Ursula

* Main Form
* Human Alter-ego Form

## Character Information

### Likes:

Her eels, power, shrimp, manipulating merpeople, causing despair for others, revenge, cosmetics, dark magic

### Dislikes:

King Triton, being second-best, starvation, failed spells, people forgetting her birthday, her eels' death

### Hobbies:

* Destroying merpeople's happiness for her own gain
* Practicing witchcraft
* Making deals via contracts
* Manipulating merpeople
* Causing despair for others

### Goals:

* Take over Atlantica and rule the Seven Seas by overthrowing King Triton (temporarily succeeded)
* Kill Ariel, Flounder, King Triton, Sebastian, Scuttle and Eric, so they will not interfere with her plans (failed)
* Make sure that Ariel and Eric's happy ending is ruined (failed)
* Avenge her eels' death (failed)

### Powers or Skills:

Thalassokinesis
Her Necklace
Atmokinesis
Magic potions
Transfiguration
Superhuman strength
Manipulation
High intelligence
Size alteration
Shapeshifting
Ability to turn merfolk into condemned polyps

## Actor Information

### Portrayer:

Melissa McCarthy
Jessica Alexander (as "Vanessa")

**Ursula** is a manipulative, vindictive sea witch who strikes deals with unfortunate merfolk with the promise of making their dreams come true.

Ursula's contracts, however, are covertly designed to advance her own ambitions and cause general misery. Scorned, she has since vowed to exact vengeance by harnessing the power of the king's trident and installing herself as ruler of all the ocean.

While Vanessa is clearly a physical being who can be seen and interact with the physical world, when we see her true form during the "Vanessa's Trick" song, it reveals Ursula is still underwater. You can even see fish swimming above her head as her hair sways in the water. So, is Vanessa just a glamour? A physical construction being puppeted by Ursula from her lair? Or did Ursula magic Vanessa's room in the palace to actually be an underwater abode that only she can see and interact with? While we see Ursula transform her body into Vanessa's in the original film, this is never shown on-screen in the 2023 version.

* We see Vanessa turn back into Ursula, though. The underwater background for Ursula in the mirror is just artistic license.
* One possible explanation is that Vanessa was a kind of "avatar" that Ursula controlled from her grotto but was able to manifest through, Ursula transporting herself to land through the body when she had the chance to capture Ariel once the deal expired.

## **Physical Appearance**

Ursula is a morbidly obese octopod, classified as a cecaelia (half human, half octopus). She has light lavender skin, short white hair, and her body, from the waist down, is black with six tentacles dotted by violet suckers. The area around her eyes is a darker shade than the rest of her face. Her eyes are gray and she has a mole near the right side of her mouth. She is always seen wearing makeup; in particular, she has aqua blue eye shadow, deep red lipstick, and red nails. For jewelry, she wears purple coral shell earrings and a gold nautilus shell necklace.

Ursula's alter-ego, **Vanessa**, looks like what could be considered a "mean girl" version of a Disney Princess. In many respects, she resembles Ariel with her striking beauty, slim figure, and long hair. It is believed that this was deliberate, to match Eric's hazy recollection of the woman on the beach. However, it's not difficult to tell them apart. Vanessa has wavy, dark brown hair (black when wet) that is parted down the middle, higher cheekbones, and violet eyes which are accented by highly arched eyebrows. The latter feature gives Vanessa a more mischievous expression, especially when she's pleased with herself.

## **Personality and Traits**

Ursula has the ability to manipulate minds. She first pulls it on Ariel to hamper her quest, making her forget about having to kiss Eric and keep her legs. Ariel is confused when Sebastian reminds her about the kiss clause. This later comes in handy when Ursula breaks out the mind-control music on Eric, convincing him that Vanessa saved him and thus he should marry her. However, it's not foolproof, as Ariel and Eric are both noticeably confused and out of it -- in the latter's case, enough for Grimsby to intervene and hide the ring, helping the scuffle between Ariel and Vanessa escalate.

As **Vanessa**, she's sultry and seductive; a femme-fatale with siren eyes to catch both a killer and a lover. She infuses the diabolical embodiment with so much evil and decadence. Setting the scene for a new, more maniacal Vanessa who *wants* your attention. Her slayful streak continues as she lounges in her room in the palace -- wearing black lingerie -- dropping a roaring "So long, *Red*!" before breaking into "Vanessa's Trick".

However, the real standout Vanessa moment was her complete meltdown during her wedding to Eric. Watching Vanessa crumble to the floor while cackling, screaming, and crying, then flashing a crazed smile as Ursula's violent vibrato rings through the crowd? Vanessa is that she relies entirely upon physical acting to bring out the character. Only during the cocktail party on the balcony, do we actually hear Vanessa's *own* voice, unconvincingly declaring that she doesn't consider herself "a hero" for rescuing Eric. Mostly, her mouth is filled with either Ariel's singing or Ursula's monologuing, yet Vanessa still feels like she has a life of her own.