| “ | Nice work, boys. That was a close one. Too close! The little tramp. Ah, she's better than I thought. At this rate, he'll be kissing her by sunset for sure! Well, it's time Ursula took matters into her own tentacles! Triton's daughter will be mine, and then I'll make him writhe. I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a HOOK! | „ |
| ~ Ursula before transforming into a human. |
| “ | So much for true love! | „ |
| ~ Ursula's last words before her death - her most famous line. |
Ursula the Sea Witch (simply known as Ursula) is the main antagonist of Disney's 28th full-length animated feature film, The Little Mermaid, and one of the secondary antagonists in Mickey's House of Villains.
She is loosely based upon the sea witch in the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale of the same name.
She was voiced by Pat Carroll in all of her appearances, who also voiced Ursula's sister, Morgana.
Description
Ursula has the upper body of an obese lavender female human, while her lower half is that of a black and purple octopus. This both connects and separates her from the average seafolk.
Personality
By nature, Ursula is very dark and mysterious in tone, with a wicked sense of humor. After her banishment from Atlantica, the sea witch established herself as a physical beacon of hope towards unfortunate merpeople, allowing them to strike deals and business propositions that would supposedly result in their happiness, should they successfully fulfil their end of the bargain. During such deals, she speaks in a grandmotherly tone, as if her only concern is the pleasant satisfaction of her customers.
This makes her schemes easier to fall for, though should she feel a deal is going nowhere, she resorts to pressuring her victims into accepting her offer, additionally portraying herself as their last attempt at making their dreams come true. However, if Ariel's deal is to be believed, Ursula sadistically ensures her customers fail at upholding their end of the deal, resulting in their souls being forever in her possessions and their bodies becoming permanent members of her living garden, as polyps. The motivation of such practices are never revealed for any individual other than Ariel, whom Ursula uses to obtain power over the seas, implying the sea witch simply enjoys causing havoc to the innocent, having no sense of true morality or remorse for those she torments. Apart from this, Ursula may also be acquisitive and cannibalistic, as she is seen eating some sort of tiny sea creature alive.
She is also very nasty, vengeful, and acrimonious, holding a vendetta against King Triton for a prolonged period of time, spending her days spying on his relatives to eventually take advantage of them and concoct a scheme capable of ending in her favor—as the oppressive ruler of the seas. This also ties into Ursula's duplicitous, power-hungry, and manipulative nature, which drives her motivation throughout the film, and is greatly expressed once she finally crowns herself queen during the climax.
Despite her irredeemably negative and antipathetic traits, Ursula has a softer side to her personality, seen with her relationship between herself and her minions, Flotsam and Jetsam. Ursula lovingly refers to the duo as her "babies" and has been shown to treat them with affection, despite barking orders at the two from time to time when enraged. She is also extremely protective and sympathetic of them, even expressing her remorse over killing them with the trident by accident before driving herself into a murderous state towards Ariel for causing it in the first place.
Despite being flamboyant and enthusiastic, she is also very classy, vivacious, and ostentatious, as she presents herself with confidence and an eye for high standards, as evidenced by her belief that lurking in doorways is rude. In addition, she regularly flaunts her curvaceous appearance in a sultry manner, and spends time in her vanity, admiring her own physical appearance. She has the power to alter her appearance, but simply chooses not to, showing contentment with who she is as a person, but distaste with her social status and lack of complete power over the ocean.
Powers and Abilities
Ursula's magical abilities (even without the Trident) were very potent and formidable. She was able to concoct various potions to create various spells, including mass-transfer (implied during the song "Poor Unfortunate Souls") as well as physically altering people's bodies, as evidenced by her transforming Ariel into a human, as well as her own transformation into Vanessa and Ursula (although in the case of Vanessa, she needed Ariel's voice to disguise her own). However, she was incapable of altering her reflection, which is eventually how her enemies got the drop on her. When it comes to physical powers, Ursula possesses superhuman strength, though not as strong as Triton, yet strong enough to throw a mermaid to a rock, as what she did to Ariel in the alternate ending of the movie.
She was also capable of creating poisonous ink clouds which could absorb the energy of the Trident and enhance Ursula's power. However, her most dangerous ability was her ability to turn people into polyps should they fail to fulfill their end of the bargain via contracts, having done so multiple times under unspecified circumstances, nearly did so with Ariel, and successfully did so with Triton. It is also implied that she absorbs their souls while transforming them into polyps, making herself more powerful in the process. Likewise, once the contract is made, it is indestructible even to someone as powerful as Triton.
Presumably, this arcane power is one-way, as she does not end up becoming a polyp for failing to fulfill her end of the contract. In fact, the only way to completely stop a contract short of fulfilling it is via her death, as evidenced by the aftermath of her death at the hands of Prince Eric.
History
Origins
She was once one of the most respected imperial figures in the sea, but by the time the Little Mermaid, Princess Ariel's story, takes place, she is an exiled subject of the King Triton's royal sea court. She was banned from the kingdom of Atlantica after it was rumored that she was trying to overthrow him. When Triton found this to be true, Ursula was forced to live on the abandoned outskirts of the ocean, away from the rest of the Seafolk and the Mer-Civilization. As a way to survive, she took up the skills of dark magic and to secretly spy on Triton and his people via her magic cauldron all in efforts to one day take over his kingdom and become the ruler of the ocean. Ursula made her home in the belly of a giant dead leviathan with her pet eels called polyps, which are forever imprisoned into the ground in her underwater "garden" (which is at the entrance of her chambers). The polyps are usually seen crying in agony, hoping others could avoid their fate and even wrapping themselves around the limbs or wrists of new visitors who are interested in making a deal with Ursula (as they did with Ariel, although Ariel managed to get free). Occasionally, they are fed dead fish by Ursula.
Over the years, Ursula has become one of the most popular and iconic of all of the Disney villains, and is one of the franchise's official members. The character has been compared to Madame Medusa from the 1977 animated Disney film, The Rescuers, in terms of style, dramatics, and choice of minions. Her character is also based upon "Divine", an American performer, actor, singer, and Drag Queen, who was associated with the legendary independent filmmaker, John Waters.
The Little Mermaid
Ursula is the cunning, loathsome, and treacherous Sea Witch who makes deals with Seafolk and Mer-People. If they succeed, they get their heart's desire. If they fail, she adds them to her "Garden", which is a collection of pitiful looking humanoid sea creatures who have grown into the floor. Via her song "Poor Unfortunate Souls", she offers Ariel the chance to be human for three days. If she can get the prince to give her "the kiss of true love" the condition would be permanent, but if not, she would be Ursula's property. Ariel thought that Ursula was there to help her, but all Ursula cared about was returning to Atlantica and revenge. Ariel accepts the deal, and Ursula, true to her word, turns her human right then and there, at the cost of her beautiful singing voice.
Vanessa, Ursula's human alter ego.
Later in the movie, Ariel is "too close" to accomplishing her goal, so Ursula decides to "take matters into her own tentacles". And by using her powers, she sabotaged Ariel and disguised herself as a beautiful dark-haired woman named "Vanessa", and uses her magic to put Prince Eric in a deep zombie like trance, misdirecting him into believing she saved him from the shipwreck forcing him to marry her. Ariel and her friends crash the wedding, and though they managed to stop it and release Ariel's voice from Ursula's enchanted necklace, Ariel is too late. Ursula reverts back to her natural form and kidnaps the mermaid. Her father King Triton, who had been warned earlier by Ariel's friend Sebastian, tries to stop Ursula, but Ursula hides behind the contract, demonstrating that it is "legal", "binding", and completely unbreakable, even for someone as superior and powerful as Triton.
The heartbroken king agrees to take his daughter's place, and Ursula finally accomplishes her goal of being the unquestioned ruler of the seas. However, she is angered when Ariel causes her to aim the trident at Flotsam and Jetsam and vaporize them by pulling on her hair. After mourning the loss of Flotsam and Jetsam, mourning them momentarily, she then becomes enraged and grows into a giant monster that reaches the surface and causes a big storm in the ocean, which brings lighting, rain, fierce waves and strong tides. She then traps Ariel in the bottom of a whirlpool she has made and shoots bolts of electricity at the mermaid in attempts to kill her. Luckily Ariel manages to dodge her aim twice.
Thankfully, just as she is about to at last electrocute Ariel to death, Ursula is impaled on the bow of a sunken ship piloted by Eric, which causes her to disintegrate into a gelatinous mass. All the merpeople she kept under her spell, including the king, were transformed into their rightful forms and released from Ursula's lair. Her spells were broken forever, and her wrath and dishonesty were put to an end for good.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
Ursula doesn't appear in the sequel, but is mentioned several times. Plus, she has a sister named Morgana (also voiced by Pat Carroll), who acts as the primary antagonist of the movie. It is revealed that Ursula was far more powerful than her sister, and as such was the family favorite. Morgana has been trying to come out of Ursula's shadow her entire life. It is also shown in the deleted song, "Gonna Get My Wish Tonight", that both Ursula and Morgana hated each other, as Morgana despises Ursula for being the favorite while Ursula considers Morgana to be an embarrassment.
Despite their strained relationship, Morgana vowed to avenge Ursula's death by claiming the trident for herself. When Morgana finally claims the trident and forced all sea creatures and merfolk (including Triton) to bow down to her as the ruler of the seas, she cries to the skies that she is now the favored daughter. However, Ariel's daughter Melody manages to steal the trident back and tosses it back to Triton, who promptly encases Morgana in ice. As she sinks to the bottom of the ocean, a picture of Ursula (at which Morgana regularly threw darts) sinks down with her.
TV Series
Ursula appeared in the TV series based on the movie as well. She appeared in 4 episodes as the primary antagonist ("Against the Tide", "Tail of Two Crabs", "Heroes" and "Ariel's Treasures"), still opposed to Ariel and her allies.
Reflections of Ursula
Arsulu (Ursula in disguise) as seen in Reflection of Ursula.
Although Vanessa herself doesn't appear in the short story, Disney's The Little Mermaid: Reflection of Ursula, she is subtly referenced with Ursula's disguise of Arsulu, a blond mermaid with a red tail and magenta shells which she adopted to infiltrate Atlantica. Just like Vanessa, mirror reflections reveal "Arsulu's" true identity as Ursula, which Ariel later exploited.
The Little Mermaid (Broadway musical)
Ursula in the musical.
In the musical, Ursula remains largely the same. Her evil nature is still present, she is still a cruel sadist who delights in the suffering of her "clients", and she is a very powerful witch. However, there are some key differences as well, the largest being that she is now thin and attractive. She is also Triton's sister, making her Ariel's aunt (an unused plotline for the movie). Her conch is no longer a necklace, but is rather kept on a stand. She still gives Ariel her human legs, still tries to sabotage her, and still seduces Eric to try and ruin her chances. However, the Vanessa subplot was removed, and instead of crashing the wedding, Ariel dances for Eric as her entry in his singing contest. Before he decides to be with her and drop is search for "the voice", Ursula crashes the contest and attacks everyone. She obtains Triton's trident and conquers the ocean, but is destroyed when Ariel smashes her conch shell, the source of her power.
Originally, in the stage show, she was portrayed by the veteran Broadway actress, Sheri Renee Scott.
Kingdom Hearts series
Kingdom Hearts
Ursula as seen in Kingdom Hearts II.
Ursula was one of the Disney villains that was recruited by Maleficent.
Ursula watches Sora defeat the Guard Armor in Traverse Town from her post in Hollow Bastion. She suggests that Maleficent should turn him into a Heartless, and it'll "settle things quick enough". After the defeat of the Opposite Armor, the Hellfire Club is beginning to dwindle. Ursula is still her ally, and appears alongside Oogie Boogie and Jafar, reminding Maleficent of the Princesses of Heart.
She returns to her homeworld of Atlantica where she uses Ariel and Sora to find the world's keyhole, as well as the trident. Once she obtains it, she battles the heroes in her cave, and when she is defeated there, she grows giant like in the movie. However, she is defeated again, and destroyed for good.
As in the movies and the TV series, she was voiced by Pat Carroll.
Kingdom Hearts II
Ursula appears again in Kingdom Hearts II, revived by unknown means. Her role in the game is largely similar to her role in the movie, however, due to the fact that Atlantica is a musical based world in Kingdom Hearts II, she is defeated during the song "Ursula's Revenge". Like in the movie, she grows into a giant and attacks Ariel and Eric. Sora knocks the trident out of her hands only for Eric to throw it right through her, killing her.
Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance
Ursula reappeared again in Kingdom Heart: Dream Drop Distance. While Sora and Riku were going through the Keyblade Test, they had to travel to sea. While they were traveling a terrible storm started to occur. Then suddenly, a whirlpool appeared, and a revived Ursula emerged from the seas. Ursula replied that someone knew where Sora and Riku were. With their combined effort, Sora and Riku were able to defeat Ursula. However, when Ursula was defeated, Sora and Riku got sucked into the whirlpool, resulted in them ending up at the keyhole to Traverse Town.
Reception
As the first major villain of the "Disney Renaissance", Ursula made a considerable impact. An official poll of the top 30 villains in Disney history put her at #5, and the Nostalgia Critic ranked her #6. Ursula was likely the inspiration for Gnorga from A Troll in Central Park.
Gallery
Videos
Trivia
- The name of Ursula's human disguise, "Vanessa", is derived from the Latin word "Vanitas", meaning "Vanity", "Worthlessness", "Emptiness" and "Nothingness".
- In an original draft for The Little Mermaid, Vanessa's role in the plot was quite different than in the final version. Originally, Eric proposed to Vanessa willingly after he discovered that she had the voice he was looking for, although he later had second thoughts at the actual wedding, when Vanessa intimidated him into saying "I do". Also, Vanessa was originally supposed to wear a scarf in order to ensure that her identity as Ursula was safe (as it hid her nautilus) when meeting people up close (such as Ariel).
- She is one of many villains who is an all-encompassing force.
- The attack on her was actually much different in the original version, as Scuttle and the various aquatic fauna did not start attacking her and the ship until just before the priest could pronounce them Husband and Wife. While fighting off the animals, Vanessa also nearly hinted that she was never who she claimed she was so she faked fear at a suspicious Eric. Scuttle, in this version, also decided to exploit the fact that Vanessa's true form can be revealed from her reflection by airlifting the mirror from the bridesroom over to her and positioning it near her, but she caught on and destroyed it before he could get into position. However, her reflection was already exposed from water seeping onto the deck from the animals, thus giving away who she really was to Eric. Perhaps the biggest difference is that Vanessa still kept Ariel's voice, though for some reason, she was unable to use it anymore.
- At one point while Vanessa was being harassed by Scuttle, she yells angrily "Oh, why you little!" and strangles Scuttle in a very similar manner to Homer and Bart in The Simpsons (Coincidentally, both The Little Mermaid and the first Simpsons episode were released in 1989).
- Her name is never revealed in the film before the wedding; Often in storybooks, she is known as "The Maiden".
- Vanessa is one of four Disney characters to possess violet eyes, the other three being Aurora, Megara and Doctor Facilier. On a related note, Vanessa was also the first villain to possess purple eyes, eventually being succeeded by Facilier.
- In the official comic adaptation, Vanessa was shown multiple times singing in Ariel's voice without the necklace hanging around her neck, implying that she does not need the necklace to speak in Ariel's voice so long as the necklace is not destroyed.
- Ursula is the first major Disney villain to have his/her own song all to his/herself. While the villain songs before her were either sung by the henchman (The Siamese Cat Song, The World's Greatest Criminal Mind and The Elegant Captain Hook), The "funny/incompetent" villains (The Magnificent Marvelous Mad Madam Mim, Hi Diddle Dee Dee, Who's Been Painting My Roses Red and Trust in Me), or the heroes who were against the villains (Cruella De Vil and The Phony King of England), while the "serious/non-comedic" villains (The Evil Queen, The Coachman, Chernabog, Lady Tremaine, Maleficent, Madame Medusa, The Horned King, Bill Sykes, Shan Yu, etc.) never sang at all. This trend was later broken with Judge Claude Frollo.
- In Once Upon A Time, Ursula is the goddess of the sea who gives mermaids the ability to walk for twelve hours from high tide till high tide once a year. She never makes contact with Ariel, as the one who made a deal with Ariel was The Evil Queen masquerading as Ursula. However, she does make contact with the Evil Queen who had deeply offended her by the masquerade, and threatened to show the Queen how real she can actually be if she ever pretended to be her again.
- Ursula's death is by far one of the most cruel, brutal, violent, merciless, and destructive ones in the animated Disney film, with her being impaled and electrocuted on-screen. Also, what appears to be pieces of her are shown sinking to the bottom of the sea (along with the trident) afterward.
