This article lists information of animated characters from Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise, covering the 1989 film, its prequel TV series, its direct to video sequel and prequel films, and the stage musical adaptation.
[edit] The Little Mermaid
Ariel is the youngest daughter of King Triton and the main protagonist of the franchise. She has many friends but is usually found with her best friend Flounder, a fish that is always with her by her side. She is voiced by Jodi Benson. She has six older sisters. She has a kind heart although often naive, and overwhelmed by her emotions, which tends to get her in trouble. According to the DVD game, Ariel's favorite color is emerald green and she likes every kind of music. She has a very beautiful soul with a delightful voice to match, but sometimes this voice can be taken for granted when Ursula steals it to use to make prince Eric fall in love with her.
Prince Eric is the hero and the deuteragonist of the film. Eric was, at first, secretly admired by Ariel. The character is based on the "prince" character of Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Little Mermaid" but adapted by the writer-directors Ron Clements and John Musker for the film adaptation. According to the film's official novelisation, Eric had just turned eighteen in the film, two years older than Ariel.[1] The character is voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes in the original film and the Kingdom Hearts video games, by Jeff Bennett in the prequel television series, and by Rob Paulsen in the direct-to-video sequel.
In his first scene, Eric is seen riding his ship with his happy-go-lucky crew. He is seen as happy to be at sea and listens to the ship's crew talk about merpeople. Later that night, a powerful storm hits and he almost drowns trying to save his dog Max, but he is saved by Ariel. She drags him to shore and sings to him, but before he can regain consciousness fully, Max and his servant Grimsby arrive, forcing Ariel to dive underwater. When Eric is seen again, he is haunted by Ariel's voice, and has been searching the kingdom for her. When he crosses paths with Ariel again, she has traded her voice for legs, and though he initially finds her familiar, her lack of a voice makes him think that she cannot be the girl who rescued him. However, he brings her back to his palace and they spend time together. During a boat ride, the two come close to kissing, but Flotsam and Jetsam intervene by tipping over their boat. Before he can approach Ariel again, Ursula, disguised as a human girl named Vanessa, arrives and uses Ariel's voice to hypnotize Eric into believing she is the girl who saved his life and to forget all about Ariel. Eric almost marries Vanessa, but before the vows are completed, Ariel's friend Scuttle leads a group of sea creatures to stop the wedding. During the chaos, the sea shell around Vanessa's neck containing Ariel's voice is smashed and the spell is broken. Ariel's voice is also restored, making Eric realize that Ariel is the girl he has been looking for. Before they can kiss, the sun sets and Ursula claims Ariel. Eric goes after them, diving into the sea to help Ariel. In the battle that follows, Eric climbs on to a ship and charges it towards Ursula, plunging the splintered prow into her belly. Eric manages to reach the shore, and when he wakes, he sees Ariel, transformed back into a human, and the two embrace. The film ends with their wedding, at which Eric and Ariel exchange vows.
In the 2000 direct-to-video sequel, Eric is a supporting character. Although happily married to Ariel, the couple have a problem in protecting their daughter Melody from Ursula's sister, Morgana. Morgana blames everyone on board Eric's ship for killing Ursula although it was only Eric who skewered Ursula. Eric does not contribute to the plot, often playing a supporting role in helping Ariel. However, he was the one who convinced Ariel to temporarily transform into a mermaid to help their daughter. In the end, he was reunited with Ariel and Melody as humans and merfolk began celebrating together.
Eric makes very brief cameo appearances in three episodes in the prequel television series, set before the events of the 1989 film, and that focuses almost entirely on Ariel.
In the 2007 Broadway musical adaptation of the Disney film, the role of Eric was originated by Sean Palmer; in addition, Drew Seeley played the role. It is explained through dialogue that Eric's father has died, and it is Grimsby's duty to help Eric find a bride so he can return to the throne properly, despite Eric's affinity for exploring the seas. Eric contributes singing vocals to the opening song "Fathoms Below", and performs two solo songs: "Her Voice", a song about Eric's obsession with Ariel's voice that had been written for the original film but discarded, and "One Step Closer", a new song where Eric helps Ariel express herself through dance. Eric also provides vocals in the quartet "If Only", where he expresses confusion over his attraction to Ariel, and his fear that if he finds the girl with the right voice, he might lose Ariel. A new subplot in the stage musical is a singing competition where the eligible princesses in all the land are invited to sing for Eric. The princesses perform in the song "The Contest", which is set to the tune of Ariel's song "Part of Your World". At the end of the performance, Ariel dances for Eric, and he chooses her.
Sebastian (full name Horatio Thelonious Ignacious Crustaceous Sebastian when introduced as the distinguished court composer) is a red jamaican crab, the servant of King Triton and the film's primary tritagonist. The character was developed solely for the film, and is not derived from the original Hans Christian Andersen story. Aside from being a Caribbean crab, Sebastian is also known for his Jamaican accent. In his appearances in film and television, Sebastian is voiced by Samuel E. Wright. When the film opens, Sebastian is announced as being the "royal court composer", and conducts a concert that King Triton's seven daughters are supposed to perform. Ariel, the youngest daughter, fails to show up for the concert, and later Sebastian joins King Triton in scolding her, blaming her for his humiliation. King Triton, worried about Ariel, tasks Sebastian with following Ariel and keeping her out of trouble. Sebastian tries to do the job given to him, and is horrified when Ariel saves the life of and falls in love with a human. Sebastian accidentally lets this information slip to King Triton, who confronts Ariel. Feeling guilty for having "betrayed" Ariel and appalled by King Triton's behaviour, Sebastian follows Ariel when she visits Ursula the sea witch for help, and later becomes an adviser in her quest to win Prince Eric's affections. After Ursula disguises herself as a human and wins over Prince Eric, Sebastian goes down to inform King Triton, and later becomes instrumental in helping Ariel and Prince Eric defeat Ursula.
Sebastian appears in every episode of the prequel television series, which follows the adventures of Ariel when she is still a mermaid. Sebastian is shown as being a good friend of Ariel and Flounder. He is sometimes strict and often critical of Ariel's adventurous ways, but often ends up going on her adventures with her. Throughout the series Sebastian's character is further developed via dialogue and entire episodes dedicated to him. In the episode "Tail of Two Crabs", Sebastian has a rivalry with a crab named Zeus, and they both try to one-up the other. According to dialogue in this episode, Sebastian was born in Jamaica and went to Music Academy in Trinidad prior to joining King Triton's staff as his assistant; in "Eel-Ectric City" he also reveals he had the stage name "Dizzy Crustace" (krust-AY-she).
In the sequel, Sebastian is tasked by King Triton to watch over Ariel's daughter, Princess Melody, repeating his role from the original film. As he is hiding in a pink ribbon, Melody grabs it by tying it up in a bow accidentally gagging him when she is getting prepared for the party. In the 2008 prequel, Sebastian is initially shown as being a strict enforcer of the sea king's rules. All music has been banned from Atlantica, but it is later revealed that Sebastian has been secretly performing music on the outskirts of the city as the leader of The Catfish Club Band, which performs in an underground club. When the underground club is revealed to Triton, Sebastian is placed in jail with the rest of his band for having exposed the king's daughters to the forbidden activity. Thanks to Ariel, they manage to escape. As part of a premeditated plan, Sebastian leads them far away from Atlantica to a specific spot where Ariel finds her mother's discarded music box. Sebastian wants music to return to Atlantica so Triton can regain his happiness, and he returns with Ariel to convince Triton to change his mind. However, Sebastian is secretly hated by Ariel's governess, the scheming Marina del Ray. When she learns of their return, she decides to eliminate them both so as to avoid suspicion. During the fight, Sebastian is able to hold his own against Marina and her eels. When the film ends, music is restored to Atlantica, and Sebastian becomes the "royal court composer", setting up his role in the opening of the original film.
Sebastian has released two reggae albums for children under the Walt Disney Records label. Both of these were released on CD and audio cassette, and are well out of print, but at least one is available on the iTunes music store. The first was Sebastian From The Little Mermaid, featuring songs from The Little Mermaid, along with covers such as Three Little Birds, and original tunes. The second, released in October 1991 is Sebastian: Party Gras! This album consists entirely of reggae covers of classic songs such as "Iko Iko", "Octopus's Garden", "Twist and Shout", and "What a Wonderful World", as well as a few original tunes.[2]
Sebastian made an appearance in all three titles of the Kingdom Hearts series of video games, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson in the English version and Kōichi Yamadera in the Japanese version. He also is part of the song called "A New Day is Dawning" and made a brief appearance in Aladdin: When the Genie, while trying to find the right 'recipe' for turning Aladdin into a prince, is looking at the Royal Recipes book, he pulls out Sebastian (clamped to his finger) and flicks him off. He also appears in the Aladdin video game in a cameo scene, as a prisoner in the level "Sultan's Dungeon." Sebastian is also one of guest star in Raw Toonage and as the main character of the spin-off in 9 episodes from the series Disney's Marsupilami. Sebastian was featured as a guest in Disney's House of Mouse. Sebastian also appeared in the finale to the 101 Dalmatians (TV series) in which he pinches a puppy's tail. He is also a remote-controlled playable character in Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey seen holding a bucket in his claws with your help to catch Ariel's falling human artifacts.
Sebastin's part in the stage musical adaption of The Little Mermaid was different than the film. He is not in the scene where Ariel saves Prince Eric. Also, his song Under the Sea was moved to after Triton destroys Ariel's treasures instead of before it. In the Les Possions reprise, he is being chased by the chefs and the maids. He also has in a part in the song "If Only" where he wished to make Ariel's wish come true. He later goes back into the ocean to apologize to Triton and tell him about Ariel's deal with Ursula. The role of Sebastin in the musical was originated by Tituss Burgess. From August 5 to October 27, Burgess was temporary replaced by understudy Alan Mingo Jr. when he had an accident. Burgess later was re-replaced by Rodgelio Douglas Jr. on December 9, 2008, who made his Broadway debut in the Tony-Award winning musical In the Heights.
Early on in the writing and development of The Little Mermaid, the character that would later become Sebastian was originally an English-butler crab named Clarence; songwriter Howard Ashman proposed changing Clarence to a Jamaican Rastafarian crab and shifting the music style throughout the film to reflect this. Duncan Marjoribanks served as Sebastian's supervising animator.
Flounder, Ariel's best friend, is a bright yellow and golden blue colored tropical fish despite the name, he is not a flounder, but is a juvenile atlantic blue tang. He is the secondary tritagonist of the film. In all appearances, he is seen to be younger.
Flounder scares easily, and is prone to panicking under stressful situations like a single shark breaching the sunken ship, but when Ariel is in trouble, he comes through for her without hesitation. In the film he is the only character to give unconditional support for Ariel's fascination with human things, and at one point gives Ariel a statue of Eric as a gift. He is voiced by Jason Marin in the 1989 film and the album called Sebastian From The Little Mermaid.
Flounder appears in all the episodes of the prequel television series, sharing constant adventures with Ariel. According to the television series, Flounder's real name is Guppy Number 35. In the episode "Land Of The Dinosaurs", when he has been found frozen in an ice cube, Ariel thaws him with King Triton's trident and he gets a cold. In the series, he is voiced by Edan Gross and Bradley Pierce.
Flounder has a small role in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, where he is reunited with an adult Ariel and takes part in the search for Melody. He became a grown-up teenager and a father himself, with five children of his own and he first meets Melody in Morgana's lair. In this film, he is voiced by Cam Clarke.
He has a larger role in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, in which he first meets Ariel (contradicting the TV series, specifically the episode "The Evil Manta", which showed a completely different version of their first meeting) and later unknowingly leads her to the Catfish Club, where he works as a waiter, but dreams of being a part of the Catfish Club Band. His characterization is notably different in this movie; he does not scare as easily and is much more carefree and high-spirited. He's obsessed with music, constantly humming and beatboxing even at inappropriate moments, which, given that music is forbidden in Atlantica, lands him into trouble on more than one occasion, but which also helps others keep their spirits up, most notably when his beatboxing kicks off the reprise of "Jump In The Line (Shake, Senora)" when he, Ariel, Sebastian and the Catfish Club Band are on the run from Atlantica. In this film, he is voiced by Parker Goris.
Flounder appears in the Kingdom Hearts series, where his role as Ariel's friend remains. His biggest role is in Kingdom Hearts II, where Ursula sent him to the surface to force Ariel to give her the trident. He also sings his part in the song called "A New Day is Dawning". He also appears in Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey as Ariel's sidekick and is voiced by Anthony Skillman. He is also a remote-controlled playable character in the same game seen holding a big conch shell on his head with your help to catch the voice orbs.
At the Disney theme parks, Flounder makes cameo appearances in the Mickey's Philharmagic 3D show and in the Hong Kong Disneyland version of "It's a Small World". He has also appeared in the parks as a walk-around character, but mostly in parades, shows and special events such as "Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party".
Flounder appears in the stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid. His supporting role is similar as in the film, but he does not give Ariel the statue of Eric, and does not help Ariel reach Eric's wedding barge, as the Vanessa subplot has been removed. However, Flounder performs a new song titled "She's in Love", which he sings with Ariel's sisters when they notice that Ariel has been acting "fishy lately". The stage role was originated by Cody Hanford and J.J. Singleton, but the two actors had to leave the show when their height overshot that of Sierra Boggess, who originated Ariel. The role was taken over by Trevor Braun and Brian D'Addario. On the Original Broadway Cast Recording, Brian D'Addario performs as Flounder.
Ursula is the main antagonist of the 1989 film. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in the film. Ursula is based on the "sea witch/sorceress" character in Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Little Mermaid". In the original story the sea witch is a neutral enabler, but for Disney's animated adaptation, the character was modified into a full-fledged antagonist and plays a larger role in the overall story. Ursula is a part-octopus sea witch who "helps" unfortunate merfolk to achieve her own goals. Ursula frequently turns them into polyps and imprisons them. Her appearance is of an obese purple-skinned, white-haired female human with a facial mole, but from the waist down she has six black tentacles.
When Ursula first appears in the film, she states through monologue that she once lived in the royal palace of King Triton. She was banished from Atlantica due to previously trying to attack and seize the throne, and made her home in the remains of a leviathan. Ursula commands her minions, the twin moray eels Flotsam and Jetsam, to watch Triton's youngest daughter Ariel, who might be "the key to Triton's undoing". Ursula forms her plan to seize power around Ariel's forbidden love for the human Prince Eric. Flotsam and Jetsam persuade Ariel to go to Ursula's lair, claiming that the sea witch is the only one who can solve her problem. Via the song "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Ursula proposes a deal in which she will turn Ariel into a human for three days. If Ariel receives the "kiss of true love" from Prince Eric before sunset on the third day, her transformation will be permanent. However, if Ariel fails, she will turn back into a mermaid and be bound to Ursula forever. The price of transformation is Ariel's voice. Ariel signs a magical contract and Ursula takes her voice, and then transforms Ariel into a mute human.
When Ariel comes "too close" to succeeding, an enraged Ursula decides to sabotage the bargain and takes the form of a beautiful human woman named "Vanessa". Ursula uses Ariel's voice to hypnotize Eric into marrying Vanessa at dusk on the third day. Shortly before the wedding, Scuttle discovers that "Vanessa" is really Ursula in disguise and hurries to tell Ariel, and then helps to ruin the wedding. Complete mayhem ensues, and Scuttle destroys Ursula's necklace, restoring Ariel's voice to its original owner. Ursula's control over Eric breaks, and he reunites with Ariel. However, the sun sets just before Ariel and Eric can kiss, and Ariel reverts back to her mermaid form. Ursula, transforming back into her original form, claims Ariel and drags her back into the sea. Ursula is quickly confronted by Triton who demands that she release Ariel, but the tables turn when Ursula reveals that the contract Ariel signed is unbreakable. Ursula offers to let Triton take Ariel's place in the contract, setting Ariel free, but in exchange, Triton must forfeit his power. Triton agrees and is transformed into a polyp. Ursula takes the crown and magical trident, claiming herself as the new ruler of the seas. Meanwhile, Prince Eric decides to go rescue Ariel and fight Ursula. A small battle ensues undersea, culminating with Ursula accidentally disintegrating Flotsam and Jetsam with an energy bolt from the trident. After mourning for her pet eels, an enraged Ursula grows to gigantic proportions and begins creating a massive oceanic storm and whirlpool, which brings up several submerged ships from the depths. Eric manages to board one of these ships. In order to ensure that there are no other heirs to the throne, Ursula traps Ariel inside a whirlpool she created. Ursula then tries to execute the mermaid princess with blasts from the trident. Ariel just barely manages to survive each blast. Ursula then raises the trident and prepares an unavoidable, fatal blast for Ariel. The princess gapes in horror, certain of her doom. Just before Ariel's execution can be carried out, Ursula is defeated by Eric, who drives the sunken ship's broken mast into her abdomen, and she sinks into the ocean with the ship, while Eric barely managed to escape. With Ursula gone, her evil spells also cease to function; the polyps turn back into merpeople and escape from Ursula's hideout.
Ursula appears as a occasional antagonist in four episodes of The Little Mermaid prequel television series: "Against the Tide", "Tail of Two Crabs", "Heroes" and "Ariel's Treasures". In all four episodes, she executes various plans to antagonize King Triton and take over Atlantica, but all fail. In the first two episodes, interaction between Ariel and Ursula is kept at a minimum, but in the later ones, Ariel and Ursula face each other more directly. Ursula does not appear in the direct-to-DVD film The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, but she is mentioned many times, mostly by her sister Morgana and is seen as a picture with a nice face. In the family portrait during the cut song "Gonna Get My Wish", Ursula was also depicted with Teal skin similar to Morgana.
Ursula appears in Disney park attractions such as the Fantasmic! show debuted in 1992 at Disneyland Park, as one of the Disney Villains summoned to destroy Mickey Mouse. Ursula is a central character in the annual Halloween-themed fireworks show HalloWishes at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party "hard ticket" event. Ursula also appears at the tail end of the Little Mermaid unit in Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams at Disneyland.
In the Kingdom Hearts video game, Ursula appears as one of Maleficent's co-conspirators, using the power of the Heartless to attack Atlantica and gain power. In this version of events, the official walkthrough states that Ursula was King Triton's fortuneteller before she was banished. Ursula is eventually defeated by Sora, Ariel, Donald Duck and Goofy. In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, she appears as a facsimile created from Sora's memories. In Kingdom Hearts II, Ursula mysteriously returns through the powers of darkness and appears to Ariel, and recreates her film role. As the film's storyline is retold in the game, Ursula does not recognize Sora and co., and Ariel makes no mention of her defeat in the original Kingdom Hearts. In fact, when Ursula arrives to make the deal with Ariel, the latter reacts as though she has seen Ursula for the first time. Sora, however, does note that Ursula "got what she deserved" in the first game. At the story's climax, she is defeated when Eric hurls the trident straight through Ursula's chest, destroying her seemingly once and for all. However, she seems to appear in the upcoming game Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, confronting Sora and Riku out at sea in her giant form from the end of the movie.
In the musical version of the original film, Sherie Rene Scott originated the live role, which she played until January 25, 2009. Heidi Blickenstaff played the role from January 27, 2009 to April 2009. Faith Prince took over the role April 7, 2009. In this version, Ursula is King Triton's sister (an original concept for the original film that was eventually dropped). As revealed in the lyrics of Ursula's song "I Want the Good Times Back", when their father died, the pair were given equal share of the sea plus two magical items. Triton received the trident while Ursula received the magic Nautilus shell. Though the two were to rule the seas together, Ursula's greed and use of dark magic to usurp Triton led to her being banished. The need for revenge is her motivation for the show. The idea of Ursula being Ariel's aunt is also implied in the Disney Press book The Villain Files.
She has appeared for the concept art from Epic Mickey in 2010. When Ursula tries to kidnap Gremlin Gus, Mickey comes to the rescue and saved him from trying to let go of her clutches.
The design of Ursula was based upon drag performer Divine. Pat Carroll was not Clements and Musker's first choice to voice Ursula; the original script had been written with Bea Arthur of the Disney-owned TV series The Golden Girls in mind.[4] After Arthur turned the part down, actresses such as Nancy Marchand, Nancy Wilson, Rosanne Barr, Charlotte Rae, and Elaine Stritch were considered for the part.[4] Stritch was eventually cast as Ursula, but clashed with Howard Ashman's style of music production and was replaced by Carroll.[4] Ruben Aquino served as the supervising animator for Ursula. Originally, Glen Keane had been asked to work on Ursula, as he had established a reputation for drawing large, powerful figures, such as the bear in The Fox and the Hound and Professor Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective.[5] The staff of Variety praised Ursula as "a visual feast, a thick-jawed nightmare who swishes about on eight octopus legs in one of the film's more inspired inventions."[6]
King Triton is the Sea King and Ariel's father. He is voiced by Kenneth Mars in all the above animated material, with the exception of the prequel film, in which he is voiced by Jim Cummings. The reason for his constant clashes with Ariel, according to the film's directors Ron Clements and John Musker, is that both he and Ariel are strong-willed and independent.[7] Triton wields a powerful trident, which is the source of his apparently unlimited power.
In The Little Mermaid, Triton is xenophobic toward humans, and Ariel's fascination with humans causes a strain on their relationship. According to Triton, contact between the human world and the merworld is strictly forbidden. Triton orders his loyal servant, Sebastian, to keep an eye on her. When Triton enters her grotto and learns that Ariel has saved the life and fallen in love with Eric, he destroys her collection of human things. He quickly regret his actions, Triton sadly leaves Ariel sulking alone in her grotto in shame. Eventually, Triton orders a search for her to apologize, unaware that she has accepted Ursula's deal and become a human. Triton blames himself for Ariel's disappearance and his actions against her. He might feel like, he would never show his face in his kingtom ever again. When Sebastian, who had been watching over Ariel, arrives from the surface and tells the king about Ursula's scheme, Triton quickly goes out with Sebastian to find her. When Triton learns that Ariel has signed an agreement with Ursula, he willingly takes his daughter's place and is temporarily transformed into a polyp, but when Ursula is killed by Prince Eric, he is restored to his original form and regains both his crown and his trident. Realizing that Ariel truly loves Eric, the Sea King willingly transforms his daughter back into a human.
Triton is a regular character in the prequel television series. In this series, his is explicitly called the son of Poseidon. A number of episodes show him getting into conflict with Ariel, but it is always resolved in a positive manner, showing a close relationship between father and daughter. In the episode "Red", Triton is temporarily de-aged into a young merboy, reversing the role as Ariel has to worry and take care of him instead. As a young boy, his nickname is Red, for his red hair. Ironically, as a boy, Triton himself is fascinated with humans and human objects; complete reversal of his xenophobia towards humans as an adult. He sometimes agrees with Ariel in some episodes like "Land Of The Dinosaurs"; he understands that the dinosaurs are good after they have been thawed.
Triton appears in the sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea. He seems to trust humans now. His weakness in the film is his love for his granddaughter Melody, and this is exploited by Morgana, Ursula's younger sister and his second rival. But when he has his trident back, he punishes Morgana by freezing her in a giant ice cube. Triton's character in this film is less menacing and intimidating when compared to his other appearances in all other films and the TV series.
In the 2008 direct-to-DVD prequel The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, King Triton has a relationship with Queen Athena. Athena was killed by pirates, Triton banned music from Atlantica and forced everyone to follow a strict daily schedule. Ariel's free-spirited personality is what casts a strain on their relationship in this film, and he is particularly angered when he discovers that the leader of the Catfish Club is Sebastian, detaining him. He eventually comes to realize his mistakes, pardons Sebastian, lifts the ban on music and appoints Sebastian as his court composer at the end of the film.
In the stage musical, Triton is Ursula's older brother, and reveals that a reason he is overprotective of Ariel is because she reminds him of her late mother. In this version, Triton and Ursula are equals, and when their father died, they were each given equal share of the sea and one magical item each: Triton received the trident and Ursula received a magic Nautilus shell. When Ursula began to abuse her power, Triton had her banished, though he did not take away her Nautilus shell. The musical contains new songs that were written for his character. These songs are "That World Above (reprise)" in which he confronts Ariel in her grotto and destroys it, "If Only (quartet)" in which he expresses regret over his behavior towards Ariel, and "If Only (reprise)" in which he lets Ariel go to be with Eric. The stage role is originated by Norm Lewis.
In the Kingdom Hearts series of video games, Triton still plays the role of overprotective father and King of Atlantica. In the first game, his relationship with Ariel becomes strained due to his daughter's desire to see other worlds, and he initially distrusts Sora, Donald and Goofy when they first arrive in Atlantica, having somehow heard of the negative part of the Keyblade legend, but eventually respects Sora when Ursula is defeated and locks the world's keyhole. In Kingdom Hearts II, Triton's relationship with Ariel is strained, this time thanks to Ariel's fascination with the human world. He asks Sora, Donald and Goofy to take part in the music concert with Ariel, but Sora ignores Triton and helps Ariel become human to find and fall in love with Eric. He is also part of the song called "A New Day is Dawning". After Ursula is defeated once again, he respectfully bids a final farewell to Sora. He also appears in The Princess and the Frog as a parade float.
Scuttle is a seagull and friend of Ariel. He appears in the film as an expert on human objects with whom Ariel consults about items she salvages, though his identifications consist of nonsense. He wrongly names a fork a "dinglehopper" and says that it is used as a comb, and a smoking pipe a "snarfblatt" while claiming it works like a trumpet. Scuttle is the only one of Ariel's friends capable of flight and as such is very useful in getting help.
Despite his erroneous information on human things, Scuttle provides support and advice when he learns that Ariel has to win Eric's heart in three days. On the third day, Scuttle is the one who discovers that Vanessa, the woman Eric has decided to marry instead, is actually Ursula. He immediately tells Ariel this information, and helps stall the wedding with help from other marine creatures so to allow Ariel to arrive and confront Eric (as well as smashing Ursula's shell that held Ariel's voice, thus restoring it and freeing Eric from Ursula's spell).
Scuttle appears in a small role in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, where he helps Ariel find her daughter Melody, who has run away. Scuttle is voiced by Buddy Hackett in both the 1989 film and 2000 sequel. This film also implies that Scuttle is able to communicate with Prince Eric as he is the first to arrive on the scene at Morgana's lair after Ariel sent Scuttle. Scuttle appears in two episodes of the third season of the prequel television series in which he is voiced by Maurice LaMarche. The episodes he appears in are "Scuttle", where Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian meet him for the first time (and all four almost meet Prince Eric), and "The Island of Fear". In these episodes, Scuttle's explanation of human things is a mixture of correct and erroneous. Scuttle also made a cameo appearance in an episode of Quack Pack
In The Little Mermaid: Songs from the Sea, Scuttle performs a song called "The Scuttle Strut" on track 3.
Scuttle appears in the stage adaptation of the original film, where he sings two songs: "Human Stuff," where he explains the human things Ariel has brought to him, and "Positoovity," where he encourages a now-human Ariel to be positive in achieving her goal of winning Eric. The role is originated by Eddie Korbich. In the stage musical, Scuttle has a group of seagull friends, and together they perform a tap dance during the "Positoovity" number.
In The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, when Marina is on a rock at the surface (animated the same way with Ariel when she sings a reprise for "Part of Your World" in the first film), she pushes herself up but the wave splashes onto her. Scuttle then appears briefly (without a speaking role, but accompanied instead by realistic seagull sound effects) to whom Marina says "don't touch me", referring to his actions in the first two films - tormenting the villain.
Flotsam and Jetsam are Ursula's green moray eel minions. They frequently do Ursula's bidding and act as her spies, keeping their eye on the events unfolding in and around Atlantica. In The Little Mermaid, they are tasked with following Ariel and report her actions back to Ursula. They eventually manipulate Ariel into visiting Ursula in order to gain human legs. They are ultimately killed in the film's climax when Ursula accidentally destroys them with King Triton's trident. They were voiced by Paddi Edwards in the film.
Grimsby is Prince Eric's manservant and confidant, voiced by Ben Wright (in his final role) in the original film. In the opening scene, Grimsby is shown as not having the stomach for the sea, and dismisses the sailors' stories about merpeople living under the sea. Through dialogue, Grimsby reveals that he worries for Eric, and has been hoping that the prince will settle down with the right girl. For Eric's birthday, Grimsby presents a statue he had commissioned of Eric in a dramatic pose. Though Eric and Max disapprove of the statue, Grimsby is apparently proud of it. Later, when Ariel has become human, Grimsby grows fond of the girl and encourages Eric to give up his dream girl for one "of flesh and blood" (which, unknown to him and Eric, are one and the same). Grimsby appears briefly in the sequel, in which he is voiced by Kay E. Kuter.
In the 2007 stage musical adaptation, Grimsby says that the reason he wants Eric to marry is because he (Grimsby) had made a promise to Eric's late father to ensure it. Though Grimsby is reluctant to believe Eric's story of being saved from drowning by a girl, he comes up with the idea of holding a contest in which the princesses of the land are to sing for Eric, in the hopes that one of them will be the right girl. In the stage musical, the role is originated by Jonathan Freeman, who provided the voice for Jafar in Disney's Aladdin.
Max is an Old English Sheepdog and Prince Eric's pet. Unlike all the other animals in the film, Max is minimally anthropomorphic and does not speak in the human language. Max's barking and growling is provided by Frank Welker throughout his animated incarnations.
During Eric's birthday celebration, Max catches Ariel's scent and tracks her down, licking her on the cheek in an apparent show of affection. When the ship catches fire, the sailors escape safely, but Max is left behind. Seeing this, Eric dives out of his lifeboat and climbs back on board, grabbing Max and tossing him to safety. Later, when Eric is brought to shore safely by Ariel, Max smells out his master and rushes out to greet him. Max is also able to smell Ariel who is hidden off-shore behind rocks, but Eric does not understand his barking. After Ariel has made her deal with Ursula and is brought to shore as a human, Max leads Eric to her, recognizing her as the same person, though Eric cannot. Eventually Ursula herself appears in the guise of a human girl to distract Eric from kissing Ariel before the third day is up. When Ursula is disguised as Vanessa, Max is the only character in the human world who can fully see Vanessa for who she really is and is seen growling furiously at her(in which she kicks him directly in the face), and during a sequence where animals try to stop the wedding, Max bites her in her rear end, causing the shell containing Ariel's voice to break.
Max makes a few brief appearances in the prequel television series and the direct-to-video sequel, and is the only named character of the original film (other than Vanessa) who does not appear in the 2007 stage musical.
Louis is the chef in Prince Eric's castle, voiced by René Auberjonois. His accent implies that he is French, and he performs the song "Les Poissons" in which he happily cooks seafood in the castle kitchen. According to dialogue by Carlotta the house maid, Louis' specialty is stuffed crab. This puts him at odds with Sebastian, who accidentally ends up in his kitchen and frantically tries to get away from him. This rivalry is extended to the wedding in the finale, where the chef again chases Sebastian in an attempt to cut him up Sebastian defeats him by knocking him out with a wooden plank shattering his teeth. The rivalry is shown again in the sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, with no change between the two. He also stars in one of the episodes of Disney's Marsupilami and Raw Toonage as a noise hating hotel guest with his victim, Sebastian as the hotel manager. Louis also makes an appearance in the episode "Ariel's Treasures" where he accidentally steps on a whisk called a "whirly twirly" by Ariel and it slips into the water when he is making recipes.
In the 2007 stage musical, Louis is head of a group of chefs that work in Eric's castle. He performs the song "Les Poissons" solo. A reprise is performed by Louis and all the other chefs as they present their fish masterpieces to Ariel, Eric and Grimsby.
Carlotta works in Prince Eric's castle in a role suggested to be similar to a housekeeper, though it is not stated outright. She reappears in the sequel, apparently continuing her role in the castle after Eric and Ariel are married and have a daughter of their own. She gets mad at the crazed Chef Louis who tries to kill Sebastian (first for food, then for revenge for the mayhem in the kitchen, even though Louis made much of the mess himself while chasing Sebastian). She is voiced by Edie McClurg.
In the 2007 stage musical, Carlotta develops an affectionate maternal relationship with Ariel, whom she grows fond of. Carlotta sings in the musical number "Beyond My Wildest Dreams", where Carlotta berates the other servants who gossip about Ariel. Near the end of the musical there is a contest where the princesses of the land are to sing for Eric, in the hope that one of them will have the voice of the girl who saved his life (i.e. Ariel). Carlotta is the one who encourages Ariel to step forward and dance for him in order to show her love for him.
Ariel has six sisters who are named Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella and Alana. They are Melody's aunts and Eric's sisters-in-law and first appear in the 1989 film, performing the opening song "Daughters of Triton", in which they announce themselves in the above order. Aquata has a blue tail and wears her brown hair in a ponytail with white pearl decorations. Andrina has a lavender tail and wears her blond hair in a bun topped with a light pink shell decoration. Arista has a red tail and wears her blond hair in a ponytail with dark pink decorations. Attina has an orange tail and wears her brown hair in an up-do with a thorny orange crown. Adella has a goldenrod tail and wears her brown hair in a ponytail with golden pearl decorations. Lastly, Alana has a pink tail and wears her black hair with a small pink crown.
The actual age order of the sisters is debatable, as various official Disney media that had been released from 1989 onward used the above order as their birth order,[8][9] but the 2008 film The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning states that Attina is the oldest and the DVD's Vanity Game feature states that the age order is Attina - 21, Alana - 20, Adella - 19, Aquata - 18, Arista - 17, Andrina - 16 and Ariel - 15.
In the original film, they all have blue eyes like Ariel and are voiced by Kimmy Robertson and Caroline Vasicek. In the prequel film, their eye colors differ. The book Disney 365 Bedtime Stories also features Aquata to be Ariel's eldest sister and seems to be rather concerned about Ariel, like Attina is concerned about her youngest sister in the third film. Unlike the sequel and prequel films, the TV series shows Adella to be a little chubbier, but all the sisters have blue eyes in the TV series as well. The errors on the clipart reveal that the colors of Aquata and Adella are switched in some images.
In the 1989 film, all six sisters appear in the beginning to sing "Daughters of Triton". Later on in the film, some of the sisters (Andrina, Attina, Adella and Aquata) make a brief appearance together with Ariel in what appears to be the palace dressing room meant for all the sisters. In that scene, Ariel emerges from behind a curtain of seaweed swimming dreamily and humming a few lines from "Part of Your World". The sisters notice the change in Ariel's behavior and conclude (in front of King Triton) that Ariel is in love. All six sisters appear again in the end of the film together with King Triton, smiling and waving to Ariel after she gets married to Eric.
In the TV episode called "Land of Dinosaurs", these sisters prepared for going on a vacation to the North Pole as their youngest sister planned despite what Flounder thinks and towards the end, they are scared of and chased away by the dinosaurs Ariel has thawed with their father's magical trident.
In the second film, the sisters play a very minor role and only Attina, Andrina, Aquata and Adella appear in the film. Arista also makes a brief cameo going to the surface with the other merpeople.
All of these sisters sing a few more songs like "There's Only One Ariel" and "She's In Love".
Urchin is an orphaned merboy with an olive-green tail and is one of the main characters of the prequel television series, in which he is a close friend of Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder, and often goes on adventures with them. He is voiced by Danny Cooksey.
Urchin first appears in the fourth episode of the series, "Urchin". In it, Urchin is seen to be an orphan who lives by himself and wants badly to have friends. He is approached by small-time villains Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp, who bring him into their gang and use him to steal food for them. Urchin manages to steal food from the palace, but in doing so is confronted by Ariel. Ariel tries to befriend Urchin, who at first rebuffs her. Urchin shows his true colors when he helps Ariel escape after she is kidnapped by Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp. He even stops Crab Louie from stealing from the royal treasury. This earns him a kiss from Ariel. A friendship is forged when Urchin follows Ariel's advice and apologises to King Triton for his behavior. In the episode "Trident True", Urchin plays pranks on Ariel's sisters Arista, Attina and Adella and buys a Father's Day present for King Triton, implying his closeness with the royal family. It is unknown what happened to him after the Series, as he does not appear in any of the movies.
Gabriella is one of Ariel's friends. She is a deafmute mermaid with a pink tail and matching shells who communicates with sign language. She appears in two episodes: "Wish Upon A Starfish" and "Ariel's Treasures".
In her first appearance, before she meets Ariel, she sees her singing the first part of a song called "Daring To Dance" and sees her twirling about a music box with a figure of a ballerina on top of it. Ariel stops abruptly upon seeing her, but Gabriella encourages her to continue. She wishes to be able to sing as beautifully as Ariel, and she identifies with Ariel's desire to dance. She decides to journey with Ariel to visit the Magical Wishing Starfish, passing through many dangers along the way. She is saddened when the Magical Wishing Starfish proves to be a fraud, but Ariel reassures her that she can express her feelings just as well through sign language. She joins Ariel in the second part of "Daring to Dance". In her second appearance, she returns to Atlantica for a visit. She and Ariel gush over Ariel's new additions to her collection of human objects, as well as the music box that Ariel found when they first met. Unbeknownst to either of them, Ursula has launched another scheme to take over Atlantica, this time casting a spell that causes Ariel's treasures to come to life and terrorize people. She is confused and shocked when the treasures come alive, but she works with Ariel to break Ursula's spell.
Ollie is a blue vocal octopus who appears in two episodes: "Wish Upon A Starfish" and "Ariel's Treasures". He is the close friend and interpreter of Gabriella, a mute mermaid. He has spots on the sides of his head and a patch on his left eye. In his first appearance, he is shown with Gabriella, watching Ariel sing. After Ariel notices them, he explains Gabriella's disability and introduces himself. He is also the one to tell the tale of the Magical Wishing Starfish, and he accompanies them along the way. In his second appearance, he is visiting Atlantica with Gabriella and helps her stop Ursula's plot to take over the kingdom. He is voiced by Gabriel Damon.
Pearl is a fun-loving mermaid with a blue tail and matching shells who is familiar with Ariel and Alana. She is blonde, with a blue tail and blue, ruffle-edged shells. She makes her first appearance in episode "Red" at a party held by Ariel, arriving with a crowd of friends on "squid-cycles". She is apparently very popular and seems friendly, if a bit snobbish. She comments that the party is a bit dull, and Ariel requests that the live band play louder, against her father's instructions. She leaves with the other guests when Triton puts a halt to the party.
In her second appearance in episode "Eel-ectric City", she shows up at the palace to pick up Alana, who has been invited to a party at her house. Ariel is shocked and impressed when Pearl comments that her parents allow her to do as she pleases, and is invited to join them. As they are leaving, Pearl spies Triton's new chariot and coerces Ariel into driving the three mermaids in it while she gives directions. After a few minutes, Alana notes that they are not heading for Pearl's house; they are instead going to Eel-ectric City, a party town reminiscent of Las Vegas, where Pearl is going to meet a few friends. They arrive and are having a fairly good time until a gang known as the "Orange Roughies" shows up. Pearl taunts them, then challenges them to a chariot race. Ariel and Alana try to reason with Pearl, but she wants to see the race through to the end. They start the race, but quickly lose control of the chariot in the rush of the current. It is only Ariel's quick thinking and the timely appearance of Triton that saves them. Pearl is shocked that her parents bothered coming, but happy that they cared about her. Her mother states that she will be keeping a closer eye on her daughter from now on.
She is voiced by Cree Summer.
Spot is a fun loving orca calf whose name is based on a single white spot which is birthmarked on his tail. In the episode called "Whale Of A Tale", when the human poachers get nearby, he frightenedly swims away from his real family until Ariel encounters him with a little love. She cares for him until she lets him go to be with his real family. He returns in "Save The Whale" as a grown-up whale and, as Sebastian announces him, he excitedly begins to perform for the citizens of Atlantica until he gets caught. Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian have a chance to save this whale from the wicked humans.
Dudley is an elderly sea turtle who also serves somewhat of an assistant to King Triton besides Sebastian. Dudley mumbles when he speaks and does not swim like other sea turtles in this show, instead he walks slowly along the sea floor like a land turtle and keeps important documents within his shell when he retracts his head. His conversation is always interrupted by his employer as he understands what the former is about to say.
A character based on Hans Christian Andersen, the author of the original Little Mermaid fairy tale appears in the episode "Metal Fish". He is voiced by Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame.
Based on rumors he hears from other sailors about the existence of merfolk, he attempts verify these claims by exploring the undersea world with the invention of his primitive submarine. While exploring the undersea world, his sub springs a leak and his steering controls are affected causing his sub to lose control and eventually sink to the bottom. However, to his surprise he encounters Ariel, to which his claims are verified. Later on, Archimedes, Sebastian, Flounder, The Crabscouts, and even King Triton appear to assist Andersen's damaged vessel back to the surface. At the end of this episode, the character is inspired by the encounter to "write" the story of The Little Mermaid. This encounter contradicts the idea that Ariel's first face to face contact with humans is with Prince Eric, and forces Ariel to confront her father with the fact that she, Triton, and all merfolk are half human when she appeals to Triton for help in saving Andersen's life.
The Evil Manta, voiced by Tim Curry, was a recurring villain in the TV series. Although his exact age is unknown, he appears to be potentially ageless as an individual is referenced in a legend as nearly destroying Atlantica who was imprisoned in an undersea volcano many years before the time of the series. As it so happens, the character is discovered imprisoned within and freed from an undersea volcano by a well-meaning Ariel, whom Manta dupes into releasing him from his prison. The Manta then begins spreading hatred and discord amongst the population of Atlantica, nearly causing the kingdom to self-destruct from his actions. During this initial appearance the Manta appeared to have the power of mental hypnosis or else some form of telepathy. Ariel manages, with the help of Flounder and their friends to defeat the Manta. He then became a recurring character, intent on taking control of Atlantica for himself. He later has a son, 'Little Evil', who ironically enough, has no true evil or malevolent aspects to his personality and becomes a friend of Ariel's.
[edit] The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea
Princess Melody, the main protagonist of The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, is the daughter of Ariel and Eric and the celebration of her birth opens the film. Melody is voiced by Tara Strong.
Soon after Melody's birth, her parents sail out to sea present her to King Triton. King Triton gives Melody a locket with her name on it that contains information about the underwater world. The celebration is interrupted by Morgana, who threatens to hurt Melody if Triton does not hand over the trident which Triton almost agrees to do in order to save her. He ends up not having to when Ariel grabs Eric's sword and cuts the hatch to knock out Morgana and he retrieves Melody. When Morgana escapes, Ariel decides that, until Morgana is found, the sea would be too dangerous for Melody, and vows to keep all knowledge of the sea from her, including her mermaid heritage. So they had to throw away the locket in the ocean.
Melody grows up banned from entering the sea, and is not told the reason why, making Melody believe that Ariel hated the sea and could not or would not understand her love of it. By her 12th birthday, she had been regularly secretly sneaking out to swim in the sea against her parents' wishes. On her 12th birthday, Melody finds a locket with her name on it and the image of Atlantica that Triton gave to her during her presentation as a baby. Melody begins to question Ariel as she had told her Atlantica was "just an old fish tale". When Ariel discovers this, an argument between mother and daughter takes place. Later, both Ariel and Eric decide that they can no longer hide the truth from her. However, Melody runs away before they can.
Melody eventually is convinced by Undertow to go and meet Morgana, who uses Melody's love of the sea against her. Morgana transforms Melody into a mermaid, promising her that the transformation will last forever if Melody will retrieve the trident from Triton, claiming that he stole it from Morgana. Wanting to be a mermaid forever, Melody agrees. Unknown to Melody, as a descendant of King Triton, she had the power to retrieve the trident from its resting place when Triton did not have it on his person. While searching for the trident, Melody befriends a penguin named Tip and a walrus named Dash, and they join her in her search. While finding the trident, she dropped the necklace, leading Ariel to Melody in Morgana's lair. Melody returns to Morgana at the same time that her mother Ariel, who has been turned back into a mermaid in order to find Melody, arrives. Before Ariel has a chance to fully explain, Melody, angered at Ariel's decision to hide Melody's mermaid heritage, gives Morgana the trident. Afterward, Morgana takes Ariel hostage and reveals her true intentions to Melody, and traps her and Flounder in a cave by sealing the entrance with a thick layer of ice.
Soon afterward, Morgana's spell on Melody wears off; she reverts back into a human and nearly drowns, but Tip and Dash trick Undertow, who has been restored to his original form by the trident, into ramming into the ice and drag her to the shore. At that moment, Morgana casts a spell that subjugates all sea creatures to her whim; however, as Melody is no longer a mermaid, she stands unaffected. Melody surprises Morgana and steals the trident back. Morgana attacks her, but Melody throws the trident back to Triton, who promptly encases Morgana in ice. In the aftermath, Melody apologizes to Ariel and Eric for her actions, stating that she believed that she would be a better mermaid than a human. Ariel also apologizes for not telling Melody the truth, and assures Melody that it does not matter whether she was a human or a mermaid; she is loved for who she is. Triton gives her the option of becoming a mermaid permanently. Melody declines, having thought up a better solution; she instead uses the trident to disintegrate the wall between the palace and the sea, thus reuniting both sides of her family.
The character "Melody" is also a playable character in the PlayStation game, The Little Mermaid 2 which is based on the two movies. She becomes playable after the game's original protagonist, Ariel's story arc has finished and the player is prompted to play as Melody in the Chapter called "A New Beginning".
Morgana is the main antagonist of The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. She is the sister of the deceased Ursula. Like Ursula, Morgana is part octopus, having tentacles instead of a tail. Morgana's skin is of a green hue, in contrast to the purple-skinned Ursula (Although it should be noted that in the flashback present in the song "Gonna Get My Wish Tonight", Ursula had a green hue and their mother is seen when they were younger). While Ursula was obese, Morgana has a much smaller frame. Her voice is provided by Pat Caroll, who had also voiced her sister Ursula.
Morgana's prime motivation, rather than seeking revenge, is proving her superiority over Ursula, apparently the favored child of their mother. Unfortunately, Morgana lacks her late sister's talent with magic. Furthermore, Morgana initially lacks Ursula's subtlety and deviousness, openly attacking Melody's birthday party and using her as a hostage to gain Triton's trident, a ploy that ultimately fails due to Ariel's quick thinking. He wants her to be seized, so as she gets away, he orders his merpolice to "find her".
Twelve years later, Morgana (introduced by Undertow) meets with a preteen Melody, who has rebelled against her mother's overprotective ways. Morgana lures Melody with the promise of becoming a mermaid, ironically using the last of Ursula's magic potion to transform Melody temporarily into a mermaid. Morgana asks Melody to get the trident for her, claiming herself to be its rightful owner. Morgana succeeds in getting the trident thanks to Melody, and took the opportunity to proclaim herself as the new ruler of the seven seas. Just as she finally managed to force all sea creatures and merfolk (including Triton) to bow down to her as their new ruler, she finally yells out to her dead mother, having achieved her motivation of proving her superiority over Ursula. Eventually, it didn't last long, as Melody, having realized her error, engages into a fight with Morgana and returns the trident to King Triton. Having reclaimed the trident, Triton permanently encases Morgana in an iceberg as punishment, and she is left to sink to the bottom of the ocean forever along with a picture of Ursula from her lair.
Tip and Dash are supporting characters in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and friends of Melody. Tip is an emperor penguin voiced by Max Casella, and Dash is a walrus voiced by Stephen Furst. Their names are derived from the convention of Morse Code which uses dots (or "tips") and dashes to communicate messages.
In the film, Tip and Dash are established odd couple best friends whom Melody encounters when she has been transformed into a mermaid. She learns that the duo want to be "heroes" but find it difficult to do so when Tip is a braggart who exaggerates his accomplishments and Dash is openly a coward. With a big help to save the baby penguin for her mother, Tip and Dash join the other penguins to extend the form of a ladder just before the red-eyed hammerhead shark scares them all into a big pile. Rejected by other penguins, Tip and Dash join Melody on her journey to retrieve the trident for Morgana. In the final battle, both characters find their inner courage and help to save the day.
The duo perform the song "Tip and Dash" with Melody.
Cloak and Dagger are two supporting villains of The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and are Morgana's henchmen whose roles are almost identical to those of Floatsam and Jetsam. They both have red eyes. In their first appearance, they carry Morgana. They do not speak but they snicker sinisterly and do what ever she asks of them. In the movie, Melody is lured to Morgana’s lair by Undertow and the two dark blue manta rays, and Morgana uses the remains of Ursula's magic to temporarily transform Melody into a mermaid. During the final battle, Cloak and Dagger drag Prince Eric underwater, coincidentally in the same way Floatsam and Jetsam did when he attacked Ursula, before being saved by Sebastian when he pinches the manta rays' tails, causing them to let go of their would-be victim, but they respond by forcefully dragging Sebastian (who was still clinging onto their tails) further down water. Finally, Sebastian manages to tie their tails up and they end up being tied onto a big icicle. They are not seen again for the rest of the film, and their final fate is unknown.
Undertow is the secondary antagonist of The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and the main sidekick of Morgana. He is voiced by Clancy Brown.
When the film opens, Undertow is a near-impossibly large purple and black colored tiger shark, and enjoys using his size to intimidate others. During the opening scene, Undertow is zapped by the magic of King Triton's trident, transforming him into a tiny fish which resembles a cross between a miniscule shark and a piranha. Undertow spends about twelve years being a small fish, for which he is bitter. He expresses anger when Morgana reveals that she has been keeping a secret stash of Ursula's magic all these years, but did not use it to transform him back to his original form. With a struggle, she turns him into a shrimp, a snail and other small sea creatures. Instead, Morgana uses it to turn Melody into a mermaid, to use her to steal King Triton's trident. When Morgana gets the trident from Melody, she uses its plentiful magic to restore Undertow to his original form, much to his relief. Undertow intimidates Melody's friends Tip and Dash in the final battle. During the fight, Undertow crashes into a wall of ice and all his teeth break off, releasing Tip. It is unknown what his final fate is, it can be assumed he was killed on impact.
When Undertow is his shark size, his exact size is difficult to estimate. In some scenes he appears to be just over 30 feet long, while close to the end of the film, when he is chasing Tip and Dash, he seems to be 60 feet long, or more. Although called a tiger shark, he is obviously much larger, even larger than a great white shark. When he appears his largest, Undertow is similar in size to the extinct shark Carcharodon megalodon, which may actually be the creature he is based on.
[edit] The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
Queen Athena is a character first seen in the direct to video prequel The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, although she has been mentioned in the TV series in the episode Beached. She is King Triton's wife and Queen of Atlantica. She is the mother of Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, Alana and Ariel. She is also Prince Eric's mother-in-law and Melody's grandmother. Her speaking voice is provided by Lorelei Hill Butters, and her singing voice is provided by Andrea Robinson. She has long auburn hair and green eyes, and looks very similar to Ariel as an adult.
Although she is not the main character in the film, she plays an important role. In the beginning of the film, she is shown relaxing in a cove on the surface with her husband, daughters and many other merpeople. She and Triton have a special song ("Athena's Song"), and he has just given her a music box for their anniversary. All the fun ceases when a pirate ship appears and attacks the merpeople. During the chaos, Athena is crushed to death by the ship while trying to save the music box.
Marina Del Rey is the main antagonist in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, voiced by Sally Field. She is a mermaid and the governess of King Triton's seven daughters, in charge of enforcing Triton's distant and formal parenting style. She feels she has been stuck as the governess for too long, and her primary motivation in the film is to take over Sebastian's job as the King's attaché by any means necessary. She temporarily succeeds after getting Sebastian, Flounder, and their entire secret music band sent to prison (music was forbidden from Atlantica at the time), but upon learning of the gang's escape with Ariel to find Triton's old music box (the only object that will get him to change his mind), Marina resolves to kill them all by sending her electric eels after them. While the eels battle the gang, Marina takes on Sebastian, who outsmarts her every move and ultimately gets her trapped inside a coral spike. Marina does not give up, however, and still tries to kill Sebastian by crushing him. Ariel pushes Marina away, and she is sent to prison for her crimes. Marina is extremely interested in clothing and fashion, and is the only merperson in the series who is seen wearing clothing over her fin to change its color and appearance.
Benjamin is a light green manatee and Marina's true-hearted sidekick but unlike her, he is a softy, who loves Ariel and her sisters, and wishes Marina would be nice. He takes care of Marina's electric eels when they are locked up and has a key around his neck. He joins Marina in the dungeon where he tells her to be nice and dances samba music during the end of the movie. The reason he joins Marina is that he knew of Marina's evil plans, and never told Triton. He is voiced by Jeff Bennett.
The Catfish Club Band are a quartet of characters who appear in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. They are the house band in the Catfish Club, the underground music club in Atlantica that exists in opposition to King Triton's ban on music. Their bandleader and vocalist is Sebastian, who also plays maracas.
- Ink Spot is a violet octopus who plays the piano. He releases black ink when scared and he's the most cowardly member. He has the highest voice and is voiced by Rob Paulsen.
While these specific characters make their debut in Ariel's Beginning, similar characters did appear in the "Under the Sea" sequence in the original movie.
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![The Little Mermaid II - Ariel meets Flounder again [Italian]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130306125932im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_mVoXyAhIck/default.jpg "The Little Mermaid II - Ariel meets Flounder again [Italian]")
