Ariel is an upcoming 2024 CGI series by Disney for Disney Junior.and Disney+ that like to the 1992 Series follows the famous Disney mermaid Ariel and her collection of undersea friends and family on a collection of new adventures.
Unlike the 1992 series, Ariel is confirmed from the start to take place within a separate continuance from the Movies and fit in with its target audience and chosen channel will feature Ariel as an 8-year-old and Atlantica being placed within the Caribbean as opposed to Denmark, more in line with the live-action film.
As with many Disney Junior shows Ariel is planned to be educational yet adventurous themed around it's Key character (Ariel herself in this case) as they learn about the world around them and more with support and backing from friends and/or family. At times using the lessons learned to overcome other problems. Also fitting in with Ariel's consistent character trait she and her friends are also often seeking out and collecting various Land-Origin Items that help inspire ideas.
The series is planned to last until 2027 with a total of 120 episodes.
Ariel provides examples of:
- 65-Episode Cartoon: Subverted. this series is setup for a 120 episode run through a three year period.
- Adaptational Heroism: One of the main aspects separating the series from prior Disney Little Mermaid media is Ursula being a caring and benevolent Honorary Aunt figure as opposed to an evil trickster. She retains her magic, however, as the teaser shows her teaching Ariel and her friends.
- Adaptational Modesty: Ariel’s traditional Seashell Bra has been replaced by a sleeveless tankini-like top and like the live-action film, Triton wears a full chestplate.
- Adaptation Name Change: Combined with a slight case of Adapted Out. Ariel only has two older (And now Twin) Sisters here named Alanna and Ayanna.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: Ariel is given the ability to change her tail colors based on her emotions. It is currently unknown if this is exclusive to her or a normal ability to her family or merpeople in general.
- Age Lift: Triton and Ursula are shown to be somewhat younger than usual even considering the 9-year gap to the point Triton has full raven hair and beard.
- Alternate Continuity: This series is especially shown to be set within its own universe, with a mix of elements from both the 2023 film (Ariel and her family reflect the live-action film's Race Lift), and the 1989 film (Flounder and Sebastian use their classic designs), as well as new elements (such as Ursula's Adaptational Heroism and her fellow merkid friends).
- Emotional Powers: Ariel’s tail changes colors based on her emotions. At her happiest, it shimmers and glows.
- Race Lift: like the like-action remake Ariel's human half is depicted as Caribbean instead of Caucasian. interestingly this also applies to her family two-fold as said remake had them multi-ethnic note .
- Two Girls and a Guy: The Friendship setup with Ariel, Lucia and Fernie with the Merkids.
- Original Generation: Alongside the usual main undersea cast, we also have Fernie and Lucia, two merkid friends of Ariel
- Our Mermaids Are Different: Most of the merfolk cast follow a CGI version of the live-action film style, though Lucia's tail has a slight Osteoglossiform-like design to it as shown in released images.
- Under the Sea: As expected of a series focusing on a child version of Disney's famous mermaid, this series takes place in the undersea kingdom of Atlantica.
