The Little Mermaid

Tawny-haired mermaid Ariel was one of Disney's most immediately popular animated heroines. Ariel is a girl in the process of becoming an attractive woman. One of her attractive qualities is that she is very definite about what she is doing and very confident about her own ability to succeed. Of course, a good deal of that confidence is ill-placed, as she is just a teenager. Although she is warned by her father, King Triton, that humans are dangerous, Ariel stubbornly believes otherwise and has an insatiable curiosity about them. She explores human artifacts (sunken ships, etc.) and is cons...

Prince of a seaside kingdom, Eric had been searching for his true love when fate stepped in and he is rescued from a watery grave by Ariel (who falls instantly in love with him). Eric is haunted by her voice (Disney's attempt to add authenticity to the story. Ulysses (Odysseus),in mythology, ties himself to the mast of his ship to stop himself from being dragged under the waves by the seductive voices of the mermaids). Eric searches for the source of the voice only to discover Ariel, voiceless and alone on the beach. After much excitement, he discovers that she is the one he was searching...

As King of the Ocean, Triton commands much respect from everyone in the seas. He has trouble convincing his youngest of seven daughters to obey his laws about humans. As a result he ends up forbidding her from seeing Eric thus causing her to go to Ursula and there is another major event in the story... King Triton is Ariel's dad. Strict but loving at the same time, he's as stubborn as Ariel, and the two tempers flare up against each other occasionally, but all's well that ends well, right?

Since childhood, Flounder's best friend has been Ariel. He is very timid and shy and often gets tongue tied. A very cute little sidekick , Flounder is a colorful addition to the movie. Flounder is Ariel's best friend, and the only other creature living under the sea that can understand and appreciate Ariel's love for the world above.

A Carribean Crab, Sebastian is brought to be the court composer and tutor to Ariel.When not working, he follows Ariel around, trying to keep her out of trouble. He follows Ariel onto the land when she goes in search of Eric, and lends his voice to the beautiful love scene when he and the animals of a lake sing "Kiss the girl". Sebastian the crab is King Triton's advisor, and Ariel's friend / guardian / nagging protector. He tries to get Ariel to forget the land above the ocean surface, and may not approve of some of the things she does, but as a friend, he's willing to help her ...

Ursula is a cross between an octopus and a human, she has arms and tentacles. Once a member of Triton's court, Ursula was banished in disgrace (for something we never find out about , although who is triton's wife?) She possesses great magic and the occassional merfolk come to her to get help. She helps them for a price that is usually too high. She tries to spoil Ariel's attempt to woo Eric by using Ariel's voice to enchant Eric and change herself to a human named Vanessa. Ursula is deliciously wicked, intelligent and conniving; and she's not afraid to play dirty to get...

A seagull whom Ariel turns for (incorrect) knowledge on the human things she finds. Scuttle definitely has trouble cutting to the chase when talking. Scuttle is Ariel's other friend, and supposed know-it-all when it comes to human things, but he gets things wrong more often that not. Except when it's important, of course.

The French cook of Eric's castle. Sings "Les Poissons" and tries to kill Sebastian.

One of Eric's advisors. He gives eric a statue of the prince for his birthday present. He also desperately wants Eric to marry a princess.

Max is Eric's dog, and is more intelligent than his slobbering might indicate.

Carlotta is in charge of the domestic forces in Eric's palace, and I get the feeling that's as close to a surrogate mother that Eric's ever had. She's bubbly but does not overflow with the sunshine, which makes her an interesting supporting character to hover around in the background.

Vanessa is Ursula in disguise, of course, but I like her as a character all on her own. And since in this guise Ursula is using Ariel's voice, Jodi Benson (Ariel's voice) also provided the voice for Vanessa. So all that screaming and scolding Vanessa does is from the same chick that sings the heavenly tunes of Ariel.