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Ariel is a featured articlewhich means it has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Disney Wiki community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute. She is the seventh and youngest daughter of King Triton and Queen Athenarulers of the undersea kingdom of Atlantica. Ariel lived through much of her young life with a passionate - yet forbidden - admiration of the human world, and longed to someday experience life on the surface. However, unlike Andersen's fairy tale in The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) the nameless protagonist dies, the Disney animated feature film has a happy ending. Ariel is the fourth official member of the Disney Princess The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess). The feature was to be a very faithful adaption to Hans Christian Andersen's tale with the Mermaid dying and turning into sea foam in the end. However, after writing the script and illustrating the storyboard the project was shelved to focus on other projects also in the works such as DumboBambiand Fantasia. There have been alternate statements, however, that indicated that Disney may have intended to go for the happy ending route. In the mids, the project was finally reopened, yet Disney decided to disregard the dark and grimy aspects of Andersen's story and make the film a more child-friendly version with a much happier ending which worked better for the company's brand. The development team, however, indicated that the changes given for the film coincidentally matched up with the changes Walt Disney made during his attempted take on the film. During development, the studio officially gave their Little Mermaid the aquatic-like name of "Ariel". Ariel's original design was developed by animator Glen Keanewho had reportedly said in an animation lecture that she was based on his own wife. Her appearance was also based on model Sherri Stonerwho provided live-action references for the animators during the development of the film and also inspired the look for Belle. A challenge in animating her for the film was the color required to show her in the changing environments, both under the sea and on land, for which the animators required color models, not including costume The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess). The sea-green color of her mermaid tail was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab; the color was named "Ariel" after the character. She The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) been compared to past Disney Heroines but is more physically similar to Alice from Alice in Wonderlandand Belle from Beauty and the Beastas they all have big eyes, a broad forehead and a small mouth and chin. Jodi Bensonwho was predominantly a stage actress when she was cast, was chosen to voice The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) because the directors felt "it was really important to have the same person doing the singing and speaking voice. When recording the vocals for Ariel's theme song " Part of Your World ", she consented to Howard Ashman 's suggestion that the lights in the studio be dimmed, to "feel a bit more enclosed" and create the feeling of being deep under the sea. She was also encouraged to soften The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) singing voice almost to the point of speaking so that the song would feel more intimate. Benson has remained as the main voice of Ariel since. Voice actress Melissa Fahn auditioned for the role and was called back many times, but was turned down because she sounded slightly too young. Ariel is a bright, spirited and headstrong mermaid princess with a strong passion for adventure and exploration. Her tendency to explore the more mysterious depths of the ocean or more importantly, the world beyond the ocean can lead to an array of problems to both herself and her friends, and in the confines of her personal life - as seen when she gets into an argument with her overprotective father, King Triton. Despite this, Ariel's selflessness, compassion and intuitive way of thinking often resolve such problems, as she always takes full responsibility for her actions. At the start of the original film, Ariel is shown to have a burning obsession with the human The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) and a desire to learn more about their culture. Unlike her father at first, she views humans as aspiring creatures, astonished by their ability to constantly create, and heavily goes The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) the idea of them being "barbaric" and selfish as a result of this. This passion is revealed to have been prominent throughout Ariel's life years before the events of the film, as seen in the television series. By the point of the film, as seen through her lament, " Part of Your World ", Ariel's obsession with the human world has reached unimaginable heights, as she spends most of her time focusing on finding, observing, and collecting various human objects that have sunk into the sea. Her obsession has also taken a toll on her emotionally, as the The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) begins with a sense of wonder and enchantment, ultimately climaxing in a soft end, filled with hopelessness and despair, representing Ariel's dying hopes of ever experiencing life upon the surface. These factors of desperation and despair are the prime motive behind Ariel's eventual deal with the sea witch, Ursulato become human and experience the world above the surface. Despite not having the best relationship with her father, especially in regard to their respective views on humanity, she nonetheless was very loyal to him as well as her sisters, as after Ursula explained the deal to her, Ariel expressed some hesitance as she realized that if she succeeded in the deal never mind if she failed her end of the bargain she wouldn't be able to see Triton or her sisters again, and later The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) Ursula cursed Triton, Ariel's first action was to attack Ursula to avenge him, even calling the Sea Witch a monster for what she did. Ariel is also shown to be extremely compassionate and loving towards almost all living things; more so platonically than The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess). This is most notably seen through her friendship with her closest companion, Flounderand even her father's court composer, Sebastian who, despite being against Ariel's recklessness and overly adventurous nature, is given a The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) large amount of love and respect from the princess, which is often reciprocated. With Flounder, she is comforting and patient, as well as protective, with the The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) to risk her own life for the guppies on various occasions. Her ability to befriend all various creatures, which be an abandoned killer whalean irrationally feared sea creature and even the son of one of her nemeses are displayed throughout the franchise. Before she met Eric, she was rarely interested in romantic relationships, not even with any of the merman princes that Triton tried to get her to marry. The only known exception was Prince Waverly of the Pacifica Kingdom, with whom she was infatuated. However, after meeting Eric, Ariel is revealed to be a romantic, willing to make daring sacrifices for the sake of true love. Her love for him is validated by Eric's returned selflessness and sacrificial actions for the sake of love; notably seen during the climax of the film. Like her father, Ariel has a bad temper if she ever is provoked, although hers is not as bad as his. Although spirited, even she has had some degree of self-doubts about herself, as she actually at one point considered her father might have been correct and that she may have been a freak for having any fascination for humanity. She also had a degree of seeing the The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) in things, as she also doubted that humans could have been pure evil from their tools and artworks. Also, despite her usual naivety and impulsiveness, Ariel has shown on many occasions to be serious, careful, and very intuitive. One example of The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) occasionally showing intuitiveness was just before exploring the sunken ship, where she suggested that Flounder stay outside and be on the The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) for sharks in the area when the latter tried to fake illness. In The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Seaas an adult, Ariel has matured into a sophisticated and distinguished woman; fully embracing her responsibilities as a mother and the princess consort of Eric's kingdom. However, when Morgana threatens Melody at her christening, Ariel becomes overprotective of her daughter similarly The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) how she was treated by Triton in the first film. As a result, she severs all ties with Atlantica and the ocean in hopes of preventing Morgana from using Melody's heritage to her advantage. Despite being happy with her new life, she misses her father and sisters, but keeps this hidden from Melody for the latter's own safety. She comes to realize later in the film that this decision does more harm than good. At one point, however, Ariel does subtly allude to her true heritage as she mentioned to Melody when sympathizing with her about not fitting in that she was "a fish out of water", with Melody not quite believing her. Regardless of her few flaws, Ariel is very much selfless, sweet-natured, and inspirational. However, her most notable trait was her deep love and fascination for humans, having desired to become human during the events of the first film, even prior to meeting her future husband, Eric. However, she did not always have this trait; until she was 15 years old, she expressed a deep fear of humans similar to Triton's prejudice towards humans, although her witnessing a human saving a beached dolphin changed her views on the matter. Ironically, the human responsible for saving the dolphin was Eric, although she never knew it. Ariel is a very beautiful adolescent mermaid with an hourglass figure, fair skin, and large, deep aqua blue eyes. From childhood to her teenage years, she wore a lavender seashell bikini top. As a child, her lips were the same color as her skin and as a teenager, they are bright red. Ariel's most defining feature is her flowing, thick, The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) red long hair. From the waist down, she has a green horizontal fish-like tail with sea green scales and sea-foam green fins and a matching V-shaped waist-line resembling fish-lips that reveals her midriff and her belly button. She most likely has the reproductive organs of a cetacean. In Little Mermaid's Islandher seashell top looks more like a strapless top that covers all of her torso. She The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) also shown to be fairly tall in human form, being only a few inches shorter than Eric, himself a fairly tall human. When Ariel becomes a human, the only article of clothing she wore was her seashell bikini top but wears an old sail from a shipwreck with some rope to keep it closed, fashioned by her friend Scuttle. Being prepared for dinner, she wears a pink and white gown, silver barrettes in her hair and pearl white earrings. Getting ready for bedtime, she wears a pink nightgown. After being taken in by Prince Eric, she wears a multi-shade-of-blue dress consisting of a powder-blue blouse with long sleeves, a midnight-blue bodice, and a cobalt-blue foot-length skirt, along with black heels. She wears a big royal blue bow in her hair. After she's turned into a human once again, she wears a light blue glittering dress. After she kisses Eric and during their wedding, she wears The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) white wedding dress with a sparkling golden tiara on her veil. During and after her daughter Melody 's christening, she wears a gold and white dress, and has her hair a low ponytail decorated with a white bow. She also wears a periwinkle gown with an up-do decorated with a golden tiara with green and white gems on her necklace and earrings during Melody's 12th birthday party with her hair being a bit shorter due to it being adjusted and pulled in a bun. She still wears the same up-do with a green peasant dress when she's on Eric's ship and a blue and white dress with light blue earrings in the song " Here on the Land and Sea " in the second movie. In one of the video games, she wears an aqua-colored gown with a matching flower on the side of her hair. At the beginning of the film, Ariel, and her fish friend, Flounder swim through a shipwreck where they salvage human items. During their adventure, they are chased out of the sunken ship by a sharkbut Ariel manages to outwit him. After escaping him, Ariel and Flounder swim up to the surface, where they speak to Scuttle to identify human objects. He misidentifies a fork as a " dinglehopper " used to straighten their hair and a pipe as a "snarfblatt" used to make music. The identification of the latter reminds her The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) the The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) she was supposed to be a part of. Ariel hurries home to Triton and Sebastianwho both rebuke her for missing the concert. Hearing from Flounder about her encounter with a seagull, Triton reprimands Ariel for swimming up to the surface and demands that she never does so again, driving Ariel to tearfully swim off to her secret grotto. There, Ariel's collection of human objects is kept, hidden away from the other merpeople. She feels that collecting them isn't enough and gets The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) curious about the human world, even expressing her desire to actually live in it. As Sebastian tries to talk Ariel out of her obsession, the mermaid spots a ship passing above. Curious, she quickly swims up to the surface and towards it. Among the humans aboard, Ariel's attention is drawn to a male human named Eric. Just then, a storm moves in and destroys the ship. Ariel looks around for Eric and finds him floating unconscious in the sea. She saves him from drowning and takes his body to shore, where Eric starts to breathe again. Ariel sings to Eric as he steadily regains his consciousness. Eric's manservant, Grimsbysuddenly arrives in search for The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) prince, though he fails to notice Ariel. The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) Eric is taken into care, Ariel watches on, even more determined to accomplish her dreams of living alongside humanity. Back at Atlantica, Ariel's sisters hear her humming dreamily, causing them to realize she has fallen in love. Ariel comes up with a plan to somehow see The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) again, but Sebastian tries to talk her out of it, telling her how life under the sea is better than the world up above through the song " Under the Sea ". Flounder arrives and takes Ariel away to show her a surprise at her grotto, the statue of Prince Eric that he somehow salvaged from the wrecked ship. Unfortunately, King Triton soon appears, having learned from Sebastian that Ariel had rescued a human from drowning. Shocked and enraged that she is in love with a human, Triton loses his temper and, in a blind rage, proceeds to destroy all the human objects in the grotto with his trident, The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) the statue of Eric. Devastated, Ariel breaks down in tears, and an ashamed Triton leaves while regretting what he has done. Sebastian, who has accompanied him, tries to console Ariel, only for her to tell The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) to leave her alone. 'The Little Mermaid 2:' Why Disney Fans Think Ariel Is the Only Disney Princess With a Daughter

During the sequel to The Little MermaidAriel even has a daughter named Melody, who dreams of being a mermaid. Why do no other Disney princesses have children with their partners? Here are some fan theories why Ariel is the only princess with a daughter. Look at this stuff, isn't it chic What's your favorite Ariel outfit? After falling in love with a Prince and making a deal with Ursula the sea witch, Ariel eventually gets her wish and becomes a human permanently, marrying Prince Eric. The Little Mermaid brought a few firsts for this company. In the sequel to The Little Mermaid, titled Return to the Sea, fans first meet Melody, a spirited girl who dreams of living as a mermaid. Cinderella marries Prince Charming in her original animated movie, later moving into the palace for her two sequels. Disney may not have an answer regarding why Ariel is the first mother of the Disney princesses. Still, some fans took to The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) media and Quora, sharing their thoughts on this The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess). While some fans thought The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) found an opportunity to expand their Little Mermaid franchise with a new character, others thought this sequel could link Ariel to mermaids in history and other cultures. Disney may have wanted to stick to the original mermaid mythology where Atargatis, a Syrian sea goddess turned mermaid mated with her love and bore a daughter. Melody is a princess but is not recognized to the public due to the bad reputation of the sequel. It is to believe Ariel is the only princess to have a child because Disney wanted to expand the franchise. A live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid is expected to premiere within the coming years. View this post on Instagram. Ariel's Story | Disney Princess

Ariel is a fictional character and the title character of Walt Disney Pictures ' 28th animated film The Little Mermaid She subsequently appears in the film's prequel television series —direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Seaand direct-to-video prequel The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning Ariel is voiced by Jodi Benson in all official animated appearances and merchandise. She is fourth in the Disney Princess lineup, the first nonhuman princess, and the only princess to become a mother to her own child. Ariel is the seventh-born daughter of King Triton and Queen Athena of an underwater kingdom of merfolk called Atlantica. She marries Prince Ericwhom she rescued from a shipwreck, and together they have a daughter, Melody. The character is based on the title character of Hans Christian Andersen 's fairy tale " The Little Mermaid " The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) was developed into a different personality for the animated film adaptation. Ariel has received a mixed reception from critics; some publications such as Time criticize her for being too devoted to Eric whereas others, such as Empirepraise the character for her rebellious personality, a departure from previous Disney Princesses. Halle Bailey will portray the live-action version of the character in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the original film. Ariel was based on the title character of Hans Christian Andersen's "The The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) Mermaid", but co-director and writer Ron Clements felt that the mermaid in the original story was too tragic and rewrote the character, resulting in Ariel. Jodi Bensonwho was predominantly a stage actress, was chosen to voice Ariel The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) the directors felt "it was really important to have the same person doing the singing and speaking voice". Ariel's original design was developed by animator Glen Keane. Her appearance was based on a number of inspirational sources, Alyssa Milano who was 16 at the time in addition to hosting the making of the special on Disney Channel, [12] and model-comedian Sherri Stonerwho provided live-action references for the animators during the development of the film. A challenge in animating Ariel for the film was the color required to show Ariel in the changing environments, both The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) the sea and on land, for which the animators required thirty- two color models, not including costume changes. The bluish-green color of Ariel's mermaid tail was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab; the color was named The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) after the character. The choice of red as Ariel's hair color was the subject of dispute between the filmmakers and studio executives who wanted the character to have blonde hair. It was noted that red hair contrasted better with Ariel's green tail, red was easier to darken than yellow, The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) Disney's live-action branch Touchstone Pictures had recently released Splash that had a blonde mermaid; Ariel's red hair was ultimately kept. In an interview, Jodi Benson stated that for Ariel's Beginningthe writers revised the script multiple times to The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) sure Ariel retained her relevance in a more modern context. Benson complained to them that they wrote Ariel out of character and suggested they bring her back to her roots. Ariel is the youngest of King Triton and Queen Athena's The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) daughters. In the television series and first film, Ariel has a fascination with the human world and often goes off to find human artifacts that she displays in a secret grotto. In The Little Mermaid, she The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) depicted as being willing to do anything to be with Prince Ericeven giving up her voice to become human. Ariel is kind and caring to others no matter The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) their circumstances, as depicted in the television series. In an early episode, Ariel helps an orphaned merboy who had fallen in with a bad crowd. Ariel is protective of her daughter, as Triton was of Ariel in the first film. Although it protected her, it could not protect her curiosity. When The Little Mermaid was released ina dubbing process was started which, in the space of two years, brought the movie to number 21 dubbings by Inall existing dubbings underwent a big review process which caused 8 of them to be partially or fully redubbed and a second wave of 8 new versions to be released, for a total of 29 dubbings worldwide. In the following years, 11 more versions were added, raising the number of official versions to Ariel first appears in The Little Mermaidin which she is shown as being adventurous and curious about the world of humans, a The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) which annoys both her father King Triton and his court composer Sebastian, as merfolk are not allowed to make contact with the human world. She and Flounder go in search of human objects, which they take to a seagull named Scuttle for appraisal. Ariel falls in love with a human prince named Prince Eric after saving him from drowning, and visits the sea The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess), Ursulawho agrees to turn her into a human in exchange for her voice. Ariel must make Prince Eric fall in love with her and romantically kiss her within three days, lest she belong to Ursula forever. Unknown to Ariel, this agreement is part of Ursula's bigger plan to trap Ariel's father, King Triton and steal his magical trident. After being transformed, Ariel found that she can no longer breathe, The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) swim. Sebastian and Flounder take her to the surface. She is soon found by Eric and is taken back to his castle. Ariel almost manages to obtain the "kiss of true love", but is stopped by Ursula's underhanded tactics. On the third day, Ursula transforms herself into a human, calling herself "Vanessa" and using Ariel's voice, and bewitches Eric to make him marry her. After learning from Scuttle that the woman is Ursula in disguise, Ariel disrupts the wedding and regains her voice but the sun sets as Ariel and Prince Eric are about to kiss, transforming Ariel back into a mermaid. After transforming herself back into her true witch form, Ursula takes Ariel back into the ocean, where she is met by King Triton and Sebastian. Triton trades himself for Ariel, enabling Ursula to steal his crown and enabling her to claim his trident, a fascination which angers Ariel, who will not allow Ursula to destroy merfolk and humans. In the battle that follows, Ariel is The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) at the bottom of a The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess). Before Ursula can destroy her, Eric kills Ursula by ramming a derelict ship's splintered prow through her. After Ursula dies, her spell is broken, and King Triton and The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) merfolk are transformed back to normal merpeople. At the end of the film, after King Triton uses his magical trident to transform Ariel into a human, she leaves the sea to live in the human world. She and Eric marry and live happily ever after. A prequel television series that originally aired from todepicts Ariel's life as a mermaid under the sea with Sebastian, Flounder, and her father. Ariel appears in all 31 episodes of the series, which is set an unspecified time before the first film. The series follows Ariel's adventures with her friends and family and sometimes has Ariel foiling the attempts of enemies that are intent on harming her or the kingdom of Atlantica. Ariel's relationships with various characters from the film are highlighted and expanded, such as the love and occasional conflict between Ariel and her father, how Ariel met Flounder and Scuttle, the relationships between Ariel and her sisters, and Ariel's early fear and avoidance of Ursula the sea witch. Other recurring new characters are also introduced, such as orphaned merboy Urchin and mute mermaid Gabriella that become Ariel's friends, as well as the Evil Manta, Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp, who are Ariel's enemies. Ariel's mother is absent, having already died prior to the events of the series, though she is occasionally mentioned in vague terms. In one episode Ariel comes across Hans Christian Andersenauthor of "The Little Mermaid", while he was traveling underwater in a primitive submarine. In the fictionalized encounter she saves Andersen's life, inspiring him to write the story. Some episodes of the series are musical and feature original songs performed by the characters. The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) soundtrack containing some of these songs was released in under the title "Splash Hits". When Melody's safety is threatened by Ursula's sister Morgana after using her as a hostage to get Triton's trident, Ariel and her husband Eric decide they must keep Melody away from the sea. So they build a large wall to separate it from the castle. But Melody's love of the sea proves too strong and she visits Morgana, who turns her into a mermaid temporarily. King Triton uses his trident The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) transform Ariel back into her own mermaid form to find and rescue Melody. Morgana tricks Melody into taking part in a plot to steal her grandfather King Triton's trident. Together with Tip the Penguin and Dash the Walrus she goes to Atlantica and succeeds in acquiring the trident. Ariel arrives as they return with it to Morgana, and tries to persuade Melody to give back the trident. Morgana traps Ariel with her tentacle then seals Melody and Flounder behind ice wall. Morgana then uses the trident's magic to force everyone to bow before her. Melody manages to grab the trident and returns it to King Triton, who then punishes Morgana by sending her to the bottom of the ocean frozen in a block of ice. Triton The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) Ariel to human form, the wall separating Eric's castle from the sea is torn down, and contact The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) humans and merfolk is restored. The prologue of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning shows Ariel as a young mermaid, living happily with her father, King Triton, her mother, Queen Athena, and her six older sisters. As Ariel and her family relax in a lagoon, a pirate ship approaches and everyone flees except Athena, who returns to recover a music box Triton had given her and is killed when the ship crushes her. Afterwards, a devastated King Triton bans all music from Atlantica and throws the music box deep into the ocean. Ariel and her sisters grow up forgetting music and living under their father's strict rules, enforced by Marina del Rey, their governess. Ariel meets Flounder and follows him to a secret underground club where Sebastian and his band play music. There she sings the song "I Remember", which reminds her of her distant past surrounded by love and music, and of her mother. Ariel introduces her sisters to the club, but eventually they are caught thanks to Marina, who had followed them. Sebastian and his band are imprisoned and the club is closed under Triton's orders. After arguing with Triton, Ariel breaks the band out of prison and escapes with them. With Sebastian's assistance, Ariel finds her mother's music box, and they decide to return it to Triton. On their way back to Atlantica, they encounter Marina, and a struggle ensues in which Ariel is knocked unconscious, witnessed by Triton. Ariel makes a full recovery, and a remorseful Triton allows music back into Atlantica. The former is a cover album mainly focusing on Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, with Ariel providing supporting vocals, while the latter is a concept album of original songs that depict a day in Ariel's life The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) the sea. Ariel also appears in Songs and Story: Ariel's Christmas Under the Seaa Christmas-themed mini-album with a read-along story and two original songs. A series of twelve prequel novels were published in by Disney Press, following young Ariel's adventures living under the sea with her sisters and father. Carr; King Triton, Beware! InAriel became an official member of the newly launched Disney Princess line, an umbrella franchise that includes various Disney princesses under its banner. Ariel is one of the original 8 characters that were included at the franchise's launch. The franchise is directed at young girls and covers a wide variety of merchandise, including but not limited to magazines, music albums, toys, video gamesclothes, and stationery. This franchise includes illustrated novels starring the various princesses, two of which are about Ariel: The Birthday Surprise and The Shimmering Star Necklace. Both novels are written by Gail Herman, and The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) original stories about Ariel's life as a human and Eric's wife, but still maintaining close relationships with her father and sisters under the sea. Ariel appears in the Broadway adaptation of the film, which ran at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre with previews from November 3,leading to The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) night on January 10, This original production closed on The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) 30,but other US and international productions have The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) since. The character of Ariel for the stage adaptation was originated by Sierra Boggesswith the role also portrayed later by actresses Chelsea Morgan Stock and Michelle Lookadoo. Jodi Bensonthe original voice actress for Ariel, attended The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) musical's opening night. In order to portray the characters underwater, the actors wore Heelys wheeled footwear, which simulate the gliding action of swimming creatures. Subsequent productions feature different designs for Ariel and the merfolk; the Dutch and Japanese productions use wirework and aerial stunts to create the The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) of underwater swimming. The stage musical follows the basic structure of the film, but there are some differences between the two. In this version, Ursula is Triton's sister and Ariel's aunt. In a new subplot, Grimsby holds a contest inviting all the princesses in the land for a singing competition for Eric to choose his bride; Ariel cannot sing, but she dances for Eric, and he chooses her.