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.
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.
Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista, and Andrina first appear in the original film, introduced during the "Daughters of Triton" sequence. They perform in the concert that Sebastian is putting on that will be the musical debut of their youngest sister, Ariel.
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.
We learn that Eric, now played by John Hauer-King, is not a prince by birth— he was adopted by the king and queen. It's suggested that Eric's biological parents died in a shipwreck. We finally meet Prince Eric's mother. In the animated film, we never meet Eric's parents.
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.
Ursula was played by Melissa McCarthy in the 2023 live action remake of The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall. In this version, like with the Broadway musical, Ursula is the estranged younger sister of King Triton (played by Javier Bardem), thus making her the paternal aunt to Ariel and her sisters in this film.
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.
“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.
However, with only 18 spoken lines, Aurora speaks less than any other main character in a full-length Disney animated feature – aside from Dumbo, who is completely silent – and has absolutely no dialogue once she is awakened from her deep sleep.
While some of Sebastian's features resemble a lobster, Sebastian is definitely a crab, as is stated in The Little Mermaid itself a few times. This includes the scene where the obsessed Chef Louis refers to Sebastian as a crab, and since he's a professional, he really should know.
Queen Athena is shown to be a stunningly beautiful and attractive mermaid with long, red hair tied in a partial ponytail, green eyes, and an aqua tail. Of all her daughters, her youngest, Ariel, resembles her the most.
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.
Ariel makes this deal because she falls in love with Prince Eric and desires to be with him. Ursula specifically targets Ariel because she sees an opportunity to exploit her curiosity about the human world and her fascination with Prince Eric.
The video goes on to talk about how this original concept for Ariel was too close to the Splash mermaid and the designers wanted to differentiate Ariel, so her red hair was born. We can't imagine Ariel without her red hair, but not everyone felt the same way back in the 80s.
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.
While Halle keeps Ariel's signature red hair for the film, she decided to keep her natural locs for the role but dyed them a copper colour instead. And she looks so good. “It was super important for me to have my natural hair in this film,” Halley told Ebony magazine.
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. Therefore, Disney should have cast a white actress instead.
Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose will portray the first Afro-Latina princess. The trailer for Disney's latest animation film, Wish, is here, and we're already in love with the leading princess, voiced by West Side Story Academy Award-winning actress Ariana DeBose.
Description. Meet Uma, fierce leader of the high seas, daughter of Ursula, the sea witch, and the newest villainess-in-training in Disney's Descendants 2!
Ursula was initially going to resemble Joan Collins, however, basing the character on Divine made much more sense. "It just seemed like a funny and quirky idea," Minkoff added, "to take [Ursula] and treat her more like a drag queen."
Melissa McCarthy's version of Ursula is revealed to be King Triton's sister. The sea witch was banished and wanted power and revenge on her older brother, as well as his trident.
