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
The Little Mermaid (musical) this version is the basis for subsequent productions. Disney Theatrical had success with stage adaptations of its animated musical films "Beauty and the Beast" in 1994 and "The Lion King" in 1997. Thomas Schumacher, head of Disney Theatrical, proposed another adaptation, this time of the 1989 film "The Little Mermaid", approaching songwriter Alan Menken, who had composed the music for the film, to be part of the production team. Schumacher initially brought on director/choreographer Matthew Bourne to helm the musical, but Bourne left when their visions on the project differed. Schumacher then approached Francesca Zambello, telling her that "We haven't