Ariel (The Little Mermaid) "The Love We Share" with Sofia. A live-action version of Ariel appeared in the ABC television series "Once Upon a Time", where she was played by JoAnna Garcia. In 2016 a stripped-down concert version of "The Little Mermaid" was staged at the Hollywood Bowl, featuring the songs from the film and four songs from the Broadway musical. Sara Bareilles performed the role of Ariel for the first two nights of the concert (June 4 and 5), while Jodi Benson, the original voice actress for Ariel, reprised her role for the June 6 performance. Ariel, alongside other Disney Princesses, appeared in
The Little Mermaid (franchise) due to various circumstances. In 1985, "The Great Mouse Detective" co-director Ron Clements discovered a collection of Andersen's fairy tales while browsing a bookstore. He presented a two-page draft of a movie based on "The Little Mermaid" to CEO Michael Eisner and Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg at a "gong show" idea suggestion meeting. Eisner and Katzenberg passed the project over, because at that time the studio was in development on a sequel to their live-action mermaid comedy "Splash" (1984) and felt "The Little Mermaid" would be too similar a project. The next day, however, Walt Disney Studios chairman