While this intention was similar in the live-action adaptation, little tweaks were made to make the film a bit more interesting. In the live-action adaptation, it was revealed that Ursula is Ariel's aunt and the younger sister of
In the animated film, Ursula was a villain who enjoyed messing with people and getting what she wanted. In The Little Mermaid live-action, however, Ursula's backstory gets an adjustment — she is upgraded to Triton's sister and Ariel's aunt, making her revenge and motivations all the more sinister.
Ursula is King Triton's sister. Ursula and Tritons parents are Poseidon and Amphitrite. When Poseidon died Ursula got Amphitrite's shell and half of the sea and Triton got the trident and half the sea.
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Ursula appears in the 2023 live-action remake of the film, where she is portrayed by Melissa McCarthy. In the film, she is Ariel's aunt and Triton's younger sister.
Ursula Is King Triton's Sister & Ariel's Aunt
Basically, all the original film shares about her history with the kingdom of Atlantica is that she once lived in the palace before being banished by the King of the Seven Seas.
Ursula the Sea Witch was one of the main antagonists of the second half of the fourth series of Once Upon a Time. She was portrayed by Merrin Dungey as an adult and Tiffany Boone as young. Ursula is also the only daughter and child of King Poseidon, god of the seas.
Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days ("Poor, Unfortunate Souls"). Within these three days, Ariel must receive the 'kiss of true love' from Eric; otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid on the third day and belong to Ursula.
In this version, like with the Broadway musical, Ursula is the estranged younger sister of King Triton (played by Javier Bardem), thus making her the paternal aunt to Ariel and her sisters in this film.
Ursula's familial relationship with Triton was originally meant to be explored in the animated movie — but explicit references to this were later scrapped. However, Ursula being Triton's sister was a storyline that was kept in the 2008 Broadway musical.
The original character in the 1989 movie was inspired by the triple threat drag queen, actor, and singer Divine, a fact that was mere speculation at first, but has since been confirmed by those involved with the film. Divine catapulted to cult fame after appearing in Pink Flamingos, John Waters' filthy 1972 comedy.
Triton and Ursula were meant to rule over the oceans together, but Ursula's greed began to grow, and she tried to use dark magic to usurp Triton. In the stage version, that was the planned reason for Triton banishing her.
Since Ariel in The Little Mermaid is Triton's daughter, and according to Greek mythology, Triton is the son of Poseidon, this makes Ariel the granddaughter of Poseidon.
So no, no relation. In early drafts of the script, Ursula was Triton's sister. This is also the case in the movie novelization and in the stage musical. But the movie itself never mentions any relation between them, although Ursula does say that she lived at the palace before Triton banished her.
Ursula's original design was inspired by many different sea creatures, including scorpion fish and manta rays, before director Ron Clements decided to base the character on an octopus. However, to make the animation process cheaper and faster, her tentacles were reduced from eight to six.
Ursula from the Little Mermaid, is King Triton's sister and Ariel's aunt.
According to animator Rob Minkoff, Ursula was originally described in the script as a Joan Collins–like figure, resulting in character designs that depicted a thin, bony woman with lionfish- or manta ray–inspired features.
“Many people call her an octopus and I'm so knowledgeable I have to correct them,” Carroll explained in the documentary “Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid. '” “She's not an octopus, she's a squid. … She has six tentacles instead of eight.”
Triton's seven daughters represent the seven seas, so it makes sense that the women who mothered them would be as different as the oceans.
Ursula wants Ariel to belong to her so she will gain leverage over Triton. She sees Eric as Ariel's weakness and Ariel as Triton's weakness, and if she can maneuver the game, she can get her revenge on Triton from banishing her from the sea palace.
In reality, the character was based on a white drag queen, Divine. "I'm confused... what makes Ursula black? She was based of Divine, who is white She was voiced by a white woman When she takes human form she's white," yet another well-versed Little Mermaid fan noted.
After Ariel signed the contract, Ursula took Ariel's voice (the price for Ursula's spell) and turned the princess into a human girl. After a battle, Sora knocked the Trident out of Ursula's hand and it landed on the boat which Prince Eric was on.
The Inspiration Behind Ursula's Updated Look. McCarthy has confirmed her performance as Ursula was an homage to drag queens and it's been confirmed by animator Rob Minkoff that the 1989 film's animated character was based on drag queen Divine at the direction of lyricist and creative Howard Ashman.
Morgana is a villainess who appears in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. She is the younger sister of Ursula and the older sister of Ulyana, but Ursula is worse than Morgana. She was loved less than her older sister Ursula, because Ursula had more powers than Morgana did.