a b c "Jodi Benson". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2015 . Retrieved June 1, 2016.

a b c d Brandon, Emily (2014). "15 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE LITTLE MERMAID". Oh My Disney. Disney . Retrieved April 1, 2016. In 2004–06, Benson became the host and narrator of the children's Christian home video series called "Baby Faith", created by Integrity Publishers& FamilyTreeMedia. THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989) (3D Blu-ray combo)". Family Home Theater. October 1, 2013 . Retrieved April 18, 2016. Ursula—one of the stronger Disney villains in the past several decades—gets her to sign on the dotted line of a Mephistophelean bargain.During production of The Little Mermaid, Ursula's design evolved and transformed dramatically. Animator Glen Keane's earliest sketches of Ursula were drawn to resemble Rae, specifically based on the actress' audition for the role. [23] The short-lived casting of Stritch as Ursula and her subsequent performance eventually inspired the animators to design the character as "a tall, thin regal-looking sea witch" based on manta rays and scorpion fish, complete with a long cape. [22] At one point, Ursula had also been drawn with spikes to resemble a spinefish. [7] Ursula's appearance was largely inspired by American actor and drag queen Divine, [40] who was best known for his frequent appearances in several films directed by filmmaker John Waters. [17] Similarities were first drawn between the character and the actor after animator Rob Minkoff sketched "a vampy overweight matron", to which Ashman responded, "She looks like a Miami Beach matron ... playing Mah Jong by the pool.” [41] The character shares Divine's signature eye makeup, jewelry and body type while originally sporting a Mohawk, [41] the last of which was borrowed from the actor's Pink Flamingo s (1972) character Babs Johnson. [42] However, Minkoff had been drawing the character with a shark's tail at the time. [41] Clements eventually decided to place Ursula's head on top of the body of an octopus instead, which ultimately resulted in her current design. [3] The animators then studied the way in which octopuses move, explaining, "There was a very kind of seductive and yet scary aspect", which they incorporated into the character's own gait. [3] The Pink Flamingos-inspired Mohawk was ultimately discarded because Disney felt that the hairstyle was "too over-the-top" for the film. [42] Additionally, Ursula's face was also inspired by that of Madame Medusa from Disney's The Rescuers (1977) . [43] According to The Gospel according to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust author Mark I. Pinsky, Ursula became "the most grotesque characterization Disney ... have created for a female villain" at that time. [44] Instead of Sebastian and Flounder pushing the human Ariel to the surface, Sora drags her to the top by himself. Eric makes cameo appearances in three episodes of the prequel television series: "Thingamajigger" (a non-speaking appearance), "Scuttle", and "Ariel's Treasures". Ariel is an official "ambassador" for the "Keep Our Oceans Clean" campaign by Environmental Defense, The National Maritime Sanctuary, and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric.

Cain, Sian (August 1, 2022). "Pat Carroll, voice of Disney villain Ursula in The Little Mermaid, dies aged 95". The Guardian . Retrieved August 2, 2022. Critics singled out Carroll's performance as particularly strong in the box office hit.

Attractions

In the NES video game, Skate or Die 2, the girlfriend of the playable character, CJ, is based on Ariel in design. Boedeker, Hal (2015-04-14). "Disney Night scores for 'Dancing,' ABC". OrlandoSentinel . Retrieved 2015-04-15. An older, more mature version of Ariel, as seen in The Little Mermaid II. Ariel and her daughter Melody have certain

a b c d e f g h i hill, Jim (March 15, 2015). "Which 1980s TV Favorites Almost Voiced Ursula the Sea Witch for Disney's The Little Mermaid". The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc . Retrieved April 1, 2016. in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning Toggle Introduced in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning subsection Iacobucci, Jordan (May 27, 2023). "10 Best Performances in The Little Mermaid Live-Action Remake". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved June 7, 2023.Mauney, Matt (May 30, 2014). "The 30 greatest Disney villains of all time". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved May 26, 2016.

Due to the success of the 1989 film, a series of music albums were released as part of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise and featuring Jodi Benson singing in-character as Ariel. Among these albums are: A stage musical version of the 1989 film had its world premiere in Denver, Colorado, in 2007 for its pre-Broadway tryout, and on January 10, 2008 debuted on Broadway. The character of Ariel for the stage adaptation was originated by Sierra Boggess. Jodi Benson, the original voice actor for Ariel, attended the musical's opening night.Ursula has appeared in various Disney Press novels and tie-ins for the franchise. A comic book series, Disney's The Little Mermaid, was released in 1992, revolving around the adventures of Ariel living under the sea as a mermaid. Ursula appears in a few issues, notably "Serpent Teen", which depicts how Ursula obtained the sea serpent carcass that makes her home. [79] My Side of the Story: Ursula (2004) retells the plot of the film from Ursula's point of view, and depicts Ursula having romantic feelings for Triton. [80] The Villain Files (2005) depicts Ursula's youth living in Triton's castle while Ariel was a baby. [81] The character of Ariel has been referenced and parodied many times in various unrelated media, occasionally making unofficial "cameos". Some of these appearances are listed below. In this book Braswell describes Ursula's species as “cecaelia,” [98] a term created by fans in the late 2000s. [99] This was the first Disney-published work to use the name.