Ursula is a sea witch. What are the names of the characters from the cartoon "The Little Mermaid"? Ariel characters

What are the names of the characters from the cartoon "The Little Mermaid"?

    The cartoon was created in 1989

    Cartoon characters:

    Ariel Little Mermaid - voiced by Jody Benson, in Russian version by Svetlana Svetikova

    Eric the prince that Ariel fell in love with

    Sebastian crab

    Flounder fish, friend of Ariel

    Triton mermaid dad

    Ursula sea \u200b\u200bwitch

    Fleets and Jets moray eels

    Skutll gull

    Max the prince's favorite dog

    Little Mermaid Ariel, is the main character of the cartoon The Little Mermaid; which premiered in 1989. Ariel is the youngest daughter of a marine king Triton.

    Other cartoon characters:

    Negative - Ursula(a very evil sea witch) and Fleets / Jets, all other characters are positive.

    Fish Flounder and Crab by Sebastian, Ariel's friends.

    Gloomus, Sea Horse, Carlotta, Scuttle, Prince Eric.

    Sstras Ariel: Arista, Alana, Attina, Aquat, Andrina, Adella.

    After The Little Mermaid, the cartoons The Little Mermaid 2 Return to the Sea.quot ;, The Little Mermaid. The beginning of the story of Ariel .quot ;, animated series The Little Mermaid.

    For many of us (for me, for sure), one of the most beloved Disney cartoons / animated series was and is the animated series The Little Mermaid.

    There were a lot of characters in this cartoon, so all of them (their names) were difficult to remember.

    So, here is the name of the main characters of the cartoon The Little Mermaid:

    • the main character (one might say, the main heroine) of the tale - the mermaid's name was Ariel;
    • the father of the mermaid Ariel was King Triton;
    • ariel's funny friend and always getting into all sorts of funny situations, the crab's name was Sebastian;
    • small yellow fish, another friend of Ariel's name was Flounder.

  • In the cartoon about The Little Mermaid, the key heroine is the Princess The Little Mermaid herself, who has the name Ariel. The girl also has sea friends and they are also the main characters - this is a small yellow fish named Flounder and a crab named Sebastian.

    There is also a prince named Eric, whom Ariel will later marry.

    Also the dad of the Mermaid is a king named Triton.

    And another key heroine is a feisty sea witch named Ursula.

    This is my favorite cartoon of my childhood.

    The main character of the little mermaid is called Ariel.

    Excited Ariel Eric.

    The mermaid's friend is the crab Sebastian.

    Flounder, friend of the little mermaid (yellow fish).

    Father Triton.

    Ursula is a witch (negative character).

    Ursula Pisces' assistants - Fleets and Jets.

    One of my favorite Disney cartoons is The little mermaid . I remember from my childhood, when there was no Internet and various children's channels on television. We waited for him on weekends, it was on Saturday that we showed one or two episodes at once. At that time, for us it was such happiness, and the music is amazing from the Little Mermaid, this melody is still remembered. Characters in Little Mermaid quite a lot, I will list the most frequent heroes. This is a little mermaid named Ariel, a fish friend of the little mermaid Flounder and a crab Sebastian. The mermaid's father is King Triton, he is a kind and just ruler. Ursula is a negative character, she is a very evil and calculating sorceress. The little mermaid also has several sisters, but they are rarely seen in the series. This cartoon is very interesting, even after a few years, I want to watch all the episodes again.

    Disney cartoon The Little Mermaid known, I think, to almost every child. We ourselves watched it in childhood, so the characters are familiar from those times and have not been forgotten. The most important character - the little mermaid Ariel was and is the favorite of all girls. In addition to her, there are a sufficient number of characters in this cartoon, we list them all:

    The Little Mermaid is a masterpiece from the Walt Disney company, there are positive and negative characters in the cartoon:

    Positive:

    Sebastian

    Flounder

    Negative:

    Angry stingray

    Fleets and Jets

    Lobster Nightmare

    Big Louis

    Heroes of the famous cartoon The Little Mermaid or The Little Mermaid in the original, almost everyone knows.

For the first time the animated film "The Little Mermaid" was released in 1989. The main character of the picture is a young girl Ariel. Disney has been thinking about making a cartoon since the studio was founded, even before the release of Snow White. Its head decided to create an interpretation of the story of Hans Christian Andersen in 1930. At that time, it was technically impossible, so the picture came out only 59 years later.

Character Creation

The Little Mermaid's looks and style were designed by animator Glen Keane. His wife inspired him to create the image. Alyssa Milano was also involved in the creation of Ariel. Disney collaborated with model Sherri Stoner, who mimicked the character's movements in reality while posing for the animators. Ariel was voiced by a theater actress who confessed that the main character of the cartoon was her favorite character. In Russian dubbing, the girl was voiced by Svetlana Svetikova.

The main difficulty in creating the cartoon was that Ariel (Disney) had to be shown in completely different scenes - at sea and on land. The animators created 32 color models. Just look at the varied colors and shades of the luxurious Ariel Castle! Disney, or rather the in-house artists, did a good job on the girl's tail - a special shade was created especially for this, which was named after the main character. Red hair caused controversy among animators and studio managers - the latter wanted to see a blonde mermaid. The artists triumphed: the red harmonized much better with the color of the tail.

Character and appearance of the character

At 16, Ariel is very beautiful. Wears a chic and big green ponytail. The character of the girl is mischievous and rebellious. Ariel is the most naughty of all sisters, it is she who constantly gets involved in adventures. All her life, the girl lives in the sea, but she is irresistibly drawn upward, so she collects things that used to belong to people. Friendliness, kindness, love for friends and family - that's what Ariel is all about. Disney is a company that has always created good and kind cartoons, and this time the creators endowed the main character with empathy: she constantly rescues the inhabitants of the sea world who are in trouble.

The plot of the cartoon

The little mermaid Ariel lives in a large sea kingdom with her father Triton and six sisters. Her best friends are Sebastian the crab and the Flounders fish. Together with him, she studies the sunken ship. Trying to find an answer to the question of what the objects they found mean, Ariel recalls that she must participate in the choir in honor of Triton. He scolds his daughter for being late, and the girl floats off to her collection of human things.

Suddenly, she and Sebastian see a large ship wrecked. The little mermaid Ariel rescues him ashore and sings a song. When he opens his eyes, she floats away. In order to become a part of the human world, Ariel makes a deal with the sea witch Ursula - she gives her her vote.

Appearance in other cartoons

Ariel can be seen in the second part of the cartoon - "The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea." The plot tells about the events that took place a year after the adventures of the first part. Eric and Ariel are happy, they have a beautiful daughter, Melody. The parents decide not to tell the girl their story in order to preserve her. But the naughty girl is still drawn to the sea. Under the influence of an evil spell, Melody turns into a mermaid.

The next part - "The Little Mermaid: The Beginning of Ariel's Story", is a prequel to the first cartoon. It tells about the girl's childhood. She also appears in House of Mice as a guest at Mickey Mouse's house.

  • About a thousand colors and backgrounds were used in the cartoon. More than a million drawings have been drawn by artists. The directors demanded that each individual bubble be hand-drawn. For this, additional animators were invited.
  • For the first time in history, digital technology was involved (the scene of the wedding of Ariel and the prince).
  • Live actors were filmed to help the animators.
  • In Andersen's original fairy tale, everything did not end so well - the prince married another, and the girl turned into sea foam. The writers found the story too tragic and rewrote the plot.
  • 10 special effects specialists worked on the storm scene during the year.

Like other Disney cartoons, Ariel has won the love of audiences around the globe. Until now, children are watching with interest this legendary cartoon, created by the studio of a unique and ingenious cartoonist.

The little mermaid Ariel lives between sea and land, these two elements are equally dear to her - in one she was born and raised, in the other she found female happiness. The funny and resourceful crab Sebastian and the goldfish Flounder help the young mermaid on dangerous adventures. The studio project "" will soon be 30 years old, but it never ceases to delight children.

History of creation

The main prototype of the Disney little mermaid was, of course, the inhabitant of the seas from the tale of Hans Christian Andersen. But the story, invented by a Danish writer, is too dark to become a favorite for modern children. Screenwriter Ron Clements decided to fill the tale with colors, cheerfulness and new details, and at the same time updated the plot.

But all this happened much later than the day of the idea of \u200b\u200bthe cartoon. The idea to shoot a colorful animated film arose in the 30s of the last century. Then the representatives of "Disney" were not going to change the tragic ending of Andersen, and the plot wanted to stretch into several mini-stories about the little mermaid. However, the project had to be suspended, and they remembered about it only after half a century.

In the image of a charming little mermaid, the features and characteristics of several people are mixed. The princess of the underwater kingdom borrowed the appearance and facial expressions from the young actress who starred in the television series Charmed. The girl at the time of character creation was 16 years old, and Ariel's age in the first cartoon was the same. Disney chief animator Glen Keane said some of the features were drawn from his wife Linda.


Alyssa Milano and the Little Mermaid from Disney Studios

The model Sherri Stoner contributed to the creation of the image - the little mermaid owes graceful movements to the toiler of the catwalks. Stoner had to play the role of Ariel in front of the animators, who, in turn, tried to convey the mannerisms of the model in the sketches. The most amazing prototype is the astronaut Sally Ride: the fiery hair of the little mermaid under water repeated the movements of the hair of the conqueror of the Universe when she was in space.


Sherri Stoner, Sally Ride, Jody Benson - prototypes of the little mermaid

When creating the daughter of the sea lord, controversy erupted over the colors in the guise of the heroine. For a long time, the authors could not come to a unanimous decision on what the hair would be. Some of the animators and studio executives voted for the blonde. But opponents won, insisting on the idea of \u200b\u200bcontrasting the tail and hair. So Ariel found a red head of hair. A special shade of emerald color was created for the tail, which was called “Ariel”.

The appearance was supposed to convey the eccentric and willful character of the character. Therefore, the little mermaid “walks” with always disheveled hair and in a bra that does not match the color of the tail at all, while her sisters always have perfectly styled hairstyles, and the shades of their bodices perfectly match the colors of the lower parts of the body.


Children received four cartoons about Ariel's adventures:

  • The Little Mermaid (1989)
  • "The Little Mermaid" (animated series in three seasons - 1992, 1993, 1994)
  • The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea (2000)
  • The Little Mermaid: The Beginning of Ariel's Story (2008)

The chronology of the character's life in cartoons has been violated. The first in the plot is the last film adaptation, then the second film goes, the description of further events is in the first cartoon.

The little mermaid Ariel appeared in a couple of ribbons. In the cartoon "House of Mouse" (2001-2003), a girl is visiting. In 2011, the television series Once Upon a Time was released, where the role of Ariel is played by actress Joanna Garcia.

Biography and plot

Ariel was born the last daughter of the sea king Triton and the queen of Athena. Since childhood, the girl played pranks, allowed herself to disobey her father, leaving far from home. The little mermaid also loved to sing. One day, my mother died at the hands of pirates. The father, overwhelmed with grief, became gloomy and cold, and later completely imposed a ban on music in the subordinate state. Arieel did not want to put up with this situation, but fate threw a lucky chance - the girl stumbled upon an underground music club, run by her friend and the right hand of the sea lord Sebastian the crab.


In the future, even more interesting adventures awaited the little mermaid. In the animated series, Ariel captures the maelstrom of events - the girl manages to anger the sorcerer fish with laughter, adopts a killer whale cub, and befriends the mermaid Gabriella, who is deaf and dumb from birth. There was also a place for dangerous adventures. Among them - the battle with the army of the evil lobster, the war with the witch of the ocean expanses Ursula and the Evil Ray. The audience also gets to know the future husband of the heroine, Prince Eric, but the couple does not yet know about the existence of each other.

Curious Ariel dreamed of exploring the mysterious worlds beyond the ocean, but her father strictly forbade her to swim further into the blue distance than necessary. The naughty daughter nevertheless went on an "expedition" to the sunken ship, where unknown treasures were found in the form of a fork, which the mermaid takes for a comb, a smoking pipe and other amazing gizmos. And a little later, she found a sailing ship. So the biography of the little mermaid in the original cartoon was enriched with a love line.


A handsome prince was sailing on the ship, who fell in love with a mermaid, but on the same day he almost died during a storm. Ariel rescued Eric by pulling him ashore and singing a beautiful song. At home, the anger of her father fell on the little mermaid, but the girl's heart remained on the shore. In despair, she rushed to ask for help the old witch Ursula, and she offered to exchange a wonderful voice for human legs. The deal had another nuance - if in three days the little mermaid fails to fall in love with the prince and receive a kiss from him, then the soul will pass into the possession of the witch.

Agreeing to the terms, Ariel put on a dress and went to the shore, where Prince Eric finally strengthened his tender feelings for the girl. The insidious Ursula did not want to miss the chance to take possession of a young soul, so in the guise of a young and beautiful Vanessa she tried to charm the prince with angelic singing. Vaguely remembering his savior and a wonderful song after the storm, the young man was about to marry the deceiver.


But Ariel has great friends! Fish Flounder, together with the crab Sebastian, upset the wedding, took away the voice, and the little mermaid was finally able to tell the truth to her lover. However, the three-day period has expired, and now the girl is at the mercy of an evil witch. A war broke out between Triton and Ursula, in which the king decided to sacrifice himself for his daughter. The sorceress was delighted, because in her dreams she saw herself on the sea throne. The celebration did not last long, in the end, Prince Eric defeated the evil old woman. And Triton, seeing his daughter's longing for the earth, gave her legs instead of a tail. The story ended with the wedding of the heroes in love.

A year after the marriage, the young couple had a daughter, who was named Melodie. Motherhood turned Ariel into a serious and reasonable woman, although she still has an adventurous fuse. The heiress is all like a mother - the same obstinate, wayward and curious. Melody had an enemy in the person of the sister of the witch Ursula - Morgana, who made devilish plans for the girl. To protect the child, the parents decided not to tell the baby about the mermaid roots, and also erected a high wall around the castle, just to protect their daughter from the sea.


But the genes took their toll: Melodie dreams of becoming a mermaid and swimming in the amazing depths of the sea. The insidious and power-hungry Morgana fulfilled the girl's wish, nourishing the hope that she would steal Triton's trident for her. Ariel became a mermaid again to find her missing young daughter.

  • The cartoon became the laureate of a whole scattering of prizes and awards. In 1990, The Little Mermaid won two Oscars for Best Song and Best Music. The music was presented by the composer Alan Mencken. The film also has a Grammy Award and several Golden Globes.
  • The writers conceived to make the villainess of the underwater world Ursula the sister of King Triton and even created several stories about such a fact. However, at the council, they suddenly decided that relatives in the fairy-tale world should not be so cruel and vicious - this is a bad example for the younger generation.

  • The song "Part of Your World" was recorded under unusual conditions: to imagine herself underwater, Jody Benson asked to turn off the lights in the studio.
  • The names of the sisters of the main cartoon mermaid begin with the letter "A". The sea king had seven daughters: Aquat, Alan, Arista, Attina, Adela, Andrina and Ariel.

Ursula is the main antagonist of the 1989 Disney animated feature The Little Mermaid. She is a sinister sea witch who “helps” unlucky sea creatures to achieve her own goals.

Character

By nature, Ursula is a very dark and sinister sorceress with a peculiar sense of humor. She is infamous among all the inhabitants of the seas, and her mere mention makes everyone in awe. She is very vain, cunning and power-hungry, but has a skillful oratorical talent.

In order to achieve her goal, she manipulates the mermaids, presenting herself to them as virtue itself and concludes with them indestructible witchcraft contracts, promising to “avert all their adversity,” the essence of which is in fact - to bring the sea witch closer to her main goal or simply to amuse her. Violation of these contracts is fraught with dire consequences, but at the same time they are legal (so Triton could not destroy Ariel's contract).

Unlike many Disney villains, Ursula is very fond of her minions - Flotsam and Jetsam, whom she puts above everything else in the world. The witch takes care of them and even calls them "her babies." However, Ursula demands etiquette in her cave, as indicated by her remark to Ariel upon their first meeting.

Appearance description

Ursula looks like a fat woman with pale lavender-gray skin and short gray hair, whose lower body changes from human to octopus. Despite her inner anger, she looks after herself, wears homemade cosmetics and wears a variety of seashell jewelry, namely: purple earrings and a large pendant in the form of a golden shell. Its octopus part resembles a black evening dress and, unusually, has only six tentacles.

Abilities

Ursula is a skilled witch and her magical abilities, even without the trident, are very powerful. She perfectly conjures and brews various potions, has the ability to change her own appearance, and when it comes to physical strength, she is second only to King Triton. Those who enter into deals with her and do not pay for them, she turns into polyp worms. She is also capable of releasing poisonous ink, which she used in order to get rid of the "evil", which appeared in the animated series "The Little Mermaid".

Filmography:

full-length cartoons

  • the little Mermaid
  • The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (cameo; mentioned)
  • Mickey's Magical Christmas: In the Snow-covered Mouse House
  • House of Mouse. House of villains
  • Descendants 2 (cameo; voice)

television programs

  • The Little Mermaid: The Animated Series
  • Hercules: The Animated Series
  • House of Mouse
  • Once upon a time, in a Fairytail

Ursula is one of the few (along with Scar, Jafar, Malifesenta, etc.), whose death is shown on the screen (she is pierced by a broken nasal mast). So some villains died behind the scenes (for example, Ratigan or Gaston), and the heroes or minor characters are shown simply dead, without any injuries (for example, Mufasa or Meg).

The Little Mermaid Ariel (Ariel) - one of the main characters of the studio Walt Disney and the heroine of the cartoon "The Little Mermaid" in 1989. The cartoon about Ariel is based on the fairy tale of the same name by the famous Swedish writer Hans Christian Andersen, but the character of the Little Mermaid is presented in a new way, like the final part of the story. Disney's Ariel is the fourth official Disney princess. She is the only princess who is not human in origin. A young freedom-loving mermaid, 16 years old, she spends her days dreaming, singing songs and looking for adventure on her scaly tail. Flounder fish and Sebastian the crab act as companions in Ariel's games and undertakings - the latter, however, is not delighted with adventures and looks after his ward more. Ariel falls in love with a man named Eric and risks everything for love.

Character design

The original design for Ariel the Little Mermaid was designed by Disney studio staff animator Glen Keane. In an interview, Keane claims that for the image of Ariel, he was inspired by his wife, as well as a bit by the appearance of the model Sherri Stoner and still a young actress Alyssa Milano. Stoner, by the way, was the main model for the cartoon character. The studio animators watched her movements and the movements of her hair in a special water tank in order to draw Ariel. The Little Mermaid's features (high forehead, big eyes, small mouth, narrow chin) end up subtly reminiscent of Belle from Beauty and the Beast, as well as Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

Character voice

Young theater actress Jody Benson was invited to voice the Little Mermaid Ariel. Moreover, the creators of the cartoon definitely wanted Benson not only to perform musical parts, but also to speak for the cartoon heroine. When we were recording the main theme song for Part of your World, Jody asked to turn off the lights in the studio to make her feel like she was deep under water.

The little mermaid Ariel has a fragile physique. She has long, straight hair of a fiery red, which is usually loose over the shoulders, pale skin, a small bright mouth and expressive blue eyes of aqua. Below the waist, she has a mermaid tail.

Ariel's appearance

Underwater, the Little Mermaid costume is a lavender bra, instead of legs - a green scaly fishtail. For the first time out on land, Ariel, for lack of anything better, dresses in a piece of canvas and ties up with a string instead of a belt. Once in Prince Eric's castle, she changes her canvas outfit for a fluffy pink dress with a wide hem, a pale pink underskirt and puff sleeves that reveal the shoulders. White satin is visible through the slits in the sleeves. Also in the palace, the girl is given a pink nightgown with ruffles. On the first walk with the prince, Ariel dresses in a wide long blue skirt, a blue shirt with loose sleeves, a dark blue, almost black lace-up corset and black shoes with a small heel. Her head is decorated with a blue bow. The girl can also be seen in a long sparkling blue dress with a slit, which her father, King Triton, gave her before her wedding with Eric. The Little Mermaid wedding costume consists of a lush white satin dress with blue edging along the neckline and bottom of the corset and tight-fitting sleeves gathered in large puffs at the shoulders. The girl is wearing a golden tiara with a transparent long veil. White pearl earrings in the ears.

Mermaid Dresses

Ariel is a very energetic and determined young mermaid with a penchant for play and adventure. Together with her friend, the fish Flounder, the Little Mermaid explores the depths of the ocean with the real passion of a pioneer. For the most part, the girl is interested in sunken ships, since there you can find things from the human world. Ariel the Little Mermaid takes various human objects into her collection. She is obsessed with everything human and especially longs to get into the world of people - in this regard, the girl often rises to the surface, makes friends with the Scuttle seagull and sees off passing ships. Ariel is impulsive, impulsive, but ready to take responsibility for her actions, which often lead to all sorts of misunderstandings and problems. Stubborn by nature, she is not content with the quiet joys of a collector. In order to achieve her goal (to get on land and reunite with Prince Eric, whom she fell in love with), the girl goes to the lair of the sea witch and concludes an agreement, according to which she receives a pair of legs instead of a mermaid's tail and a chance to build happiness with her beloved in the human world.

Despite the adventurous spirit, the girl is compassionate, her heart is full of kindness and love for friends and family. In addition, Ariel possesses remarkable courage and dedication, she sacrifices everything for the sake of true love and saves her lover more than once.

In The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea, Ariel has matured. She is the mother of little Melody. At the time of the events taking place in the cartoon, the Little Mermaid is about 28 years old. Ariel is still very attractive, with her red hair tied up in a high hairdo or ponytail and wears fluffy dresses of gold and white, a crown and jewelry. Her movements are distinguished by gravity, although sometimes she secretly misses the sea very much and allows herself to throw off her shoes and wander barefoot in the water.

The Little Mermaid Character

Ariel has several superpowers:

Atlantean strength

Apparently, Ariel partially inherited the power of the Atlanteans from her paternal ancestors. She is able to move a rather impressive underwater boulder that blocks the entrance to her treasure grotto. In addition, Ariel effortlessly climbs onto Prince Eric's ship using his hands. And when the prince drowns, the girl lifts him, apparently by no means a light body, to the surface and even pulls him ashore. In the third part of "The Little Mermaid: The Beginning of Story", Ariel is even able to knock down a heavy door to free her friends. It is not known whether she retained her remarkable strength in human form, however, it is believed that of all Disney princesses, Ariel is physically the strongest. Only Rapunzel with her frying pan can compete with her.

Fortitude of the Atlanteans

In the final battle with Ursula in the original cartoon, the Little Mermaid falls into a gigantic whirlpool several miles deep. An ordinary person would have been killed by such a fall, but there was not a scratch on Ariel. It is believed that in human form the Little Mermaid retained this ability. This can be confirmed by the moment in the lair of the sea witch, when Ariel turned into a man at great depth, but was not crushed by pressure and did not choke while Flounder and Sebastian drew her to the surface. This ability of hers is briefly mentioned in Kingdom Hearts, where she can quickly bounce back from a blow from an enemy. This can also include resistance to extreme temperatures - both high and low. This ability is primarily manifested in video games. Ariel swam without any visible consequences both in icy water (Morgana's lair in an iceberg), and near underwater volcanoes (Ursula's lair in a volcanic area).

Underwater breathing, or the ability to breathe underwater

Like all mermaids, Ariel is able to breathe both on land and underwater.

Ariel in her underwater stash

Super fast swimming

Ariel swims much faster than humans and even faster than some underwater creatures. She is also able to jump high out of the water, like dolphins.

Ability to speak to sea creatures

Ariel understands the language of fish and can speak to them. She retains this ability in her human form. This talent was also inherited by Ariel's daughter Melody.

Aquakinesis, or water management

In the form of a mermaid, Ariel is able to control the water element on a small scale. This ability is actively exploited in computer games, in particular in the game "The Little Mermaid" from Sega. It is believed that aquakinesis is closely related to Ariel's emotions - just like Elsa's freezing in Frozen.

Ariel and Flounder flee the shark

Agility

This can be seen in the example of Ariel driving a cart on the first ride with the prince, as well as in the second part of the cartoon "The Little Mermaid: Return to the Sea", when the younger sister of the sea witch Ursula Morgana tries to steal baby Melody. Then Ariel grabs the prince's saber and cuts the rope with a clear movement in order to knock the witch into the water and not allow harm to the child.

High adaptability

Which confirms how quickly she learned to stand and walk on newly acquired human legs. While an ordinary person has to learn to use their lower limbs for much longer than a few minutes. In addition, Ariel very quickly adopted human traditions and learned how to use household items correctly. In any case, after the first incident, she no longer combed her hair with a fork in public and did not try to blow on the smoking pipe in front of the amazed audience.

Enchanting magic voice

Like the voices of the ancient Greek sirens, the voice and singing of Ariel in all respects has magical properties. She woke Prince Eric with her singing when he was unconscious after the shipwreck. The hypnotic power of the mermaid's voice was used by the witch Ursula to bewitch the prince. Ariel herself never used her voice for dark purposes.

Singing Ariel

The Little Mermaid: Cartoon 1989 (The Little Mermaid 1989)

The Little Mermaid, or "The Little Mermaid" is a 1989 cartoon from Disney Studios. This is a revised fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen about the most egregious misalliance: a mermaid in love with a man. The tale ends tragically, but the creators of the cartoon decided that the ending of the literary source was too harsh, and adapted the script for the little ones, writing a happy ending.

The Disney Little Mermaid is the youngest of the seven daughters of King Triton, ruler of the Atlantic. Ariel is 16 years old. She is very interested in the world of people, and, despite the strict prohibitions of her father, she often comes to the surface.

Ariel and Sebastian

At the beginning of the cartoon, the little mermaid Ariel and her friend, the fish Flounder, explore a sunken ship in search of human things that Ariel passionately collects. There the heroes are attacked by a shark, however, avoiding sharp teeth, they swim away with their prey (a fork and a smoking pipe). Having risen to the surface, the Little Mermaid turns to Scuttle, a familiar seagull, with a request to identify the objects found under water. Scuttle says the fork is a tool for combing hair and styling hairstyles, and the pipe is a musical instrument. The latter item reminds Ariel that she was supposed to perform at a concert in honor of her father. She hurries home to the castle, where she receives a severe reprimand both for being late and for climbing to the surface. King Triton strictly forbids his daughter to float upstairs. However, Ariel, with the obstinacy characteristic of adolescents, does not want to obey his father. She goes to her secret refuge - a grotto, where a huge collection of things from the human world is kept. Dreams of land are interrupted by a ship sailing over the head of the little mermaid. She rises to the surface and looks at the ship. There she sees Prince Eric celebrating his birthday. Ariel falls hopelessly in love with a human man. Meanwhile, a terrible storm is played out at sea, and the ship sinks. The little mermaid saves her lover and drags him ashore. After waking him up with her enchanting singing, she hides in the water.

Ariel sings

King Triton, learning that his daughter is in love with a man, destroys the entire collection of Ariel in a secret grotto. In desperation, the girl turns to the sea witch Ursula to help her. Ursula transforms Ariel into a person with one condition: Prince Eric must give the girl a kiss of love within three days. If this does not happen, Ariel's soul will belong to the sea witch. In addition, the witch takes the girl's wonderful voice as a pledge, leaving her dumb. The contract is signed by a signature.

Once ashore, wrapped in a sail, the Little Mermaid meets her prince. Eric seems familiar with the girl's face, and he takes her to his castle to help and warm her. The Little Mermaid begins a mission to seduce the prince. Eric takes Ariel for a walk around the kingdom, the spontaneity and sweet disposition of the girl conquers him and he wants to kiss her, but this is prevented by the henchmen of the sea sorceress - electric eels. They overturn the boat in which the prince and the Little Mermaid took a romantic trip.

On the last day of the contract with the witch, Ariel wakes up to the news that Prince Eric is going to marry. But not on it. The sea witch, assuming the guise of the dark-haired young girl Vanessa, decided to take matters into her own hands and hypnotized the prince using the voice of the Little Mermaid, enclosed in a nautilus shell. The ship with the guests and the bride and groom sails away, leaving grieving Ariel on the shore. Meanwhile, Scuttle looks through the window and sees that Vanessa is a sea witch, about which Ariel is in a hurry to inform. The little mermaid jumps into the water to catch up with the ship and rescue the prince from the witch's clutches. The girl's friends (seagulls, seals, fish) prevent the wedding. In the midst of the confusion, the shell amulet containing the little mermaid's voice shatters. Intoxicated Prince Eric regains his sight, a voice returns to Ariel, but too late. The sun sets and with its last ray the pact with the sea witch takes effect. Ariel becomes the Mermaid again, and Ursula takes her with him into the depths of the sea. Her path is blocked by King Triton, who was notified of everything by the crab Sebastian. When Triton realizes that he cannot influence the agreement signed by his daughter's hand, he sacrifices himself for Ariel and offers himself in her place. The witch takes possession of the magic royal trident. However, Prince Eric is not ready to part with his barely found lover, even a mermaid, and tries to kill the witch with a harpoon. In the ensuing fight, the witch's pets die - electric eels, in a rage she wants to destroy both Ariel and the prince, turning into a giant and causing a storm. However, Eric kills the sorceress by propelling her belly with the sharp nose of a ship raised from the bottom of the sea in a whirlpool.

King Triton, realizing that his daughter is suffering from love for a mortal, turns her into a human. Lovers reunite and get married.

Ariel and Eric's wedding

The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea

In the continuation of the story about Ariel, "The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea" shows the events that happened a year after the wedding of Ariel and Eric. The couple has a daughter, Melody. The baby's safety is threatened by the insane younger sister of the deceased witch Ursula. So that little Melody is not in danger, Ariel and her husband decide to keep their daughter away from the sea and its inhabitants. To this end, they build a high wall on the shore and do not tell the maturing Melody about her marine relatives. However, the voice of the sea turns out to be stronger, and the girl, having reached 12 years old, unable to overcome her love for the water element, finds herself in the clutches of the witch Morgana and her minions. Ariel is forced to temporarily transform back into a mermaid in order to find and save her daughter.

The cartoon "The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea" is slightly different from the canon version. Nevertheless, this part is the official sequel to the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" from Disney.

Ariel, Melody's mom, in The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea

The Little Mermaid: The Animated Series

The animated series The Little Mermaid is a prequel to the 1989 Disney cartoon about Ariel. It was released in 1992 and follows the events that take place a year before the story featured in the original Disney cartoon. Ariel is 15 years old and does not yet know Prince Eric. She carelessly lives in the sea and seeks adventure on her mermaid's tail. When it gets into trouble, it usually comes out dry from the water. Ariel's friends, Flounder the flounder and Sebastian the crab, accompany her on all her adventures.

The Little Mermaid: The Beginning of Ariel's Story

The Little Mermaid: The Beginning of Ariel's Story is the prehistory of the 1989 Disney fairy tale The Little Mermaid. Long before the events of the original cartoon, little Ariel and her sisters enjoy life and music in the company of Triton's father and mother, Queen Athena. The mermaid people are happily resting in the lagoon, playing musical instruments and singing. King Triton is in love with his wife, as in his youth, and gives her a beautiful music box as a gift. However, the idyll is interrupted by the appearance of pirates. The mermaids flee, but in the confusion, Queen Athena dies under the keel of a pirate ship. King Triton is overwhelmed with grief. Mourning descends on the kingdom of the Atlantic. The ruler forbids music, dancing and merriment as a sign of his endless sorrow.

Little Ariel with her father in "The Little Mermaid: The Beginning of Ariel's Story"

Ten years later, Ariel and her sisters live under the strict supervision of the governess Marina del Rey and her assistant, Benjamin the manatee. Marina hates her job and wants to be promoted to advisor to King Triton. Ariel and her sisters are burdened by a sad and routine lifestyle, and she quarrels with her father over the lack of music in the life of the kingdom. One day Ariel sees Flounder floating somewhere thieving. Following him, the Little Mermaid discovers an underground music club where the fish are having fun. To her surprise, the girl sees in the club and Sebastian, Triton's royal advisor. Ariel does not talk about her find, however Marina del Rey at some point also discovers an underground club and tells everything to King Triton. The participants in the fun pastime are imprisoned, Ariel and her sisters are placed under house arrest, and Marina del Rey receives the coveted post of adviser to Triton.

At some point, Ariel realizes that it cannot continue this way, and frees her friends from prison. They swim away to a secluded place away from the palace of King Triton. By chance, Ariel finds a music box, once given by his father to his mother. She, along with Sebastian, wants to go back and remind her father that Athena would never let the music die away in the kingdom. On the way they get Marina, who does not want to lose her position. King Triton sees the wickedness of his advisor and regrets that he did this to his old friends, daughters and inhabitants of the sea. Music returns to the kingdom, Sebastian the crab receives the position of court composer, Ariel, Flounder and the rest of the sea people rejoice and prosper.

The original concept of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Story Begins suggested that Ariel, along with Sebastian, should accompany Prince Eric in search of the white whale.

Ariel and Sisters in The Little Mermaid: The Beginning of Ariel's Story

Based on Andersen's fairy tale, the Soviet cartoon "The Little Mermaid" was created at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in 1968. Directed by Ivan Aksenchuk. In our version of the tale, an innovative for that time technological method of making backgrounds - "photo collage" was used, and fragments of Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach sounded in the musical accompaniment. In the 1980s, the Soviet cartoon The Little Mermaid was released on videotapes as part of a collection of cartoon fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. In the early 2000s, the Soviet "Little Mermaid" was restored and released on DVD.

The series "Once upon a time"

The little mermaid Ariel also appears on ABC's Once Upon a Time. The Little Mermaid was played by American TV star Joanna Garcia.

Joanna Garcia as Ariel, Once Upon a Time

The Little Mermaid with Chloe Grace Moretz

In 2017, the release of a full-length film about the little mermaid Ariel was announced from Universal Pictures and Working Title. The starring role will be played by young star Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, 500 Days of Summer). In the director's chair, fans could contemplate Sofia Coppola for a while, who, however, abandoned the project due to creative disagreements with the producers. Her version of the famous fairy tale could become even darker than Andersen's. Transgender Andrea Pejic was expected to play the main role. According to the latest news, Briton Joe Wright is currently at the helm of the project.

The film "The Little Mermaid" (Czechoslovakia)

The television film The Little Mermaid was filmed in Czechoslovakia in 1976. This film adaptation is quite close to the original fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, directed by Karel Kahinja. The young actress Miroslava Shafrankova was cast as the Little Mermaid. Her sister Libuše Shafrankova, known to viewers as Cinderella from Three Nuts for Cinderella, also starred in the Czech version of the famous fairy tale - as the lady of the heart of the prince. The film "The Little Mermaid" by Karel Kahini is distinguished by an original approach to filming, make-up and costumes of the characters. The mermaids from the Czech adaptation have multi-colored hair with fragments of human things stuck in them, and long flowing dresses in hair color.

The Little Mermaid Drama

There is a modern South Korean interpretation of Andersen's famous fairy tale - the serial comedy drama The Little Mermaid. In the story, the Mermaid falls in love with a human youth and, in order to find happiness on land, she needs to get rid of her tail, find an apartment and get a job. The South Korean version of Ariel is given 100 days for everything. The Little Mermaid drama has 10 episodes.

The Little Mermaid Drama

The Little Mermaid Ariel appears in a huge number of video games in various formats. Starting from flash games, which are presented in a variety on our resource, to games about the Little Mermaid for Sega consoles.

The game of the same name "The Little Mermaid"

An alternate version of the original cartoon, where the witch Ursula is alive and takes control of the ocean. Ariel, who was going to marry Prince Eric, is forced to become a mermaid again and go to sea to fight the sorceress. Most of the game takes place in the underwater world, where the Little Mermaid can shoot bubbles at enemies and trap them in a bubble, throw them at each other, and look for treasure in secluded corners. In addition, the game has a feature when Ariel digs in the sand and finds pearls, shells or other treasures. Her old enemies - sharks and moray eels - have returned to the game as bosses. After Ursula is defeated, Ariel needs to get out on land and become human again. Her father, King Triton, helps her in this.

Kingdom Hearts series of games about the Little Mermaid

The little mermaid Ariel appears in the Kingdom Hearts series of games. She is positioned not as one of the seven princesses (her place is taken by Alice in Wonderland), but as one of two female warriors, along with Mulan. Ariel joins Donald and Goofy in the fight against enemies.

Ariel in Kingdom Hearts

Disney Princesses: Enchanted Journeys Game

For the first time in this game, we meet Ariel sitting on a stone next to the port, waiting for the blonde-haired heroine of the game. The little mermaid convinces her that both the land and the sea have lost their music, and takes her to the underwater kingdom to return the voices of the sea people and keep human treasures intact. They later escort the blue crabs to safety and head to the lagoon to bring a chorus of animals there.

The Little Mermaid Ariel at Disney Parks

The Little Mermaid Ariel is one of the permanent characters in Disney Parks. In the Disneylands of Florida and Tokyo, there is a special grotto in which the Little Mermaid greets guests in her underwater guise - with a fish tail. The character Ariel participates in Mickey Mouse parades and other Disneyland holiday and theme parades.

The Little Mermaid: Cartoon 1989 vs The Little Mermaid: Andersen's Tale

There are a number of fundamental differences between the book heroine (the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid") and the cartoon ("The Little Mermaid", cartoon 1989).

  • The original Little Mermaid had 5 sisters, while Disney's Ariel had 6.
  • Andersen's Little Mermaid did not have a name as such, she was just a little sea maiden. Disney Studios named their little mermaid "Ariel".
  • The Book Little Mermaid is 15 years old, Ariel is 16.
  • In the original story, the Little Mermaid has a grandmother with whom she constantly talks.
  • In the book, mermaids are allowed to surface and observe people if they are 15 years old. In the cartoon, Ariel the Little Mermaid, even at the age of 16, was not allowed to rise to the surface.
  • The grandmother of the sea maiden said that despite the fact that mermaids live longer than people (sometimes for 300 years), people do have a soul. So the main motivation of Andersen's Little Mermaid is to get an immortal human soul. Not the love of a prince.
  • In exchange for the voice in the fairy tale, the witch gives the Little Mermaid a potion, which makes her a person and allows her to dance beautifully. The Witch warns the Little Mermaid that she can never return to the sea. In addition, the poor thing is not supposed to have an immortal soul until she meets a man who loves her in return and marries her. And at dawn of the first day, if her beloved marries another, the Little Mermaid will turn into sea foam. Disney, however, immediately laid the soul in his heroine, this is confirmed by the agreement with Ursula, who gave Ariel legs in exchange for her soul and voice.
  • The cartoon Ariel had more interest in humanity than her book prototype. She collected a collection of human-made objects. While in the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" it was the sisters of the Little Mermaid who were fond of exploring sunken ships and searching for human things.
  • When Andersen's Little Mermaid got her legs, every step caused her unbearable pain - it was the price to be paid for being human. Disney's Little Mermaid just got legs and didn't feel any discomfort while using her new limbs.

Little Mermaid Ariel

In 2008, the musical "The Little Mermaid" was released on Broadway, a year earlier in Denver the premiere of the musical version of the famous Disney cartoon took place, but it was soon closed due to a strike of Broadway workers. Several new compositions were added to the main songs of the Little Mermaid (Part of your World, Under the Sea, Kiss the Girl) from the cartoon. The role of Ariel in the musical The Little Mermaid was played by Broadway actresses Sierra Boggess and Chelsea Morgan Stock. On the opening night, the main song of The Little Mermaid was sung by Jody Benson, who voiced Ariel in the original cartoon.

Musical Little Mermaid

Doll The Little Mermaid / Barbie The Little Mermaid

A distinctive feature of the Little Mermaid doll is its color-changing hair. As a rule, under the influence of water, blond hair turns pink or purple. There are several variations of the Little Mermaid Barbie doll with different hair colors. There are also models that can change not only hair, but also the color of the tail. In cold water, the tail takes on a pale pink hue, in hot water - a bright purple. The Barbie Little Mermaid's tail can also be different. There are models in which a fabric tail is part of the costume and hides the legs. On sale you can find Little Mermaid dolls with a flexible tail that can bend and turn, but cannot transform into legs. Included with such dolls are a comb and a seahorse, which can draw water and shoot a thin stream.

Public criticism and perception

"The Little Mermaid", a cartoon of 1989, like other canon pictures of the studio ("Snow White", some cartoons about Mickey Mouse, etc.), gave rise to a number of asymmetric views on its plot. For example, there is an opinion that in the kingdom of the Atlantic, in the homeland of Ariel, cheerful fascism rules the ball: some fish here swim easily and freely, while others are actively exploited by the ruling class, harnessed to chariots (Triton's dolphins and guppy fish, Sebastian's crab) and uses instead of musical instruments.

The Little Mermaid herself is accused of pathological plushkinism, as well as an immature feeling for the handsome prince. The patriarchal retro-style of the fairy tale was also criticized. The main message of the children's cartoon, according to some critics, is as follows - be cute! And it doesn't matter what you say and whether you say anything at all - your appearance is with you ...

Ariel hipster

  • The Little Mermaid Ariel is the only official Disney princess who is not human in origin.
  • Ariel is the only Disney princess who gave birth to a child and became a mother.
  • Unlike her sisters, Ariel the Little Mermaid does not wear hair accessories, except for sea flowers.
  • All of Ariel's sisters have names that start with the letter "A" and end with the same letter. Except for Ariel.
  • From Hebrew the name Ariel is translated as "God's lion", and this is the name of the archangel Ariel.
  • The pose of Ariel the Little Mermaid near the end of the cartoon, when she sat on a boulder and looked sadly at her lover, was inspired by the monument to the Little Mermaid in Sweden.
  • Despite the fact that Ariel and her mother Athena are strikingly similar in appearance, Ariel's character went to her father. This is especially noticeable in "The Little Mermaid 2", when Ariel reprimands his daughter Melody for disobeying orders and disobeying, just as King Triton once scolded Ariel herself.
  • Ariel's daughter, Melody, is similar to Ariel, but her cherished desire is diametrically opposite. Ariel dreamed of becoming a human and living on land, and Melody wants to become a mermaid and swim underwater.
  • Outwardly, Melody looks like her father - in the color of her eyes and hair.
  • The Little Mermaid last used the female villainess before Rapunzel's 2010 debut.
  • The Little Mermaid Ariel's nightgown is reminiscent of Princess Anne's nightgown from the movie Roman Holiday.
  • According to the Disneystrology book, Ariel's birthday is October 8th.
  • Ariel is right-handed, as seen when she signs Ursula's contract.
  • The little mermaid Ariel has become an Internet meme: she is often portrayed in hipster oversized glasses with thick rims, tattoos and matching outfit.
  • Ariel is the first character to have his own musical (the second is Beauty and the Beast).
  • The Little Mermaid Ariel is the only Disney character who knows sign language.