Ariel

"Poor Child"; "Poor Unfortunate Soul" (by Ursula); "Red" (by Ursula's human-alter ego)

## Family / Romance Information

### Siblings:

Mala, Karina, Indira, Caspia, Perla, and Tameka

## Character Information

### Likes:

Humans, human objects, adventure, exploration, freedom, music, singing, dancing, chasing her dreams, Eric, her friends

### Dislikes:

Misanthropy, restriction, rules, chores, pirates, shark attacks, prejudice, Sebastian's nagging, her friends and family in danger, her grotto getting destroyed, her father's stubbornness

### Hobbies:

Collecting human objects, singing, dancing, listening to music

### Goals:

* Become human and marry Eric
* Save her home
* Defeat Ursula

### Powers or Skills:

* Superhuman speed
* Superhuman agility
* Underwater breathing
* Singing skills
* Intelligence
* Sea zoolingualism

## Actor Information

### Portrayer:

Halle Bailey

**Ariel** is a brave, optimistic mermaid who longs to see more of the human world.

The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, she longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea and, while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land but ultimately places her life -- and her father’s crown -- in jeopardy.

## **Physical Appearance**

Ariel has brown skin with glossy, natural red hair in dreadlocks, along with big brown eyes. She also sports a mermaid tail, having a teal color and having additional thin fins. Physically, she is less lean and is slightly more muscular than the original Ariel.

Her beauty is often displayed, due to the dynamic of her species, showing off her pretty face and petite midriff.

## **Personality and Traits**

Ariel is a bright, spirited, and headstrong mermaid with a strong passion for adventure and exploration. Her tendency to explore the more mysterious depths of the ocean (or more importantly, the world beyond the ocean) can lead to an array of problems to both herself and her friends, and in the confines of her personal life -- as seen when she gets into an argument with her overprotective father, King Triton. Despite this, Ariel's selflessness, compassion, and intuitive way of thinking often resolve such problems, as she always takes full responsibility for her actions.
At the start of the original film, Ariel is shown to have a burning obsession with the human world and a desire to learn more about their culture. Unlike her father at first, she views humans as aspiring creatures, astonished by their ability to constantly create, and heavily goes against the idea of them being "barbaric" and selfish as a result of this. This passion is revealed to have been prominent throughout Ariel's life years before the events of the film, as seen in the television series. By the point of the film, as seen through her lament, *"Part of Your World"*, Ariel's obsession with the human world has reached unimaginable heights, as she spends most of her time focusing on finding, observing and collecting various human objects that have sunk into the sea. Her obsession has also taken a toll on her emotionally, as the song begins with a sense of wonder and enchantment, but ultimately climaxes with a soft end, filled with hopelessness and despair, representing Ariel's dying hopes of ever experiencing life upon the surface. These feelings of desperation and despair are the prime motive behind Ariel's eventual deal with the sea witch, Ursula, to become human and experience the world above the surface. Despite not having the best relationship with her father, especially in regard to their respective views on humanity, she nonetheless was very loyal to him as well as her sisters, as after Ursula explained the deal to her, Ariel expressed some hesitance as she realized that if she succeeded in the deal (never mind if she failed her end of the bargain), she wouldn't be able to see Triton or her sisters again, and later when Ursula cursed Triton, Ariel's first action was to attack Ursula to avenge him, even calling the sea witch a monster for what she did.

Ariel is extremely compassionate and loving towards almost all living things; more so platonically than romantically. This is most notably seen through her friendship with her closest companion, Flounder, and even her father's court composer, Sebastian, who, despite being against Ariel's recklessness and overly adventurous nature, is given a considerably large amount of love and respect from the princess, which is often reciprocated. With Flounder, she is comforting and patient, as well as protective, with the tendency to risk her own life for the guppy on various occasions. Her ability to befriend all various creatures, including an abandoned killer whale, an irrationally feared sea creature. and even the son of one of her nemeses is displayed throughout the franchise. Before she met Eric, she was rarely interested in romantic relationships, not even with any of the merman princes that Triton tried to get her to marry. However, after meeting Eric, Ariel is revealed to be a romantic, willing to make daring sacrifices for the sake of true love. Her love for him is validated by Eric's returned selflessness and sacrificial actions for the sake of love; notably seen during the climax of the film.

Like Ariel's father, Triton, she has a bad temper if she is ever provoked, although her temper is not as short as his. Although spirited, even she has had some degree of self-doubts about herself, as she actually at one point considered her father might have been correct and that she may have been a freak for having any fascination for humanity. She also had a degree of seeing the good in things, as she also doubted that humans could have been pure evil from their tools and artworks.

Also, despite her usual naïvety and impulsiveness, Ariel has shown to be serious, careful, and very intuitive on many occasions. One example of her occasionally showing intuitiveness was just before exploring the sunken ship, where she suggested that Flounder stay outside and be on the lookout for sharks in the area when the latter tried to fake illness.