When it comes to some of the best Disney movies out there, there are plenty that I could think of that truly capture Disney and everything that’s great about it. From The Lion King to Beauty and the Beast and all the way to recent additions such as Moana, Disney has created some fantastic characters, and some of my favorites happened to be from The Little Mermaid.
Soon enough, Disney will release the live-action remake of one of its most popular films, The Little Mermaid, which you will actually also be able to see in 3D, and in partnership with AMC Theatres, we’re going to go over what we love the most about every The Little Mermaid character from the 1989 animated classic, from our main mermaid Ariel all the way to our favorite bird, Scuttle. If you’re as excited for the live-action movie coming to theaters May 26, 2023 and can’t wait to buy tickets, check this out to get even more excited.
Ariel: Her Curious Mind
When it comes to Ariel, there is a lot I could talk about her best traits. I could talk about her personality, her voice, her kindness – heck, even her beauty. But the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Ariel is her curious mind.
Sure, Ariel seeing Prince Eric and falling in love with him was a huge catalyst to her ending up leaving the ocean, but it’s established even before then that Ariel had a very curious mind for the human world. It’s why she had a collection of human trinkets in that little grove of hers – and why she was so incredibly upset when her father destroyed it all. Ariel is an explorer. She spends her days going out into the sea and looking for new things that show what the human world is like.
Out of everything we could talk about with Ariel, her curious mind is truly her best trait, and I have a feeling that even if she didn’t end up seeing Prince Eric, she most likely would have found a way out of the ocean regardless.
Prince Eric: His Love For Adventure
I have a special place in my heart for Prince Eric, because if we’re being honest, he was the first Disney prince I saw who really showed any true character. Before him, we had Prince Charming, Prince Phillip and the Prince from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
All of these men are pretty much devoid of personality, aside from, maybe, Phillip who shows a little bit of a smile during his time on screen in Sleeping Beauty, but then Eric comes along – charming, full of life, and a love of the sea.
That’s what makes Eric so great – his pure love for adventure. You can tell from the moment you see him that he truly loves to explore and see the sea, and that’s what makes him so amazing. He has a love for the ocean, he’s down to earth, and he just wants to explore – the same as Ariel. I can see exactly why she fell for him as quickly as she did.
Ursula: Her Sales Ability
Oh, Ursula. She is one of the best Disney villains, hands down. There is no one quite like her. From her iconic song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” to the actress behind her voice, Pat Carroll, to even who she was inspired by (which was the drag queen Divine), Ursula is the epitome of a Disney villain and absolutely amazing – which is why it’s easy to pick her best trait: her sales ability.
Ursula is the definition of a saleswoman. She knows that somehow, someway, she is going to get a deal with her client – even if she has to use manipulative tactics in order to do so. She’s quick-witted and always knows exactly what to say and how to explore what her customer wants. That way, she gets something that she wants, whether it be their voice, their looks, or something else.
Ursula isn’t a good person by any means, but you can’t deny that she knows how to sell something. I’m pretty sure that I would somehow end up becoming one of her victims at one point regardless, because she’s so good at it.
Flounder: His Kindness
Disney is known for often having sidekicks to their protagonists, and in The Little Mermaid, we get Flounder, a little fish who follows Ariel wherever she goes, even when he is clearly terrified of where they are going. There’s honestly a lot to love about Flounder, because he’s so goofy and sweet, but you can’t help but love his kindness.
He never berates Ariel, never goes back on what she wants, and is always there for her. During her darkest times, he was there to support her, especially when Ariel thought there was no way she could stay a human when Eric went off to marry Vanessa (Ursula in disguise). We all need a friend like Flounder in our lives.
Sebastian: His Unwavering Loyalty
Y’all, Sebastian deserves a vacation. This crab has been working day and night, and having to follow Ariel around all the time most certainly tired him out even more. But that’s what you have to love about Sebastian – that he has a loyalty that is truly unmatched in any other character.
Anything King Triton wants, he will deliver. Anything Ariel wants, at first, he tries to say now, but he will deliver as best he can. He even helps Ariel in her quest to get Prince Eric to fall in love with her, with the iconic musical piece, “Kiss the Girl.” He really is incredibly loyal and will do anything to make sure the people that he not only works for but genuinely cares about are happy.
King Triton: The Love He Has For Ariel
King Triton was always a good dad for Ariel, and that’s his best trait by far. While I don’t agree with all of his parenting practices – like destroying Ariel’s grotto of human discoveries – I do think he has a love for Ariel that is unmatched in any other Disney father figure that we have seen, and it’s displayed multiple times throughout the movie.
We see it when he willingly gives up his powers and his trident to Ursula in order to save her, and we also see this when he decides to let her go and live with the humans after realizing just how much she missed and loved Eric, despite him wanting his daughter to stay with him. But he puts her happiness above his own – that is the kind of pure love that only a father can have for his daughter. It’s incredibly sweet and I’m crying just writing about it.
Scuttle: His Humor
Last but not least, we need to talk about Scuttle – that seagull that just always knew what to say to make Ariel chuckle and make Sebastian roll his eyes. And obviously, I have to say that Scuttle’s best trait is his humor.
The seagull is funny. He has some of the funniest moments of the movie. Him dressing up Ariel in a literal sack will always be hilarious to me because no normal human would think of that, but here Scuttle is, trying to impersonate how the humans would dress. Even how he explains a fork is just so funny.
There’s truly so much to love about these characters and I can’t wait to love more about them in the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid, which tickets are now available to purchase. I’m counting down the days until we get to return to the sea.
