On the Internet you can come across publications that claim that the appearance of the Disney underwater princess was copied from teenage photographs of the star of the series “Enchanted”. We checked if this is true.
Most often, such statements are found on social networks. For example, public “5 interesting facts“(100,000 views at the time of writing this analysis) on VKontakte in 2022 he wrote this: “The famous little mermaid Ariel from the 1989 Disney cartoon was copied from Alyssa Milano. The drawings were made based on childhood photographs of the actress.” Similar posts were published by the communities “Dashing 90s"(43,000 views) and "Comics 2x2"(32,000) in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The media also talked about this, including “Channel 5"in 2021.
Similar posts can be found in numerous Telegram channels. Thus, since 2020, the “Fotoplenka” channel has released at least five publications on this topic, which in total received 343,000 views (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). It was also reported that Disney animators drew Ariel based on Milano’s face, “Che, history"(149,000 views), "Camera" (twice: 116,000 And 48,000), "Exhibition | Story" (94,000) and Naked History (three times: 31,000, 30,000 And 27,000).
Cartoon "Little Mermaid"was released on big screens in 1989. This is a free adaptation of the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, telling about the 16-year-old mermaid princess Ariel, who is dissatisfied with underwater life in the kingdom of Atlantica. The title character voiced American singer and actress Jodi Benson.
The actress herself said that Milano became the prototype for Ariel. For example, in 2010, during the promotional campaign for the series “Romance is in question" she stated:
“It looks like [Disney] drew Ariel's face based on my photos. Yes, it's very cool and cute. Initially, when this happened, I didn’t know about it. But then, about, I would say, a year after the release of the cartoon, they asked me to take part in the filming of a special issue about the creation of the film. Then they told me about it and I thought it was cool.”
Apparently, the project Milano was talking about is called The Making of The Little Mermaid, but in fact he came out a few days before started rental of "The Little Mermaid". At that time, the actress, like Ariel, was 16 years old. "Verified" reviewed this special issue and did not find any mention of who became the prototype of the main character of the cartoon.
In Wikipedia on page Ariel noted that the mermaid's design was based on the appearance of several women, one of whom was Milano. The source of information is the audio commentary by directors John Musker and Ron Clements, as well as composer Alan Menken, released with the cartoon on DVD in 2006. “Verified” could not find such a publication in the public domain, so we cannot confirm or deny this, nor can we clarify in what context the name Milano sounded.
But “Verified” managed to get acquainted with the book Disney Princess: Beyond the Tiara (2022), where including is told about the creation of Ariel. On page 28 it says:
"Animator and Disney Legend" Glen Keane, who was largely responsible for Ariel's look, took inspiration from his wife Linda, and the animation team also had a celebrity photo booth for extra help. It included shots of model Christie Brinkley, whose curled bangs are clearly visible on Ariel, and Alyssa Milano.”
A special place in the book is given to the comedian and actress Sherry Stoner, who acted as a living reference for facial expressions and movements for the animation team. Actress acted out Ariel was on camera in the studio and was also filmed in the water. “I was filmed two days a week for about a year and a half and was paid $500 per session. Behind me there was a net and an improvised set,” remembered Stoner. Keane called the girl's face and movements "very cartoonish" and added that "her hands are even more emotional than her big eyes." Another animator Mark Henn, said that thanks to Stoner, the heroine acquired additional traits such as biting her lip and blowing her bangs out of her face, which helped bring the character to life. “When I watch a cartoon, I can definitely see myself behind the character, and my friends say that they easily notice my smile and hand gestures,” added Stoner, who later played Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
Keene himself says in most interviews that he painted Ariel in the image of his wife. So, in 2011 he saidthat being inspired by his family is part of his “creative DNA.” According to the animator, this approach was instilled in him by his father, who was also an artist. “Dad always told me to draw what you know. And there is no one I know better than my wife and children,” Keane shared. He said that he always used family members as models. "Ariel was my wife, Tarzan was my son, I was the Beast, and my daughter Claire was very much the inspiration for Rapunzel," the animator added. He noted that as a child, his daughter wanted to paint the walls and ceiling of her bedroom, but his wife did not allow it. Many years later, Claire entered art school in Paris, and Keane decided that she was perfect fits to create the art style of Rapunzel's paintings in her tower. “When you see Rapunzel drawing on the walls, you see Claire drawing and fulfilling her dream,” Keane explained. He also clarified that during the filming his granddaughter Matisse was born, whom the artist used as inspiration for creating little Rapunzel.
This wasn't the first time Keene had talked about the Ariel prototype. For example, in 2010 he told, how he had the desire to animate the little mermaid, after which the cartoon directors asked if he could draw a beautiful girl. “I said, 'Yeah, I think I can,' because I've been drawing my wife Linda since we got married. So I started and used Linda as inspiration,” Keane shared. His interlocutor then added that Ariel is very similar to Linda, and the animator joked: “Yes, she is very similar. In everything, with the possible exception of the shells (on the chest - editor's note)." The interlocutor clarified that Keane’s wife had shorter hair of a different color. There is also a recording an older performance by an animator in 1995 before the release of the cartoon "Pocahontas", where he said: "Ariel was like your girl next door. This is a very Disney character with his nose up. I actually based her on my wife, who looks like her... just without the fins."
It is noteworthy that in 2019 on the BBC reportedwhat's Keene's aphantasia - a condition in which people are unable to visualize mental images in their heads. This was told by Pixar co-founder and former president of Walt Disney Animation Studios Ed Catmull, who also claims to have aphantasia. “He is truly extraordinary, one of the best animators in the history of hand-drawn animation. [And] he said he could never visualize either. When he first drew the little mermaid, it was a bunch of scribbles. And then, after he worked on it for a while, it turned into a magnificent piece of art. And, in his opinion, this is the right way to work. Because it means that he is looking for emotions deep inside himself, and that is what drives his drawing.”
Thus, actress Alyssa Milano was just one of several sources of inspiration for Ariel's appearance. According to Glen Keane, one of the leading animators responsible for the design of the heroine, his wife Linda served as the prototype for the little mermaid. At the same time, the artists were also inspired by model Christie Brinkley and learned a lot from Sherry Stoner, who acted out Ariel's movements and facial expressions.
Cover photo: photo Milano / frame from the cartoon "Little Mermaid» / Walt Disney Pictures / collage “Verified”
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