Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
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| Ursula | |
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| First appearance | The Little Mermaid (1989) |
| Created by | Hans Christian Andersen (original story) Roger Allers (film adaptation) |
| Voiced by | Pat Carroll
Jodi Benson (as Vanessa) |
| Also known as | Vanessa, The Sea-Witch |
Ursula is a fictional animated villainess who first appears in the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in the film, the spin-off television series and the Kingdom Hearts video games.
Ursula is based on the "sea witch" character in Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Little Mermaid". In the original story the sea witch is a neutral enabler, but for Disney's animated adaptation, the character was modified into a full-fledged antagonist and plays a larger role in the overall story. Ursula is a cecaelian sea witch who "helps" unfortunate merfolk to achieve her own goals. Her appearance is of an obese purple-skinned, white-haired female human and from the waist down has black tentacles. The character has been compared to Madame Medusa from The Rescuers, in terms of style, dramatics and choice of minions[1].
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[edit] Background and development
During planning for the film, Ursula was not originally designed as a cecaelia. It was thought that she would be another sea creature, such as a rockfish-like mermaid[2]. The production team then saw a documentary about octopuses, and decided that their multiple arms and overall imposing appearance would be perfect for the character they were creating. Ursula is only drawn with six tentacles, due to the studio's budget and difficulty in coordinating eight tentacles.[1]
Pat Carroll, who was cast to voice Ursula, envisioned the character as "part Shakespearean actress, with all the flair, flamboyance and theatricality, and part used-car salesman with a touch of con artist". Carroll, who is a contralto, deliberately deepened her voice for the role[1].
According to actress Sherie Rene Scott who recreated the character for the Broadway version, the film's lyricist Howard Ashman had been inspired by Divine and Joan Collins in developing Ursula[3].
[edit] Fictional biography
[edit] The Little Mermaid
When Ursula first appears in the film, she states through monologue that she once lived in the royal palace of King Triton, the king of the underwater city of Atlantica. She was banished from Atlantica and made her home in the remains of a leviathan where she waits the chance to get her revenge on Triton and become Queen of Atlantica.
The entrance to Ursula's leviathan home is lined with a garden of writhing polyps which are merfolk who had been previously gone to Ursula for help, but found themselves unable to fulfill their side of the bargain, leading Ursula to claim them as her own. The garden of polyps are part of the original fairytale, where they are guards of the way to the sea witch's home, and not condemned merfolk.
Ursula commands her minions, moray eels Flotsam and Jetsam, to watch Triton's youngest daughter Ariel, whom might be "the key to Triton's undoing". Opportunity arises when Ursula learns that Ariel has fallen in love with a human, against Triton's explicit rules. Flotsam and Jetsam lure Ariel to Ursula's lair, claiming that only Ursula can help her.
Ursula proposes via the song Poor Unfortunate Souls an agreement where Ursula will transform Ariel into a human, and she has three days to get the "kiss of true love" from Eric. If Ariel fails, she will be turned back into a mermaid and bound to Ursula for eternity. The price for the transformation is Ariel's voice. Ariel agrees and signs a magical contract, so her voice is magically pulled into Ursula's Nautilus shell necklace, and her tail is split into legs. In comparison, the original fairytale involves the sea witch taking the little mermaid's voice by cutting off her tongue, and her tail was transformed into legs by a magic potion which the mermaid was to drink on the beach surface.
When Ariel comes "too close" to succeeding in her task, Ursula takes the form of a beautiful human female with Ariel's voice in order to sabotage her relationship with Eric. Ursula adopts the name of "Vanessa", and when in this form, her voice is provided by Jodi Benson, who also voices Ariel. The concept of the beautiful dark-haired rival for the prince's affections is another plot point adapted and modified from the original fairytale.
Ursula as Vanessa bewitches Eric to marry her, but the wedding is disrupted at the last minute and the Nautilus shell containing Ariel's voice is broken, breaking the enchantment and returning Ariel's voice back to its owner.
However, the sun sets before Ariel and Eric can kiss. Ursula, restored to her normal form, is confronted by King Triton. She reveals her true goal, and forces Triton to take Ariel's place. Ursula succeeds, takes the crown and magical trident. A battle follows, during which Ursula tries to kill Ariel, but is defeated by Eric, who drives a ship's mast into her belly. When Ursula is destroyed, all the merfolk that had been under her power, including Triton, are released from their bonds.
In the 2006 Platinum DVD, deleted scenes revealed early concept ideas where Ursula is Triton's sister, making her Ariel's aunt. This concept was not used in the final film, and its place in canon is arguable.
[edit] The Little Mermaid TV series
Ursula appears as a villainess on the Little Mermaid prequel television series. The episodes she appears in are "Against the Tide", "Tail of Two Crabs", "Heroes" and "Ariel's Treasures". In all these episodes she executes various plans to antagonize King Triton and take over Atlantica, but all fail.
[edit] The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
Ursula doesn't appear in this direct-to-DVD film, but she is mentioned various times, mostly by her sister Morgana, also a cecaelia). She is seen as a picture in Morgana's lair, and this picture sinks with Morgana when she is turned into a block of ice by King Triton at the end of the movie.
[edit] Extension
Other materials were released as part of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise, including books and comics, though these materials' place in the animated canon is arguable.
In the first two issues of the official "The Little Mermaid" comic, Ursula appears briefly to negotiate with a race of eel-men for the carcass of a Leviathan which she would convert into the home seen in the 1989 film. In the Disney Princess magazines, Ariel's stories occasionally feature Ursula appearing in a villainous role. In the Disney Press book "The Villain Files", it is implied that Ursula is Ariel's aunt, a concept that is based on the abandoned story concept of the 1989 film. In contrast, the Disney Princess Press book "My Side of the Story", Ursula is stated to be clearly unrelated to Triton, for whom she claims to have an unrequited love for.
[edit] Theme Parks
[edit] Fantasmic!
The Fantasmic! show debuted in 1992 in the California park, only a few years after The Little Mermaid debuted. Ursula appears in the finale, summoning the powers of the sea to destroy Mickey Mouse, though she herself is ultimately beaten. Originally, a twenty foot Audio-Animatronic Ursula float travelled around her segment in the show on the water, but currently the character is only featured via animation projected onto water screens. Different theme parks feature variations from the original, such as in Hollywood Studios version, where Ursula has a much smaller role.
[edit] Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams
A puppet version of Ursula, also voiced by Carroll, appears at the tail end of the Little Mermaid unit in Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams at Disneyland.
[edit] Happy Hallowishes
Ursula is a central character in the annual Halloween-themed fireworks show HalloWishes at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party "hard ticket" event along with Jafar, Oogie Boogie and Maleficent.
[edit] Kingdom Hearts series
[edit] Kingdom Hearts
In the video game Kingdom Hearts, for the Playstation 2, Ursula appears as one of Maleficent's co-conspirators, using the power of the Heartless to attack Atlantica and gain power. Taking advantage of Ariel's desire to see another world, Ursula tricks Ariel into giving her Triton's trident.
[edit] Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
A facsimile created from Sora's memories in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, for the Game Boy Advance, Ursula takes Flounder hostage to force Ariel into giving her Triton's trident.
[edit] Kingdom Hearts II
Ursula recreates her film role loosely in Kingdom Hearts II. She appears to Ariel and offers her a deal in which she will give up her voice in order to gain human form, so that she may win over Prince Eric. However, if she fails to kiss Eric in three days, she will belong to Ursula. Ursula returns to the game on the third day, in the guise of Vanessa, using Ariel's voice to place a spell on Eric. Departing from the film, Sora uses the Keyblade to destroy the Ursula's seashell pendant was using, and later knocks the trident out of Ursula's hand, allowing Eric to kill her with it.
[edit] Stage musical
A stage musical version of the 1989 film debuted in Denver for a pre-Broadway tryout, and in January 2008 opened on Broadway. Actress Sherie Rene Scott originated the live role.
In this version, Ursula is King Triton's sister. As revealed in the lyrics of Ursula's song "I Want the Good Times Back", when their father died, the pair were given equal share of the sea plus two magical items. Triton received the trident while Ursula received the magic Nautilus shell. Though the two were to rule the seas together, Ursula's greed and use of dark magic to usurp Triton led to her being banished. Need for revenge is her motivation for the show.
Unlike the 1989 film, Ursula is depicted as being large but not obese, and the entire subplot where Ursula transforms into a human has been removed entirely. In the show's finale, Ursula is defeated by Ariel, not Eric, when the mermaid destroys Ursula's magical shell.
Ursula sings new songs in addition to the film's "Poor Unfortunate Souls". These songs are "I Want the Good Times Back", in which Ursula reminisces over her luxurious past, a reprise of "I Want the Good Times Back", in which Ursula anticipates the sunset of the third day, and a reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in which Ursula 'negotiates' an agreement with Triton for Ariel's soul. Ursula also sings briefly at the end of a new sequence called "The Contest", in which Ariel's voice can be heard as the sun sets, but is then merged with Ursula's own voice.
An earlier demo workshop contained different songs written for Ursula that were eventually removed from the production. Ursula's introductory song was "Wasting Away", though it was later replaced by "I Want the Good Times Back". A different reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" was written for Ursula just before she transforms into Vanessa, but since the Vanessa subplot was removed, so was the reprise. Another song, "All Good Things Must End" features Ursula gloating on her victory over Ariel, but the song was removed entirely. Emily Skinner performed as Ursula in this workshop.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Grant, John (1998). Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters (Third Edition). Hyperion, 348-349. ISBN 0-7868-6336-6.
- ^ Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989 film) Platinum DVD
- ^ Video interview with Sherie Rene Scott - Broadway.com
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