After an image of Ariel’s sisters in the live-action of The Little Mermaid was leaked, users expressed their disgust about the fact that each one belonged to a different ethnicity. Doubts also arose as to why all of Triton’s daughters are different, especially compared to the animated version.
Who are Ariel’s Sisters in ‘The Little Mermaid’
King Triton has seven daughters, each one is a guardian of one of the seven seas.
- Attina: She is the king’s oldest daughter with Queen Athena, and according to some fans’ theories, she would represent the Arctic Ocean.
- Alana: She is Triton’s second daughter and the next in line for the throne after Attina. According to users, she protects the Antarctic or Southern Ocean.
- Adella: The third daughter of the king would represent the North Pacific Ocean.
- Aquata: She is the most obsessive and compulsive of the seven sisters and would be the guardian of the South Pacific Ocean.
- Arista: According to the original story, Arista is jealous of Ariel’s adventures, although she usually joins in. She would represent the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Andrina: The sixth daughter of King Triton would represent the South Atlantic Ocean.
- Ariel: She is the youngest of the seven mermaids and would represent the Indian Ocean.
Another user stated that the representation of the sisters is actually ordered as follows:
- Attina: Bering Sea because she is the oldest.
- Alana: Black Sea because of her hair color.
- Adella: Mediterranean Sea due to her romantic personality.
- Aquata: Coral Sea because she is the most timid.
- Arista: White Sea because of her hair color.
- Andrina: Caribbean Sea because she is carefree.
- Ariel: Red Sea because of her hair color.
Why Ariel’s Sisters Belong to Different Ethnicities in ‘The Little Mermaid’
Well, we were too young to understand it, but now we know that King Triton wasn’t very monogamous, to say the least.
Regardless of Ariel’s father’s intimate life, each of the mermaids belongs to a different ethnicity because of the sea they represent. Depending on the area they are located in, that is where the sisters were born… yes, where King Triton would “take root.”
— v (@ViralMaterialz) April 24, 2023
How Mermaids Reproduce and Are Born
If mermaids existed, according to some users, they would reproduce through eggs. Females would lay them in the water for males to fertilize if they were oviparous.
But if mermaids are ovoviparous, males must fertilize the eggs inside the female’s body through copulation.
Mermaids are mythological beings and many historians and anthropologists believe that the figure of this creature came to Greek culture through Egyptian influence, since they had the ba, a spirit with a bird’s body and a human head that acted as a mediator in the world of the living and the afterlife.
Ariel and her sisters in The Little Mermaid live-action look beautiful, although many may think otherwise. Unfortunately, Disney’s film has been the subject of racism and misogyny, and users’ discomfort with diversity.
We loved all seven of King Triton’s daughters.
Story originally written in Spanish by Kate Nateras in Cultura Colectiva.