Trivia and Quotes
Quotes
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Scuttle: I haven`t seen this in years, this is wonderful.
Ariel: What is it?
Scuttle: A banded, bulbous snarfblatt.
Ariel, Flounder: Ooooooh.
Scuttle: Now the snarfblatt dates back to prehysterical times when humans used to sit around and stare at each other all day. Got very boring. So they invented this snarfblatt to make fine music.
Ursula: Yeeeeeees, hurry home, princess. We wouldn`t want to miss old Daddy`s celebration, now, would we? Huh! Celebration indeed. Bah! In *my* day, we had fantastical feasts when I lived in the palace. And now, look at me - wasted away to practically nothing - banished and exiled and practically starving, while he and his flimsy fish-folk celebrate. Well, I`ll give `em something to celebrate soon enough. Flotsam! Jetsam! I want you to keep an extra close watch on this pretty little daughter of his. She may be the key to Triton`s undoing... .
Triton: Do you... think I was too hard on her?
Sebastian: Definitely not! Why, if Ariel was my daughter, I`d show her who was boss. None of this flitting to the surface and other such nonsense. No, sir! I`d keep her under tight control.
Triton: You`re absolutely right, Sebastian.
Sebastian: Of course.
Triton: Ariel needs constant supervision.
Sebastian: Constant.
Triton: Someone to watch over her, to keep her out of trouble.
Sebastian: All the time.
Triton: And you are just the crab to do it.
Triton: I`m really looking forward to this performance, Sebastian.
Sebastian: Your Majesty. This will be the finest concert I have ever conducted. Your daughters, they will be spectacular!
Triton: Yes, and especially my little Ariel.
Sebastian: Yes, yes. She has the most beautiful voice. Hmm?
[to himself]
Sebastian: If only she`d show up for rehearsals once in a while.
Ariel: All right, I`m going inside. You can just stay here and watch for sharks.
Flounder: Okay. Yeah, you go. I`ll just stay and... What? Sharks? Ariel!
Scuttle: [Looking throught the wrong end of a telescope, shouting as if Ariel was far away] Whoa! Mermaid off the port bow! Ariel! How you doin`, kid?
[Ariel pulls down the telescope]
Scuttle: Whoa, what a swim.
Triton: I just don`t know what we`re going to do with you, young lady.
Ariel: Daddy, I`m sorry, I just forgot, I...
Triton: As a result of your careless behaviour...
Sebastian: Careless and reckless behaviour!
Sebastian: - the entire celebration was, er...
Sebastian: Well, it was ruined! That`s all. Completely destroyed! This concert was to be the pinnacle of my distinguished career. Now thanks to you I am the laughing stock of the entire kingdom!
Flounder: But it wasn`t her fault! Ah - well - first, ahh, this shark chased us - yeah - yeah! And we tried to - but we couldn`t - and - grrrrrrrrr - and - and we - whoooaaaaaa - oh, and then we were safe. But then this seagull came, and it was this is this, and that is that, and...
Triton: Seagull? What? Oh - you went up to the surface again, didn`t you? DIDN`T YOU?
Ariel: Nothing - happened... .
Triton: Oh, Ariel, How many times must we go through this? You could`ve been seen by one of those barbarians - by - by one of those humans!
Ariel: Daddy, they`re not barbarians!
Triton: They`re dangerous. Do you think I want to see my youngest daughter snared by some fish-eater`s hook?
Ariel: I`m sixteen years old - I`m not a child anymore...
Triton: Don`t you take that tone of voice with me young lady. As long as you live under my ocean, you`ll obey my rules!
Ariel: But if you would just listen...
Triton: Not another word - and I am never, NEVER to hear of you going to the surface again. Is that clear?
[Ariel leaves, crying]
Ariel: Look at this stuff, isn`t it neat? / Wouldn`t ya think my collection`s complete / Wouldn`t you think I`m the girl / Girl who has everything / Look at this trove, treasures untold / How many wonders can one cavern hold? / Looking around you`d think / Sure, she`s got everything / I`ve got gadgets and gizmos aplenty / I have whoozits and whatzis galore / You want thingamabobs? I`ve got twenty / But who cares? No big deal / I want more.
Ursula: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I can`t stand it! It`s too easy! The child is in love with a human. And not just any human. A prince!
[Laughs]
Ursula: Her daddy`ll love that. King Triton`s headstrong, lovesick girl would make a charming addition to my little garden.
Sebastian: Down here all the fish is happy / As off to the waves they roll / The fish on the land ain`t happy / They sad `cause they in the bowl / But fish in the bowl is lucky / They in for a worser fate / One day when the boss get hungry...
Fish: Guess who gonna be on the plate.
Sebastian: The newt play the flute / The carp play the harp / The plaice play the bass / And they soundin` sharp / The bass play the brass / The chub play the tub / The fluke is the duke of soul.
Fluke: Yeah!
Sebastian: The ray he can play / the ling`s on the strings / The trout`s rocking out / The blackfish she sings / The smelt and the sprat / They know where it`s at / And oh, that blowfish blow!
Triton: Sebastian, I`m concerned about Ariel. Have you noticed she`s been acting peculiar lately?
Sebastian: Oh! Uh, peculiar?
Triton: You know, mooning about, daydreaming, singing to herself. You haven`t noticed, hmm?
Sebastian: Oh, well I...
Triton: Sebastian.
Sebastian: Hmm?
Triton: I know you`ve been keeping something from me.
Sebastian: Keeping something?
Triton: About Ariel?
Sebastian: [Stops his knees from shaking] Ariel?
Triton: In love? Hmm?
Sebastian: I tried to stop her, sir! She wouldn`t listen! I told her to stay away from humans! They are bad! They are trouble! They are...
Triton: Humans? What about humans?
Sebastian: Humans?
[Chuckles nerviously]
Sebastian: Who said anything about humans?
Triton: I consider myself a reasonable merman. I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed.
Ariel: But dad, I...
Triton: Is it true you rescued a human from drowning?
Ariel: Daddy, I had to...
Triton: Contact between the human world and the mer world is strictly forbidden. Ariel, you know that! Everyone knows that.
Ariel: He would have drowned.
Triton: One less human to worry about.
Ariel: You don`t even know him.
Triton: Know him? I don`t have to know him. They`re all the same! Spineless, savage, harpooning fish-eaters, incapable of any feeling...
Ariel: Daddy, I love him!
Triton: No! Have you lost your senses completely? He`s a human, you`re a mermaid!
Ariel: I don`t care.
Triton: So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you; and if this is the only way, so be it!
Ursula: Come in. Come in, my child. We mustn`t lurk in doorways. It`s rude. One might question your upbringing.
Ursula: Well, angelfish, the solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself.
Ariel: Can you do that?
Ursula: My dear, sweet child. That`s what I do. It`s what I live for, to help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself, poor souls with no one else to turn to.
Ursula: Oh, and there is one more thing. We haven`t discussed the subject of payment. You can`t get something for nothing, you know.
Ariel: But I don`t have any...
Ursula: I`m not asking much. Just a token really, a trifle. You`ll never even miss it. What I want from you is... your voice.
Ariel: My voice?
Ursula: You got it, sweetcakes. No more talking, singing, zip.
Scuttle: Well, look at what the catfish dragged in! Look at ya! Look at ya! There`s something different. Don`t tell me. I got it. It`s your hairdo, right? You`ve been using the dinglehopper, right? No? No, huh? Well, let me see. New... seashells? No new seashells. I gotta admit, I can`t put my foot on it right now, but if I just stand here long enough, I should...
Sebastian: She`s got legs, you idiot! She traded her voice to the sea witch and got legs! Geez, mon!
Scuttle: I knew that.
Louis: [singing] Les... pois... sons, les poissons / How I love les poissons / Love to *chop* and to serve little fish / First I cut off their heads, then I pull out their bones / Ah, mais oui ça c`est toujours delish / Les poissons, les poissons, Hee-hee-hee, ho-ho-ho! / With the cleaver I *hack* them in two / I pull out what`s inside, and I serve it up fried / `Cause I love little fishes, don`t you? / Here`s something for tempting the palate / Prepared in the classic technique / First you *pound* the fish flat with the mallet / Then you slash through the skin, give the belly a slice / Then you rub some salt in, `cause that makes it taste nice!
[Sees Sebastian]
Louis: Zut alors! I have missed one.
[Picks him up]
Louis: Sacrebleu! What is this? / How on earth could I miss / Such a sweet, little succulent crab / Quel dommage, what a loss! / Here we go, in the sauce / Now some flour, I think just a dab / Now I`ll stuff you with bread! / It don`t hurt, `cause you`re dead / And you`re certainly lucky you are / `Cause it`s gonna be hot in my big silver pot / Toodle-oo, mon poisson, au revoir!
Triton: Any sign of them?
Seahorse: No, Your Majesty. We searched everywhere. We`ve found no trace of your daughter or Sebastian.
Triton: Well, keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no one in this kingdom sleep until she`s safe at home.
Seahorse: Yes, sire.
Triton: Oh, what have I done? What have I done?
Prince Eric: You know, I feel really bad not knowing your name. Maybe I can guess. Is it, uh... Mildred?
[Ariel looks disgusted]
Prince Eric: Okay, no. How about Diana? Rachel?
Sebastian: [Whispering] Ariel. Her name`s Ariel.
Prince Eric: Ariel?
[Ariel nods]
Prince Eric: Ariel? Oh. That`s kind of pretty. Okay, Ariel.
Ursula: Now I am the ruler of all the ocean! The waves obey my every whim!
Ursula: [watching Flotsam and Jetsam knock the boat with Ariel and Eric in it about to *kiss*] Nice work boys. That was a close one... too close. *THE LITTLE TRAMP!*
[sighs]
Ursula: She`s better than I thought. At this rate he`ll be kissing her by sunset for sure.
[smashes through her potions]
Ursula: Well, it`s time Ursula took matters into her *own* tentacles.
[throws a bottle with a butterfly in it, into her cauldron]
Ursula: Triton`s daughter will be mine... and then I`ll make him writhe. *I`ll see him wriggle like a worm on a HOOK!*
[laughs transfoming into Vanessa]
Ursula: [Scuttle hums the wedding march and hears Vanessa singing] What a lovely little bride I`ll make / my dear, I look divine / Things are working out according to my ultimate design.
[throws pin at angel vanity]
Ursula: Soon I`ll have that little mermaid / And the ocean will be *mine*...
[looks into mirror and sees Ursula]
Scuttle: [sees whats going on in the ship] *The Sea Witch!* Oh, she`s... what the... I GOTTA...
[crashes into ship with a loud *ding*]
Scuttle: *ARIEL!*
[Ariel`s turned herself into a human]
Sebastian: Just look at her! On legs! On human legs!
[shudders]
Sebastian: My nerves are shot. This is a catastrophe! What would her father say? I`ll tell you what her father`d say. He`d say he`s gonna kill himself a crab, that`s what her father`d say! I`m gonna march meself home and tell him right this minute
[Ariel scoops him up and starts shaking her head frantically]
Sebastian: and *don`t* you shake your head at me, young lady! Maybe there`s still time. If we could get that witch to give you back your voice, you could go home with all the normal fish and just be...
[Ariel`s face falls]
Sebastian: just be... just be miserable for the rest of your life.
[sighs, defeated]
Sebastian: Alright, alright, I`ll try to help you find that prince.
[Ariel, overjoyed, kisses him]
Sebastian: Boy. What a softshell I`m turning out to be.
Sebastian: Ariel, will you get your head out of the clouds and back in the water where it belongs?
Ariel: You`re not getting cold fins now, are you?
Ariel: I`ve never seen a human this close before. Oh - he`s very handsome, isn`t he?
Scuttle: [Looking at Max, Eric`s dog] I dunno, he looks kinda hairy and slobbery to me.
Ariel: Is he - dead?
Scuttle: [Opens Eric`s eyelid] It`s hard to say.
[Puts his ear against Eric`s foot]
Scuttle: Oh, I - I can`t make out a heartbeat.
Sebastian: Ariel, listen to me. The human world is a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there.
[singing]
Sebastian: The seaweed is always greener / In somebody else`s lake / You dream about going up there / But that is a big mistake / Just look at the world around you / Right here on the ocean floor / Such wonderful things around you / What more is you lookin` for? / Under the sea / Under the sea / Darlin`, it`s better / Down where it`s wetter / Take it from me / Up on the shore they work all day / Out in the sun they slave away / While we devotin` / Full time to floating / Under the sea!
Sebastian: Somebody`s got to nail that girl`s fins to the floor.
[Adoring a statue of Eric]
Ariel: It looks just like him. It even has his eyes. "Why, Eric, run away with you? This is all so - so *sudden*...”
Ariel: If I become human, I`ll never be with my father or sisters again.
Ursula: That`s *right*. But - you`ll have your man. Life`s full of tough choices, innit?
Sebastian: Jeez, man, I`m surrounded by amateurs. You want something done, you`ve got to do it yourself.
Sebastian: Are you sure about this?
Scuttle: Have I ever been wrong? I mean when it`s important.
Sebastian: Hm. Teenagers. They think they know everything. You give them an inch, they swim all over you.
Ariel: But without my voice, how can I...
Ursula: You`ll have your looks... your pretty face... and don`t underestimate the importance of "bo-dy lan-guage." Ha!
[singing]
Ursula: The men up there don`t like a lot of blabber / They think a girl who gossips is a bore / Yes, on land it`s much prefered / for ladies not to say a word / After all, dear, what is idle prattle for? / Come on, they`re not all that impressed with conversation / True gentlemen avoid it when they can / But they dote and swoon and fawn / On a lady who`s withdrawn / It`s she who holds her tongue who gets her man.
Sebastian: Like I always say, Your Majesty, "children have got to be free to lead their own lives."
Triton: *You* always say that, Sebastian?
Sebastian: [nervous] Tee-hee.
Triton: Well... I guess there`s one problem left.
Sebastian: And what`s that, Your Majesty?
Triton: How much I`m going to miss her.
Scuttle: It`s a dinglehopper. Humans use these little babies... to straighten their hair out. See? Just a little twirl here and a yank there and voila. You`ve got an aesthetically pleasing configuration of hair that humans go nuts over.
Ariel: Flounder, don`t be such a Guppy
Flounder: I`m not a guppy
Scuttle: [breathlessly] I was flyin` - of course I was flyin` - and I saw that the watch... the witch, was watchin` in a mirror and she was singin` with a stolen set of pipes. Do you hear what I`m tellin` you?
[picks up Sebastian and slams him down on every word]
Scuttle: The prince... is marryin`... the sea witch... in disguise.
Scuttle: We`re out to discover.
Ursula: Triton`s daughter will be mine... and then I`ll see him writhe. I`ll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!
Ariel: [singing] Up where they walk/up where they run/up where they stay all day in the sun/Wanderin` free/wish I could be/Part of that world...
Sebastian: This has got to be, without a doubt, the single most humiliating day of my life!
[Ariel pats him on the head]
Sebastian: I hope that you appreciate what I go through for you, young lady! Now, we got to make a plan to get that boy to kiss you. Tomorrow, when he takes you for that ride, you gotta look your best! You gotta bat your eyes, like this.
[does so]
Sebastian: You gotta pucker up your lips, like this...
[does so, notices that Ariel has fallen asleep. He sighs, and blows out the candle]
Sebastian: You are hopeless, child. You know that. Completely hopeless.
Ariel: There he is! Isn`t he handsome?
[Scuttle looks at the dog and scratches his neck]
Scuttle: I don`t know, he looks kind of hairy and slobbery.
Ariel: No, not that one. The one playing the snarfblatt.
[first lines]
Prince Eric: Isn`t this great? The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face... aaah, the perfect day to be at sea!
Grimsby: [leaning over rail] Oh, yes... urp... delightful.
[last lines]
Ariel: I love you, Daddy.
Ursula: Now, here`s the deal. I will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got that? Three days. Now listen, this is important. Before the sun sets on the third day, you`ve got to get dear ol` princey to fall in love with you. That is, he`s got to kiss you. Not just any kiss - the kiss of true love. If he does kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you`ll remain human, permanently, but - if he doesn`t, you turn back into a mermaid, and - you belong to me.
Prince Eric: [upon first meeting Ariel, after she`s signed her soul over to Ursula, lost her voice, been turned into a human, and nearly drowned] Gee, you must have really been through something.
Prince Eric: When I find the right girl, I`ll know. It`ll just hit me. BAM! Like lightening.
[Lightning cracks in the background]
Sebastian: Ariel, you`re under a lot of pressure down here. Come with me, I`ll take you home and get you something warm to drink.
Ariel: [sung] I don`t know when/I don`t know how/But I know something`s starting right now/Watch and you`ll see/Some day I`ll be/Part of your world.
Andrina: Ariel, dear, time to come out. You`ve been in there all morning.
[Ariel emerges, singing to herself]
Atina: What is with her lately?
Ariel: Morning, Daddy.
[Ariel swims off]
Atina: Oh, she`s got it bad.
Triton: What? What has she got?
Atina: Isn`t it obvious, Daddy? Ariel`s in love.
Triton: Ariel? In love?
Grimsby: Eric?... If I may say... far better than any dream girl is one of flesh and blood. One warm, and caring, and right before your eyes.
Flotsam & Jetsam: Poor child. Poor, sweet child. She has a very serious problem. If only there was something we could do. But there is something.
Ariel: Who-who are you?
Flotsam & Jetsam: Don`t be scared. We represent someone who can help you. Someone who can make all your dreams come true. Just imagine... You and your Prince... together... forever.
Ariel: I don`t understand.
Flotsam & Jetsam: Ursula has great powers.
Ariel: The sea witch? Why, that`s-I couldn`t possibly-no! Get out of here! Leave me alone!
Flotsam & Jetsam: Suit yourself. It was only a suggestion.
[Jetsam flicks the broken statue`s face towards Ariel]
Ariel: [looking at the face] Wait.
Flotsam & Jetsam: Yeeeeeeeeess?
Ursula: [to Eric] So long, lover boy!
Ursula: [her last words] So much... for true love!
Ursula: [singing] If you want to cross a bridge, my sweet / You`ve got to pay the toll / Take a gulp and take a breath and go ahead and sign the scroll! / Flotsam, Jetsam, now I`ve got her, boys / The boss is on a roll / This poor unfortunate soul!
Trivia
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This was the last Disney animated feature to use hand-painted cels and analog camera and film work. 1,000 different colors were used on 1,100 backgrounds. Over one million drawings were done in total.
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# The wedding scene at the close of the film marked one of the first use of CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) in a Disney feature. CAPS is a digital ink-and-paint and animation production system that colors the animators` drawings digitally, as opposed to the traditional animation method of tracing ink and paint onto cels. The rest of The Little Mermaid (1989) uses hand-painted cels. All subsequent Disney features have used CAPS instead of ink-and-paint. An earlier scene where Ariel runs down a set of stairs, also uses the CAPS system for its moving background.
This was considered to be the first Disney animated feature using all digital processes but at the time CAPS wasn`t ready. Disney`s next animated feature The Rescuers Down Under (1990) was going to be the first 100% digitally processed film.
Disney artists had considered an animated film of "The Little Mermaid" in the late 1930s, and illustrator Kay Nielsen prepared a number of striking story sketches in pastels and watercolors. For this film, the artists received inspiration from the Nielsen story sketches that were brought out of the Archives for them to study, and they gave Kay Nielsen a "visual development" credit on the film.
Another first for recent years: Live actors and actresses were filmed for reference material for the animators. Sherri Stoner acted out Ariel`s key scenes. Not all of Disney`s animators approved the use of live-action reference; Glen Keane, the co-supervising animator of Ariel said in an interview with the Orange County Register that one artist quit the project rather than work with live-action reference.
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# This film was the most effects-animation heavy Disney animated feature since Fantasia (1940). The two minute storm sequence alone took 10 special effects animators over a year to finish. 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 animation.
The directors insisted that every one of the millions of bubbles should be hand-drawn, not Xeroxed. The sheer manpower for such an effort required Disney to farm out most of the bubble-drawing to Pacific Rim Productions, a China-based firm with production facilities in Beijing.
The student uprising in Beijing, China, threatened to delay production. Roughly one-third of the finished cel artwork used by the Chinese artists as underlays for drawing the bubbles were in a vault only a few blocks away from the demonstration at Tienanmin Square and the violence that followed.
Ariel`s liplines were created with hand-inking.
An attempt to use Disney`s famed multi-plane camera for the first time in years for quality "depth" shots failed because the machine, always a monster to use because of its sheer size, was in dilapidated condition. The multi-plane shots were farmed out to another studio.
Some versions of the videotape had the likeness of a penis on the cover. It`s the highest tower in the middle of the castle in the background.
Ariel`s treasure cave includes the painting "Magdalene With the Smoking Flame" by 17th-century artist Georges de La Tour.
In the opening scene when King Triton arrives at the arena, you can briefly see Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck in the crowd of sea-people as mermen when he passes over them.
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# The story "The Little Sea-Maid", by Hans Christian Andersen, was slated by Walt Disney to be a "Silly Symphonies" short. However, another Andersen classic, Ugly Duckling (1939), replaced it.
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# The character of Ursula was based on Divine. Her personality and some of her actions were also largely inspired by a previous Disney villain, Madame Medusa from Disney`s The Rescuers (1977).
When Ursula first shows Ariel the contract, it quickly scrolls through the body of the text. This is the actual text shown on the scroll: "I hereby grant unto Ursula, the witch of the sea... , one voice, in exchange for byon once high, Dinu*gihn thon Mueo serr on Puur-qurr I rehd moisn petn r m uenre urpti m srerp monk guaki ,Ch rich noy ri imm ro mund for all eternity. signed," All other instances clearly say: "I hereby grand unto Ursula, the witch of the sea... , one voice, for all eternity. signed,"
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# There was a widespread rumor in the early to mid-`90s that the priest in the wedding scene has an erection. He doesn`t (in fact the shot is of the priest`s knee moving underneath his tunic) but this didn`t deter enraged moralists from strenuous protest (even to the extent of filing at least one lawsuit against Disney). In the 2006 Platinum Edition DVD release, the scene has been altered so that the priest is standing on a small platform box and his knee is no longer visible through his robes.
Sebastian the Crab`s full name is Horatio Thelonius Ignatius Crustatious Sebastian.
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# When Ben Wright got the part of Grimsby, Prince Eric`s butler, the current Disney folks had no idea that he had been the voice of Roger in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). He had to tell them.
Ariel`s sisters names are Aquatta, Andrina, Arista, Adella, Alana and Attina.
In Greek mythology, the God of the Sea is Poseidon. Triton, however, is one of his sons.
The last Disney film using the xerography process, invented by Ub Iwerks, which had been used since One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).
This was the first Disney film to receive an Academy Award since Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), though other films had been nominated.
The name of the human woman that Ursula transforms herself into is Vanessa.
A few of the backgrounds used during the "Kiss the Girl" scene are taken from The Rescuers (1977).
There are several shots of Ariel, forlornly sitting on a rock, in a pose reminiscent of the "Little Mermaid" statue that sits in Copenhagen harbor.
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# Originally, Sebastian was to have an English accent. It was lyricist/producer Howard Ashman who suggested he be Jamaican. This opened the door to calypso style numbers like "Under the Sea", which won the Academy Award.
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# Songwriting team Alan Menken and Howard Ashman were brought to the attention of Disney Animation Chair Jeffrey Katzenberg by longtime colleague (and future Dreamworks co-founder) David Geffen, who was producing the team`s off-Broadway musical "Little Shop of Horrors".
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# CASTLE THUNDER: Heard a few times during the storm that wrecks Eric`s ship in the beginning. It`s also briefly heard for a second during the middle of the second storm when Ursula becomes gigantic and powerful, and is the last Disney movie to use the sound.
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# When Scuttle is providing "vocal romantic stimulation" to Eric and Ariel while they are rowing in the lagoon, he is actually squawking his own version of Tchaikovsky`s "Romeo and Juliet".
`Jodi Benson (I)` sang `Part of Your World` in the dark to get that `under the sea` feeling.
Ariel was quite deliberately made a redhead in order to distinguish her from Daryl Hannah`s character in Splash (1984).
"Part of Your World" was nearly cut; Jeffery Katzenberg felt that it was "boring", as well as being too far over the heads of the children for whom it was intended. At a test screening children were restless during the song which did not have finished animation - in particular one child that sat in front of Jeffery Katzenberg and spilled his popcorn and was more interested in picking it up than watching the sequence.
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# Deleted scenes: An extended "Fathoms Below" sequence in which it is revealed that Ursula is Triton`s sister; alternate version of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" explaining why Ursula was banished by Triton; a scene just before the concert in which Sebastian finds out Ariel is missing; extended scene of Sebastian lost in Eric`s castle; Sebastian giving additional advice to Ariel at bedtime; and the fight with Ursula to the ending with no dialog.
HIDDEN MICKEY: in the scroll that Ursula gets Ariel to sign. It is in the middle of the words when it pans over the scroll from top to bottom.
A scene was cut that explained Ursula is Ariel`s Aunt.
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# The shot of Ariel reaching out through the skylight of her grotto was the last shot to be completed. It took four tries to get the optical effects just right.
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# Before recording "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Pat Carroll asked Howard Ashman to sing the song one more time to get it right. He obliged, and as he sang he added little spoken ad-libs that Carroll then incorporated into her performance. These included Ursula saying "Pathetic" at the mer couple she conjures up as an example, and the line "Life`s full of tough choices, innit?"
At the beginning of "Kiss the Girl," the reeds blowing in the wind are taken from The Old Mill (1937).
The animators created the character of Ursula with the intention of having Beatrice Arthur provide the voice. By the time Arthur was approached, she was already well into the sitcom The Golden Girls (1987) and declined the Disney offer.
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# The idea to give Ursula a pair of sneaky, identical pets as henchmen was inspired by Madame Medusa`s two alligators (also identical and with similar personality traits), Brutus and Nero from Disney`s The Rescuers (1977).
Scheduling conflicts with "Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)_ forced Patrick Stewart to turn down the role of King Triton.
# Carlotta, Eric`s maid at the castle who bathes Ariel and serves dinner is wearing the same outfit from Cinderella (1950), except for the scarf on her head.
Jennifer Saunders auditioned for the role of Ursula but was turned down. Somehow in 2002, Steven Spielberg got hold of it and after hearing it insisted to the three directors of Shrek 2 that she be cast as the scheming Fairy Godmother.
When Eric is waiting for Ariel to arrive one of the portraits is that of Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty (1959).
During Eric`s alleged wedding to Vanessa, the King and Grand Duke from Cinderella (1950) both make appearances.
When Ariel is singing "Part of our World," there is a bust of Abraham Lincoln.
Ben Wright`s final film.
Hidden Mickey: In the scene where the animals are trying to break up the wedding, right as the seals are jumping onto the deck of the boat from the ocean, there is a woman with black hair in a red gown with her back to the camera. She shape of her hair clearly outlines a Mickey head until she turns sideways.
Movie was adapted as a Broadway musical in 2007.
While writing "Part of Your World", Alan Menken and Howard Ashman discovered that the song shared contextual and rhythmic similarities between "Somewhere That`s Green"; a song from their earlier musical, Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Hence, leading the duo to humorously nickname "Part of Your World" as "Somewhere That`s Dry".
SPOILER: The battle with Ursula did not always have her as a giant, a concept originally intended was for her to remain normal size.
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Christopher Daniel Barnes
(as Prince Eric)
with Jodi Benson
(as Ariel)
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