Scuttle

## Relevant Pages

**Scuttle** is a seagull and a supporting character in Disney's 1989 animated film, The Little Mermaid.

## Background

Scuttle is a seagull and friend of Ariel. He appears in the film as an expert on human objects with whom Ariel consults about items she salvages, though his identifications consist of nonsense. He wrongly names a fork a *"dinglehopper"* and says that it is used as a comb and a smoking pipe a *"snarfblatt"* while claiming it works like a trumpet. Scuttle is the only one of Ariel's friends capable of flight and as such is very useful in getting help.

### Personality

Scuttle is possibly the most eccentric of Ariel's circle of friends. Like Ariel, he has a love for human objects and collects a number of them. According to himself and Ariel, he is an expert on humans though he knows very little. In spite of this, Scuttle has shown to have some knowledge of humans that most of the sea characters don't. Upon their first meeting, Ariel wasn't too fond of Scuttle, but after he saved Sebastian from a band of pirates, she became very close with the seagull.

## Appearances

### *The Little Mermaid*

Scuttle is first seen on his island humming after Ariel and Flounder escaped from Glut and visit to show their new human things. Scuttle describes Ariel's discovered fork to be a "dinglehopper" used by humans to straighten their hair out. He then explains that a smoke pipe is a "snarfblatt" used by humans to make music. This reminds Ariel that she must participate in a concert, she then swims off. Later on, Scuttle finds Ariel watching humans on a ship. He joins her but is blown away by the wind caused by the hurricane yelling. While Scuttle was gone, Ariel rescues a human prince named Eric who rescued his dog Max who is still trapped aboard the burning ship and takes him to shore. She asks Scuttle if Eric survived (with Scuttle pulling Eric's eyelids to check his vision) but Scuttle believes him dead because he couldn't hear his heartbeat (Scuttle was actually trying to listen through his foot). As Eric awakens, Scuttle and Ariel flee the scene.

Later on, when Ariel becomes human, she goes to shore and introduces Scuttle to her human form, though he does not notice that she has changed until Sebastian points it out to him. He also learns that Ariel must get Eric to fall in love and kiss her in three days to stay human. He offers to help in the best he can. During Sebastian's *Kiss the Girl* scene, Scuttle attempts to help the chorus but isn't much help. Leading to the climax, Scuttle helps battle Ursula in disguise as Vanessa who is trying to brainwash Eric so that he may marry her instead of Ariel with animals. In the end, Scuttle bids farewell to the newlyweds, Ariel and Eric.

### *The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea*

Scuttle appears in a small role in *The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea*. He is first seen attending the baby shower of Ariel's newborn daughter Melody. Years later, he is seen as one of Melody's "babysitters", alongside Sebastian, and regularly joins the two as the princess takes time out of her day to explore the depths of the sea. Even so, because Morgana (an evil witch bent on overthrowing King Triton and unleashing wrath upon Ariel and her family), Melody is forbidden from leaving the perimeter of Prince Eric's kingdom.

Later on, when Melody goes missing, Scuttle joins in the search, eventually running into Ariel and Flounder near the fortress of the evil Morgana. Scuttle is told to rally Eric and his friends to battle the sea witch and does so immediately. At the battle, Scuttle takes on Morgana, personally, but is quickly defeated. After the sea witch's defeat, however, Scuttle returns and joins in the celebration of peace and harmony between land and sea.