Ariel (The Little Mermaid) some publications such as "Time" criticize her for being too devoted to Eric whereas others, such as "Empire", praise the character for her rebellious personality, a departure from previous Disney Princesses. Ariel was based on the title character of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid", but co-director and writer Ron Clements felt that the mermaid in the original story was too tragic and rewrote the character, resulting in Ariel. Jodi Benson, who was predominantly a stage actress, was chosen to voice Ariel because the directors felt "it was really important to have the same person doing the singing and speaking
The Little Mermaid (musical) Shiki Theatre in Nagoya from October 15, 2016 to August 26, 2018. After closing in Nagoya, the show was transferred to Osaka Shiki Theatre in Osaka from October 13, 2018. After its successful production of "Aladdin" during the 2012/2013 season, the Fredericia Teater teamed up once again with Disney Theatrical to stage a local version of "The Little Mermaid" in Denmark, where it ran from July 17 to August 17, 2014 at the Copenhagen Opera House, and from August 28 to October 26, 2014 at the Fredericia Teater. A Dutch-language production directed by Frank Van Laecke ran at the Flanders