Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
Ursula is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Little Mermaid (1989). Voiced by actress Pat Carroll, Ursula is a villainous Cecaelian sea witch who offers a mermaid princess named Ariel a temporary opportunity to become human so that she may earn the love of Prince Eric within three days. However, Ursula is, in fact, determined to sabotage Ariel's chances so that she can ultimately usurp King Triton's position as ruler of the oceans.
Ursula
The Little Mermaid (1989)
The Sea Witch from the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale
- Pat Carroll (1989–2022)[a][b]
- Jodi Benson (as "Vanessa")[b]
- Whoopi Goldberg (Descendants)
- Dawnn Lewis (Welcome to the Club)
- Debra Wilson (Disney Speedstorm)
- Sherie Rene Scott (Broadway musical)
- Queen Latifah (The Little Mermaid Live!)
- Melissa McCarthy (live-action film)
- Jessica Alexander (live-action film, in human form as Vanessa)
Vanessa (human alter-ego)
Cecaelia; half-human, half-octopus (original)
Human (via Magical transformation)
Female
The Sea Witch
Queen of Atlantica (temporarily)
Uma (daughter in Descendants)
Atlantican
Prince Eric (ex-fiancé)
Created by directors and screenwriters Ron Clements and John Musker, Ursula is based on the sea witch character who appears in the 1837 fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen. However, her minor role was greatly expanded into a much more prominent villain for the film. Disney had struggled to cast Ursula for a year, during which the role was well sought after by several coveted television actresses at the time. Clements and Musker disagreed with lyricist Howard Ashman about who should voice the character. While the directors had written the role with Bea Arthur in mind, Ashman intended to offer it to soap opera star Joan Collins; both actresses rejected the part. When Ashman cast his second choice, Broadway actress Elaine Stritch, as Ursula, both stage veterans disagreed about the manner in which Ursula's song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" would be performed, and Pat Carroll was finally hired to replace Stritch after Ashman fired her. Deepening her own voice for the role, Carroll based her performance on a combination of Shakespearean actresses and car salespeople.
Animated by Ruben A. Aquino, Ursula's original design was inspired by several different sea creatures, including manta rays and scorpion fish, before Clements finally decided to base the character on an octopus; her number of tentacles was reduced from eight to six for financial reasons. Ursula's appearance was also inspired by American actor and drag queen Divine. When The Little Mermaid was first released in 1989, Ursula was immediately embraced as one of Disney's best villains, and continues to be ranked highly among the studio's greatest by the media. Praised for being humorous and frightening, the character has garnered positive reviews from film critics, some of whom dubbed her Disney's strongest villain in decades. Meanwhile, Carroll's performance has garnered similar acclaim to the point that the role has eclipsed her previous body of work, ultimately becoming virtually synonymous with the character.
Development[edit]
Conception and writing[edit]
At the behest of Disney executives Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, director and screenwriter Ron Clements was among several film-makers instructed to research new story ideas that could potentially be adapted into the studio's next major animated film release.[3] Clements first discovered Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" at a local bookstore, and began deliberating why Disney had never attempted to adapt the story before.[3] Clements eventually learned that Walt Disney himself had actually attempted to adapt the fairy tale into a feature-length animated film as early as the 1930s,[4] but the project was ultimately shelved due in part to its sad ending.[5][3] Clements suggested "The Little Mermaid" to Katzenberg, who finally green-lit it after having first rejected it.[4]
Hardly present in Andersen's original story,[6] the sea witch is not a prominent character and lacks a proper name.[7] Among Clements' ideas to alter the story, the film-maker decided to "make the witch more of a villain", describing Ursula as "a fun character to develop" into such.[3] In Andersen's tale, the sea witch is not a villainess as much as she is "a disreputable mermaid."[8] JR Thorpe of Bustle agreed that, in Andersen's story, "The sea witch isn't the enemy". Instead, "human ... nature is."[9] While the original sea witch is willing to help the little mermaid despite the fact that she openly disagrees with her motives, Ursula is only interested in helping Ariel in the hopes of ultimately overthrowing her father.[10] Emma James of Teen Ink observed that in addition to giving the character the name "Ursula", the studio "changed her role as a catalyst in the tale, and morphed her actions into those of an antagonist."[11] Unlike the sea witch, Ursula deliberately intervenes in an attempt to keep the mermaid from success.[12]
Lyricist, producer and writer Howard Ashman had originally envisioned Ursula's relationship with King Triton as a soap opera, and thus drew inspiration from soap opera actress Joan Collins.[13] Ursula was originally conceived as Triton's sister,[14] which would have naturally made the character Ariel's aunt,[15] but the idea was ultimately abandoned.[16] However, their blood relationship is still vaguely alluded to when the character mentions a time during which she actually lived in Triton's palace.[17] Clements and Musker had originally intended for Ursula to remain her original size at the end of the film.[18] However, Katzenberg had just recently seen the film Die Hard (1988), which inspired him to request a "bigger" ending for The Little Mermaid, and thus he instructed the writers to have Ursula grow much larger in size during her climactic fight with Ariel and Eric.[18]
Voice and music[edit]
Pat Carroll was the voice actress of Ursula from 1989 to her death in 2022, with her final role as Ursula being posthumous in Disney Dreamlight Valley.[19][20][21] Carroll was not the filmmakers' first choice for the role; Clements, Musker and Ashman had long debated who should voice the villainess,[22] the casting of whom was long and tedious, spanning an entire year.[23][24] In his book Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies, author Allan Neuwirth documented that the filmmakers searched "for just the right performer who could put across the deep-voiced, world-weary, deadpan villainess they had in mind–but never quite snaring their catch".[25] While Ashman was interested in actress Joan Collins because he was a fan of her performance as Alexis Colby in the soap opera Dynasty,[24] Clements and Musker favored actress Bea Arthur, for whom they had actually written the role,[3] describing Ursula as "having a Bea Arthur-type basso voice" in early drafts of their screenplay.[22] Clements and Musker fully expected Arthur to accept the role because she had already been working for Disney's Touchstone Television on the sitcom The Golden Girls.[24] However, Arthur's agent resented the directors-writers for insinuating that her client voice a witch,[24] refusing to even present the script to the actress.[22]
With Arthur eliminated, Clements and Musker were forced to audition several other popular television actresses of the decade, including Nancy Marchand, Charlotte Rae and Roseanne Barr,[22] the last of whom had originally auditioned for the supporting role of chambermaid Carlotta.[13] Amused by her nasal voice, Howard invited the comedian to read for Ursula, but concluded that her approach was ultimately not suitable for the character.[23] Jazz singer Nancy Wilson also auditioned.[24] Meanwhile, Ashman himself had been similarly unsuccessful in recruiting Collins because Dynasty producer Aaron Spelling feared that the actress' reputation would be jeopardized should she voice an animated character.[24] Thus, Ashman pursued Broadway veteran Elaine Stritch, of whom he had been a long-time fan.[22] The audition process for Ursula required each hopeful to both recite a scene from the film and perform a Broadway-style song of their choice.[23] The finalists became Clements and Musker's Rae versus Ashman's Stritch,[24] the latter of whom ultimately won the role over Rae with her preferred rendition of Ursula's song "Poor Unfortunate Souls".[22] Musker described Stritch's approach to Ursula as "an eccentric, loopy reading".[24] However, Stritch and Ashman soon began to experience creative differences over "Poor Unfortunate Souls" because the actress refused to follow the lyricist's "very specific directions".[22] After refusing to perform the song at Ashman's preferred tempo (combined with her alcoholism),[24] the songwriter fired Stritch from the project,[23] thus forcing Clements and Musker to find a replacement with yet another round of auditions.[22]
Carroll first learned of The Little Mermaid from her agent, and immediately agreed to audition for Ursula because she had always wanted to voice a Disney character.[25] However, the actress felt that her chances were slim to none upon realizing that her competition largely consisted of famous film and television actresses.[22] Musker described Carroll's audition approach as a hybrid of actors Maurice Evans and Tallulah Bankhead.[23] Although confident in both her acting and singing auditions,[25] Carroll did not hear back from her agent about the role until a year afterward, by which time she had already forgotten she had ever auditioned.[22] Upon being cast, Carroll was entirely committed to the role, giving it complete precedence over all other jobs and projects at the time.[25] Carroll's first task was to record "Poor Unfortunate Souls", her approach to which was remarkably different than Stritch's, first asking Howard to demonstrate exactly how he would like her to perform the song before attempting it.[22] Carroll completely credits Ashman with her delivery,[7] explaining, "I got the whole attitude from him ... and his shoulders would twitch a certain way, and his eyes would go a certain way ... I got more about that character from Howard singing that song than from anything else."[22] Carroll also borrowed Ursula's habit of saying "innit" instead of "isn't it" from Ashman.[22] Despite their strong working relationship, Carroll described working with Ashman and composer Alan Menken as a "brutal" experience because of the songwriters' "military" approach; she would often return home from recording sessions with blown vocal chords.[22] After complaining to her about one of her recording sessions, Carroll recalled her daughter, filmmaker Tara Karsian, reassuring her that "you're in something that fifty years from now may be shown ... What you're working on now will be seen by our children, and our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren".[22] Describing her own performance as Shakespearean, Carroll perceived Ursula as an "ex-Shakespearean actress who now sold cars", which inspired her dry, theatrical interpretation.[22] Carroll also deepened her own voice for the role.[26] When Carroll watched the completed film for the first time, she was frightened by her own performance, comparing it to actress Margaret Hamilton's performance as the Wicked Witch of the West in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939).[25] Actress Jodi Benson, who voices Ariel, briefly provides the voice of "Vanessa", Ursula's beautiful human alter-ego, in lieu of Carroll.[27]
On June 28, 2019, it was announced that Melissa McCarthy was in talks to play Ursula in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall.[28] On February 18, 2020, McCarthy confirmed her casting as the villainess during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show: “I play Ursula, the sea witch. It is so fun, we're just in rehearsals. It's been an absolute blast. Stepping into the world of Rob Marshall, it's like a fever dream, I just went to London for a week, I was like, ‘I don't get to go to dance camp for a week.’ All day he's like, ‘Do you want to slide down this 40-foot clamshell?’ I'm like, ‘Yes! Of course, I do. What are you, crazy?’ It's been wildly creative.”[29] In December 2020, McCarthy stated that she would hopefully begin filming the movie in January 2021.[30] McCarthy eventually began filming her scenes in April 2021.[31] Later that year, McCarthy described the experience of playing Ursula as "glorious" and adding, "The world of Disney and (director) Rob Marshall is a world that I wish everyone could experience because it's so creative, kind and lovely. Going to singing class every day ... I got to record with an orchestra, which is a mind-bender for someone who is not a singer ... but it was such a fun process. It's going to be incredible ... To me, Ursula is everything. She's one of my absolute favorite villains so to play her was delicious."[32]
Jessica Alexander played Vanessa, Ursula's beautiful human alter ego. Alexander was announced to have been cast on March 1, 2021.[33] She described her character as "a seductress, a temptress, the definition of a femme fatale and a sexy female villain."[34] Of her casting, director Rob Marshall stated it was a conscious decision to cast a relatively unknown actress as Vanessa since McCarthy was already portraying Ursula. He also said: "She's just a beautiful, beautiful actress, and she went there. It's sort of rare for someone that beautiful and charismatic to be able to then turn into the sea witch literally in front of you and just lose it. It was exciting to see that change."[35] Alexander enjoyed playing the role, commenting that she "love[s] being demonic, and just going crazy on screen, so this was a perfect opportunity for that".[36] Comic Book Resources wrote that "Alexander's Vanessa is callous and conniving ... [she] takes the opportunity to go all-out, unleashing her villainous side in her final scene."[37] Kacey Musgraves was also considered for the role.[38]
Characterization and themes[edit]
About.com's David Nusair observed that "There's no limit to how low Ursula will stoop to achieve her goals";[52] the character often relies on a combination of sorcery and deception to achieve them.[53] "A bargainer of the worst kind",[54] Ursula only agrees to help the less fortunate when she's confident that she can gain something from them in return.[55] Identifying Ursula as Ariel's binary due to the character's experience and authority, Collision of Realities: Establishing Research on the Fantastic in Europe author Lars Schmeink described Ursula as a "more complex and mature character" than Ariel, embodying everything that the mermaid can potentially become.[56] To Ariel, Ursula represents "the matronly image" who "instigate[s] the young princess' epic journey" as she longs to achieve the witch's "sage-like knowledge and power".[56] Ursula teaches Ariel about womanhood, a theme From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture author Elizabeth Belle noticed is absent in Anderson's story.[39] According to Bell, "Ursula can retrieve Ariel from her destined alliance with patriarchy", observing that the witch actually "teaches Ariel that performance and voice and manifestations" are "liberations of gender".[39] Teen Ink's Emma James believes that Ursula's death ultimately prevents Ariel from experiencing and learning from the consequences of her actions, concluding, "Ariel never really owns up to all the mishap she caused."[11] Observing that Ursula actually warns Ariel about the consequences should she fail to earn a kiss from Eric, Laura Stampler of Time described the character as a "savvy contract negotiator".[57] Writing for Collider, Dave Trumbore identified Ursula as the film's "Crossroads Demon".[58] According to Gary Thompson of the Philadelphia Daily News, Ursula is similar to businesswoman Leona Helmsley.[59]
Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies author Allan Neuwirth observed that Ursula obeys Disney's "long-standing tradition of depicting classic scoundrels ... none so unsettling as their female villains."[25] Neuwirth believes that the public's fear of Disney's female villains "stems from our expectations of nurturing, comfort and honesty from our mothers",[25] while Disney's villainnesses, including Ursula, tend to "lust after ... youth and beauty."[60] Ursula even goes as far as transforming herself into a beautiful young woman in order to trick Ariel's love interest into marrying her instead.[61] Janet Wasko believes that Ursula's role as a powerful but antagonistic woman in The Little Mermaid alludes to the idea of patriarchy being preferable to matriarchy.[62] Sophie Hall of Beamly identified Ursula as a woman struggling to "run the kingdom in a man's world, having been kicked out for no specific reason."[63] In her book Emerson Goes to the Movies: Individualism in Walt Disney Company's Post-1989 Animated Films, author Justyna Fruzińska claimed that "the masculine rule of Triton is presented as positive and opposed to the negative, feminine rule of Ursula".[12] Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy author Janet Wasko accused the film's treatment of Ursula of "eliminat[ing] many of the female characters and undermin[ing] [the] feminine power" present in Andersen's fairy tale.[62] However, Wasko also argued that Ursula could possibly be considered a mother figure for Ariel;[62][61] the tunnel of Ursula's cave resembles a vagina, while Ursula's mannerisms evoke those of a mother as she refers to Ariel as "my dear sweet child".[64] Gwynne Watkins of Yahoo! accused Ursula of "assur[ing] Ariel that human men prefer their women to be silent".[65] Meanwhile, in response to feminist critiques of the character, author Amy M. Davis observed in her book Handsome Heroes and Vile Villains: Masculinity in Disney's Feature Films that Ursula is actually responsible for giving Eric the "power to make Ariel permanently human".[66] However, author Alan Dundes in his book Bloody Mary in the Mirror: Essays in Psychoanalytic Folkloristics in conjunction with co-author Lauren Dundes observed that Ursula becomes masculine and deep-voiced once she acquires Triton's trident, implying that even "the only powerful woman in the story fulfills her desire for supreme power by becoming masculine".[61] Dundes and Dundes also observed that Ursula reverts to being feminine once she is impaled.[61]
In her book Tales, Then and Now: More Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults, author Anna E. Altmann compared Ursula to Satan because both Ariel and Triton "sign a contract ... with her";[10] James Plath of Movie Metropolis described Ursula's contract as "a Mephistophelean bargain."[67] Much like Satan, Ursula was banished from Triton's palace, similar to the way in which Lucifer was exiled from heaven.[43] Felix Vasquez of Cinema Crazed believes that Ursula "is evil just for the sake of being evil".[68] Writing for the Disney Archives, Dave Smith observed that Ursula "has the gross unsubtlety of Ratigan from 'The Great Mouse Detective' but substantially more brio."[69] Describing Ursula as "Bejeweled and lip-pouting like an overweight, over-rich, over-pampered, over-the-top society hostess gone mad," Smith perceived the character as "all flair, flamboyance, and theatricality mixed with a touch of con-artistry", citing wrath as her only genuine emotion.[69] Additionally, Ursula tends to act as though she is performing for an audience.[69] Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel compared the character's appearance to that of evangelist Tammy Faye.[70] At times, Ursula tends to demonstrate stereotypically masculine physical traits.[71] Describing the character as "A campy sea witch with an insatiable thirst for power", Rolling Stone's David Ehrlich believes that Ursula resembles a child of Divine and Donald Trump.[72] Some critics identify the character with body positivity. According to Michaela Glover of The Odyssey, "Ursula portrays a bold business woman, not being afraid to show off her curves and use them, which defies the typical standards of beauty by also being a full figured woman."[73]
Ursula
"Heroes and Villains" (Season 4; Episode 12)
- Merrin Dungey
- Tiffany Boone (young)
Mermaid (original)
Human (via Magical transformation)
Female
The Sea Witch
Queen of Darkness
Queens of Darkness (formerly)
Atlantican
Toys[edit]
Both Ursula and Vanessa have inspired the creation of several toys, most notably fashion dolls, plush dolls and action figures released by Disney Store and more recently by Mattel,[103][104] Target Corporation[105][106] and Jakks Pacific depicting both characters in different visual styles, body types and sizes, an interactive version of Ursula's mystical magic cauldron released by Jakks Pacific to coincide with the release of the 2023 live-action film which features lights, sounds, music, and several accessories[107] as well as two versions of Ursula's mysterious magic Nautilus shell necklace. The first one is a colorful, ornate variant with additional decorations which was released as a Disney Store exclusive product in 2019. It includes a light-up feature that activates a recording of Jodi Benson vocalizing as Ariel as well as a voice recording feature.[108] The second one is a simpler, more visually accurate version which was released by Jakks Pacific to coincide with the release of the 2023 live-action film.[109] Like its predecessor, it also includes a light-up feature which activates a recording of Halle Bailey vocalizing as either Ariel or Vanessa.[110]
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Ursula has earned a positive reception from entertainment critics. When The Little Mermaid was first released in 1989, film critics and audiences alike immediately embraced Ursula as one of Disney's best villains,[22] as well as one of the studio's strongest villains in several years.[67][111] Film critic Roger Ebert dubbed Ursula Disney's "most satisfying villainess since" Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' Evil Queen, who debuted in 1937.[112] Critics agree that Ursula played an important role in the overall success of The Little Mermaid.[113] Samantha Rullo of Bustle reviewed Ursula as a "way more interesting" character than Ariel herself, while praising her for "rocking the best hair and makeup of any Disney villain."[114] Also writing for Bustle, Caitlyn Callegari appreciated Ursula for "tell[ing] it like it is."[115] Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel hailed Ursula as "A total success" despite sharing some similarities with previous Disney villains.[70] Janet Maslin of The New York Times described Ursula as "a fabulously campy creation embodying the film's well-developed sense of mischief."[116] Describing the character as an "inventive high-camp villainess," the New York Daily News' Kathleen Carroll cited Ursula as a prime example of the film's "outstanding" animation.[117] Hailing the character as "a visual feast," Variety considered Ursula to be among "the film's more inspired inventions."[118]