List of Disney's The Little Mermaid characters (Version 2)

From The Little Mermaid
Ariel is the main protagonist of the franchise, save the second film in which she is a secondary character. Ariel is voiced by Jodi Benson in all but the The Little Mermaid 2.5, where is was voiced by Tara Stong and designed by Glen Keane. Ariel is the younger of the seven daughters of King Triton of the merfolk, and over the course of the original film becomes human and marries Prince Eric, a human.

Prince Eric is based on the "prince" character of Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Little Mermaid" but adapted by the writer-directors Ron Clements and John Musker for the film adaptation. According to the film's official novelisation, Eric had just turned eighteen in the film, which would make him two years older than Ariel. Eric is voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes in the original film and in Kingdom Hearts II, by Jeff Bennett in the prequel television series, and by Rob Paulsen in the direct-to-video sequel.

Eric is a human prince who is rescued by Ariel when he almost drowns in a storm at sea. Ariel drags him to shore and sings to him, but before he can fully regain consciousness, Max and his servant Grimsby arrive, forcing Ariel to dive underwater. Eric is haunted by Ariel's voice, and searches the kingdom for her to no avail. When he crosses paths with Ariel again, she has traded her voice for legs, and though he initially finds her familiar, her lack of a voice makes him think that she cannot be the girl who rescued him. However, he brings her back to his palace and they spend time together. Eric develops feelings for Ariel, but before he can approach her about them, Ursula, disguised as a human girl named Vanessa, arrives and magically hypnotizes Eric into forgetting about Ariel and believing that she Vanessa is the one who saved his life. Eric almost marries Vanessa, but Ariel and her friends intervene, breaking Ursula's spell and restoring Ariel's voice to her. Eric realizes that Ariel is the girl he has been looking for, but before they can kiss, the sun sets and Ursula claims Ariel. Eric goes after them, diving into the sea to help Ariel. In the battle that follows, Eric climbs on to a ship and charges it towards Ursula, plunging the splintered prow into her belly. Eric manages to reach the shore, and when he wakes, he sees Ariel, transformed back into a human, and the two embrace. The film ends with their wedding.

Eric makes cameo appearances in three episodes of the prequel television series: Thingamajigger (a non-speaking appearance) Scuttle and Ariel's Treasures.

In the 2000 direct-to-video sequel, Eric is a supporting character. Although he and Ariel are happily married, they are threatened by the sea witch Morgana, who wishes to avenge her dead sister, Ursula. He and Ariel decide to keep raise their daughter Melody away from the sea, and keeping her merfolk heritage secret.

Sebastian is a red Jamaican crab and a servant of King Triton. The character was developed solely for the film, and is not derived from the original Hans Christian Andersen story. Early on in the writing and development of The Little Mermaid, the character that would later become Sebastian was originally an English-butler crab named Clarence; songwriter Howard Ashman proposed changing Clarence to a Jamaican Rastafarian crab and shifting the music style throughout the film to reflect this. Duncan Marjoribanks served as Sebastian's supervising animator. Sebastian is voiced by Samuel E. Wright, who auditioned for the role as though he were trying out for a stage musical. His physicality impressed co-director Ron Clements, who videotaped a repeat performance in order to inspire the animators.

When the film opens, Sebastian is announced as the "royal court composer", his full name being "Horatio Pelonius Ignatius Crustaceus Sebastian", and he conducts a concert that King Triton's seven daughters are supposed to perform. Ariel fails to show up for the concert, and later Sebastian joins King Triton in scolding her, blaming her for his humiliation. Sebastian is tasked by King Triton to follow Ariel and keep her out of trouble, and so witnesses Ariel saving Eric from drowning, which horrifies him as contact between the human world and merworld is forbidden. Sebastian accidentally lets this information slip to King Triton, who confronts Ariel and destroys her collection of human things in arage. Feeling guilty for having betrayed Ariel's confidence, Sebastian follows Ariel when she visits Ursula the sea witch for help, and later helps her quest to win Prince Eric's affections. After Ursula disguises herself as the human Vanessa and wins over Prince Eric, Sebastian goes down to inform King Triton, and later becomes instrumental in helping Ariel and Prince Eric defeat Ursula.

Sebastian appears in almost every episode of the prequel television series. Sebastian is shown as being a good friend of Ariel and Flounder. He is sometimes strict and often critical of Ariel's adventurous ways, but often ends up going on her adventures with her. Throughout the series, Sebastian's character is further developed via dialogue and entire episodes dedicated to him.

In the sequel, Sebastian is tasked by King Triton to watch over Ariel's daughter, Princess Melody, repeating his role from the original film.

Flounder is a part-fish, part-duck Ariel's best friend, voiced by Jason Marin in the 1989 film