18 Facts You Should Know About 1989's "The Little Mermaid" Before Watching The Remake
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The Little Mermaid (1989) remains one of Disney's most beloved animated films of all time.
Walt Disney Pictures
So, before we dive into the 2023 live-action remake, we thought it would be fun to check out some incredible behind-the-scenes facts about the classic film (which practically saved Walt Disney Studios)!
Walt Disney Pictures
Let's get started:
1.The Little Mermaid was initially rejected in favor of a Splash sequel.
Writer/director Ron Clements first pitched The Little Mermaid at Disney's Gong Show, where employees met with then-CEO Michael Eisner to pitch movie ideas. In a 2016 interview with Yahoo, co-writer/co-director John Musker revealed that Disney didn't want "to do another mermaid movie." However, after reading the two-page treatment that Clements wrote, they changed their tune and put the film into development.
2."Part of Your World" almost didn't make the cut.
3.And lyricist Howard Ashman — who wrote "Part of Your World" alongside composer Alan Menken — threatened to quit if Katzenberg cut the song.
In the same Polygon interview, Benson claimed that the late lyricist said, “You can’t cut the song [...] And if you cut it, they’re not going to fall in love with Ariel and root for her for the rest of the film. There’s not going to be any heart in it whatsoever."
4.Ursula's physical appearance and mannerisms were (mostly) inspired by a popular drag queen named Divine, who never got to see the film.
Harris Glenn Milstead, better known by his stage name, Divine, died from heart failure in 1988.
5.But early sketches of Ursula were also based on Dynasty star Joan Collins.
As with most animated characters, it took a few tries to nail the perfect Ursula look. The design based on Divine's appearance better suited the film.
6.Ursula is commonly labeled an "octopus," but she only has six tentacles — this was a result of budget concerns.
Reducing the number of tentacles from eight to six helped expedite the animation process. A better word to describe her would be "cecaelia," a mythological creature with a human head, torso, and arms. From the lower torso down, they have (you guessed it) tentacles.
7.The film's two-minute chaotic storm sequence when Ariel first finds and saves Eric took over a year to animate.
Ron Clements said they used "the most effects of any Disney film since Fantasia."
8.And over one million bubbles were hand-drawn for the film.
Given this intense workload for the animators, Disney outsourced a lot of this task to the China-based Pacific Rim Productions.
9.Ariel was supposed to be a blonde.
Animator Glen Keane confirmed the change to Ariel being a redhead felt more fitting because it matched Ariel's fiery personality. It also differentiated her from Daryl Hannah’s mermaid character in Splash.
10.The original The Little Mermaid fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, which the film was based on, was deemed too depressing because the mermaid died at the end.
This obviously wasn't acceptable for a Disney project, so the film's writers tweaked the story.
11.While the fairy tale as a whole was too dark for Disney's audience, Disney also decided that the story's sea witch (aka Ursula) actually wasn't evil enough.
Ron Clements admitted that the sea witch wasn't quite as villainous in the source material. Ursula was written to be far more nefarious for the film adaptation.
12.Sebastian was supposed to be uptight and British.
It was Howard Ashman's idea to make him a Caribbean crab. This opened the door for more musical influences, including calypso and reggae.
13.The Little Mermaid triggered what became known as "the Disney Renaissance."
After a period of struggles at the box office, The Little Mermaid's success gave Disney the confidence boost it desperately needed. It opened the door for one of the greatest eras in animation history, which includes classics like The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hercules, and Mulan.
14.Pat Carroll wasn't the first choice to voice Ursula.
John Musker and Ron Clements initially pursued Golden Girls star Bea Arthur for the role. Their offer was rejected, leading to a lengthy search for their perfect sea witch. Other familiar names who read for the part include Roseanne Barr, Nancy Wilson, Charlotte Rae, and Elaine Stritch.
15.In the original script, it was revealed that Ursula was actually King Triton's banished sister.
This major plot twist meant that Ursula was Ariel's aunt, but it was cut from the movie.
16.Jim Carrey read for the role of Prince Eric, while Bill Maher and Michael Richards read for Scuttle.
Carrey even wore a baseball cap while auditioning to match Eric's youthful appearance.
17.The Little Mermaid was the studio's final full-length animated film that utilized the traditional method of hand-inked and hand-painted cels.
Afterward, Disney leaned into a mix of digital animation and hand-drawn work.
18.And finally: Mickey, Donald, and Goofy make a cameo during one of the film's opening scenes!
They can be seen cheering in the crowd as King Triton makes his big entrance!
