Ariel (The Little Mermaid) released a four-issue "The Little Mermaid Limited Series" comic book series. In 1994 Marvel Comics released its own title, "Disney's The Little Mermaid", which ran for twelve issues. All these comics are prequels to the film, and feature Ariel a mermaid living under the sea having adventures with Flounder and Sebastian, and thwarting villains that wish to take over or destroy Atlantica. In 2000, Ariel became an official member of the newly launched Disney Princess line, an umbrella franchise that includes various Disney princesses under its banner. Ariel is one of the original 8 characters that were included at the
Disney Princess Disney Princess Disney Princess, also called the Princess Line, is a media franchise and toy-line owned by The Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney in the early 2000s, the franchise features a line-up of fictional female protagonists who have appeared in various Disney franchises. The franchise does not include all princess characters from the whole of Disney-owned media, but rather refers to select specific characters from the company's animated films and series. , the eleven characters considered part of the franchise are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Merida.