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Was Ariel Inspired by Alyssa Milano? How Disney’s Mermaid Was Designed

Alyssa Milano was one reported influence on Ariel’s likeness, but animator Glen Keane described a design shaped by multiple references, each with a different role.
Opened Runtime2 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Yes, Alyssa Milano was one reported influence on Ariel’s appearance—but not the sole model. Milano later recalled being told that pictures of her younger self informed Ariel’s likeness. Animator Glen Keane, meanwhile, described bringing together several visual references, including his wife and actor Sherri Stoner’s live-action reference work, to shape the character.

What did Alyssa Milano say about Ariel?

In a 2013 report, OK! quoted Milano recalling that she learned about the connection while hosting The Making of The Little Mermaid. She said: “I didn’t know that when it was going on. But they asked me to host The Making of The Little Mermaid, and it came out there that the drawing and likeness of the little mermaid was based on pictures of me from when I was younger.”

This supports a reported likeness influence, as Milano described it. It does not establish that she was Ariel’s only visual reference or that she served as the character’s live-action model.

How did Glen Keane and the Disney team develop Ariel’s design?

Keane drew on more than one visual reference

D23 attributes this account to Ariel animator Glen Keane: “I did a lot of design study drawings on my wife and used her for my inspiration for Ariel.” In a separate interview, Keane described looking at pictures of girls around Ariel’s age, Stoner’s live-action reference, and a picture of his wife. “And all these things just sort of came together to come up with a design that was Ariel,” he said. He also credited fellow animators Mark Henn and Philo Barnhart with helping refine the design. The interview with Keane provides that fuller account of his process.

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Reference, voice, and likeness are different contributions

  • Milano: recalled learning that photos of her younger self informed Ariel’s likeness.
  • Sherri Stoner: provided live-action reference used in the animation process, according to Keane’s account.
  • Keane’s wife and other pictures: were among the visual design inspirations he described.
  • Jodi Benson: her singing of “Part of Your World” helped prompt Keane to draw Ariel, D23 reports; that is a performance influence, not a claim that Benson was the visual model.

These roles help explain why accounts of Ariel’s origins can sound different without being mutually exclusive: they refer to distinct parts of developing an animated character.

Was Alyssa Milano the only inspiration for Ariel?

No. Milano’s recollection points to one source for Ariel’s likeness, while Keane’s description presents the design as the result of multiple visual inputs and later refinement. The available accounts do not assign percentages to those influences or identify one person as the character’s sole model.

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A D23 reader question also raises whether Ariel’s facial structure was inspired by Alice, but the question itself is not evidence that Alice was a design source. The documented accounts above are the ones that explain the contributions clearly.

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When did Ariel first appear in the film?

Ariel appeared in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, which opened on November 17, 1989. TIME’s 2014 retrospective describes the film as launching the Disney Renaissance. That context places the design in the era of the movie’s release; it does not change the distinction between the different people and references Keane described.

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