The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning and Samuel E. Wright reprise their roles as Ariel and Sebastian respectively, while Sally Field voices the film's new villain, Marina Del Rey, and Jim Cummings replaces Kenneth Mars as King Triton, as Mars had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was unable to reprise the role. The film was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on August 26, 2008. The film contradicts certain events of the television series, implying that it is an independent installment of Disney's "The Little Mermaid" franchise. King Triton and his wife, Queen Athena, rule over the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, filled with music
The Little Mermaid (1989 film) Andersen tales. Development started soon after "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in the late 1930s, but was delayed due to various circumstances. In 1985, Ron Clements became interested in a film adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" while he was serving as a director on "The Great Mouse Detective" (1986) alongside John Musker. Clements discovered the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale while browsing through a bookstore. Believing the story provided an "ideal basis" for an animated feature film and keen on creating a film that took place underwater, Clements wrote and presented a two-page treatment of "Mermaid" to Disney CEO