The Little Mermaid: stage vs screen

Disney's The Little Mermaid began as the 1989 animated film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, with Jodi Benson as Ariel and Pat Carroll as Ursula. The Broadway musical opened on January 10, 2008, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, and a book by Doug Wright. Rob Marshall directed a 2023 live-action remake. Here is how the versions compare.

Stage

Broadway musical (2008)

Screen

The Little Mermaid (1989), directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, and the live-action The Little Mermaid (2023), directed by Rob Marshall

1. Ursula is Triton's sister

The 1989 film never says how Ursula and King Triton are connected, though an early version of the story made them siblings. On Broadway she is his sister: when their father Poseidon died, Triton received the trident and Ursula a magic nautilus shell, until her cruelty and black magic led Triton to depose her. Sherie Rene Scott originated Ursula, and the 2023 remake also makes her Triton's sister.

2. Ariel, not Eric, defeats Ursula

In the film, Ursula grows to giant size, and Prince Eric kills her with the bowsprit of a wrecked ship. On stage, Ariel grabs the nautilus shell that holds her stolen voice and destroys it, which destroys Ursula. Ariel gets her voice back, and Triton is restored. In the 2023 film, Ariel herself impales Ursula.

3. Ariel gets new songs of her own

Sierra Boggess originated Ariel, and Glenn Slater's lyrics give her new numbers, including "The World Above" and "Beyond My Wildest Dreams," along with a part in the Act Two quartet "If Only." Her film songs, such as "Part of Your World," remain. Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in 1989, plays a market vendor in the 2023 film.

4. Eric has songs and a simpler story

Prince Eric sings two solos written for the stage, "Her Voice" and "One Step Closer," and joins the quartet "If Only." The storm is simplified, with Eric simply falling overboard. The stage show also drops Vanessa, the human disguise Ursula uses in the film to enchant him, and his sheepdog Max. Sean Palmer originated Eric on Broadway.

5. Triton gets a past and a bigger part

The stage King Triton hates humans because of the loss of his wife. He angrily confronts Ariel for saving a human in "The World Above (Reprise)," and near the end he shares a reprise of "If Only" with her. Eric asks Triton's blessing to marry Ariel, Triton says the choice is hers, and he declares peace between humans and merfolk.

6. Ursula gets a new song, and later versions swap it

Ursula's new Broadway song is "I Want the Good Times Back," sung alongside her film showpiece, "Poor Unfortunate Souls." Glenn Casale revised the show for a 2012 Dutch production in Rotterdam, replacing it with "Daddy's Little Angel," which gives Ursula a new backstory. Later productions based on that version differ from the original Broadway staging.

7. Film favorites carry over

Menken and Howard Ashman's film songs "Daughters of Triton," "Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," "Poor Unfortunate Souls," "Les Poissons," and "Kiss the Girl" all appear on stage. Tituss Burgess originated Sebastian on Broadway, and Sebastian also sings in the new Act Two quartet "If Only" with Ariel, Eric, and Triton.

8. The 2023 remake adds its own songs

Rob Marshall's film, starring Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, and Melissa McCarthy, adds three songs with music by Menken and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda: "For the First Time" for Ariel, "Wild Uncharted Waters" for Eric, and "The Scuttlebutt" for Awkwafina's Scuttle and Daveed Diggs's Sebastian. Unlike the stage show, it keeps Vanessa, and it adds Queen Selina as Eric's adoptive mother.

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