Ariel (The Little Mermaid 1989) was inspired from :
The assignment of designing the heroine Ariel was left to animator Glen Keane who would go on to animate other Disney characters such as the Beast, Aladdin and Tarzan. He wanted the heroine to be reminiscent of the traditional Disney Princesses while at the same time being relatable to the ‘modern girl'. A common misconception is that Ariel was only modeled after a young Alyssa Milano.
While the live action model for Ariel was an obscure actress named Sherri Stoner, Alyssa did exemplify the 80’s teenager, which was reflected in Ariel. So the assumption is only partly true because Glen Keane did in fact referr to several young girls as well as Milano to see what hair styles were in and what was considered beautiful in teens at the time.
Glen Keane also turned to classical artwork for reference material. Ariel's bright red hair color was decided upon so she would resemble a mermaid painted by John William Waterhouse in 1901. Waterhouse was known for his depictions of fictional female characters from mythology, literature and fairytales. This mermaid is coming her hair; an iconic image that would make its way into the Disney film as the dinglehopper.
Another source of inspiration was The Sculpture of the Little Mermaid created by Danish sculptor Edward Erickson (who would end up lending his last name to Prince Eric) Animators ended up deciding against the double finned look and resorted to the traditional single fin. However the sculpture did not go forsaken as it is the last pose Ariel takes as a mermaid in the film.
While the live action model for Ariel was an obscure actress named Sherri Stoner, Alyssa did exemplify the 80’s teenager, which was reflected in Ariel. So the assumption is only partly true because Glen Keane did in fact referr to several young girls as well as Milano to see what hair styles were in and what was considered beautiful in teens at the time.
Glen Keane also turned to classical artwork for reference material. Ariel's bright red hair color was decided upon so she would resemble a mermaid painted by John William Waterhouse in 1901. Waterhouse was known for his depictions of fictional female characters from mythology, literature and fairytales. This mermaid is coming her hair; an iconic image that would make its way into the Disney film as the dinglehopper.
Another source of inspiration was The Sculpture of the Little Mermaid created by Danish sculptor Edward Erickson (who would end up lending his last name to Prince Eric) Animators ended up deciding against the double finned look and resorted to the traditional single fin. However the sculpture did not go forsaken as it is the last pose Ariel takes as a mermaid in the film.
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