The Little Mermaid (franchise) a meet and greet characters. Ariel appears in "Sofia the First: The Floating Palace", a television special that was aired as part of the series "Sofia the First" and released on Region 1 DVD on November 24, 2013. Disney Comics released a four-issue "The Little Mermaid Limited Series" comic series and two issues of "Sebastian from The Little Mermaid" comics in 1992. Marvel Comics released its own title, "Disney's The Little Mermaid" in 1994, which ran for twelve issues. All the comics are prequels to the film, and feature Ariel still a mermaid living under the sea. A series of
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.