The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (also known as The Little Mermaid III) is a 2008 American animated direct-to-video fantasy film produced by DisneyToon Studios, and a prequel to Disney's 1989 animated film "The Little Mermaid". Directed by Peggy Holmes, the film's story is set before the events of the original film and acts as a pilot to the television series, "The Little Mermaid: The Series", when Ariel is still young, and where all music has been banned from the underwater kingdom of Atlantica by King Triton, and Ariel attempts to challenge this law. Jodi Benson
Ursula (The Little Mermaid) of "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Ursula became the first Disney villainness to receive her own song. During production of "The Little Mermaid", Ursula's design evolved and transformed dramatically. Animator Glen Keane's earliest sketches of Ursula were drawn to resemble Rae, specifically based on the actress' audition for the role. The short-lived casting of Stritch as Ursula and her subsequent performance eventually inspired the animators to design the character as "a tall, thin regal-looking sea witch" based on manta rays and scorpion fish, complete with a long cape. At one point, Ursula had also been drawn with spikes to resemble a spinefish.