And what to do with a character who is so fully formed in the original, there can seem little room for reinterpretation? Such a challenge is posed with The Little Mermaid’s Ursula-a character who not only occupies prime position as one of the most thrillingly evil Disney characters, but who brings with her a lesser known history directly related to the rich and colorful drag tradition.Īccording to animator Rob Minkoff, Ursula was originally described in the script as a Joan Collins–like figure, resulting in character designs that depicted a thin, bony woman with lionfish- or manta ray–inspired features. But such revisions, as seen in the current iteration of The Little Mermaid, also pose a challenge: The new mechanisms-look at those hyper-realistic CGI animals-run the risk of falling ironically flat when juxtaposed against the elegant creations of the original. There are many reasons-beyond the lack of original IP-for a studio to reinvent a classic film: updating it to better reflect our diverse world, introducing it to a whole new audience, invoking the nostalgia of those who love the original.

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