The Surprising Connection Between Ariel and “Classic” Disney Princesses

With the new live-action Little Mermaid coming to theaters today, Ariel and marine life like Scuttlebutt and Sebastian have been on a lot of Disney Fanatics’ minds — including a Disney fan with some fun Ariel trivia!

According to “Trivia Dude” Scott Neumyer, the famous pink Ariel dress that Ariel wears during a humorous dinner with Prince Eric is actually a dress composed of several classic Disney princesses’ outfits!

Ariel’s pink gown is apparently “a combination of different dresses worn by every Disney princess prior to her.” 

The One That Started It All

Ariel’s dress is inspired firstly by the original Disney princess Snow White; the pink dress from the Howard Ashman and Alan Menken musical sports the same puffy “diamond designs” as the sleeves on the Snow White dress.

We saw similarly dramatic puffy sleeves on Ariel’s wedding dress at the end of the film as well, although the sleeves on that wedding dress lacked any sort of diamond patterns! 

Ballgowns All Around!

One of the most iconic Disney princesses, Cinderella, actually contributed to Ariel’s dress in two ways!

The color of Ariel’s dress is the first similarity: it bears the same light pink hue as the pink color of Cinderella’s mother’s gown, which is unfortunately destroyed by Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters in the film.

The “full skirt and draping” from Cinderella’s blue and silver ballroom outfit also reportedly inspired Ariel’s dress, although plenty of Disney princesses sport ballgowns with a relatively similar structure in more recent films (such as Princess Tiana). 

Last But Not Least…

Lastly, the “off-the-shoulder neckline and long pointed sleeves” on Ariel’s dress are inspired by the neckline and sleeves of Aurora’s pink (or is it blue?) ballgown from the end of Sleeping Beauty (1959). 

We can also see some similarities between that gown and Ariel’s wedding dress once again! 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 😺🦁Sanisha 🦁😺 (@sanishacosplays)

Did you notice these design similarities when you first watched the 1989 animated version of The Little Mermaid, or were you too preoccupied with the love story between Prince Eric and Ariel the Disney princess?