Melissa McCarthy has gained praise for her portrayal of the sea witch Ursula in Disney’s live action remake The Little Mermaid, but another actress played her human form. With some updates to the curse and changes to “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula's story and character is very similar to the animated villain. However, there is a part of the animated film where Ursula decides to step on land.
Following closely to the original 1989 animated film, The Little Mermaid remake depicts Ursula deciding to take matters into her own tentacles. Ursula decides to go on land to stop Prince Eric from kissing Ariel before the third day. Since Ursula has Ariel’s voice, she is able to convince Eric that she is the one who saved him. While in the original animated film, Eric was clearly hypnotized by Ursula’s spell, the live action Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) seems to have more autonomy in regard to Ursula’s deceit. Despite his doubts, Eric decides to agree to marry Vanessa, ignorant that she’s a sea witch’s alter ego.
Newcomer Jessica Alexander Plays Vanessa In The Little Mermaid
As in the animated film, The Little Mermaid remake has Ursula transform into a beautiful brunette to trick Eric into believing she was the woman who saved him. In the original film, she is called Vanessa to separate her from Ursula’s sea witch form. In The Little Mermaid remake, Jessica Alexander plays Ursula’s human form Vanessa who may look innocent on the outside, but she also seems a little peculiar.
Jessica Alexander is an English actress and model who first gained recognition for her role in BBC series Get Even. While Jessica Alexander may be a newcomer, she plays Vanessa with an evilness that seeps in through her innocent exterior. Not only does Jessica Alexander look similar to the animated Vanessa, she also has the beauty and mystery to trick Prince Eric.
Why Melissa McCarthy Didn't Play Ursula's Human Form In Little Mermaid
To follow suit with the 1989 The Little Mermaid, the remake also chose to have Ursula disguise herself. While Melissa McCarthy could have showed up in her human form, Ursula needed to disguise her true identity from Ariel. If Ursula simply showed up as a human, Ariel would know who she is. Additionally, Eric knows he saw a young woman save him and caught a fuzzy glimpse of her. Therefore, Ursula needed to turn herself into one to trick him into thinking he found his mystery girl.
Jessica Alexander does a stellar job soaking up the scene as Vanessa who may look nothing like Ursula, but can convey Ursula’s eccentricities subtly. Her portrayal of Vanessa makes her a young actress to watch. The Little Mermaid remake made some changes to the animated film, but smartly kept Vanessa’s trick in tact.
