Ursula (The Little Mermaid) such. In Andersen's tale, the sea witch is not a villain as much as she is "a disreputable mermaid." JR Thorpe of "Bustle" agreed that, in Andersen's story, "The sea witch isn't the enemy". Instead, "human ... nature is." While the original sea witch is willing to help the little mermaid despite the fact that she openly disagrees with her motives, Ursula is only interested in helping Ariel in the hopes of ultimately overthrowing her father. Emma James of "Teen Ink" observed that in addition to giving the character the name "Ursula", the studio "changed her role as a catalyst
Ursula (The Little Mermaid) Clements eventually learned that Walt Disney himself had actually attempted to adapt the fairy tale into a feature-length animated film as early as the 1930s, but the project was ultimately shelved due in part to its sad ending. Clements suggested "The Little Mermaid" to Katzenberg, who finally green-lit it after having first rejected it. Hardly present in Andersen's original story, the sea witch is not a prominent character and lacks a proper name. Among Clements' ideas to alter the story, the filmmaker decided to "make the witch more of a villain", describing Ursula as "a fun character to develop" into