Why Disney Decided To Color Ariel’s Hair Red In ‘The Little Mermaid’
Image via Disney’s The Little Mermaid
It’s hard to imagine Ariel from Disney’s The Little Mermaid with a hair color that’s other than an intense, fiery red. Startlingly, Disney previously planned for her to be blonde.
Why the dramatic dye job? Disney’s official blog, Oh My Disney, explained that in 1984—five years before the premiere of the successful animated film—there was another popular mermaid in pop culture named Madison. The blonde character was played by Daryl Hannah in a live-action movie called Splash, starring alongside Tom Hanks.
Disney had Splash in mind when producing The Little Mermaid, and imagined Ariel would appear too similar to Madison if they shared the same hair color. Animators thus gave the protagonist cherry red tresses so luscious they could be combed down with a fork, and the rest is history.
Of course, red and green are complementary colors, so red was also the perfect choice for the iconic mermaid character.
[via POPSUGAR, cover image via Disney’s The Little Mermaid]
Also check out these recent news
