Ariel's dad in Disney's 2023 live-action The Little Mermaid is King Triton, the powerful ruler of Atlantica, portrayed by actor Javier Bardem. He's a strict, overprotective father who initially bans music and disdains humans after losing his wife to them, but ultimately learns to accept Ariel's desire for a different life.
A famous god known to all mermaid lovers from the book “The Little Mermaid” was the father of Ariel, King Triton. Triton was an ancient Greek god of the sea and he was the son of gods Poseidon and Amphitrite.
Javier Bardem: King Triton.
King Triton is the widowed father of Ariel and her six older sisters, the father-in-law of Eric and King of Atlantica.
Ursula was originally conceived as Triton's sister, which would have naturally made the character Ariel's aunt, but the idea was ultimately abandoned. However, their blood relationship is still vaguely alluded to when the character mentions a time during which she actually lived in Triton's palace.
To summarize, the live-action The Little Mermaid was able to maintain the queer allegory of the original story, honoring Andersen. McCarthy's portrayal of Ursula was incredible and took the character to the next level, honoring both Divine and Ashman's vision for the character.
Triton and Ursala were half siblings. They had the same father, but different mothers. (Morgona never says anything about her father, so she might have a different one than Ursala).
Trivia. In the 2023 live-action remake, each daughter (added with different ethnicities and cultures) rules one of the seven seas (with fictional names), and their fins are based on real-life fish. This also implies that they are actually half-sisters.
After Ursula's death, Eric's heroic actions also caused Triton to realize how wrong he was about humans and upon seeing how much Ariel loves Eric, he turns her back into a human where Eric reunites with and marries Ariel.
Disney cast a Black actress, Halle Bailey, as Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid primarily because she had the perfect voice, spirit, and talent for the role, with the decision also aligning with Disney's broader strategy to increase diversity, offer representation to Black audiences, and reimagine classic characters, building on the original fairy tale's flexibility regarding appearance and the film's Caribbean setting.
Triton was the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite according to Hesiod's Theogony. He was the ruler (possessor) of the depths of the sea, who is either "dreadful" or "mighty" (δεινός) according to the epithet given him by Hesiod. Triton dwelt with his parents in underwater golden palaces.
Director Rob Marshall said that Bailey "possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance—plus a glorious singing voice—all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role". In an interview with Deadline, Marshall expressed that he was brought to tears by Bailey's singing.
Rick Riordan said if two demigods have a child, the child would be mortal. This makes no sense when you consider the fact that if two 1/2 black 1/2 white people have a child, the child would most likely also be 1/2 black 1/2 white.
Apollo, the god of sun and music, is considered the patron of same sex love, as he had many male lovers and was often invoked to bless homosexual unions. He is also called "the champion of male love" by Andrew Callimach.
In the end, Tinker Bell didn't lose her status — she evolved beyond it. Rather than being one princess among many, she became a standalone icon, proving that you don't need a crown to be one of Disney's most magical and enduring characters.
In the movie The Little Mermaid (Clements & Musker, 1989), Ariel displays symptoms of disposophobia, which is defined as the fear of getting rid of things.
Out of the official Disney Princess line- up, there are a few who aren't actual princesses by either birth or marriage Mulan, Moana, Raya and technically Pocahontas (like Moana, she's the daughter of a chief, no one would really call her a 'princess' in her own culture I don't think?)
And outside of varied hair colors, they all look the same. Of course, the animated mermaids are the daughters of King Triton and Queen Athena, but that may change in the live-action version with the implication that Ariel's sisters have different mothers.
Ariel searches the sea for Melody, regretting not sharing her heritage with her, while Melody explores her newfound abilities as a mermaid, and has a strong feeling that she was meant to be part of the sea. Later, Morgana tells Melody she can only make the spell permanent if she retrieves Triton's trident.
Ursula's octopus form in The Little Mermaid is significant for several reasons. Firstly, it underscores her role as a powerful and imposing antagonist. The octopus form, with its multiple arms, is a symbol of strength and dominance. Secondly, it represents the old rivalry between the merpeople and the octopans.
Prince Eric
During Ursula's wedding with Eric, she believed she had won where she waited for the sun to set so her bargain with Ariel would end and she could go on to the next phase of her plan in taking over Atlantica.
Divine was a famous drag queen during this time period, and his campy, diva traits, far from incidental, were inherent to his drag identity. This means that the film explicitly codes Ursula as not just a celebrity who happened to do drag, but as a recognizable drag queen. Ursula's appearance supports this.