Disney Facts!

Facts 1651-1680: The Little Mermaid Themed Page

This fact page consists of all three Little Mermiad movies and the attraction at the parks

This fact page was requested by @The_Singing_Kitten, and @band_and_80.

Enjoy!

Fact #1652 

The voice of King Triton was supposed to be Patrick Stewart, but he dropped out of the film due to "Star Trek: The Next Generation" conflicts.

Fact #1653 

While Disney had the rights to the Little Mermaid story since the 1930s, the film still almost didn't get made because the studio was working on a "Splash" sequel.

Fact #1654 

Unlike Ben Stiller's merman in "Zoolander," Disney's dude with fins was cut from the final film. Harold the Merman was a bumbling likable character that didn't make the final cut in "The Little Mermaid." But judging by the way his creators remember him, he is held dear in their hearts to this day.

Fact #1655 

Eric might be related to Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, because there is a painting in his dining room that looks exactly like them.

Fact #1656 

There's a small Mickey Mouse drawing on the scroll Ursula gets Ariel to sign.

Fact #1657 

Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, sang “Part of Your World” in the dark to get the underwater grotto feel.

Fact #1658 

When Scuttle breaks Ursula’s necklace near Ariel’s feet and releases Ariel’s voice, Ariel is barefoot, but the next time Ariel is shown, full body, she is wearing shoes.

Fact #1659 

The dress Carlotta wears is a version of the same one worn by Cinderella, plus a head scarf.

Fact #1660 

Ursula’s spell on Ariel contains Latin references to “throat,” “voice,” and “fish.”

Fact #1661 

The voice of Pince Eric, Christopher Barnes provided the voice for Prince Charming in Cinderella 2 & 3.

Fact #1662 

According to the DVD commentary, the shark that chases Ariel and Flounder at the beginning is named Glut, and he was planned to return for a rematch with Flounder later on.

Fact #1663 

A number of backgrounds used during the “Kiss the Girl” number were recycled from Disney’s earlier film The Rescuers.

Fact #1664 

Specifically, The Little Mermaid was going to be part of Disney's proposed biopic about storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. The film was envisioned as a combination of live action scenes about Andersen's life and animated segments for the fairy tales. The film never happened and Disney didn't return to the idea of an animated 'Little Mermaid' for many decades.

Fact #1665 

Eric's elderly manservant Grimsby was voiced by actor Ben Wright, who was known for his roles in many radio, television, and film productions, including 'The Sound of Music' where he played the lead Nazi Herr Zeller. But Wright was also a Disney voice actor, having played Mowgli's wolf father in 'The Jungle Book' and Pongo's owner Roger Radcliff in 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians.' Sadly, Wright passed away shortly after completing work on 'Mermaid.'

Fact #1666 

Tara Strong, famous voice actress provided the voice of Ariel's daughter Melody.

Fact #1667 

The Little Mermaid II received mixed to negative reviews from film critics. The film holds a 33% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fact #1668 

There is a Disney Theory floating around Tumblur that somehow Tangled, Frozen, and The Little Mermaid are somehow connected with each other.

Fact #1669 

Jodi recorded her dialogue in 14 days in a spawn over two-and-a-half years.

Fact #1670 

When King Triton destroys the stone statue of Prince Eric, you can clearly see that the statue's face explodes and breaks into pieces as well as the rest of the body. However, at the point a few minutes later when Ariel decides to meet the seawitch Ursula, she caresses the statue's face as a whole again.

Fact #1671 

In the beginning when Ariel is watching the sailors dance on the ship the dog comes over and licks her face, but she wipes off the wrong cheek.

Fact #1672 

When Grimsby is presenting the statue of Eric to the prince, one of the crew's shirts changes colour from white/black stripes to blue/black stripes.

Fact #1673 

When Eric first washes up on the beach and Ariel is singing to him/stroking his face, she has no fingernails. In the next scene she does.

Fact #1674 

During the "Kiss the Girl" song a bunch of fish swim up underneath the boat, and the water is seen to be very deep. After the boat is knocked over however, Ariel and Eric are standing in the water which now appears to be only a few feet deep.

Fact #1675 

When Sebastian is hiding from the chef under a lettuce leaf in the kitchen, at first he is behind a bunch of stuff on the table. In the next shot, all the stuff is gone, and he's alone on the table.

Fact #1676 

When Flounder swims through an anchor at the start the anchor has round edges, but when the shark bursts in the anchor has flat edges.

Fact #1677 

When the crown falls off Triton's head it has eight prongs, instead of the usual five.

Fact #1678 

Nearly 200 Audio-Animatronics figures perform in the attraction. The Under the Sea scene alone has 128 figures, including 50 spinning starfish. 

Fact #1679 

The attraction building was inspired by the Dragon Gorge scenic railway at the long-gone Ocean Park amusement zone in Southern California. 

Fact #1680 

In Disneyland, the attraction concludes with a surprise ending that takes us beyond the ending of the film.

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I hope you all enjoyed these facts as much as I did!