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| Ariel | |
|---|---|
| The Little Mermaid character | |
 Ariel as she appears in her mermaid form in The Little Mermaid (1989). | |
| First appearance | The Little Mermaid (1989) |
| Based on | The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen |
| Adapted by | |
| Voiced by | Jodi BensonKathryn Haywood (Ariel's Majestic Journey) |
| Portrayed by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | The Little Mermaid |
| Species | Human (via magical transformation)Mermaid (originally) |
| Title | Princess Consort of Eric's Kingdom Princess of Atlantica |
| Affiliation | Disney Princesses |
| Family |
|
| Spouse | Prince Eric |
| Children | Melody |
| Nationality | Atlantican |
| Age | |
Ariel is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Little Mermaid (1989). Ariel is voiced by Jodi Benson in all official animated appearances. Ariel is the youngest daughter of King Triton and Queen Athena of an underwater kingdom of merfolk called Atlantica.[4][5] She is often rebellious, and in the first film, she longs to be a part of the human world. She marries Prince Eric, whom she rescued from a shipwreck, and together they have a daughter, Melody.[6] She is the fourth Disney Princess and also the first Disney Princess to be developed during the Disney Renaissance.
The character is based on the title character of Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" but was developed into a different personality for the 1989 animated film adaptation. Ariel has received a mixed reception from critics; some publications such as Time criticize her for being too devoted to Eric whereas others, such as Empire, praise the character for her rebellious personality, a departure from previous Disney Princesses' roles. Halle Bailey portrays a live-action version of the character in the 2023 live-action adaptation of the original 1989 film.
Development
Ariel was based on the title character of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid", but co-director and writer Ron Clements felt that the mermaid in the original story was too tragic and rewrote the character, resulting in Ariel.[7]
I heard "Part of Your World", Jodi Benson singing that, and it just captivated me. I have to do that. And I went and told those guys, "I really wanna do Ariel." And they said, "Well, I don't know. This is supposed to be a pretty girl. Can you do that?" I said, "Look, I have to do Ariel. I mean, I can feel it in my heart."
— Glen Keane, Ariel's supervising animator[8]
Jodi Benson, who was predominantly a stage actress, was chosen to voice Ariel because the directors felt "it was really important to have the same person doing the singing and speaking voice".[7] Clements stated that Benson's voice had a unique "sweetness" and "youthfulness".[9] When recording the vocals for "Part of Your World", Benson asked that the lights in the studio be dimmed, to create the feeling of being deep under the sea.[8][10] "Part of Your World", which was referred to by songwriter Howard Ashman as the "I Want" song,[7] was originally going to be cut from the final film, owing to Jeffrey Katzenberg's belief that it slowed the story down,[8][7] but Ashman and Keane fought to keep it in.[7][11]
Ariel's original design was developed by animator Glen Keane. Her appearance was based on a number of inspirational sources, Christie Brinkley,[12] Alyssa Milano (who was 16 at the time in addition to hosting the making of the special on Disney Channel[13]), and model-comedian Sherri Stoner, who provided live-action references for the animators during the development of the film. She would later do the live-action references for Belle (Paige O'Hara) in Beauty and the Beast.[7][10] The movement of Ariel's hair underwater was based on footage of astronaut Sally Ride while she was in space.[13] Extra reference was given by filming Stoner swimming in a pool, which also helped guide Ariel's aquatic movement.[14]
A challenge in animating Ariel for the 1989 film was the color required to show Ariel in the changing environments, both under the sea and on land, for which the animators required thirty-two color models, not including costume changes. The sea-green color of Ariel's mermaid tail was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab; the color was named "Ariel" after the character. The choice of red as Ariel's hair color was the subject of dispute between the filmmakers and studio executives who wanted the character to have blonde hair. It was noted that red hair contrasted better with Ariel's green tail, red was easier to darken than yellow, and Disney's live-action branch Touchstone Pictures had recently released Splash that had a blonde mermaid; Ariel's red hair was ultimately kept.[7]
In an interview, Jodi Benson stated that for Ariel's Beginning, the writers revised the script multiple times to make sure Ariel retained her relevance in a more modern context. Benson complained to them that they wrote Ariel out of character and suggested they bring her back to her roots.[15]
Characteristics
Ariel is the youngest of King Triton and Queen Athena's seven daughters.[5] She is often seen in the company of Flounder, her best friend, and Sebastian, her father's advisor who is often assigned to keep an eye on her. In the television series and first film, Ariel has a fascination with the human world and often goes off to find human artifacts that she displays in a secret grotto.[4][16] Ariel, a free spirit, is often rebellious, wandering off on her own to explore her surroundings, and frequently disobeys the orders of her father or Sebastian, causing conflict between the characters. In The Little Mermaid, she is depicted as being willing to do anything to be with Prince Eric, even giving up her voice to become human.[4] Clements described her as a typical teenager, prone to errors of judgment.[13] She also is incredibly curious, and her curiosity often leads her into dangerous situations.
Ariel is kind and caring to others no matter what their circumstances, as depicted in the television series. In an early episode, Ariel helps an orphaned merboy who had fallen in with a bad crowd.[17] In another episode, Ariel befriends a supposed bad luck creature and protects it from Ursula and other merfolk who wish it harm.[18] Ariel appears as an adult in Return to the Sea and gives birth to a daughter named Melody, becoming the first, and currently, only, Disney princess to become a mother. Ariel is protective of her daughter, as Triton was of Ariel in the first film. After Morgana threatens Ariel and King Triton, Prince Eric and Ariel build a wall around the palace to protect Melody from Morgana and other terrors of the ocean. Although it protected her, it could not protect her curiosity.[6] Ariel's Beginning depicts her personality as it was in the original film after Jodi Benson had advocated returning the character to her roots.[15] Ariel is, once again, a rebellious free spirit, and after her father decrees music to be banned in Atlantica she runs away with Sebastian and his band.
Appearances
The Little Mermaid
Ariel first appears in The Little Mermaid (1989), in which she is shown as being adventurous and curious about the world of humans, a fascination which annoys both her father King Triton and his court composer Sebastian, as merfolk are not allowed to make contact with the human world. She and Flounder go in search of human objects, which they take to a seagull named Scuttle for appraisal. Ariel falls in love with a human prince named Prince Eric after saving him from drowning, and visits the sea witch, Ursula, who agrees to turn her into a human in exchange for her voice. Ariel must make Prince Eric fall in love with her and romantically kiss her within three days, lest she belong to Ursula forever.
Unknown to Ariel, this agreement is part of Ursula's bigger plan to trap Ariel's father, King Triton and steal his magical trident. After being transformed, Ariel found that she can no longer breathe, nor swim. Sebastian and Flounder take her to the surface. She is soon found by Eric and is taken back to his castle. Ariel almost manages to obtain the "kiss of true love", but is stopped by Ursula's underhanded tactics. On the second day, Ursula transforms herself into a human, calling herself "Vanessa" and using Ariel's voice, bewitches Eric to make him marry her on the third day. After learning from Scuttle that the woman is Ursula in disguise, Ariel disrupts the wedding and regains her voice, but the sun sets as Ariel and Prince Eric are about to kiss, transforming Ariel back into a mermaid. After transforming herself back into her true witch form, Ursula takes Ariel back into the ocean, where she is met by King Triton and Sebastian.
Triton trades himself for Ariel, enabling Ursula to steal his crown and enabling her to claim his trident, which angers Ariel, who will not allow Ursula to destroy merfolk and humans. In the battle that follows, Ariel is trapped at the bottom of a whirlpool. Before Ursula can kill her, Eric impales Ursula with a derelict ship's splintered prow. After Ursula dies, her spell is broken, and King Triton and the merfolk are transformed back to normal merpeople. At the end of the film, after King Triton uses his magical trident to transform Ariel into a human, she leaves the sea to live in the human world. She and Eric marry and live happily ever after.[4]
Television series
A prequel television series that originally aired from 1992 to 1994, depicts Ariel's life as a mermaid under the sea with Sebastian, Flounder, and her father. Ariel appears in all 31 episodes of the series, which is set an unspecified time before the first film. The series follows Ariel's adventures with her friends and family and sometimes has Ariel foiling the attempts of enemies that are intent on harming her or the kingdom of Atlantica.
Ariel's relationships with various characters from the film are highlighted and expanded, such as the love and occasional conflict between Ariel and her father, how Ariel met Flounder and Scuttle, the relationships between Ariel and her sisters, and Ariel's early fear and avoidance of Ursula the sea witch. Other recurring new characters are also introduced, such as orphaned merboy Urchin and mute mermaid Gabriella that become Ariel's friends, as well as the Evil Manta, Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp, who are Ariel's enemies. Ariel's mother is absent, having already died prior to the events of the series, though she is occasionally mentioned in vague terms. In one episode Ariel comes across Hans Christian Andersen, author of "The Little Mermaid", while he was traveling underwater in a primitive submarine. In the fictionalized encounter she saves Andersen's life, inspiring him to write the story.[20]
Some episodes of the series are musical and feature original songs performed by the characters. A soundtrack containing some of these songs was released in 1992 under the title "Splash Hits".[21]
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
In The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000), Ariel, now the princess consort of Eric's kingdom has given birth to a daughter named Melody. When Melody's safety is threatened by Ursula's sister Morgana after using her as a hostage to get Triton's trident, Ariel and her husband Eric decide they must keep Melody away from the sea. So they build a large wall to separate it from the castle.
But Melody's love of the sea proves too strong and she visits Morgana, who turns her into a mermaid temporarily. King Triton uses his trident to transform Ariel back into her own mermaid form to find and rescue Melody. Morgana tricks Melody into taking part in a plot to steal her grandfather King Triton's trident. Together with Tip the Penguin and Dash the Walrus she goes to Atlantica and succeeds in acquiring the trident. Ariel arrives as they return with it to Morgana, and tries to persuade Melody to give back the trident. Morgana then reveals her true intentions. She calmly mentions that the spell that turned Melody into mermaid will wear off by sundown, then uses the trident's magic to lord over the ocean, rising to the surface to gloat. Scuttle, Triton, Sebastian, and Eric arrive, and a battle ensues against Morgana and her minions. Soon after the sunset, Morgana's spell wears off, and Melody returns to human form. Ariel saves Eric from Cloak and Dagger who tied him and pulled it into the depths and Melody manages to grab the trident and returns it to King Triton, who then punishes Morgana by sending her to the bottom of the ocean frozen in a block of ice.
Triton returns Ariel to human form, the wall separating Eric's castle from the sea is torn down, and contact between humans and merfolk is restored.[6]
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
The prologue of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008) shows Ariel as a young mermaid, living happily with her father, King Triton, her mother, Queen Athena, and her six older sisters. As Ariel and her family relax in a lagoon, a pirate ship approaches and everyone flees except Athena, who returns to recover a music box Triton had given her and is killed when the ship crushes her. Afterwards, a devastated King Triton bans all music from Atlantica and throws the music box deep into the ocean. Ariel and her sisters grow up forgetting music and living under their father's strict rules, enforced by Marina del Rey, their governess.
Ariel meets Flounder and follows him to a secret underground club where Sebastian and his band play music. There she sings the song "I Remember", which reminds her of her distant past surrounded by love and music, and of her mother. Ariel introduces her sisters to the club, but eventually they are caught thanks to Marina, who had followed them. Sebastian and his band are imprisoned and the club is closed under Triton's orders. After arguing with Triton, Ariel breaks the band out of prison and escapes with them.
With Sebastian's assistance, Ariel finds her mother's music box, and they decide to return it to Triton. On their way back to Atlantica, they encounter Marina, and a struggle ensues in which Ariel is knocked unconscious, witnessed by Triton. Ariel makes a full recovery, and a remorseful Triton allows music back into Atlantica.[5]
International versions
Following the first film's initial release, several other dubs were released in 1989 and more in 1990. Several countries redubbed the film for a re-release in 1998.[22] Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø dubbed the character in both Norwegian and Swedish, and the singing voice in Danish. Simona Patitucci, the first film's Italian voice, won a prize as the Best European Ariel in 2001.[22]
| Language | Release year(s) of dub(s) | Voice | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Little Mermaid | The Little Mermaid (TV series) | The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea | The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning | The Little Mermaid (live-action) | The Little Mermaid | The Little Mermaid (TV series) | The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea | The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning | The Little Mermaid (live-action) | |
| Arabic (Egypt) | 1998 | — | 2006 | 2008 | 2023 | رولا_زكي (Rula Zaky) | لانا غسان (Lana Ghassan) (speaking) | رنا عادل (Rana Adel) | ||
| نهى فكري (Noha Ferky) (singing) | دينا إسكندر (Dina Iskandar) (singing) | |||||||||
| Arabic (Modern Standard) | 2022 | 2015-2016 | Not dubbed | أريج فودة (Arig Fouda) | إيناس صبري (Inas Sabry) (speaking) | Not dubbed | ||||
| نهى قيس (Noha Qais) (singing) | ||||||||||
| Bulgarian | 2006 | Not dubbed | Мина Костова (Mina Kostova) (speaking) | Not dubbed | Димитрина Германова (Dimitrina Germanova) (speaking) | |||||
| Весела Бонева (Vesela Boneva) (singing) | ||||||||||
| Cantonese | 1991 | — | 2000 | 2008 | Not dubbed | 朱妙蘭 (Zyu Miu-Laan "Peggy Chu") (speaking) | — | 馮蔚衡 (Fung Wai-Hang) (speaking) | Not dubbed | |
| 鄺美雲 (Kwong Mei-Wan "Cally Kwong) (singing) | 陳美鳳 (Can Mei-Fung "May Chan") (singing) | |||||||||
| Chinese (China) | 2007 | Not dubbed | 2007 | 2009 | 2023 | 李潇潇 (Lǐ Xiāo-Xiāo "Eva Lee") | Not dubbed | — | 赵双 (Zhào Shuāng) (speaking) | |
| 单依纯 (Shàn Yī-Chún) (singing) | ||||||||||
| Chinese (Taiwan) | 1991 | — | 2000 | 2008 | 宋文 (Sòng Wén "Ariel Sung") | — | 陳德容 (Chén Dé-Róng) (speaking) | 劉小芸 (Liú Xiǎo-Yún) | 閻奕格 (Yán Yì-Gé "Janice Yan") | |
| Jodi Benson (singing "Edge of the Sea" & "Harmony" *) | 陳秀珠 (Chén Xiù-Zhū "Judy Chen") | |||||||||
| Croatian | 2006 | Not dubbed | Renata Sabljak | Not dubbed | Lana Meniga (speaking) | |||||
| Mateja Majerle (singing) | ||||||||||
| Czech | 1998 | 1994 | 2000 | 2016 | Jana Mařasová | Ivana Korolová | Natálie Grossová | |||
| 2004 | ||||||||||
| Danish | 1990 | 1992-1994 | 2008 | Marie Ingerslev (speaking) | Louise Fribo | Annelie "Karui" Saemala Overbeck | ||||
| Sissel Kyrkjebø (singing) | ||||||||||
| 1998 | Marie Ingerslev (speaking) | |||||||||
| Sissel Kyrkjebø (singing) | ||||||||||
| Dutch | 1989 | 1997 | Laura Vlasblom | Lynn Mancel | ||||||
| English | 1992-1994 | Jodi Benson | Halle Bailey | |||||||
| Finnish | 1990 | Johanna Nurmimaa | Nina Tapio | Yasmine Yamajako | ||||||
| 1998 | Nina Tapio | Nina Tapio (singing in season 3, episode 7) | ||||||||
| French (Canada) | 1989 | Not dubbed | Not dubbed | Violette Chauveau (speaking) | Not dubbed | Violette Chauveau (speaking) | Not dubbed | Audrey-Louise Beauséjour | ||
| Dominique Faure (singing) | Nancy Fortin (singing) | |||||||||
| French (France) | 1990 | 1994-1998 | 2008 | Claire Guyot | Claire Guyot | Claire Guyot (speaking) | Cerise Calixte | |||
| 1998 | Claire Guyot (speaking) | Marie Galey (singing) | ||||||||
| Marie Galey (singing) | ||||||||||
| Georgian | Not dubbed | 2023 | Not dubbed | სოფიო კაკულია (Sophio Kakulia) | ||||||
| German (Austria) | 1998 | Not dubbed | Caroline Vasicek | Not dubbed | ||||||
| German (Germany) | 1990 | 1994-1996 | 2000 | 2008 | 2023 | Dorette Hugo (speaking) | Dorette Hugo (speaking) | Anna Carlsson (speaking) | Rieke Werner (speaking) | |
| Ute Lemper (singing) | ||||||||||
| 1998 | Anna Carlsson (speaking) | Jana Werner (singing) | Naomi van Dooren (singing) | Sophia Riedl (singing) | ||||||
| Naomi van Dooren (singing) | ||||||||||
| Greek | 1990 | 1997-1998 | Κρίστη Στασινοπούλου (Krísti Stasinopoúlou) | Άριελ Κωνσταντινίδη (Áriel Konstantinídi) | Χριστίνα Κουλουμπή (Hristína Kouloumpí) (speaking) | Μαρίνα Σάττι (Marina Satti) | ||||
| 1998 | 2004 | Χριστίνα Κουλουμπή (Hristína Kouloumpí) (speaking) | Χαρά Κεφαλά (Hará Kefalá) (singing) | Μαρίνα Σάττι (Marina Satti) (singing) | ||||||
| Άννα Ρόσση (Anna Rossi) (singing) | Χριστίνα Αργύρη (Hristína Aryíri) (singing) | |||||||||
| Hebrew | 1989 | 1995-1996 | שלומית אהרון (Shlomit Aharon) | רמה מסינגר (Rama Messinger) | רמה מסינגר (Rama Messinger) | לימור שפירא (Limor Shapira) | נועה קליין (Noa Kirel) | |||
| 2011 | שלומית אהרון (Meshi Kleinstein) | |||||||||
| Hindi | 2011 | — | प्राची सावे साठी (Prachi Save Saathi) (speaking) | — | प्राची सावे साठी (Prachi Save Saathi) (speaking) | Natasha Chungath (speaking) | ||||
| চান্দ্রেয়ী ভট্টাচার্য (Chandreyee Bhattacharya (singing) | — | Arunaja Nalinakshan (singing) | ||||||||
| Hungarian | 1998 | 1995 | 2000 | 2008 | Oszvald Marika | Vágó Bernadett | Gigi Radics | |||
| Icelandic | 1996-1997 | Not dubbed | Valgerður Guðnadóttir | Not dubbed | ||||||
| Indonesian | 1991 | 2003 | 2014 | Hana Pertiwi | — | Beatrix Renita | Maria Cicilia | |||
| Italian | 1989 | 1993-1995 | 2000 | 2008 | 2023 | Simona Patitucci | Paola Valentini (speaking) | Sara Labidi (speaking) | ||
| Tanaquilla Leonardi (singing) | Renata Fusco (singing) | Giulia Luzi (singing) | Yana C (singing) | |||||||
| Japanese | 1991 | 1992-1994 | 2000 | すずきまゆみ (Suzuki Mayumi) | 豊原江理佳 (Toyohara Erika) | |||||
| 1997 | ||||||||||
| Kazakh | 2021 | Not dubbed | 2021 | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Ariel_(The_Little_Mermaid)|||||||