Ursula (The Little Mermaid) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ursula |
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| The Little Mermaid character | |
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| First appearance | The Little Mermaid (1989) |
| Created by | Ron Clements John Musker |
| Portrayed by |
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| Voiced by |
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| Based on | The Sea Witch from the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Vanessa (human alter-ego) |
| Species | Cecaelia |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Sorceress, deal-maker |
| Affiliation | Disney Villains |
| Title | The Sea Witch |
| Relatives | Unnamed father (deceased) Unnamed mother (deceased) Morgana (younger sister) Uma (daughter) |
| Nationality | Atlantican |
Ursula is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' movie The Little Mermaid from 1989. She is a bad sea witch who wants to take over the ocean. Ursula offers mermaid princess Ariel a chance to become human. Ariel wants to be human to be with Prince Eric. Ursula's plan is to stop Ariel from finding love so she can become the new ruler of the oceans, replacing King Triton.
Directors Ron Clements and John Musker created Ursula. She is based on the sea witch from the 1837 fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen. In the movie, her role was made much bigger. Actress Pat Carroll gave Ursula her voice. Carroll made her voice deeper for the role. She based Ursula's voice on a mix of famous actresses and car salespeople.
Ursula's look was first inspired by different sea animals like manta rays. But then, the creators decided she should look like an octopus. She has six tentacles instead of eight to save money on animation. Ursula's appearance was also inspired by a famous American actor and drag queen named Divine. When The Little Mermaid came out in 1989, Ursula quickly became one of Disney's most popular villains. Many people still think she is one of the best. Critics liked her because she was both funny and scary. Pat Carroll's voice acting was also highly praised.
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Ursula in Movies and TV Shows
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Ursula first appeared in the 1989 movie The Little Mermaid. She is a sea witch who wants to trick King Triton's youngest daughter, Princess Ariel. Ursula wants to take Triton's throne. She also turns merpeople into strange polyps for her garden.
Ariel saves a human named Prince Eric and falls in love with him. Her father, King Triton, is not happy about this. Ursula offers Ariel a deal: she can become human for three days. In return, Ariel must give Ursula her voice. If Ariel gets a kiss from Eric by the end of the third day, she will stay human forever. If she fails, she will turn back into a mermaid and belong to Ursula.
Ursula tries to stop Ariel and Eric from falling in love. When she sees they are getting close, Ursula changes herself into a beautiful young woman named "Vanessa." She then uses magic to make Eric want to marry her instead. Ariel stops the wedding. Eric realizes Ariel saved him when her voice returns. He is about to kiss her, but the sun sets. Ariel turns back into a mermaid, and Ursula captures her.
King Triton faces Ursula and agrees to give up himself and his magical trident to save Ariel. Ursula then uses the trident to grow into a giant monster. She tries to kill Ariel and Eric. But Eric uses a broken ship part to defeat Ursula, and she dies. After Ursula is defeated, her magic stops. The merpeople turn back to normal, and King Triton gets his power back. Ariel then becomes human forever and marries Eric.
The Little Mermaid TV Series
Ursula also appears in four episodes of The Little Mermaid TV show. This show takes place before the movie. In these episodes, she tries different plans to bother King Triton and take over Atlantica. But all her plans fail.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
Ursula does not appear in the movie The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea because she died in the first film. However, her younger sister, Morgana, talks about her a lot. Ursula's picture also appears in a family photo that Morgana has.
Ursula in Other Stories
Video Games
Ursula appears in the Kingdom Hearts video game series. She works with other villains to attack Atlantica and gain power. In these games, Ursula was once King Triton's fortune teller before she was sent away. She is defeated by Sora, Ariel, Donald Duck, and Goofy.
Ursula also shows up in Kingdom Hearts II. She tries to trick Ariel again, just like in the movie. She is defeated when Eric throws the trident through her. She also appears in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in her giant form.
Theme Park Rides
You can see Ursula in Disney theme park attractions. She is in the Fantasmic! show at Disneyland Park. A very large Ursula robot is part of The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure ride at Disney California Adventure and Magic Kingdom. Ursula is also a main character in the Halloween fireworks show called HalloWishes at Walt Disney World.
Books
Ursula has appeared in many books based on The Little Mermaid.
- A comic book series from 1992 showed how Ursula got the sea serpent bones that make up her home.
- The book My Side of the Story: Ursula (2004) tells the movie's story from Ursula's point of view.
- The Villain Files (2005) shows Ursula's younger days living in Triton's castle.
Ursula is also a main character in the 2016 young adult novel Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch. In this book, Ursula is King Triton's younger sister. She was sent away as a child for choosing tentacles instead of a mermaid tail. She grew up as a human. She later returns to the sea and tries to steal Triton's soul.
In the 2020 children's horror novel Part of Your Nightmare, Ursula offers a deal to a young girl named Shelly. Shelly wants to be the fastest swimmer, and Ursula promises to help her if Shelly does a small favor.
Broadway Musical
In The Little Mermaid musical, Ursula is King Triton's sister. This was an idea for the original movie that was not used. When their father died, Triton got the trident, and Ursula got a magic shell. They were supposed to rule together, but Ursula's greed led to her being sent away. She wants revenge and power.
The musical's story is much like the movie. But in the musical, Ursula does not turn into Vanessa. Also, Ariel defeats Ursula by destroying her magic shell. New songs were written for Ursula in the musical, including "I Want the Good Times Back" and "Daddy's Little Angel."
Descendants 2
Ursula appears in the 2017 TV movie Descendants 2. In this movie, her daughter Uma is the main villain. Ursula is shown running a fish and chips shop. She was sent to the Isle of the Lost with other villains twenty years before the movie. Ursula and another villain, Maleficent, had a rivalry over who would rule the island. Uma, Ursula's daughter, is much like her mother.
The Little Mermaid (Live-Action Film)
Actress Melissa McCarthy will play Ursula in the upcoming live-action movie The Little Mermaid.
Images for kids
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Ursula in Once Upon a Time
See also
In Spanish: Úrsula (Disney) para niños
