The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid is an American animation series from Walt Disney Television Animation, based on the film of the same name from 1989. The series serves as a prequel to the film.

The series has 3 seasons with a total of 31 episodes. It is the first animation series based on a Disney film. Some of the voice actors from the film also play the role of their characters in the series, including Jodi Benson as Ariel, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, Kenneth Mars as King Triton, and Pat Carroll as Ursula.

The plot

The series is a prequel to the previously released full-length cartoon of the same name. The events of the animated series precede the events of the cartoon, although most of the characters in the series do not appear in the cartoon. In some episodes (season 1, episode 10, season 3, episode 1), Prince Eric appears, but Ariel either does not see him at that moment or sees from afar and therefore is not particularly interested in him. Some of the animated series’ events run counter to the 2008 full-length prequel "The Little Mermaid: The Beginning of Ariel's Story".

Ariel is never shown to people throughout the series except for the episode "Steel Fish", where it helps a man named Hans Christian Andersen get to the surface of the water.

General argument

The story is set when Ariel is 15 years old, a year before the events in the film, and following the adventures still as a little mermaid at the bottom of the sea. In the episodes, her relationship with her friends, father and sisters stands out, and they generally involve Ariel frustrating the plans of enemies who intend to harm the kingdom.

Action

Arielle, the Little Mermaid, is the youngest and most adventurous daughter of Sea King Triton. This is what makes Arielle's friend and companion, the crab Sebastian, a lot of trouble, because Sebastian is Hofmarschall and has the job to take care of Arielle. Dangers lurk by dangerous, big fish, the sea witch Ursula or even the world of the people outside the sea. But Arielle is particularly interested in these.

Setup

The series is set for the film, so Ariel is still a mermaid and lives with her father and sisters in the royal palace. Many episodes revolve around her relationships with her friends and family, and her attempts to save her underwater kingdom from various dangers.

Many characters from the film return in the series. The sea witch Ursula is a regular antagonist of Ariel in the series. Prince Eric also occasionally plays a role in the series, but he and Ariël never see each other.

The series also introduces some new characters such as the multi-boy Graatje (Urchin), the young orca Stip (Spot), an evil stingray/human hybrid that regularly threatens Atlantica and the Crimean lobster (The Lobster Mobster).

Publication

It was produced 31 episodes in three seasons, which was broadcast in the US from September 11, 1992 to November 26, 1994 by the broadcaster CBS and Disney-owned stations. The first season includes the consequences of one to 14, the second episodes 15 to 23 and the last season shows episodes 24 to 31.

The series has been translated among others into French, Spanish, Polish and Portuguese.

In Germany, the series ran for the first time from 1 January 1994 as part of the Disney Club in the ARD. In addition to broadcasts on Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Toon Disney, was The Little Mermaid even with RTL, Super RTL and Kabel eins. In Austria, the station ORF one also broadcasts the series.

Parallel to the second season CBS showed the 13-part animated series Marsupilami on the same cartoon character. As part of this series, the character Sebastian got a total of eight own short films. In Germany Marsupilami first shown from 1 July to 23 September 1995 by RTL and been repeated only once.

Background

Some of the episodes contain musical songs, written specifically for the series. The title song of the series is an instrumental combination of the songs "Part of Your World", "Under the Sea", and "Kiss the Girl" from the film.

Some of the events in the series contradict the film The Little Mermaid III, which was released in 2008, such as Ariel's first meeting with Botje. It can be assumed that the series and this film take place in different continuities.

The episode "Metal Fish", which features a signed version of Hans Christian Andersen, is worth mentioning. In the episode he sees Ariel, which inspires him to write her famous fairy tale.

Characters

• Ariel: Youngest daughter of the king of the seas, Triton. Ariel loves to collect trinkets and foreign objects that surface humans drop carelessly on the bottom of the sea. Her best friends are Sebastian and Flounder.
• Flounder: He is Ariel's best friend, he is a fish that continues Ariel in his adventures.
• Sebastian: He is a crab that acts as the advisor to the king of the sea, the musician of the court, and sometimes, the babysitter of Ariel.
• King Triton: His Majesty King Triton, owner and lord of the kingdom of Atlantic. Their happiness lies in giving their daughters everything they need, but the one that fills her heart is Ariel, the little one, so different from her sisters.
• Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella and Alana: They are the six older sisters of Ariel.
• Prince Eric: He is the young human prince and only appears three times in the series as a cameos without relevance.
• Úrsula: She is the evil witch of the sea and always tries to seize the kingdom of Triton without success.
• Grimsby: It's Eric's right hand and servant.
• Scuttle: It's the name of a slightly clumsy seagull, and it's one of the few connections Ariel has with the human world.
• Urchin: He is a newt and Ariel's best friend. He shares his love for adventure and is considered by the family almost as an adopted brother.

Cast

In original English

• Ariel - Jodi Benson
• Sebastiaan - Samuel E Wright
• Botje - Edan Gross
• King Triton - Kenneth Mars
• Bone - Danny Cooksey
• Jutter - Maurice LaMarche
• Sea horse - Charlie Adler
• Prince Eric - Jeff Bennett
• Grimbert - Kay E Kuter
• Simon - Brian Cummings
• Shrimp lobster - Joe Alaskey
• Slimpie - David L Lander
• Manta - Tim Curry
• Ursula - Pat Carroll
• Gruwel - Paddi Edwards
• Creep - Paddi Edwards
• Pearl - Cree Summer
• Aquata - Sheryl Bernstein
• Colonel Hajabaja - Charlie Adler
• Emperor Hajaga - Jim Cummings
• Archimedes - Rod McKuen
• Hans Christian Andersen - Mark Hamill

Dubbing in Latin America

• Ariel - Rocío Robledo and Erika Robledo
• Ariel (songs) - Isela Sotelo
• Flounder - Angelines Santana
• Sebastian - ?
• Triton - Guillermo Romano
• Urchin - Víctor Mares Jr.
• Úrsula - Serena Olvido (2nd season), Consuelo Sedano (3rd season)
• Scuttle - Roberto Alexander
• Prince Eric - Demian Bichir
• Grimsby - Hector of Alba
• Pearl - Fabiola Stevenson

Dubbing in Spain

When making the redoubling of the Little Mermaid to the Castilian, the series was also doubled. The voices of the Castilian dubbing are:

• Ariel - Graciela Molina
• Ariel (songs) - María Caneda
• Sebastian - Juan Perucho
• Sebastián (songs) - Vicente Borland
• Flounder - Nacho Aldeguer
• Triton - Claudio Rodríguez
• Urkin - Adolfo Moreno
• Úrsula - Matilde Conesa
• Úrsula (songs) - Helen de Quiroga
• Scuttle - Eduardo Moreno
• Prince Eric - David Robles
• Grimsby - Rafael de Penácos

Dubbing in Dutch

• Ariel - Laura Vlasblom
• Sebastiaan - Freddy Gumbs
• Botje - Egbert Stoelinga (season 1)
• King Triton - Huib Broos, Maarten Veerman (young)
• Graatje - Romke Schutema
• Jutter - Bram Biesterveld
• Seahorse - Arnold Gelderman
• Prince Eric - Diederik Gelderman
• Grimbert - Arnold Gelderman
• Simon - Jan Anne Drenth
• Crimson - Bennie Jolink
• Slimpie - Reinder van der Naalt
• Manta - Carol van Herwijnen
• Ursula - Nelly Frijda
• Gruwel - Alfred Lagarde
• Creep - Alfred Lagarde
• Pearl - Anne-Mieke Ruyten
• Aquata - Maria Lindes
• Colonel Hajabaja - Edward Reekers
• Emperor Hajaga - Jan Anne Drenth
• Archimedes - Reinder van der Naalt
• Hans Christian Andersen - Diederik Gelderman

Episodes

Season 1

1. "The Great Sebastian" (Sebastian the ambassador)
2. "Stormy" (The wild sea horse)
3. "Urchin" (bone)
4. "Double Bubble" (The naughty twins)
5. "Message in a Bottle" (A message in a bottle)
6. "Thingamajigger" (Dingus thing)
7. "Whale of a Tale" (The lost whale)
8. "Charmed" (A bracelet with problems)
9. "Marriage of Inconvenience" (The perfect couple)
10. "The Evil Manta" (The False Ray)
11. "Red" (Triton junior)
12. "Beached" (Sisters from the sea)
13. "Trident True" (Trident Trident)
14. "Eel-Ectric City" (Aal-lectric city)

Season 2

1. "Resigned to It" (I'm going to stop)
2. "Calliope Dreams" (The seawater organ)
3. "Save the Whale" (Save the whale)
4. "Against the Tide" (Luck in an accident)
5. "Giggles" (The little sea giggle)
6. "Wish upon a Starfish" (The dream wish starfish)
7. "Tail of Two Crabs" (The story of the two crabs)
8. "Metal Fish" (The metal fish)
9. "Thank You for That, Ariel" (Thanks, Ariel)

Season 3

1. "Scuttle" (Jutter)
2. "King Crab" (King Crab)
3. "Island of Fear" (The island of fear)
4. "Land of the Dinosaurs" (Dino country)
5. "Heroes" (The Great Appolo)
6. "The Beast Within" (The beast in you)
7. "Ariel's Treasures" (The treasures of Ariel)
8. "A Little Evil" (Little Evil)

Songs

All the episodes of the series begin with an opening accompanied by an instrumental medley of songs from the original film, including "Part of Him", "Under the Sea" and "Bésala") and end with some final credits accompanied by an instrumental fragment of the song "Under the sea".

The following are the songs that have appeared in the television series in chronological order:

Original version (English)

• Just a Little Love - (Ariel)
• You Got to Be You - (Sebastian)
• To the Edge of the Edge of the Sea (Part I) - (Ariel)
• To the Edge of the Edge of the Sea (Part II) - (Ariel)
• The Lobster Mobster's Mob - (Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp)
• The Lobster Mobster's Mob (Reprise) - (Da Shrimp) (*)
• Da Beddie Bye Blues - (Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp)
• Sing a New Song - (Ariel and Simon)
• In Harmony - (Ariel)
• In Harmony (Reprise) - (Ariel and the Atlaticans)
• Dis is de Life - (Sebastian)
• You Know I Know (Part I) - (Sebastian) (*)
• You Know I Know (Part II) - (Sebastian) (*)
• Never Give Up - (Ariel and Sebastian)
• Everybody Cha-Cha-Cha (Improvisation) - (Sebastian) (*)
• You Wouldn't Want to Mess with Me (Part I) - (Ursula)
• You Wouldn't Want to Mess with Me (Part II) - (Ursula)
• The Sound of Laughter - (Sebastian)
• The Sound of Laughter (Repeat) - (Sebastian) (*)
• Daring to Dance (part I) - (Ariel)
• Daring to Dance (part II) - (Ariel and Gabriella)
• All Hail Apollo - (Atlantica's Army) (*)
• I Just Like the Sky - (Scuttle) (*)
• Just Give Me a Chance - (Scuttle)
• Just Give Me a Chance (Reprise) - (Scuttle) (*)
• I Go to the Beach (Calypso) - (Sebastian) (*)
• Just Like Me - (The Evil Manta)
• Let's Play Princess (With Ariel) (introduction of the VHS Princess Collection)

(*): Very short song

Dubbing (Spanish of America)

• A Little Love - (Ariel)
• You Have to Be You - (Sebastián)
• On the Shore, the Shore of the Sea (Part I) - (Ariel)
• On the Shore, the Shore of the Sea (Part II) - (Ariel)
• The Prawn Gang - (Shrimp The Dirty and Shrimp)
• The Prawn Gang (Variation) - (Shrimp) (*)
• Listening to this Tonada - (Shrimp El Sucio y Camarón)
• Sing A New Song - (Ariel and Simón)
• In Harmony - (Ariel)
• In Harmony (Variation) - (Ariel and the inhabitants of Aquatic)
• This is Life - (Sebastian)
• You know that I know that you know - (Sebastián) (*)
• You know that I know that you know (Reprise) - (Sebastián) (*)
• Everyone Cha-Cha-Cha (Improvisation) - (Sebastián) (*)
• Don't Let You Beat - (Ariel and Sebastián)
• You Wouldn't Like To Face Me (Part I) - (Úrsula)
• You Wouldn't Like To Face Me (Part II) - (Úrsula)
• The Sound of Laughter - (Sebastian)
• The Sound of Laughter (Repetition) - (Sebastian) (*)
• Calls you to Dance (Part I) - (Ariel)
• Calls you to Dance (Part II) - (Ariel and Gabriella)
• Viva Apolo - (Aquatic Navy) (*)
• I love height - (Scuttle) (*)
• Give me a chance - (Scuttle)
• Give me a chance (Variation) - (Scuttle) (*)
• I go to the beach (Calipso) - (Sebastián) (*)
• Like Me - (La Vil Manta)
• Ser Princesses (The Little Mermaid Version) - Intro for Princesses Collection on VHS.

(*): Very short song

Episode List