyssa Milano as the main inspiration for Ariel's look. During The Little Mermaid release, both Alyssa and Ariel shared the same age of 17, but Milano didn't know that she was a model for Ariel while the movie was being made.

Who was Prince Eric based off of?

Grateful for her heroism, and enchanted by her beautiful voice, Eric immediately falls in love with his rescuer and becomes determined to find and marry her. The character is based on the "prince" character of Hans Christian Andersen's story The Little Mermaid but adapted by writer Roger Allers for Disney's film.

Which Disney character has ADHD?

Tigger – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Tigger, the exuberant character from Winnie the Pooh, exhibits behaviors that closely align with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

What Disney Princess has OCD?

Ariel. Ariel from The Little Mermaid clearly has signs of Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD), where she is obsessed with collecting useless things.

What disorder does Elsa have?

Elsa's condition, which is triggered by fear and anxiety, is representative of not only physical but also mental and cognitive disability, as many viewers have noted. The mishandling of Elsa's condition by her parents resonates especially with those who live with anxiety and depression.