The Little Mermaid (film)

The Little Mermaid is an animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation.

It was released on November 14, 1989 by Walt Disney Pictures. The film grossed over $111 million in the U.S. and an additional $99 million worldwide, and is given credit for breathing life back into the animated feature film genre after a string of critical and commercial failures beginning in the early 1980s. However, Ariel was criticized severely by women, saying that it wasn't ideal for Ariel's only motive to be pursuing a man; nearly all Disney movies are controversial for things such as this, but unlike the others this is the first time the company did something as a result: have their heroines have an interest other than a man (ex: Belle has a love for Reading, Tiana is into cooking, Rapunzel enjoys arts and crafts,etc.). It should be noted, however, that Ariel did have a motive other than being with a man, as she intended to see the human world even before meeting Eric.

Plot

The film starts with several sailors singing "Fathoms Below" while sailing the ocean. Some of them tell about the merpeople's ruler, King Triton, to a young prince named Eric. His guardian, Grimsby, denies the myth although a sailor insists that it is true. He holds a fish to Grimsby which loses his grip and falls back to the ocean, relieved. It swims along with other sea creatures and multiple merpeople in the kingdom of Atlantica swimming to Triton's palace for a concert being held by the court composer, Sebastian the crab. The concert starts as Triton looks at Sebastian approvingly, happy to see his daughters singing. As each of his six daughters comes out and introduces themselves, they open the stage for Ariel, the seventh and youngest, to make her stage debut, though to their shock she is not in the shell ("Daughters of Triton"). Sebastian looks on in horror as Triton angrily calls out his youngest daughter's name, to which the scene switches to a shipwreck in a dark part of the ocean and the young Ariel commenting to her best friend, the cowardly atlantic yellow and blue young tropical fish Flounder, asking, "Isn't it fantastic?".

Flounder tries to worm his way out of going into the ship, but when Ariel agrees that he can stay out and watch for sharks, the young fish immediately follows the curious and brave mermaid into the ship. As they explore she finds a pipe and a fork, of which she examines with excitement. As she does Flounder gets a bad feeling only to see a shark waiting outside. As he screams the shark crashes in and chases both, Ariel maneuvering around slickly to avoid the hungry beast. Nearly escaping, Flounder runs into the ship's mast and becomes dizzy, almost eaten until Ariel saves him and the shark becomes stuck in an anchor. Flounder sticks his tongue out at the shark, remarking him a "big bully", though the shark comes close again to almost eating the small fish whom rushes to Ariel's side. Ariel joking exclaims Flounder to be "such a guppy", though he denies it and says, "am not".

Swimming to the surface, she meets a seagull, Scuttle, who has inaccurate knowledge of the human world and their objects. Ariel shows him the fork first, to which he incorrectly identifies it as a "dinglehopper", of which humans used to comb their hair. She then shows him the pipe, or the "banded bulbous snarfblatt" as he calls it, a musical device. As he blows into it for a tune only to get seaweed and fish, Ariel suddenly remembers about the concert and begins to panic, stuffing her treasures back into her bag and rushing off.

Unknown to anyone, all of this is being observed by Ursula, an evil half-octopus, half-woman, sea-witch, who for many years has been seeking a way to exact her revenge upon King Triton for banishing her from the kingdom. She gets an idea from seeing Ariel and sees her as the perfect pawn in her quest to rule the seas and orders her two lackey eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, to keep an eye on the girl, as she may have what it takes to have Triton lose his power and for Ursula herself to claim it.

Ariel is at the palace now, being scolded by her father (and Sebastian, too, as it made him a laughing-stock) about missing the concert until Flounder tries to help. He explains about the sunken ship, the shark chase (of which both Triton and Sebastian give each other annoyed looks, not beliving the small fish) and finally how Scuttle would not stop talking, to which Triton becomes angry and asks Ariel if she really did visit the surface. As Flounder hides behind an angry Ariel, she tries to soften it with "nothing happened", though this does not ease Triton's worry and disappointment at all. He begins to scold her once more, though Ariel defends herself this time, claiming that she's sixteen years old, though Triton tells her as long she lives under his ocean she'll abide by his rules. Unable anymore, Ariel swims off crying, hurt by her father's inability to understand.

Triton tells Sebastian his concern and asks if he's being too hard, though Sebastian disagrees and tells Triton that Ariel needs constant discipline. Triton suddenly smiles while listening, tells Sebastion that he's absolutely right, then sets the responsibility on Sebastian to watch Ariel, much to the crab's dismay. As he leaves the palace, beating himself up for opening his mouth, he sees Ariel sneaking away with her bag and follows her, only to find her go into her secret grotto. After a small struggle to get in, his jaw drops in awe, seeing the human treasures that Ariel has collected from cutlery to chests of jewels. He hides as Ariel asks Flounder why her father hates the world above, a place full of so many wonderful things. Ariel then expresses her desire to be free from the ocean, out in the world of humans, though at the end of her song she becomes sad again, reality showing that she may never have the dream she wishes ("Part Of Your World"). Sebastian falls down from a shelf, covered in human things like hooks and jewelery. He begins to go off on Ariel about her collection, though she makes the crab promise not to tell her father, as that he will never understand". Sebastian then calms himself and suggests going back to the palace, as Ariel is under a lot of pressure and needs something to drink. As he starts to take her back a looming shadow covers the grotto, causing the curious girl to go the surface, the reluctant Flounder and nerve-wrecked crab following. Ariel finds the ship and sailor's dancing, celebrating the young prince Eric's birthday. Ariel watches on before being found by Max, Eric's sheepdog, who licks her face before being called over by his master, whom Ariel sees and immediately falls in love with.

Scuttle flies in and almost ruins Ariel's cover, though she hushes him quickly as Grimbsy, Eric's valet, presents Eric with his gift; a large statue of Eric himself. Eric thanks Grimbsy as Max growls at it. Grimbsy only comments on how he "had hoped it would be a wedding present". Eric then asks Grimbsy not to start again, wondering if the old man is angry because Eric keeps turning down princesses. He then says he wants the woman and love to hit him out of nowhere, "bam, like lightning". Ironically as he says it a storm comes, a strong one (making him wish he had chosen better words), and throws the ship around, smashing it into rocks. The ships sinks and the crew tries to escape, though Eric becomes stuck while saving his dog. The ship explodes because of a fire started by the mass and lightning, hitting the fireworks. Ariel searches for Eric who is unconscious. She saves him and takes him to shore where the sun clears up.

Sebastian gazes on in disbelief as Ariel sings to Eric, and she wants to be in his world now even more so. Max and Grimbsy come, though and Ariel flees into the ocean before they do. As she says good-bye Eric slightly wakes up to her voice, her image blinded by the sun. Grimbsy comes, delighted to find Eric and takes him back to the palace, thinking Eric's talk of Ariel as "taken in too much salt water". Max tries to get their attention to the young girl on the rocks, though they ignore him and go on. As they leave Ariel vows to fulfill her dream, no matter what ("Part Of Your World (Reprise)"). Ursula looks into the crystal ball and sees Ariel falling in love with the prince, so she will have her in the polyp garden.

Sebastian, fearful of the consequences for both Ariel and himself, decides to conceal these events from the King as well, including the fact that Ariel has fallen in love with Eric. The next Morning Ariel, still thinking about Eric, daydreams and sings to herself acting rather strangely around her family. Her Father and her sisters watch and suddenly release that Ariel is in love. Ariel cheerfully plays "Loves Me Not" with one of the ocean flowers and is determined to return to the surface and see Eric again. Sebastian tries to persuade her that the Ocean is her real home and she should forget about the Human World ("Under The Sea") but to no avail.

Later, Triton attempts to extract from Sebastian the name of the man (or rather, mer-man) she is in love with. Paranoid that Triton already knows the truth, Sebastian reveals Ariel's secrets in a panic. When King Triton learns that his daughter has had any association with a human, he becomes furious and proceed to go to Ariel's grotto. From there, Flounder has a surprise for Ariel which is the statue of Eric that was intended to be his birthday present. She is delighted of the gift by Flounder and uses it as a replica when interacting with Eric. Triton subsequently enters, angered about the human artifacts of the grotto and her saving a human from drowning as these had resulted in her disobedience to her father. He confronts a shocked Ariel about his rules forbidding contact to the human world. He is further angered when she confesses her love to Eric and is not concerned that they are not the same species as Triton has responded in disbelief. Triton then punishes Ariel by destroying the artifacts and the statue and hurting her feelings, much to her refusal and sobs at the now empty grotto with a regretted Triton, Sebastian and Flounder.

Ursula decides that now is the time to make her move, and she assigns her pet eels Flotsam and Jetsam to bring Ariel to her underwater cave. There, Ursula makes a deal with the princess to transform Ariel into a human for three days. Within these three days, if she plans to remain a human, she must get from Eric the "kiss of true love"; otherwise she will transform back into a mermaid at sunset on the third day. If this happens, Ursula will own her very soul and wither her down into a polyp to join her garden of other lost merfolk. Sebastian tries to stop her, aware of the sea witch's trickery, but Ariel is bitter and blames him for telling her father about her love for Eric ("Poor Unfortunate Souls").

As agreed, Ursula make a potion to change the little mermaid. As "payment", she takes Ariel's voice and makes her unable to speak, knowing that Eric remembers Ariel only by her voice. Ursula's spell traps Ariel in a bubble and splits Ariel's tail into two legs. As a result of the transformation, Ariel is naked from the waist down (with the exception of her breasts). After the bubble pops, Ariel struggles for breath and starts to drown, though Sebastian and Flounder rush to her rescue. Sebastian and Flounder drag Ariel to the surface in the iconic scene where she breaks into the sky and takes her first breath of air as a human. Her friends then take her toward the beach. Meanwhile we discover that Prince Eric has been searching far and wide for the girl who saved him, and sang to him with her beautiful voice. Ariel then wakes up and sees her new legs and wiggles her toes. She then is extremely happy that she is human.

Sebastian tries to convince Ariel to go back to Ursula and get her to give Ariel back her voice so she can go home with every other fish in the sea. Ariel gives him a sad look, to which Sebastian realizes she will be more unhappy. Reluctant, he gives in and agrees to help Ariel find Eric, commenting on "what a soft shell he's turned out to be". Scuttle then decides to help Ariel by dressing her up so she can look nice ("If you want to be a human, the first thing you got to do is dress like one"). He puts her in an old sail, unknowing it isn't really clothing. Eric who is out on a walk asks his dog, Max where the girl could be, though Max smells Ariel and her gang and rushes off. He comes and chases Sebastian and Ariel joyfully. Ariel climbs on a boulder to get away from Max, who only jumps up and licks her face. In a matter of minutes, Eric comes along and sees her sitting on a rock, wearing the ship's mast sheet tied on with ropes. His initial hopes that this familiar-looking girl is the one he is looking for are shattered when he learns that she can't speak. He has no idea who Ariel is and what she has done for him, and she is unable to tell him. He takes her back to the castle, thinking her to be from a shipwreck and greatly traumatized.

When they arrive at the castle, the maids are happy with Ariel as they wash the sail cloth and Ariel bathes in the private bath. Sebastian, whom was hiding in the sail (though it's not known how it got a pocket), somehow winds up in the kitchen where the chef, Louis, tries to cook him ("Les Poissons"). Sebastian escapes after the chef ruins the kitchen, Carlotta angry at him for causing a ruckus. Ariel tries to impress Eric at the dinner table but fails, as the information Scuttle gave her was wrong; she tries to comb her hair with the fork, though Eric looks on her with an odd glance (though she believes it's because she's being rude and doing it at the table, as later she still brushes her hair with it in her bedroom), and blowing into Grimbsy's pipe, thinking it is still musical, though only ash comes out and onto Grimbsy's face. Eric laughs to Carlotta's delight, who says that "that's the first time" she's seen Eric "smile in weeks". Ariel is pleased about this while Grimbsy tries to change to conversation by asking if Eric would like to take Ariel on a tour of his kingdom. He lifts his plate to where Ariel sees Sebastian. Grimbsy, who is still scolding Eric for not getting out, does not notice and Sebastian rushes to Ariel's plate where he hides. As he finishes with Eric, he remarks that they'd best eat before the crab runs off his plate, though his fork comes down on an empty plate, leaving Grimbsy confused.

That night Ariel watches on as Eric plays with Max, then goes to bed, content with being in the palace. Sebastian tries to give Ariel advice as well as complain, though the young mermaid falls asleep, leaving him to come to the conclusion that she is "truely hopeless". The day progresses as Eric takes Ariel on a tour with many laughable moments as Ariel sees everything with wonder. They try to end the day by taking a boat ride in a lagoon, with Sebastian revealing Ariel's name and trying to get the young couple to kiss ("Kiss the Girl"). However Ursula intervenes and has Flotsam and Jetsam overturn the boat, ruining the kiss, while Eric wants to carry Ariel with him. Thinking it was too close, Ursula decides to "take matters into her own hand" and creates a potion that transforms her into a human, calling herself 'Vanessa'. The scene switches to Eric playing his flute and watching Ariel, Grimbsy coming out to advise Eric; "better then any dream girl is one of flesh and blood", showing the kingdom's liking for Ariel, then leaves. Eric, unsure, throws his flute into the ocean and decides to go inside. Before he can though a mysterious woman is singing on the beach, Eric looking down, the voice being familiar. As the mist vanishes he sees Vanessa who is using Ariel's voice from her shell necklace. Eric stares on and becomes hypnotized, falling under the spell.

The next morning Ariel awakens as Scuttle comes in to tell them the news of Eric becoming hitched in the afternoon. Ariel, thinking it is her, rushes down stairs half way until she sees Vanessa clinging to Eric's arm. Eric unwillingly plans to marry her immediately much to Ariel's shock and heartbreak. Even Grimbsy is a little shocked and suggests for it to not happen, Eric demands the ceremony be ready as soon as sunset. Ariel flees, crying as Vanessa looks up, and then chuckles while looking down at her shell necklace.

The wedding ship takes off at sunset, which is when Ariel's deal with Ursula ends. Unknowingly to Vanessa, Scuttle spots her while staring in one of the boat's portholes and sees the reflection of Ursula in the mirror. He rushes towards Ariel and explains the situation. Sebastian swims off to inform Triton, Ariel and Flounder try to reach the galley, while Scuttle is assigned to distract the wedding party. Ariel jumps into the water and struggles to swim until Sebastian cuts loose some barrels, of which she grabs hold on. Flounder takes hold of the barrel and both rush off to the boat. With the help of various sea and air animals - and Eric's dog, Max - Scuttle brings the ceremony crashing down in a spectacular fashion, and Eric's sheepdog, Max bites Vanessa's bottom while she is fighting Scuttle. The nautilus shell around her neck snaps off and shatters on the deck; as Ariel climbs on board, her voice restored. Ursula's enchantment over Eric is broken and Eric rushes to Ariel. Realizing that Ariel was the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but he is too late; the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid, fin and all. Eric looks on, stunned as Ariel reaches up for help. Before he can, though, Vanessa transforms back into Ursula and charges to Ariel, taking her back into the ocean and leaving Eric with the words, "so long, lover boy". Eric now tries to help Ariel but fails.

Ursula explains to Ariel as they head off that she won't need to worry, she's after a much bigger fish to which Triton catches up with Ursula and attempts to destroy the contract she made with Ariel, but is unable to do so, Ursula laughing as she says, "The contract's legal, binding, and completely unbreakable, even for you!". Ursula then tries to persuade Triton into exchanging places with Ariel as the contract forms around her and begins to make her wither into a polyp. Triton looks on sad, and finally agrees, using his trident to sign it over Ariel's name. Before he can re-think his decision the contract now forms over him and makes him wither, though much faster then Ariel so he can not undo it. He becomes a worm and Ursula laughs on.

Ursula takes Triton's crown andtrident and declares herself ruler of the ocean. Angered by this, Ariel confronts Ursula and lunges at her, beginning to throw her aside and prepares to destroy her, demanding authority as she is the new ruler. Eric, who has not given up on Ariel, however, dives into the sea and throws a harpoon at Ursula; it only hits the tip of her shoulder, but it distracts Ursula long enough for Ariel to be free. She orders Flotsam and Jetsam to drown Eric, but they are thwarted by Flounder and Sebastian. Ursula decides to destroy Eric herself, aiming the trident for a destructive blast. A not-so-happy Ariel pulls Ursula's hair back to stop her and ruins Ursula's aim, making her destroy her pet eels by mistake. Ursula shortly mourns their death although is soon enraged by Ariel and Eric for not being happy with her and fooling her. Ursula then grows to a giant and monstrous version of herself as Flounder and Sebastian witness her growth with fear. Ariel warns Eric to leave the ocean by the danger of Ursula's tenure although insists that he would not leave her. The Sea Witch then grows beyond the surface and towers the young couple frightened of her new size.

She then has power of all the ocean, producing a storm whilst having Ariel and Eric pulled away in the process as a wave overwhelms Eric away and having Ariel trapped in a maelstorm created by Ursula with the trident, which also summons shipwrecks on it. Ursula gleefully monitors the changes while Ariel clings on a rock in the whirlpool and notices Eric below a shipwreck, worried about him. Eric manages to get on one of the shipwrecks whilst Ursula spots Ariel and blasts her off which she then falls down to the eye of the whirlpool. Ursula then tries to use the trident to destroy Ariel, narrowly avoiding every blast. Eric notices this and decides to stop Ursula by having her killed by the shipwreck as he has an idea from its splintered bowsprit to defeat her and prevent Ariel's destruction. She prepares a blast that is presumed to be unavoidable for Ariel and slowly prepares it while Eric navigates the shipwreck to kill Ursula and pulls the wheel hard to port which as she then notices it, it impales her stomach, resulting in great pain for her. The bowsprit then conducts lightning which the electricity then affects Ursula and is electrocuted more and more along with the shipwreck until she explodes by the overloaded electricity. Under her last breaths, she drags the remains of the shipwreck with her melting tentacles as Sebastian and Flounder witness this. Eric has managed to escape to safety while she explodes and collapses to shore as he is exhausted as Ursula then fully dies.

Ursula's death then has her magic no longer in her control which the polyps in Ursula's garden, including Triton, are all changed back into merpeople. Noticing how sad his daughter is that she will not be in the world above, and realizing how much she is truly in love with Eric, Triton decides that if Ariel truly wants this to be happy, he'll allow it. Ariel watches in astonished delight as she is changed permanently into a human by her father. A bright light goes around her, her tail splits into two legs, and she emerges from the sea as Eric awakens and sees Ariel in a glittering blue dress. She runs into Eric's arms, and the two finally kiss, which changes directly to the final scene.

In the final scene, Ariel and Eric, who are married, are seen kissing on their wedding day. Both humans and merpeople turn out for the wedding, and Triton accepts Eric as a part of the family. Eric and Ariel sail away into the sunset, Triton creates a rainbow. Everyone waves goodbye. Then Ariel and Eric kiss again, as a chorus Reprise of "Part of Your World" plays and the movie fades to black, showing that they lived happily ever after.

Plot (Live Action)

Ariel is a young mermaid with an insatiable curiosity for human culture and the surface world, despite the fact she has never seen it, as her father Triton, ruler of the ocean kingdom of Atlantica, has forbidden merpeople from visiting the surface world after Ariel's mother Queen Athena was killed by a human. Ariel finds solace in human objects she finds, with support from her friends, Flounder, a sergeant major and Scuttle, the gannet.

After having to learned that Ariel was missing the Coral Moon meeting, which she was supposed to attend with her sisters, Triton scolds Ariel. Later that night, Ariel sees fireworks on the surface and decides to investigate. The fireworks come from a ship belonging to Eric, the prince of an island kingdom in the Mediterranean. Ariel eavesdrops on a conversation between Eric and Prime Minister Grimsby about the former's desire to travel the world and help the people of his kingdom. A storm strikes and the crew head for the lifeboats. Eric is tossed overboard and almost drowns underwater. Ariel saves Eric from drowning, bringing him to shore, waking him with her singing voice. As Eric regains consciousness, Ariel flees. After Eric comes to, his adoptive mother Selina forbids him from sailing again.

Ariel's absent-minded behavior is commented on by her sisters, and Triton learns from his advisor, Sebastian, the crab, that Ariel visited the surface and saved a human from drowning. Triton confronts Ariel in her grotto, and when she refuses to stop visiting the surface world, he destroys her collection of treasures. As Ariel tries to stop him, Triton destroys the statue, feeling guilty. After Triton leaves, Ariel begins crying, and two eels with electric powers arrive and show Ariel a vision of the sea witch Ursula, her estranged aunt, who offers her help.

Ariel travels to Ursula's cave, where the sea witch strikes a bargain with her; she will transform Ariel into a human for three days, in which time she must receive true love's kiss from Eric; if she succeeds, she will remain human forever. If she fails, she turns back into a mermaid, and will belong to Ursula. The deal, however, comes with a price; Ariel must sacrifice her abilities to breathe underwater, her tail, and her voice, which Ursula traps inside a nautilus. Ariel accepts the deal, and her tail is transformed into legs. Flounder and Sebastian take Ariel to the surface, where a fisherman saves her, and takes her back to Eric's castle. Eric, who has been searching for the woman who saved him, rushes to meet Ariel when he hears of her arrival. Ariel is excited, but her lack of voice turns the prince away. That evening, Ariel explores the castle, and discovers Eric's collection of items from his travels, and she and the prince pore over the collection.

The next day, Ariel and Eric explore the kingdom; Sebastian has stowed away, and discovers that Ursula has rigged the deal to make Ariel forget she has to kiss Eric. Sebastian, Scuttle and Flounder take it upon themselves to get the pair to kiss; they are almost successful, but Ursula sends her eels to thwart them. Enraged by the close call, Ursula transforms herself into a beautiful young woman called Vanessa, using Ariel's voice to hypnotize Eric.

The next morning, Ariel and her friends discover that Eric will be announcing his engagement to Vanessa. Scuttle discovers Vanessa's true identity and informs Ariel, who rushes to the engagement party, breaking the nautilus shell, restoring her voice and breaking Eric's enchantment. Eric finds that Ariel is the right woman for him. Ursula warns Eric to leave Ariel alone. Before the two can kiss, the sun sets, transforming Ariel back into a mermaid. While reverting to her original self, Ursula grabs Ariel with her back into the sea.

Triton confronts Ursula and orders her to release Ariel, but Ursula informs Triton that the contract Ariel made is unbreakable. Triton saves Ariel and takes her place, and Ursula's eels disintegrate him. Ursula claims Triton’s trident and declares herself the new ruler. Witnessing the incident, Ariel confronts Ursula and attempts to hurt and abuse her. Ursula attempts to destroy Ariel, but after arriving, Eric saves Ariel. In the skirmish, Ursula almost destroys Eric, but Ariel intervenes and attacks Ursula who accidentally kills her eels. As Ariel hurries to join Eric, Ursula shortly mourns the loss and deaths of her eels. In a fit of rage, Ursula uses the trident to transform herself into a giant sea monster, creating a thunderstorm to threaten Ariel and Eric; a shipwreck is brought to the surface. At the midst, Ursula attempts use the trident to kill Eric, but fails. After pulling herself on the shipwreck, Ariel kills Ursula with its bowsprit. When Ursula dies, Triton is brought back to life and reclaims his trident.

Triton and Ariel recognize the other's sacrifice for them. Eric returns home, where Selina acknowledges his love for Ariel was real. Triton eventually accepts that although Ariel is home, she will not be happy without Eric. At the request of Sebastian, after transforming her back into a human permanently, Triton sends Ariel to Eric. After Eric and Ariel marry, the two decide to travel the world together, with the support of their respective families and the people of the human and mer-world.

Voice Cast

Japanese

Mayumi Suzuki as Ariel & Vanessa
Kazuhiko Inoue as Prince Eric
Koichi Yamadera as Sebastian
Daisuke Otomo as Flounder
the late Taro Ishida as King Triton
the late Kaneta Kimotsuki as Scuttle
the late Joji Yanami as Grimsby
Toji Kawahigashi as Chef Louis
Junko Asami as Carlotta the maid
Chie Matsuura as a Seahorse
Frank Welker as Max the sheepdog
Kumiko Mori as Ursula
Shuichiro Moriyama as Floatsam & Jetsam

English

Jodi Benson as Ariel & Vanessa
Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Eric
the late Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian
Jason Marin as Flounder
the late Kenneth Mars as King Triton
the late Buddy Hackett as Scuttle
the late Ben Wright as Grimsby
Rene Auberjonois as Chef Louis
Edie McClurg as Carlotta the maid
Frank Welker as Max the sheepdog
Will Ryan as a Seahorse
the late Pat Carroll as Ursula
the late Paddi Edwards as Floatsam & Jetsam

Cast (Live Action)

Halle Bailey as Ariel & Vanessa’s Singing Voice
Jessica Alexander as Vanessa
Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric
Daveed Diggs as Sebastian
Jacob Tremblay as Flounder
Javier Bardem as King Triton
Awkwafina as Scuttle
Art Malik as Grimsby
Martina Laird as Lashana aka Carlotta the maid
Frank Welker as Max the sheepdog
Melissa McCarthy as Ursula
Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina
Jodi Benson as Market Vendor Saleswoman
Karolina Conchet as Mala aka Attina
Simone Ashley as Indira aka Alana
Nathalie Sorrell as Caspia aka Adella
Sienna King as Tamika aka Aquata
Kajsa Mohammar as Karina aka Arista
Lorena Andrea as Perla aka Andrina

Japanese

Erika Toyohara as Ariel & Vanessa’s Singing Voice
??? as Vanessa
Naoto Kaiho as Prince Eric
Subaru Kimura as Sebastian
Yuto Noji as Flounder
Akio Ōtsuka as King Triton
Urara Takano as Scuttle
??? as Grimsby
??? as Lashana aka Carlotta the maid
Frank Welker as Max the sheepdog
Rinko Urashima as Ursula
??? as Queen Selina
??? as Market Vendor Saleswoman
??? as Mala aka Attina
??? as Indira aka Alana
??? as Caspia aka Adella
??? as Tamika aka Aquata
??? as Karina aka Arista
??? as Perla aka Andrina

Difference Between Live Action and 1989 Animated Film

The beginning of the film includes a quote said by Hans Christian Andersen (author of the original Little Mermaid) which reads, "But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more". There is no scene with a quote by the said author in the original film.
The setting takes place in the underwater sea world of Atlantica which is located in the Atlantic ocean, and the human world location is set in Caribbean in this case near Mexico and Europe as the island is possibly Jamaica. In the original the ocean world is still Atlantica but the human world setting is Denmark which is in Europe.
The timeline of the story is in 1838. In the original it’s unknown what timeline the story is set in.
It’s unknown how old Ariel was when her mother was killed by a human. In the original she was 5 years old when her mother was killed.
A human killed Ariel’s mother instead of a pirate ship like in the original.
Ariel was too young to clearly remember her mother and what happened to her. Meaning that she was a baby when her mother died.
Ariel was 3 years old when Triton banished Ursula. In the original its unknown how old Ariel was when Ursula was banished.
Sebastian is not a composer and songwriter. Instead Sebastian is simply Triton's advisor. In the original he was the song composer
Sebastian's concert from the original is replaced with a Coral Moon meeting for the remake.
The fish tails of the king's daughters represent different fish from across the world. In the original this wasn’t explained.
Ariel is more loyal to the rules against going up to the surface than the one in the original. It’s after she saves Eric that she decides to go to the surface world again.
Ariel is reveal to be exactly like her mother both in personality and in appearance. This was never brought up in the 1989 original.
Ariel is a complete tomboy as she’s not into girly girly stuff like her older sisters. She only has a girly girly side when it comes to wearing a dress. In the original she was a mix tomboy girly girly.
Ariel has vibrant red hair in the 1989 film, while she has a more natural red hair that is in lock braids in this film.
Ariel has dark brown skin. In the original she was white tan.
Eric is adopted and is not a royal by birth. He was found by the Queen after surviving a shipwreck as a baby.
Eric doesn’t want to live like the King who die by isolating himself from society for the majority of Eric’s life.
Eric is 21 years old instead of being 18 like in the original. Ariel is also 18 years old instead of being 16.
Grimsby is the prime minister of Eric's kingdom. In the original he was the butler of the royal household.
Ariel's older sisters are future leaders Instead of singers.
Eric has his own song in this film.
Max is a small dog and isn’t a sheepdog like in the original.
Eric is active in establishing trade relations with Europe and South America. As the island he lives on has the population of mostly of African and European descent.
Ariel's six sisters have different names in this film: Mala, Karina, India, Caspia, Perla, and Tameka. Instead of their names all starting and ending with A, all of their names just end with A, with the exception of Ariel. In the original film, the sisters all live in Triton's kingdom. In the remake, all the princesses aside from Ariel live in separate kingdoms but they all get together during the "Coral Moon".
Ariel is the only one living with her father. In the original Ariel and her older sisters are living with their father.
Ariel and her sisters wear regular bras instead of seashell bras.
Two of Ariel’s sisters wear a crown over their head. In the original only 3 of Ariel’s sisters wore a shell or crown over there head.
Ariel’s sisters are the ones that search for her upon learning that she isn’t any where in the ocean when they tell King Triton. In the original a seahorse was the one that searched everywhere in the ocean for Ariel.
Ariel’s sisters believe that she went to the surface world as she’s no where in the ocean. This isn’t shown in the original.
Triton shows his what have I done regret and sorrow look on his face by dropping his triton after finding out that Ariel is no where to be found in the ocean. In the original Triton shows his regret and sorrow after destroying Ariel’s collection but still says what have I done long after Ariel run away from home.
Ariel’s sisters visit their father for the coral moon instead of a concert.
King Triton doesn’t get angry upon seeing that Ariel is not at the family’s council meeting.
Triton hates humans due to one killing the Queen which was used in the prequel. Also, in the original film, it's ambiguous as to what Ariel's sisters think of humans; in this film, they share Triton's prejudiced attitudes towards the human race.
Ariel collects a small telescope upon seeing it in the ocean before going into an underwater ruin ship.
Ariel notices Gluts the shark instead of Flounder.
During the chase scene at the sunken ship, Flounder gets stuck on the sea floor, being unable to move while Glut continues chasing Ariel who drops a barrel on him, unlike in the original film. In that same scene, Glut crashes into a mirror where he gets trapped instead of being trapped into an anchor. Additionally, the part where Flounder taunts him is omitted.
Ariel shows Scuttle her new items she found underwater. In the original she shows scuttle this while they were on land.
Ariel recalls her family meeting upon Scuttle talking to her about a special day.
Ariel’s eyes are brown instead of blue in the original.
King Triton doesn't live in an opulent, gold castle.
Ursula is King Triton’s sister, making her Ariel's paternal aunt. The plotline of King Triton and Ursula being siblings is a deleted concept from the animated film. It was first used in the musical adaptation.
Scuttle is a female northern gannet (a type of diving bird), instead of a male seagull. Scuttle is also able to breathe underwater.
Queen Selina is a new character, who appears in the remake and is Eric's adopted mother.
Chef Louis is not featured in the remake.
The Seahorse Herald is also absent.
Snarfblatt references are not used in the remake due to Disney enforcing a ban on smoking and drugs in 2007.
Flounder is a teenage blue fish instead of a young male sergeant major.
Three new songs are introduced in the remake. "For the First Time" by Ariel. "Wild Uncharted Waters" by Prince Eric. "The Scuttlebutt" by Scuttle and Sebastian. Additionally, another song called "Impossible Child" was written for the film, but it did not make the final cut. The song "Daughters of Triton" from the animated film is not featured in the remake. Furthermore, the song "Les Poissons" from the animated film also is not featured in the remake.
There are no songs from the musical adaptation of the film in the remake, not even the deleted song "Silence is Golden", which was cut from the original film.
Ursula has 8 tentacles, similar to common cephalopods, rather than six.
King Triton wears body armor in the remake, rather than having his bare chest being shown completely.
Ariel only went to the surface world three times. First was to save Eric, the second was to permanently become a human. The third was after defeating Ursula. In the original she visited the surface world numerous times.
Ariel gets curious about the human world upon seeing fireworks at night. In the original she gets curious upon seeing a boat float above her.
The song "Fathoms Below" plays during Eric's birthday celebration rather than being sung at the beginning of the film.
Ariel spies on Eric and his ship crew by sitting in a lifeboat and watches them through a big hole that is on the boat. In the original she sat on a platform while doing this.
Ariel falls in love with Eric more so after hearing him talk to Grimsby about the world, caring for other people, and more.
Max doesn’t smell Ariel’s scent upon meeting her during Eric’s birthday party.
Max almost dies upon getting trap on the burning ship. Eric toss him into the water while Ariel helps Max swim to the lifeboat.
Eric’s crewman survive the fire by jumping into the water by getting into a lifeboat.
Eric gets hit on the head as he falls off of the burning ship.
Eric falls for Ariel’s voice by calling it a Siren. Despite this he doesn’t know that he has a lot in common with Ariel before meeting her.
During the first reprise of "Part of Your World", a group of guards from Prince Eric's castle rushes towards the beach to find Eric to make sure he is safe, and Ariel retreats from the guards. This did not occur in the original film, where only Grimsby and Max find Eric.
Sebastian tells Scuttle to keep Ariel's first encounter and being in love with Eric a secret. In the original film, he says this to Flounder.
Ariel sings with Sebastian during Under the Seas unlike in the original.
A lot of changes during the "Under the Sea" sequence: Unlike in the original film, Flounder does not appear during the sequence. During the first verse, Sebastian leaps onto a rock to reveal a school of fish for them to swim around Ariel. In the original film, there was a school of fish swimming around Ariel from a distance. A group of seahorses swims around Ariel during the first verse in this film. In the original film, seahorses do not appear until during the second verse where they swim around her. During the second verse, Ariel swims with a pod of dolphins, rides on an octopus across the reef and later dismounts out of it when she arrives at the forest of pink jellyfish. She later encounters sea turtles crawling on the sand, followed by manatees, starfish, and a pufferfish inflating itself. In the original film, the scenes from the said verse include Sebastian encountering a lobster playing with clams he uses as steel drums, a dolphin swimming by, a large fish placed on a flat coral during the verse about fish feeling uncomfortable on land, followed by seahorses swimming around Ariel, Sebastian placing fishing hooks inside a clam's mouth which suddenly spits out the hooks, and various other creatures singing and playing musical instruments. During the instrumental part, various sea creatures take part in dancing with Ariel and later during the final verse, unlike in the original film where Ariel escapes with the help from Flounder. The sea creatures do not use instruments during the musical number in this film, unlike in the original film.
Ariel already has Eric’s statue as part of her collection unlike in the original where it was Flounder that found it for her.
Ariel flirts with Eric’s statue instead of daydreaming of the statue being the real Eric like in the original.
Flounder has a bad feeling that they shouldn’t see Ariel’s collection when she comes with more stuff. Ariel then tells him not to worry. This didn’t happen in the original.
Ariel is shock to see her father inside her Grotto upon arriving with more items to put away.
In the original film, Ariel calls King Triton "Daddy", but in the remake, she refers to him as "Father".
Ariel doesn’t shout out “Daddy I love him” to her father during their argument like in the original. Instead she tells her father about Eric by saying his name, and explaining about his pacifist nature to him which angers her father.
Ariel remains calm during her argument with her father, despite being scar to see what he will do with her collection.
Ariel desperately cries tries to stop her father from destroying Eric’s statue. Triton pushes her away and knocks her to the ground. In the original she cries over her whole collection getting destroyed.
When Triton destroys the statue of Eric in Ariel's grotto and then Ariel lays on the sea floor in silent sorrow over the destruction her father did and during the part where Ariel cries, she is seen holding one of the hands from the destroyed statue of Eric, unlike in the original film where she holds the face of the destroyed statue.
Triton has no regrets for what he did to Ariel’s collection and tells her to never leave again. This didn’t happen in the original.
Ursula has Flotsam and Jetsam come to Ariel. Then she appears in a magic bubble by telling Ariel if she wants freedom from her father she can make a deal with her.
Ursula's eyeshadow is green. In the original her eyeshadow is blue.
Ursula kills those who made a deal with her.
In this film, the merpeople that were turned into polyps in Ursula's Garden are depicted each having one eye, unlike in the original film where they are depicted having two eyes. Additionally, a skeleton of a mermaid/merman appears during the part where Ariel follows Flotsam and Jetsam into Ursula's lair, which does not appear in the original film.
While going in Ursula’s lair, Ariel is grabbed by a starfish with eyes instead of by shrunken merpeople.
Ursula's tentacles are bioluminescent.
Ariel initially turns down Ursula's deal stating that it wasn't right in the remake while Ariel is only concerned about how is she able to communicate without her voice in the original.
In the song of "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Ursula's iconic dialogue "You have your looks!, Your pretty Face!, and don't underestimate the importance of body language!" was cut in the remake.
Ariel uses a piece of her mermaid tail and blood for the 3 day human test, instead of signing a gold paper contract with Ursula.
The Kiss from Eric is the key to Ariel keeping her voice and having human legs. In the original the kiss was only for Ariel to remain human forever. It’s unknown if she was to get her voice back after becoming a human.
When Ariel transformed into a human while being under water, her bra comes off leaving her nude. But only her feet is shown as Ursula laughs upon seeing her become a human.
When Ariel reaches the surface upon finally becoming a human, she’s seen breathing heavily despite losing her voice. In the original she didn’t breathe at all.
When Ariel becomes a human for the first time, Sebastian and Flounder get her aboard a fisherman's boat, and the fisherman gets her dressed and taken to the castle. Also during this scene, Ariel's private parts aren't shown, just her bare legs. In the original movie, Ariel is taken to the beach and dressed in a sail by Scuttle before being found by Eric and Max, and taken back to the castle by Eric personally.
Ariel kisses Sebastian like in the original, but in a different context. In the original she kissed him out of gratitude for him helping her, but the remake adds that she actually doesn’t remember her requirement to kiss Eric, she just thinks she has to kiss Sebastian when he mentions it. Before realizing why she’s confused, Sebastian gently chides her clarifying that’s not what he meant.
Ariel’s motive to become a human is to prove her father wrong about humans not always being monsters to merpeople, including to have more freedom in her life by being human and not leading a part of the ocean like her older sisters.
Ariel is cover completely in a fishing net upon landing on a boat before going to the castle. A fisherman gives her a blanket to cover herself up as well. In the original Ariel was on shore by laying in the water to cover her nude body.
Flounder tells Scuttle everything that happened to Ariel before being toss in water. This didn’t happen in the original.
Scuttle thinks that Ariel is planning to kill Eric. In the original this never occurred.
Ariel doesn’t recall the 3 day deal after losing her voice. This is because Ursula made this be apart of her deal so Ariel can’t do anything lovey dovey with Eric.
Ariel sings about living on land in her mind when she heads to the castle. This didn’t happen in the original.
Lashana aka Carlotta teaches Ariel how to act like a human instead of Grimsby.
Ariel has problems walking after becoming a human. In the original she didn’t have problems walking as a human.
Ariel decides to touch fire upon seeing it for the first time. In original she touches a puppet by grabbing it off of a puppeteer’s hand.
Ariel has a bewildered look on her face when Lashana talks about the supposed stink of seaweed on her. In the original Carlotta did smell Ariel’s dirty scent on the shipwreck clothes that she was wearing.
Ariel eats soap upon getting a bath. In the original she plays with the soap bubbles while getting a bath.
Ariel starts to regret her decision to become a human after learning the different lifestyles humans have unlike merpeople.
Ariel is a vegetarian as she learns that people eat fish upon seeing drawings of fish hanging on hooks that is on a wall instead of Sebastian.
Despite already stealing Ariel’s voice, Ursula is outraged that Ariel can sing in her mind. Upon learning about that she decided to make new contracts to fix this flaw.
Ariel learns how to wear human clothes and how to do her hair while staying in the castle. In the original she only brushes her hair and wore pajamas.
Ariel wears a sky blue glitter dress upon meeting Eric as a human. She also wears a scarf on her head.
Lashana sees Ariel’s very intrigued reaction to hearing Eric is tirelessly searching for the mystery girl who saved him, Lashana realizes Ariel is the one Eric’s looking for and excitedly goes to fetch him. In the original this never happened.
Ariel finally realized that all the confusion over becoming human is about to pay off because she’s about to finally, properly meet the man she’s fallen for who’s just as smitten with her. In the original she’s chased by Max before meeting Eric.
Ariel is speechless upon meeting Eric when he asks for her name. In the original she was happy upon meeting him.
Ariel sneaks around the castle in order to see what Eric likes doing. This leads her to find his sea world collection. In the original she never explored the castle.
Eric’s collection room is arranged and shot in the exact same way as her grotto; darkness below and light above. In the original he never show Ariel around the castle.
Ariel bonds with Eric upon learning that they have problems with their family including that they love having a huge collection of each other’s respective possessions. Along with teaching him how to make music with giant seashells and finding hidden gems inside a big rock.
Eric teaches Ariel about world maps and different cultures which didn’t happened in the original.
Ariel sleeps at a window bed instead of a big bed on the first night at the castle.
Grimsby let’s Eric take Ariel out of the castle by giving them a carriage to use without the Queen’s knowledge.
Grimsby and Lashawna decide to distract the Queen by pretending that Eric and Ariel never left the castle unlike the original.
Ariel and Eric sneak out of the castle without the queen’s permission to go to the village in order to have an adventure. In the original version they didn’t sneak out at all.
Sebastian talks to Ariel while he is hiding in in a conch while she travels to the village with Eric. In the original this never happened.
Ariel learns about Fruits, Coconut and other items while traveling in the village. In the original she only learns about puppets and dancing while traveling in the village.
Ariel learns that the people in the marketplace are not mean and scary like the ship crews members. Instead she sees that the marketplace people are kind and happy.
Ariel has a scare reaction on her face when she sees a coconut be smashed in half. In the original this never happened.
Ariel combs her hair with a fork in front of a female market clerk after being handed a plate of fruits to eat. This freaked the saleswoman out after Ariel stop what she was doing.
Ariel nonchalantly eats a tropical flower given to her by another vendor. In the original this never happened.
Ariel decides to wear flip flops upon seeing how easy it is to move around. In the original she only wore high heels.
Ariel and Eric dance on the beach instead of in the village marketplace.
When Scuttle takes Eric’s hat, Eric calls Scuttle a he while not knowing that the bird is a female. In the original the bird is a male.
Eric teaches Ariel about different types of stars including the zodiac constellations while they lay on the grass with a blanket. In the original this didn’t happen.
Eric learns of Ariel’s name by looking at the Aries star constellation and Ariel touching his lips twice by doing sign language.
Eric tells Ariel that her name is beautiful instead of it being kinda pretty. He also says Ariel’s name is a beautiful name that is written in the stars.
Ariel finds the boat she and Eric will be in during the Kiss the Girl segment. In the original it’s unknown who found the boat.
Flounder, Scuttle and Sebastian help Ariel and Eric kiss since Ariel can’t remember the 3 day deal. Ironically they are doing this without Ariel knowing.
Flounder sings with Sebastian and Scuttle during the Kiss The Girl segment.
Ariel is the one who moves away from Eric when they almost kiss for the first time during "Kiss the Girl." In the original, Eric is the one who pulls away, and Ariel is sad over it.
The songs "Kiss the Girl" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" have their lyrics modified in the remake to include consent and female empowerment.
Upon seeing that Ariel is this close to getting Eric to kiss her at the Lagoon, Ursula gets frustrated and tries to use a potion that can easily turn herself into a human. She gets extremely angry trying to find the orange potion that can turn her into a human, and after going through so many shelves she sees that the potion is floating right in front of her. In the original she uses many different potions that can disguise her as a girl name Vanessa.
Unlike the original animated film, Sebastian's arms and claws are not the same size, with his right arm being large and the left being smaller.
Eric and Ariel sneak back into the castle while the Queen believes they never left. This didn’t happen in the original.
Eric tries to explain about his past and struggles of being isolated in a castle to Ariel, but is always interrupted. This never happened in the original.
Eric wishes Ariel good night before talking to Grimsby.
Eric sees Vanessa on the beach before he is hypnotized.
Eric gets hypnotize by Vanessa while walking on the beach.
Eric doesn’t know what to do when he is under Vanessa’s spell. In fact he doesn’t know if he should continue his search for Ariel’s beautiful singing voice.
Ariel throws a pillow on herself when Scuttle tries to tell her good news about Eric. In the original she wakes up upon hearing Scuttle.
Ariel throws clothes on the bed before leaving the bedroom. In the original this didn’t happen.
Ariel doesn't wear her signature pink gown in this film. Instead she wears a blue pinkish dress instead.
Ariel eavesdrops on the wedding council meeting by hiding behind a Pilar. In the original she hides while being behind the stairs.
Ariel runs away from the castle upon seeing Vanessa being in love with Eric. She also sings the final part of the Part of Your World song in her mind. In the original she cries while being left at the castle shore.
Flounder knows where Ariel disappeared to after Scuttle and Sebastian couldn’t find her in the village.
Eric tries to find Ariel after learning that she isn’t in the castle.
Grimsby knows that Ariel is the mysterious women that Eric has been looking for along, by studying her movements and body language.
Grimsby scolds Eric for not having Ariel in his life as a future wife, and says he doesn’t blame Ariel for leaving him upon seeing someone else be in love with him.
Vanessa and Eric’s wedding is at the castle instead of on a boat.
Vanessa’s song is a harmony hum that goes la la de la la do la la dah. In the original the song was just regular words.
Scuttle discovers Ursula digsuised as Vanessa in her bedroom. In the original movie, Scuttle discovers Ursula's disguise as Vanessa on the ship during the wedding ceremony.
Ariel swims back to the castle to stop the wedding herself instead of having Flounder help her.
Flounder is the one to warn Triton about Ariel being kidnapped by Ursula instead of Sebastian.
Eric and Vanessa don't wear their black cloaks in this film.
Eric doesn’t walk down the aisle with Vanessa like in the original.
Vanessa doesn't wear her signature wedding gown in this film.
In original animated film, Max the Dog bites on Vanessa's butt, However Max didn't bite Vanessa in remake.
Grimsby hides the engagement ring during Ariel’s cat fight with Vanessa. In the original Grimsby never hides the ring.
Ariel and Vanessa catfight in this film, instead of Scuttle oveared and Max the Dog bites Vanessa on her butt.
Eric is hold back by his adopted mother or Grimsby while Ariel fights Vanessa. In the original he was still under Vanessa’s spell.
Ariel was the one who grabbed and broke Ursula's seashell necklace instead of Scuttle.
Eric reunited with Ariel after she gets her voice back, and hugs her after realizing that it was her that saved him. The two are about to kiss and that’s when Ariel transformed into a mermaid. He actually clutches her even closer as it visibly clicks that she's a mermaid instead of letting her go for whatever reason.
Eric and Ariel hold each other’s hands after everyone in the kingdom learn that she is a mermaid and not a human. The two don’t even move upon seeing Vanessa turning back into Ursula. In the original the two only hold on to each other tightly while they are in the water after seeing Ursula become a giant monster.
Ursula knocks everyone to the ground as she grabs Ariel and dives off a clifftop. In the original this never happened.
After Ariel turns back into a mermaid, Eric tries to put himself between Ursula and Ariel, and is ready to fight to keep Ariel safe. In the original Eric just stands there while Ariel is immediately swept up by Ursula and taken back to the ocean.
Ariel loses her blue dress in the ocean after turning back into a mermaid as it’s caught on a branch. Eric then finds it as it washes on shore and tries to find her in the ocean. In the original she loses the dress as she is dragged into the ocean.
Eric goes after Ariel when his mother tries to stop him from going into the ocean. He then dives into the ocean after getting off of a boat. In the original Eric is on a boat as Grimsby tries to stop him.
In the original, Ariel signs the contract by writing her signature on glowing paper. In the remake, one of her mermaid scales were removed as a part of making a deal with Ursula and one of Ariel's scales were still missing (as evidence of her bleeding tail wound) when transforming back.
Flotsam and Jetsam electric Ariel by holding onto her arms as Triton tries to break the blood contract with Ursula. In the original Ariel neatly turns to coral by being trap in a vortex whirlpool.
Ursula kills King Triton in the film instead of turning him into a polyp, although he is brought back to life after her death.
Flotsam and Jetsam drag Eric in the water after he injured Ursula with an arrow. In the original he made it to the boat before the eels dragged him down into the ocean.
During the final battle, Flotsam and Jetsam dragged and attempted to drown Eric, however in the original animated film, Sebastian pinches Flotsam and Flounder slaps Jetsam, but Sebastian and Flounder do not attack the two in the remake.
Unlike the original animated film, Flotsam and Jetsam do not have any dialogue.
Flotsam and Jetsam die as Ursula accidentally killed them. In the original Ariel uses the triton to stop Ursula from killing Eric.
After Ursula gets the triton, she plans to only kill Ariel in the original. In the remake she plans to kill both Ariel and Eric.
Ursula’s giant transformation is more in depth and terrifying than in the original.
Ariel and Eric hold each others hands before jumping off of the giant Ursula.
Eric is the one that needs saving from Ursula instead of Ariel.
Ariel kills Ursula instead of Eric with the wrench battle ship.
Ursula's final words before her death, "So much for true love!", were included in the film. Unlike the original film, they were not her last words.
After Ursula gets stabbed in the stomach, she tries to kill Ariel with her giant hand as she falls to her death.
Ariel stays underwater after Eric swims back to shore. In the original only the merpeople and Eric were shown after the battle with Ursula.
King Triton and Ariel reconcile after Ariel had help from Eric when it came to battling Ursula.
Eric reconciled with his adopted mother as she saw that his love for Ariel was real and not fake like she had originally thought. In the original this never happened.
Eric plays with Max before he reunited with Ariel. In the original he remained on the beach after the battle with Ursula.
Ariel has a sad expression on her face as she looks at the castle after Ursula’s defeat.
When Ariel is transformed back to a human by her father, she is not seen wearing the purple dress as she comes out of the water. Instead Eric hears her and rushes down to the beach to find her with Max, where they kiss.
In finale scene, Ariel doesn't wear a wedding veil while marrying Prince Eric. In that same scene, an instrumental version of "Part of Your World" plays instead of being sung by an offscreen choir.
Ariel is welcomed into the royal family by Eric’s adoptive mother. In the original only the caretakers of the castle welcomed her into the royal family.
Ariel has a little green stone mermaid figurine that’s call little mermaid as a keepsake from Eric and gives it to her animal friends as a symbol of their friendship.
Ariel and Triton have their last conversation before Ariel and Eric go away by sailing on the seas. As Triton says she didn’t have to lose her voice just be heard. Meaning that he would have granted her wish to live as a human without losing her voice. In the original Ariel and Triton say goodbye to each other on Ariel’s wedding day with Eric.
Ariel is able to cry tears of joy upon finally being able to live on land with Eric, as she has finally achieved her dream, without being trapped in either realm. In the original she cries as she hugs her father on her wedding day.
In the final scene Ariel plans to come to the next moon coral ceremony. Also in the final scene, Ariel and Eric are leaving to travel the world to learn about other cultures by going on a ship.

Difference Between Live Action Film and Live Action Film Light Novel

Songs

Fathom Below - Sailors
Daughters of King Triton - Triton's daughters
Part of Your World - Ariel
Part of Your World (reprise) - Ariel
Under the Sea - Sebastian & Sea Creatures
Poor Unfortunate Souls - Ursula
Les Poissons - Chef Louis
Kiss The Girl - Sebastian
Part of Your World (Finale) - Chorus

Live Action Film

Part of Your World - Ariel
Part of Your World Reprise - Ariel
Fathoms Below - Sailors & Prince Eric
Under the Sea - Sebastian & Ariel
Wild Uncharted Waters (new) - Prince Eric
Poor Unfortunate Souls - Ursula
For the First Time (new) - Ariel
Kiss the Girl - Sebastian, Scuttle & Flounder
Vanessa's Trick - Vanessa
The Scuttlebutt (new) - Scuttle & Sebastian

Signifiance

The Little Mermaid is an important Disney film for many reasons

It marked a return to the musical format that made Disney films popular from the 1930s and 1970s, after a test run with Oliver and Company the year before. It featured seven original songs by composer Alan Menken Howard and lyricist Howard Ashman , who also served as the film's producer.
It is the first Disney movie that shows a girl almost completely naked, though her front and back are never fully shown (This is the second, however, if one counts Cinderella showering in the beginning of Cinderella). The movie Mulan later repeats this when Mulan is stripped of her clothes in shadow form, and the bath scene.
It had the most special effects for a Disney animated feature since Fantasia was released forty-nine years earlier. Effects animation supervisor Mark Dindal estimated that over a million bubbles were drawn for this film, in addition to the use of other processes such as airbrushing , backlighting, superimposition, and some flat-shaded computer animatio.
The Little Mermaid was a box office success and grossed over $200,000,000 worldwide.
The Little Mermaid won the 1990 academy award for orginal music score."kiss the girl" and "Under the Sea" were nominated for the academy award for best song; the Oscar went to "Under the Sea".
The soundtrack, riding high on the heels of the film's popularity and the Academy, Golden Globes and Grammy Awards, went triple platinum, an unheard-of feat for an animated movie at the time.
The Little Mermaid started the Disney Renaissance which lasted until the Theatrical Release of Tarzan.

Trivia

This film was released on the same month, day and year as All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989).
It aired on Disney Channel on June 12, 1999. It aired again on July 15, 1999 and July 28, 1999. It aired for a third time on August 10, 1999 and on August 25, 1999. It aired for the final time on September 8, 1999.
It never aired on Toon Disney.

Live Action Film

Ariel has bright red hair in the 1989 film, while she has a more natural red hair that is in braids in this film.
Scuttle will be a female diving bird instead of a male seagull.
Queen Selina, Perla and Karina are new characters that appear in the remake.
Queen Athena appears in the remake. She did previously appear in the prequel of the original film The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. In this film, her relationship with Ariel will be explored even further.
Flounder will be a teenage blue fish instead of a young male Regal Angelfish.
Ariel's six sisters have different names in this film: Mala, Karina, India, Caspia, Perla, & Tameka. Instead of their names all starting with A, all of their names end with A, with the exception of Ariel.
Eric has his own song in this film.
This is the fourth collaboration between Rob Marshall and Disney after Marshall previously directed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Into the Woods, and Mary Poppins Returns.
According to Lin-Manuel Miranda during an interview on BBC's The One Show, all of the songs from the original 1989 animated film will still be part of the live-action adaptation.
This is the sixth Disney Princess remake, after Maleficent, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Mulan.
This is also the fifth movie from the Disney Renaissance to be remade.
This will be Melissa McCarthy's first role for a Disney film since she played the Sky King waitress in The Kid.
Due to Pinocchio being switched to Disney+ releases, this is the first exclusive theatrically-released remake of a Disney Animated Canon movie since Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil.
This is the first The Little Mermaid movie to be produced in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The other two were produced in 1.85:1.
This is the fourth collaboration between Rob Marshall and Disney after Marshall previously directed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns.
During an interview of the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, Audra McDonald said "If they made a live-action Little Mermaid, , I'd be Ursula. That would be a fun role to play. I would love that. If there's a hat, I'll catapult my name into it however I possibly can"., becoming a possible candidate for the role of the villain.
Lindsay Lohan is currently offering to play the role of Ariel, claiming "I will sing again" on her Instagram page.
Jodi Benson had this to say if The Little Mermaid was made into a live action film: "I think it’s going to be incredible. They are talking about this concept, and the team of people that I’ve heard mentioned for this particular live-action film sounds quite magical. And I think for Alan [Menken] to be teaming up with Lin-Manuel is going to be phenomenal, and if in fact we have Robbie Marshall, if that is the case, as director and John DeLuca as executive producer. Mary Poppins Returns, I think, was just a fantastic film, so I know that Robbie is an incredible director with a great eye. I think he can handle it. I think it can be delivered in a way that’s going to be quite special. I don’t know exactly how they’ll pull it all off, but I’m sure it’ll be amazing".
Upon hearing that Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel which caused backlash from fans. Benson defended Bailey’s casting by saying, “I think the most important thing is to tell the story. We have, as a family, raised our children and for ourselves that we don’t see anything that’s different on the outside. I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters. What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart and their spirit is what really counts". We need to be storytellers,” Benson continued. “And no matter what we look like on the outside, no matter our race, our nation, the color of our skin, our dialect, whether I’m tall or thin, whether I’m overweight or underweight, or my hair is whatever colour, we really need to tell the story".
This will be the fifth remake of a Walt Disney Animation Studios movie that is from the Disney Renaissance, after Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), The Lion King (2019), and Mulan (2020).
The "Part of Your World" sequence was filmed over the course of three days. Halle Bailey described filming the segment as "the most beautiful experience of my life. Feeling all of the feelings that she feels. Her passion. Her discomfort. Everything that she was experience was so exciting for me to play. Just getting to sing a song I've loved ever since I was a child was really exciting”.
Melissa McCarthy admitted she was in tears the first time she heard Halle Bailey's version of "Part of Your World”.
The film is to be released six months before the original The Little Mermaid (1989) will mark it's 34th anniversary.
According to Lin-Manuel Miranda during an interview on BBC's The One Show, all of the songs from the original 1989 animated film will still be part of the live-action adaptation.
This is the sixth Disney Princess remake, after Maleficent, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Mulan.
This is also the fifth movie from the Disney Renaissance to be remade.
This will be Melissa McCarthy's first role for a Disney film since she played the Sky King waitress in The Kid.
Due to Pinocchio being switched to Disney+, this is the first exclusive theatrically-released remake of a Disney Animated Canon movie since Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
This is the first The Little Mermaid movie to be produced in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The other two were produced in 1.85:1.
Benson has praised the tweaks the fast-approaching live-action remake makes to the animated original. Benson described these changes as being necessary to better reflect modern society. "When you look at our film, we started in the studio in 1986 and we were released in 1989. Times change, people change, cultures change. What matters and what is important changes. And, as a studio, we need to make those adjustments, and we need to take into consideration what's going on around us. We need to be aware. I do feel all of the nuances and small, slight changes here and there are very important... It's very important to address what's going on right now in our world and to make it effective for our period of time, where we are right now in this generation. The way that they paid tribute to the integrity of our original film just comes shining through in such a beautiful way. It really is just breathtaking”. Benson added that she is "very protective" of the film's lead character, since "there's just only a handful of us that are still at the company that were involved with our original film. I'm very protective of [Ariel], and I do feel that these changes that have occurred, especially with the live-action telling, are really important. Her integrity has been maintained. It's really a special retelling, and I'm just so thrilled. Halle's interpretation of Ariel is absolutely beautiful. I loved everything that she did with the film... I love the acting, I love the singing and just the pure spirit. Her beautiful love for the character comes through. It's just a beautiful, beautiful performance”.
Like with the original Beauty and the Beast (1991), this film was dedicated to the late Howard Ashman, who co-produced and co-wrote the songs from the original animated film. He also contributed some key scenes to the film's screenplay, including Sebastian's decision to help Ariel win the Prince's heart.
Melissa McCarthy had no idea she could actually sing before production of this film. She was coached by vocal coach Eric Vetro to prepare for her role as Ursula, and did all of her own singing in the film.
Ursula and Triton being siblings in this remake was not something found in the 1989 animated film, but was actually lifted from the 2007 Broadway musical of the film instead. In the musical, Triton had banished Ursula from his kingdom and disowned her as a sibling for practicing black magic, which is what motivates her actions in the Broadway musical.
According to costume designer Colleen Atwood, every merpeople accessory "had to be from the sea. For King Triton, we were trying to figure out how to make his crown look like a crown but not like it was a crown from above the sea. I saw these really giant shark teeth in a magazine, and I was like 'Oh my god, we should make his crown out of shark teeth'.
Singer Lizzo auditioned and campaigned for the role of Ursula. She even dressed like Ursula and sang "Poor Unfortunate Souls" on her Instagram page, but ultimately Melissa McCarthy got the role. Later, Lizzo and McCarthy met at an event and they discussed the audition. Not knowing Lizzo auditioned, her response to Lizzo was "why the hell did I get the part?".
The human world was designed to look like "1830s-meets-Caribbean world".
Contrary to the animated film, Sebastian has the correct number of legs (ten including two pinchers). The animated Sebastian had eight (including the pinchers), because at that time that was much easier to animate.
Costume designer Colleen Atwood explained why Ariel does not sport shell bras: "I just think we wanted to have a more fishlike quality to the girls. Having them all plonk seashells on their breasts seemed like a weird way to go. And when you start putting shells on real bodies, it's hard to make them look good, believe me. We went with a bralette that still has a fish vibe but wasn't as aggressive as a shell bra”.
Jacob Tremblay was 13 years old when he voiced Flounder back in 2020.
The film took 4 years to make due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exterior shots took place in Sardinia, Italy.
Halle Bailey joked that when she recreated the famous 'hair flip' scene (where Ariel swims to the surface and flips her hair after her human transformation), she nearly broke her neck because of how heavy her locs and hair extensions turned out in water.
The "Part of Your World" sequence was filmed over the course of three days. Halle Bailey described filming the segment as "the most beautiful experience of my life. Feeling all of the feelings that she feels. Her passion. Her discomfort. Everything that she was experience was so exciting for me to play. Just getting to sing a song I've loved ever since I was a child was really exciting”.
When asked about possibly starring a continuation for this film, Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-Kingactually remembered the lesser celebrated Disney sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000), considering a similar plot (with Ariel and Eric's daughter Melody). Bailey was born six months before Disney released "Return to the Sea". In the same interview she added that she loves the sequel, while King joked that Eric could become a merman in a future installment.
Daveed Diggs (Sebastian) co-authored the 2019 novel "The Deep", about an underwater society built by the water-breathing descendants (merpeople) of pregnant slaves thrown overboard from slave ships. The story is inspired by a song written by Diggs, who also narrates the audiobook version.
Rob Marshall invited Halle Bailey to audition after he saw a live performance of hers. She was the first person to read for the part and, according to Marshall, Bailey's rendition of "Part of Your World" during her audition left him in tears.
Three shades of red were applied on Halle Bailey's hair, with loose pieces of hair added to allow it to float and "dance" underwater. Ariel now sports a more natural red hair instead of the vibrant tone from the original animation. Bailey and hair dresser Camille Friend discarded using wigs from the start in favor of featuring her natural hair, as to stay true to Bailey's Black heritage.
The remake is 52 minutes longer than the original 1989 movie, which ran for 83 minutes.
Max is now a Bearded Collie instead of an Old English Sheepdog. This is not the first time Disney swapped these two dog breeds for a remake of a Disney classic. The first was in The Shaggy Dog (2006), where a Bearded Collie was used in that film which was a remake of the original The Shaggy Dog (1959), which had a Old English Sheepdog.
Melissa McCarthy admitted she was in tears the first time she heard Halle Bailey's version of "Part of Your World."
According to interviews in relation to The Little Mermaid (1989), Melissa McCarthy (Ursula) admitted that when she used to mind kids, she would play the film every night for them. She said that she had seen the film over one hundred times.
On May 5, 2023, a video of the film's trailer and its audio (specifically the portion of Halle Bailey's Ariel singing "Part of Your World (Reprise)") playing simultaneously over the visuals of the trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) during a Dolby Cinema screening of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) at an AMC Theater in Franklin, Tennessee, due to a film protector error, went viral on social media, with users enthused at the incidental crossover and noting how both trailers seemed to be perfectly in sync together as they played.
RuPaul revealed on his podcast that he was considered for the role of Sebastian but did not get the part after not wanting to play the character with a Caribbean accent.
Rob Marshall and Halle Bailey used Yentl (1983) as a reference for Bailey's portrayal of Ariel. According to Bailey, "Barbra Streisand had these beautiful moments in her head where a song would play and it would be an inner monologue as well. So I really studied that film".
Jacob Tremblay (Flounder) previously voiced the title role in Luca (2021), another film about sea creatures wanting to live on land.
Production was temporarily halted in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming resumed in early 2021 in London, England.
Every Disney film for which Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote music and/or lyrics has featured voice work by one of his Broadway collaborators: Christopher Jackson who starred in both 'In the Heights' and 'Hamilton' provided the singing voice for Moana's father in 'Moana' (2016); Olga Merediz who played Abuella Claudia in both the stage and film versions of 'In the Heights' (2021) provided the singing voice for Abuella in 'Encanto' (2021); Daveed Diggs played Lafayette/Jefferson in 'Hamilton' voices Sebastian in 'The Little Mermaid' (2023).
Halle Bailey was a regular supporting cast member on Grown-ish (2018). She left the series after Season 3 to film this movie, and her character was subsequently written out of the show. During season 4, the explanation behind Bailey's absence was that her character, Sky Forster, was competing as a runner in the 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
During "Part of Your World," Ariel opens a box full of pocket watches when she refers to having twenty "thingumabobs." In the animated version, thingumabobs were corkscrews. A corkscrew falls on Sebastian's head during the first scene with Scuttle.
Terry Crews expressed interest in playing King Triton.
Second Disney Princess from a live action movie where the main lead is black. The first was Brandy Norwood in Cinderella (1997), though the latter was not actually a remake of the animated film.
While Ariel and Eric are stargazing, Eric teaches Ariel about constellations and their names. After he makes a few attempts at guessing her name, Ariel points out the constellation of Aries, and when Eric says the name, she gently shushes him with a finger, shortening it to "Arie". She then playfully drags her finger down his lip as he repeats it to achieve the "-el" sound at the end. When he finally spells it all out, he smiles and tells her it's a beautiful name. Coincidently, Halle Bailey who plays Ariel, her zodiac sign is Aries because she was born on March 27th.
Jonah Hauer-King won the role of Prince Eric when he and Cameron Cuffe had tested for the role.
The movie introduces original characters not seen in The Little Mermaid (1989), including Queen Selina, portrayed by Noma Dumezweni.
Lin-Manuel Miranda previously wrote the songs for Moana (2016), in which the character of Sebastian is referenced in a post-credits scene.
Harry Styles revealed on Capital Breakfast that although he met with the director of the film, Rob Marshall, there were scheduling conflicts which meant he couldn't take the part. He said: "I think it's obviously going to be an amazing film... But they shoot for so long and I wanna tour next year, maybe. I haven't announced that yet, but yeah, it just didn't quite line up”.
To prepare for her role as Ursula, Melissa McCarthy and the makeup team had to block her eyebrows, stencil penciled eyebrows in, install a wig and add false eyelashes, along with contour.
Unlike previous Disney movies and live action remakes, this film does not feature a new track as a single or a pop version sung by artists other than the actors. Although there are recent versions of "Part of Your World" sung by Miley Cyrus, Jessie J and Carly Rae Jepsen, "Under the Sea" sung by Raven-Symoné, and "Kiss the Girl" sung by Colbie Caillat and Ashley Tisdale all released previously by Disney.
Filming was originally scheduled to begin in London, England between late March and early April 2020; however, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Actresses of various ethnicities were tested for the lead role.
The looks of Flounder and Sebastian (brought from the animated version as sentient animals) generated criticism from reviewers and fans alike. Jacob Tremblay defended Flounder's looks, stating: "I was shown the design when I went in for the audition and I saw the movie last night and, I have to say that I think it really, really worked. I think that [the producers] were geniuses and they knew exactly what they were doing”.
Rob Marshall's second Disney production featuring mermaids, after Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). He had his "Little Mermaid" crew watching the film for reference, explaining: "That [Pirates scene] already had our taste in terms of look and what you can achieve. We were explaining how we achieved it, too - when we were using visual effects, when we were using some kind of costumes, and things like that. We just broke it down with our entire team. That was really actually helpful”.
Director Rob Marshall's fourth Disney film, after Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), Into the Woods (2014), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). His first film Chicago (2002) was released by Miramax, then a subsidiary of Disney.
This is Melissa McCarthy's second Disney movie, after The Kid (2000).
Second movie collaboration for Daveed Diggs and Jacob Tremblay after Wonder (2017).
For the Brazilian version, voice actress Larissa Cardoso dubs for Perla (Lorena Andrea). Aged 14, Cardoso dubbed and sang for Melody in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000), after being selected in a contest promoted by a Disney-themed TV show. The actress also voiced Isabela in Encanto (2021).
Queen Selina attributes the frequent hurricanes and shipwrecks to the "sea gods" fury and reacts as such when she sees Ursula and Ariel's true nature in the climax. In Once Upon a Time (2011), Ursula was an actual sea goddess (The Sea Goddess of Old) which was impersonated by villains Regina Mills (the Evil Queen) and mermaid princess Ursula (who becomes a sea witch). Regina's impersonation makes reference to the original character from The Little Mermaid (1989).
Iain Armitage auditioned for the role of Flounder.
Halle Bailey (Ariel) was born on March 27, 2000. The same year the direct to video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000) was released.
Asher Angel and Gavin Leatherwood auditioned for Prince Eric.
Rob Marshall also directed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides (2011) with Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz. Coincidently, Marshall also worked with Penélope Cruz's husband Javier Bardem in this film.
In the final battle, when Prince Eric faces Flotsam and Jetsam, the cinematography appears to homage The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000), when Prince Eric is dragged down by Cloak and Dagger, the henchman of Ursula's villainous sister, Morgana.
A handful of online fans wanted Megan Fox or Anne Hathaway for the role of Vanessa, but both were never contacted by Walt Disney Studios for the part.
Christian Navarro auditioned for the role of Prince Eric after campaigning on Twitter for the part. He was publicly upset not only for not getting the part, but also because Disney went through "a who's who list of actors of color and still went with the white guy for Prince Eric's role. So much for diversity. I guess two brown leads would have tanked the movie right? Boring”.
Halle Bailey is the second black actress to portray a red haired, fair skinned character after Quvenzhané Wallis in Annie.
The live action film also featured a brand new, original song for King Triton called "Impossible Child" however it was also cut from the film.