Merpeople

Merpeople are a legendary species that are half-human and half-fish. Females are referred to as mermaids, while males are referred to as mermen.
They are featured most heavily in The Little Mermaid and other related media. Other than The Little Mermaid franchise, they have made appearances in other films and shows.
==Background==
===Mythology===
The earliest records of merpeople were the "fish people" created by the goddess in the Babylonian Creation Epic the Enuma Elish, written on clay tablets several thousand years ago. They appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings. In other folk traditions, they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans. Some attributes of mermaids borrow influence from other mythological creatures, including the Sirens and Naiads of Greek mythology. In many stories, mermaids and mermen lure and attract humans with their enchantingly beautiful and melodic voices to send the humans to their demise or simply entertain them.
===Physical appearance===
Merpeople possess the traits of both humans and fish: their upper body is generally depicted as human or humanoid, while a fishtail replaces the lower body. Merpeople are also shown to be fairly tall, with King Triton towering over most of them, and even Ariel in her human form is only a few inches shorter than Eric.
==Powers and abilities==
*Underwater Breathing: In order to live underwater, merpeople have the ability to metabolize oxygen from the water, which negates the need to surface to breathe air. However, they are more than capable of breathing air outside water, as evidenced by certain events where they are on land for prolonged periods of time.
*Aquapathy: They have a connection to their aquatic home, as they can communicate with aquatic and marine life.
*Speed Swimming: Merpeople can endure days of swimming without exhaustion, in such expertise and speed as to rival or exceed most sea life in comparison.
*Underwater Eyesight: Merpeople are able to see through the darkness of underwater depths clearly where a human would see nothing at all. This eyesight also appears to work on the surface, as Ariel was able to navigate her way to Eric's ship with ease in the middle of the night.
*Superhuman Durability: As aquatic beings, merpeople can withstand the immense pressure of the ocean depths.
*Siren Call: Merpeople voices are magical in nature, manifested as a glowing orb in their throat, and enable them to talk underwater. Mermaids are even more powerful in this regard, as their siren call also allows them to emit extraordinarily beautiful angelic voices.
*Thermoendurance: They also have the ability to withstand and survive in extreme temperatures, such as when in a underwater volcanic region (such as Ursula's Lair) or the cold, Arctic icy waters where Morgana's Ice Cave is located.
==Appearances==
===Animated appearances===
====The Little Mermaid franchise====
In The Little Mermaid and related media, merpeople are shown to live in the sea within various underwater kingdoms. Atlantica is the most prominent, though others are implied to exist in the TV series. They are shown to live in perfect harmony with nature and sea life, with whom they are able to communicate. They generally do not interact with humans, due to the danger, though this changes after the events of the first film. It also shows that many unnamed ones are held as prisoners of Ursula. They made bargains for her aid and were unable to uphold their part of it. As a result, they are withered down to polyps. Ursula's death causes them to be restored to their natural forms.
Interestingly, dialogue from one fish character in the TV series implies that most fish either don't realize or don't know that merpeople have parts of their biology that resemble that of a human, as it refers to them as "half-fish, half-something else". All males are unclothed to the waist, with the exception of the armored royal guards, while the adult and teenage females wear a seashell bikini top; children, however, wear a bandeau top. From this, it seems that their sense of decency is not much different than humans'. It is also possible that they are herbivores, or at the very least vegetarians, as they aren't seen eating fish, and apparently they don't seem to view doing so as being ethical, or at the very least do not approve of eating sentient fish.
====Aladdin====
One notable mermaid who appears in the series is Saleen, who is also referred to as a water elemental as she has the ability to control the surrounding waters as well as a variety of other aquatic abilities. One of her most prized possessions is a starfish that allows her to use various magical abilities. Her main associate is her octopus Armand.
Saleen being evil in nature, she makes several attempts to steal Aladdin for herself, from giving herself legs while trapping Jasmine underwater in "Elemental, My Dear Jasmine" to turning Aladdin into a shark in "Shark Treatment". It is indicated that there are other merpeople under the sea, as when Armand dyed Jasmine's hair to make it look like Ariel's iconic red mane, Saleen disdainfully mutters that she looks like every other princess under the sea.
====Gravity Falls====
Merpeople were briefly mentioned in "Dipper vs. Manliness" by the Manotaurs, and a merman named "Mermando" appears in "The Deep End". They are stated to live in the water. What may be a skeleton of one can be seen in the Mystery Shack gift shop, although it resembles the famous hoax . In the opening credits, a picture of one like the one in the Mystery Shack can be seen at the end of the credits.
Merpeople prominently appeared in the episode "The Deep End" when Mabel Pines befriends a beautiful merman named Mermando. He had been swimming in the Gulf of Mexico but was caught by a net from a fisherman. He later is seen at the Gravity Falls Pool. When she first saw him, she went all silly, wanting him. She soon realizes that he is a merman, and thus tries to help him, of which she succeeds. He is last seen swimming back to his home. Merpeople have about 17 hearts.
====American Dragon: Jake Long====
Merpeople are among the magical creatures featured in American Dragon: Jake Long. Two notable merpeople are Silver and Dolores Derceto.
====Sofia the First====
In the special Sofia the First: The Floating Palace, Sofia and her family visit Merroway Cove for a vacation and discovers an undersea kingdom homed to merpeople and makes friends with a mermaid named Oona. Ariel makes a special guest appearance. Thanks to Oona's help, Sofia could turn into a mermaid using the Amulet of Avalor. Sofia turns into a mermaid again in Cool Hand Fluke and her mermaid friends also appear as well.
====Henry Hugglemonster====
Summer is seen wearing a mermaid outfit performing in one of her shows in the episode The Henry Show.
====Phineas and Ferb====
In the episode "One Good Turn" a mermaid resembling Lyla Lolliberry appears during the song "Humiliating Stumblegimp Dance of Contrition".
====Star vs. the Forces of Evil====
According to Mewni royalty law, a Princess cannot become queen if she cuts off a Mermaid's tail. Star was going to cut off a Mermaid tail when Marco stopped her from doing it. But instead, Star throws the axes into the Mermaid's tank, shatters the glass, and it ran out with the water.
====Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero====
In the episode "Chicken or Fish?", Penn takes on the appearance of a prince merman of the underwater city of Oceanaquariopolis. He took the two mermaids that are actually mermen. In the episode "Fish and Chips", while they're finding Rufus and discover Oceanaquariopolis is in a fish tank at a restaurant. In the episode "Save the Worlds", when Oceanaquariopolis the vortexes.
====Pickle and Peanut====
In the episode "Fishy Biz", Pickle and Peanut sneak into the aquarium during closing time. They discover that Sadie, the woman who works at the aquarium's information kiosk, turns out to be a mermaid. While Pickle takes Sadie out on a date, Peanut fills in for her.
====Elena of Avalor====
In the episode "Song of the Sirenas", Princess Marisa and Prince Marzel.
====Tangled: The Series====
In the episode "There's Something About Hook Foot", while Rapunzel and her friends are stranded on Terapi Island, Hook Foot falls in love with a mermaid named Seraphina.
====DuckTales reboot====
In the episode "The Lost Harp of Mervana!", merpeople are portrayed as half duck and half fish creatures who live in the society of Mervana, known as Mervanans. Their leader in this episode is Honestus, who ruled over the residents of Mervana, but due to his ignorance and refusal, he is transformed into a monstrous fish (the same one the Duck family encountered). Taking the Magic Harp back to them, the merpeople fight off a cursed Honestus to which after a fierce battle, the king of the merpeople is transformed back into his normal self as the merpeople of Mervana and the Harp rebuild their kingdom.
===Mickey Mouse Funhouse===
In the episode "Goldfish Goofy!", Mickey and his friends are transformed into merpeople.
===Peter Pan with Jake and the Never Land Pirates===
===Live-action appearances===
====Splash====
In 1984, Disney released a live-action romantic comedy under the Touchstone label which was centered around a mermaid, played by Daryl Hannah. Taking the name Madison (and thus inspiring a great many real-world girls to do the same), she leaves the sea to seek out her beloved (played by Tom Hanks), whom she rescued from drowning. However, marine biologist Dr. Walter Kornbluth is convinced that mermaids are real, and will stop at nothing to protect his credibility by exposing her to the world.
====The Thirteenth Year====
In The Thirteenth Year, two merpeople are shown: the protagonist, Cody, and his biological mother. The ones in this film are somewhat similar in appearance to one from other media. However, there are several distinctions. They are able to pass for humans until they turn 13 when the fish physiology surfaces. The transformation is shown to be triggered by exposure to water. In addition to the fish-like tail, they also have scales on their palms and small fins that run along their forearms. They also seem to possess other abilities, such as the one to generate electricity, to the point that they can fire it similarly to a defibrillator, and the one to stick to surfaces.
====The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe====
In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, mermaids are depicted with brown-black hair, tan skin, and silvery fishtails with pink fins. They are seen near the end of the film swimming, leaping, diving, and laughing in merriment near the shores of Cair Paravel just before looping to the scene where the Pevensies are crowned as the rulers of Narnia as presented by Aslan.
====Once Upon a Time====
Mermaids are a humanoid species featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time, notable for having the ability to swim across realms. They are native to the Enchanted Forest and Neverland and first appear in the first episode of the third season. They are described as the most dangerous creatures in all the seas and are considered more of a threat than sharks, whales, or even a Kraken. Their powerful tails can break through wood and in large swarms they can sink ships. Mermaids can also use shells as trumpets to summon and manipulate terrible storms and waves. Some mermaids have voices which are lovely enough to enchant people and lure them onto rocks. Only four mermaids have been shown on the show, one being Ariel, Ursula before becoming the Sea Witch, another unnamed one, and an alternative version of Ariel from the Wish Realm. Snow White also briefly turned into a mermaid.
===Other Appearances===
====Sindbad's Storybook Voyage====
Mermaids also appear in the Tokyo DisneySea attraction where they inhabit the Mermaid Rocks area.
In the pre-2007 revamp where it was known as "Sindbad's Seven Voyages", the mermaids were originally depicted as sinister sirens playing an enchanting but haunting song in which Sindbad did not appear in this version just before arriving at the Rukh Island area.
In the post-2007 revamp, the animatronic mermaids were redesigned to match the tone of the attraction's retool. In the current iteration, Sindbad's ship suddenly crashes during a storm just as the mermaids are heard harmonizing while Sindbad himself sings with the mermaids. After singing, Sindbad thanks the mermaids for helping him get a new ship just as he and Chandu sail to Rukh Island.
==Trivia==
*In the Kingdom Hearts franchise, King Triton initially deduced that Sora was from another kingdom in the ocean due to his tail, implying that their tails act in a similar manner to human fingerprints (being unique), within the franchise.
*Shortly after King Triton defeated the Sorceress in the episode "Red", he mentioned to the Sorceress "See you next century," implying that their lifespans are over one century (100 years), at the very least. This has some basis in various real-life myths on Merpeople, with the original Hans Christian Andersen tale indicating that merpeople were capable of living for three centuries.
*In real life, the classification of merpeople is debatable due to possessing fish-like traits (namely fish-tails). However, the presence of mammary glands implies that they are mammals. In addition, their tails are patterned in a horizontal manner, more akin to marine mammals than true fish, whose fishtails are patterned vertically.
*A common claim was that merpeople were actually manatees or dugongs that were surfacing and had seaweed on top, causing them to be mistaken for them. The first part of the Disney Comics story "Serpent-Teen" alludes to this claim by having a manatee named Eddie pose as Ariel, implying that they have frequently used manatees as decoys to ensure they weren't discovered.
*The TV series adaptation of the film Aladdin features a siren water elemental named Saleen, which is similar to a mermaid. However, her fish features resemble that of a lionfish, and she possesses the power to manipulate water.
*Miss Piggy appears as a mermaid while she, Kermit and Robin performed "Octopus' Garden" in the episode of The Muppet Show James Coco hosted.
==Gallery==
Tumblr nq3warcmYP1r3jmn6o1 1280.png|Goofy with Mermaids in How to Swim
Peter-pan-disneyscreencaps.com-4242.jpg|Mermaids in Mermaid Lagoon (Peter Pan)
Littlemermaid 026.jpg|Merpeople in The Little Mermaid
Ariels041.jpg|Merpeople in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
Little-mermaid-1080p-disneyscreencaps.com-555.jpg|King Triton's Daughters
Ariel-1.png|Ariel
Urchin Render.png|Urchin
Wishuponastarfish79.jpg|Gabriella with Ollie
Untitled 275.jpg|Pearl
Little-mermaid2-disneyscreencaps.com-3720.jpg|Melody as a mermaid
Triton.png|King Triton
Little-mermaid3-disneyscreencaps.com-390.jpg|Queen Athena
Marinapic.png|Marina Del Rey
Saleen (Aladdin).jpg|Saleen
S1e15 mermando.png|Mermando
S1e15 swimming with mighty dolphins.png|Mermando among dolphins
Sora (Merman Form) (Art).png|Sora as a dolphin Merman
Penn Merman.png|Penn Zero as the Prince of Oceanaquariopolis
Marina-Profile.jpg|Marina
Stormyjatnlp.png|Stormy
QueenCoralie.jpg|Queen Coralie
Finn the Mer-Boy.jpg|Finn the Mer-Boy
A113356.PNG|A mermaid resembling Lyla Lolliberry
Silver 2.jpg|Silver
Decerto7.png|Dolores Derceto
Aquarianne.png|Aquarianne (Adventures of the Gummi Bears)
Sofia's Mermaid Form 1.png|Sofia as a Mermaid
Emmaline.png|Queen Emmaline
Mermaid Oona.png|Oona
Cora Pose.png|Cora
Nerissa.JPG|Nerissa
Haakon.png|Plank
Narnia1-disneyscreencaps.com-13794.jpg|Mermaids in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Star apologizes to her mermaid friend.png|A mermaid in Star vs. the Forces of Evil
S3E3 Ludo laughing with mermaids and half-fish.png|Ludo with merpeoples
Fishy Biz.png|Pickle and Peanut discover that Sadie is a mermaid
There's Something About Hook Foot 1.png|Seraphina in Tangled: The Series
Song of the Sirenas 2.png|Princess Marisa, King Pescoro, Queen Camila, and Prince Marzel (Sirenas)
Madison.jpg|Madison
Alex TLM II.jpg|Alex
Stevie-1.png|Stevie
DuckTales - Season 3 Sneak Peek! (4).png|Mermaids in DuckTales (2017 series)
Aletheia.PNG|Aletheia
Vero.png|Vero
Goldfish goofy.jpg|Mickey and Minnie as Merpeoples
Ariel still (6).jpg|Ariel from Ariel (TV Series)
Ariel - King Triton.jpg|King Triton from Ariel (TV Series)
Ariel - Alanna & Ayanna.jpg|Alanna and Ayanna from Ariel (TV Series)
==See also==
*Mervikings
==External links==
*
*Mermaid at Non-Alien Creatures Wiki
*
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