A Psychoanalysis of 'Vanessa' in Walt Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'

The film ‘The Little Mermaid’ has been the subject of considerable psychoanalytic review (Dinnerstein, 1967; Dundes & Dundes, 2000; Meyers, 2001; Tseëlon, 1995), as have many fairy tales produced by Walt Disney. The potency of the influence of the classic Walt Disney animations lies in their genius utilisation of psychological, mythological, and archetypal imagery and motifs. As I have mentioned elsewhere, the reason why these movies have had a global impact and have been enjoyed at a universal level is because they speak to the unconscious of every person. They address truths of life and exist in the realm between infancy and adulthood. The Little Mermaid is no different.

Literature abounds in the analysis of Ariel, and few discuss Ursula as a villain. None, however, analyse ‘Vanessa’, Ursula’s alter-ego. Hence, my objective today is to provide a psychoanalytic review of the character Vanessa. An analysis of the character Vanessa and what she represents is multifaceted. Not one single explanation is enough to encompass the profundity of what she represents. I merely aim to explain what is indeed present and analysable from her. In order to analyse Vanessa, however, I must first discuss Ariel. Before I begin, I shall preface that I am utilising insights from both the 1989 animated film as well as the 2023 live-action version by Walt Disney. The live-action film changes very little from the original 1989 version, and adds a rather deeper, more blatant and mature colour to the film (tastefully, might I add). It perfectly facilitates the viewer (and the analyst) with deeper insights regarding the internal world of the characters.

At a psychoanalytic level, the story of The Little Mermaid is, fundamentally, about Ariel’s journey towards mature feminine sexuality. The drama revolves entirely around Ariel’s tempestuous transition from innocent girlhood into sexual maturity, as is so often the case with the puberty of the young girl. The element of fire is unknown to Ariel. Fire represents passion and desire (for an artistic, archetypal, and psychological representation of this, refer to my dramatic poem, Anesidora.) She, thus, moves from a position of ‘not knowing’ to a position of ‘knowing’. I will do my utmost to avoid speaking profoundly on the Electral/Oedipal dynamics and jealousy between Triton and his daughter. For more on that, please read Dundes & Dundes’ (2000) article regarding the matter. The conflict emerges when Triton, so adamant about keeping his youngest daughter ‘safe’ in the world of water, is met with resistance by Ariel who wishes to explore the world above. The dynamic between the world of earth and the world of water is marked by fear and trepidation, namely by the human world. This is a manifestation of the fear of the unconscious forces of sexual desire. While Triton keeps her under the sea, he keeps her in the realm of innocence. She is unconscious of sexual desire. It isn’t until she ventures to the surface and sees Prince Eric for the first time on his ship that she feels the stirrings of sexuality within her. Eric, meanwhile, seems to be on his own journey towards mature masculine sexuality as well. When we are introduced to him, we hear about his own struggles finding the right woman for him to make him settle down and get married. We obviously hear the preliminary ingredients required of a Madonna-Whore dichotomy – the search for the ‘perfect’ woman. Shortly after revealing his Casanovan nature, Eric struggles against a storm while controlling the ship. His conflict with the tempest and the ship represents his conflict with sexual desire and navigating the tempestuous nature of sexuality. It is this battle against the storm that serves as the inciting action for the film. When Eric falls over-board into the waters of the sea and Ariel saves him, her feelings for him are solidified – he, too, falling in love with her while half-conscious on the shore.

This catalyses the conflict of the film: Ariels’ jealous father is against her falling in love with a human, so he destroys her treasure cove (representative of her vagina, as per Dundes & Dundes, 2000) as well as a statue of Eric Ariel had salvaged from the shipwreck. It is during her solitude and heartbreak amidst the pulverised statue that Ursula makes her official debut. She entices Ariel to consult with her in order to remedy her situation. Before this, in the very beginning of the film, however, when we are introduced to Ursula (though not knowing who she is properly), that we actually see her eat an emaciated shrimp (symbolic of a castrated penis, Dundes & Dundes, 2000) and decapitate it with her teeth. Her identity in the beginning of the film thus is immediately solidified at the onset as a castrating Medusa-Witch figure.

Phallic imagery abounds throughout the whole movie. The men who animated the little mermaid projected their masculine anxieties about female sexuality onto the film (Dundes & Dundes, 2000). From the beginning throughout a great portion of the movie we see Ariel attempting to master the ‘dingle-hopper’. ‘Dingle’ being an alternative word for ‘penis’ and ‘hopper’ being self-explanatory. The trident and the number three are phallic symbols as well. On the original cover of The Little Mermaid, a tower in the likeness of a penis is present, which drew much attention and impelled Disney to change the cover. Additionally, in the original film, a priest is shown with what appears to be the bulging of his genitals through his undergarments. This, too, was amended by Disney, despite their insistence that it was not what it appeared to be. The phallic anxiety reaches its pinnacle in the scene with the chef when the viewer is inundated with a heavily charged frenzy of intense castration images. Even the director of the live-action film commented on the reason for its omission in the 2023 version, regarding it as totally unnecessary and detracting from the plot.

Ariel’s desire to consult with Ursula represents her desire for sexual knowledge. Driven by this desire, she travels to meet Ursula in her lair. The entrance to Ursula’s lair is through the cavernous mouth, layered with sharp teeth and reminiscent of Vagina Dentata, the folk tale tradition of the teethed vagina rumoured to have castrated the penetrating man (Dundes & Dundes, 2000). Along the walls of the ribbed entrance of Ursula’s lair (the castrating vagina, for the walls of the vagina, too, are ribbed) are Ursula’s victims: shriveled and withered shrimp. Though the original story of The Little Mermaid does not inherently have so much phallic imagery, that does not mean that the phallic and sexual anxieties of the male animators were not or could not be projected onto the art and film itself. Ursula’s lair is riddled with skeletons of her mermaid victims. Thus, her sadistic nature is exposed. As is the case in narcissism, there is, at the core, an intense hatred and antagonism towards everyone, especially their targets. As is the fashion of narcissists, Ursula uses psychological coercion and manipulation to ensnare Ariel.

It is in the consultation scene, we are introduced to Ursula’s sexual narcissism. In front of a mirror Ursula perfumes herself, applies lotion to herself, and adorns her lips with lipstick. Namely, red lipstick, a former symbol of prostitutes. Ursula seems to be overtly seductive: Her voluptuous body, her mannerisms, and even her song ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ where she gives Ariel sexual advice demonstrates her seductive nature. Her sexual wisdom is, of course, greater than Ariel’s. Being this the case, Ursula, in her ritual, initiates Ariel into sexuality. During Ariel’s transformation, for a split second, we see her entire nude body. It is in this moment that Ariel finally acquires a vagina and the ability to feel genital pleasure. In the live action, Ariel takes a piece of her scales with a drop of blood and contributes it to the spell – reminiscent of her maidenhood and menstrual blood. Menstrual blood is an essential component in many traditional spells of magic.

Once Ariel acquires a human form, the three day challenge of obtaining Eric’s love ensues. Ariel’s principal obstacle is Eric himself – namely, of the female ideal he encountered who saved his life. Eric’s idealism is not only a struggle with Ariel, but also himself. We get a deeper glimpse into Eric’s erotic internal life in the live action. He has a solo performance where he yearns and idealises his internal salvific feminine object: “As days and hours roll by, all I ever think about is you / There you are, over me, taking me with your song to wild uncharted waters / In my mind, your melody goes on… / You… silhouetted by the rising dawn / Over you, I cannot get over you.” His idealistic nature, paralleling the Casanova type, is solidified in this song. It isn’t until he learns to accept Ariel for who she is, however, that he begins to love her truly, without knowing that she was, in actuality, the one who saved him. In the live action, we see that Eric’s king-father (adoptive) is dead. In both the original and the live action, Ariel’s mother is dead. Thus, both Eric and Ariel lack a same-sex identificatory figure.

Gardens in fairytales represent sex as a derivative of the Garden of Eden. The scene at the blue lagoon is entirely about the first sexual experience. The scene, the imagery, even the words of the song “Kiss the Girl” are entirely about the sexual debut. The scene itself is sexually tense. It is at this moment that Eric feels the impulse to kiss Ariel. As he leans in to kiss her, the boat is tipped over, and they fall into the lagoon. It is Ursula who interrupts the moment of the kiss, representative of sexual consummation. The scene cuts to her lair, where we see her watching the scene unfold through a scrying mirror. She is enraged, for she cannot fathom how Ariel, as a maid, was able to seduce Eric. She, as the seductress, cannot understand the appeal of the wife. It is here that she decides to interfere directly. And it is in this moment that we witness the emergence of Vanessa.

Ursula spirals into a tangent of psychopathic fury as she experiences the narcissistic injury of seeing the young and beautiful Ariel succeed in the ancient dance of Eros with Eric. It is during her experience of pleasure at the imagination of her revenge fantasy when she transforms into Vanessa. It is interesting to note that Ursula shapeshifts into Vanessa by her own accord. She does not utilise any external objects to do so (with the exception of the 2023 version). We understand, then, that Vanessa is an emanation of Ursula – for she is born out of her narcissistic sadism. As she transforms into Vanessa while laughing maniacally, we see a halo surround her. Vanessa performs the “whore” function while disguised as the “madonna”. This not only serves as a symbolisation for her role as “the ideal whore”, but it also serves as a mockery of the sacramentalised bride.

Vanessa is presented for less than 5 minutes in each of the films, but she represents a pivotal part in the love triangle and conflict between Ariel and Eric. Likewise, she represents such an elemental part in the psychoanalysis of the story, despite her brevity. In order for Ursula to have contrived the plan which she was going to carry out by disguising herself as Vanessa, it requires a profound knowledge and mastery of sexual manipulation. Vanessa, the seductress, as the shapeshifter archetype, represents the malicious and conniving intent of the seductress woman. Though indeed enchanting and beautiful, they are actually machiavellian, lying, self-serving, and cruel-hearted. The portrayal of Vanessa and the conflict she has with Ariel is, on one aspect, a cautionary tale to little boys, while simultaneously speaking to the men who have, at once, faced the conflict of having to choose between Eve and Lilith (i.e. the ‘Good Girl’ and the ‘Bad Girl’.) Though the ‘bad girl’ is often idealised and put on a pedestal (not having the parallel merit the man often colours her with), the ‘good girl’ is often tossed aside and forgotten, left to cry in heartbreak and suffer. The bad girl is emboldened by her own belief that she is better than the good girl and is preferred before her. It is not too long after this, however, that the true, insidious, and often castrating nature of the seductress is revealed, and the man is left humiliated. Not long after this does he fly to where his once forsaken lover is to seek forgiveness and reconciliation with her. More often than not, she forgives him, often rationalising (either by herself or due to the narrative given to her by the man) that it was due to the beguiling nature of the seductress that he left her, not him himself, as Ariel does.

Vanessa is not the antithesis of Ursula; rather, Ariel. They both represent the polarities of the Madonna-Whore complex. Both of them are ideals, in their own respects, but are nevertheless the split aspects of feminine sexuality. Vanessa has everything Ariel lacks: Sexual prowess, charm, allure, magnetism, etc. Ariel, likewise, possesses everything Vanessa lacks: Innocence, grace, naivete, purity. What makes Vanessa so attractive is her sexual charm, whereas Ariel’s attractiveness lies in her innocence. Vanessa is, however, more sexually charismatic and appealing than Ariel. The Ariel-Vanessa dichotomy thus presents the boy-viewer with the results of selecting between the two female polarities. The bad girl, though sexually rewarding, is unreliable. Whereas the good girl, though sexually “mute,” is constantly and devotedly there. The conflict, then, lies in who Eric shall pick. It recalls the dilemma of Hercules.

Though often unmentioned in analyses of the film, the movie reaches its pinnacle of tension during the love triangle between Ariel, Eric, and Vanessa. Though Vanessa most certainly by her own power hypnotises Eric, it is not by her own merits that she does so – she uses Ariel’s voice (i.e. her sexuality). In mythology, men fall in love with mermaids because of their voices. In the live action film, we hear the crewmen talk about the “spells” and enchanting nature of a mermaid's voice, saying how “no man can resist” them. The voice, in The Little Mermaid, is thus a representation of sexual allure and charm. From a Jungian perspective, Vanessa has stolen Ariels’ feminine eros and has claimed it as her own. From a Freudian psychosexual perspective, Vanessa (as the erotic oedipal mother, alter-ego of Ursula) strips the daughter of her appeal towards the father and crumbles her oedipal wish-fantasy of marrying him. The father desires and loves his daughter, yet the mother reminds the daughter that she will never be able to provide him with what she (the mother) provides him with (her voice/sex). Ursula is Ariel’s aunt, thus, the appropriated maternal rival. This is the tactic utilised in fairytales to more aptly address nuclear conflict (i.e. substituting the mother for the stepmother, etc.) By portraying the aunt in the place of the mother, the matricidal charge of the symbolism is diluted.

If we consider the personage of Ursula as separate from Vanessa, then where Ursula functions as the rival Oedipal mother, Vanessa functions as an older sister / Cainitic rival. In the original ‘Little Mermaid’, there is still an element of a Love Triangle, and the prince does indeed leave the protagonist for her, impelling her to kill herself out of grief. The sea and the world above represent, respectively, the realm of the unconscious and the world of the conscious, the feminine and the masculine. In Ariel’s case, however, the sea is the realm of infantile sexuality and the land above is the realm of mature sexuality. Ursula as the Oedipal rival during infancy poses a threat under the sea. Vanessa as the seductress rival in mature sexuality during adulthood poses a threat in the land above.

The scene where Eric encounters Vanessa is etheric, dreamy, and with sensual undertones. We see him caress and contemplate the sand by the shores of the beach. He is not only coming to terms with his idealised feminine, but as he looks up at the chamber of Ariel, he awakens to his desire for her. It is here, at the shores of desire and at this sexual crossroads, where Eric encounters Vanessa. In the night, he hears a voice by the shore of the sea, and we see him journey through the mist. At the end of the mist, seated upon a rock and turning around to him, we see Vanessa. Vanessa enters Eric through the eyes via hypnosis. In other words, by seduction. She looks upon him with a gaze of sexual appetite, and he gazes back upon her, flustered. The insinuation of hypnosis in the live-action is not as strong as is the insinuation of sexual temptation. As he gazes upon her, it is clear to the adult viewer that Vanessa has awakened sexual desire within Eric. She smiles faintly, as if simultaneously satisfied at beholding Eric’s manhood and having seduced him, as well as having achieved her sadistic strivings. In the live-action, Eric seems to be less under hypnotic control than in the original live-action. He is hypnotised, to a certain extent, but he is still aware of Ariel. This further exemplifies the notion that sexual seduction has taken place, and Eric is repentant for having betrayed Ariel. His facial expression is of one who has fallen into temptation and cannot resist himself, though with sufficient morality to understand the implications of what is to ensue. When we watch the seduction scene, we see a sense of hesitation on the part of Eric. As he looks upon her, the guilt he feels for submitting unto his sexual desire for Vanessa is palpable.

Clements, the director of the animated film, spoke about Vanessa, saying that the prioritisation of her beauty and enchantment was intentional (Clements, as cited in Acuna, 2019). As a matter of fact, Ursula was intentionally portrayed as grotesque so as to heighten the awe felt by the viewer when beholding Vanessa. The hypnosis scene by the beach was intentionally meant to underscore Vanessa’s elegance yet simultaneous malice (sadism).

The live-action provides us with a much more complete (and pleasant) look at Vanessa. Besides the actresses’ own attractiveness. Most striking of all, Jessica Alexander, the beautiful actress of the live action 2023 version who interpreted Vanessa, literally described her as “a seductress, a temptress, the definition of a femme fatale and a sexy female villain.” (Wickes, 2023) The true, essential, and psychological nature of Vanessa could not have been described in more overt terms by fundamental voices than this.

Vanessa embodies multiple archetypes. Firstly, she is a siren archetype, yet not by her own accord. She does not possess the ‘siren song’ power that Ariel has. Thus, her sirenic aspect, though indeed forming an aspect of her, is not inherent to her nature. What she is, though, is a shapeshifter and seductress, containing within herself the latent witch archetype. Her decision to shapeshift is inspired by her very narcissistic sexuality and seduction – thus, she, as stated by Alexander, is chiefly a seductress archetype. The shapeshifter and witch archetype, though surely forming an aspect of her, is not her main identity. Vanessa does not oblige Eric to love her by casting a binding spell upon him; she enchants him by her own ingenuity and appeal. Ursula is the one who uses magic, not Vanessa. Thus, since Ursula is a shapeshifter and a witch, Vanessa naturally has these aspects that constitute her partly. Nonetheless, she herself, in accordance with her own identity, is a seductress.

Hence, she is the powerful and awe-inspiring woman, feared and desired. This is likewise a reflection of the latent castration anxieties present in the film, especially towards the end when Vanessa transforms into the colossal form of Ursula, resembling Medusa: Phallic and castrating (Dundes & Dundes, 2000). Ursula, when she takes possession of the phallus (trident), becomes masculinised, her voice even becoming deeper, and she wields the trident as a weapon. The phallic and castrating imagery of Ursula emerging from the sea has been analysed in depth (Dundes & Dundes, 2000). The dynamic is restored and Ursula is defeated when Eric penetrates her with the pointed end of the ship and reasserts Ursula’s receptive, feminine sexual role.

Alternatively, Vanessa represents Ariel’s shadow. Vanessa constellates in herself all the qualities Ariel keeps repressed (or ‘underwater’): sexual assertiveness, competitive aggression, vanity, manipulativeness, sadistic pleasure. She also acts as the shadow of the princess ideal. She’s the dark double of the court’s feminine ideal: the beautiful bride whose allure is lies not in her innocence, but in her sexual abilities. For Eric, Vanessa personifies the negative anima. For the audience/culture, Vanessa reflects the projection of the fantasy that beauty, coupled with cunning, entitles domination.

As an embodiment of the Dark Feminine, she acts as a container for the male fear of being overpowered by feminine eros – and in fact, Eric is. Yet, Vanessa possesses genuine sexual knowledge. The anxiety, therefore, rises not only from her aggressive aspect (Ursula), but from the fact that she knows how desire works and uses that knowledge to her advantage. With a less literal depiction of malevolent hypnosis and more palpable temptation, the remake leans into Vanessa as a choice-object rather than a spell. That shift underlines the dark feminine as a test of moral discernment, not just an enchantment to be broken.

We get a deeper glimpse into the sexual narcissism of Vanessa during her solo performance. She dances before a mirror, stroking and adoring herself. When she looks into the mirror, she sees the image of Ursula. She fawns over herself, playing with her body and her hair. It is at this moment that her dual nature is revealed. “What a lovely little bride I'll make; My dear, I'll look divine. / Things are working out according to my ultimate design.” In the first line, we see her sexual narcissism. In the second, we see her machiavellian nature. She strives to usurp Ariel’s position as the wife and become the wife herself, as is so common the case in the fantasies of ‘other women’ (Barraca Mairal, 2015). In the live-action version, her sexual narcissism during the scene is the same. We get a sense of sexuality and Machiavellianism from both. Vanessa delights in the pain she is causing Ariel. It ceases to become merely about her vindication against Triton, but about settling the sexual and interpersonal score. In the scene where we see the exhibition of Vanessa’s sadistic sexual narcissism, Vanessa directly addresses Ariel as her rival, not Triton. “So long, Red.” she says, rather than “So long, Triton.” This further corroborates my premise that the figure of Ursula is in competition with Triton, whereas the figure of Vanessa is in competition with Ariel. Vanessa delights in usurping the position of Ariel. The nobility surround her and admire her for her ‘heroism’. She feigns humility, but she delights in this moment of admiration and attention form those around her who constitute Eric’s world.

Ariel, when discovering that Eric has fallen in love with another, enters a depressive spiral. As a virgin girl who lost her virginity to her first boyfriend, and has discovered his betrayal of her, Ariel laments her condition. In the original story, this leads to her suicide. In the Walt Disney version, this leads to the confrontation with Ursula.

The sense of inferiority that belies the narcissist is also apparent in Ursula’s desire for revenge against her seemingly superior older brother. This is, purely, the theatrical dramatic technique of family discord. The psychological implications of dramatic representations of nuclear conflict depend on the ability of the viewer to identify with the actors. This emotional identifcation engrosses the viewer even more. Vanessa shouts “Eric, get away from her!” impulsively, not realising that she has lost her charm. This reaction is otherwise unnecessary unless Ariel posed a legitimate threat between her Eric. This is this was, then, a manifestation of reactive jealousy triggered by her sense of inferiority when seeing Eric return with Ariel. It isn’t until the necklace is broken that Ariel gains back her voice and Vanessa loses her charm and beauty – internal and external. At the wedding confrontation scene, when the sun sets, Vanessa is ultimately ripped apart and the vulgar Ursula alter-ego is exposed. It is in this moment when the sun sets, at the precise second before Eric and Ariel kiss, that she transforms back into a mermaid in pain, showcasing the raw and pure form of Vanessa’s sadistic nature. She laughs maniacally, her eyes widen, and she descends into a sadistic pleasure that comes with omnipotent rage. Ursula takes advantage of Ariel’s immobility, now having no legs, and crawls towards her as a predator towards its prey, and takes her back into the kingdom of water. The moment of anagnorisis in which Ariel and Eric ‘lose’ and Ursula ‘wins’ not only serves to augment the tragic theatrical element, but also symbolises the pain that naturally comes with sexual knowledge as a child. Maturity and wisdom have been gained at the expense of the innocence of childhood. Alexander spoke about the confrontation of Ariel and Ursula, saying “it’s important you see Ariel giving Vanessa a beating. She’s coming for her man!” My notion of sexual competition between Ariel and Vanessa here is blatantly confirmed by the actress herself. Notice how the actress explicitly refers to Vanessa getting the beating, not Ursula.

In the Walt Disney version there are three triangulations:

Eric-Ariel-Triton

Ariel-Triton-Ursula

Ariel-Eric-Vanessa

Interpersonal triangulation naturally evokes the situation of the nuclear complex. The first triangle serves as the foundation of the story and as the catalyst for the drama. Much regarding this triangulation has been said by Dundes & Dundes (2000), therefore, I shall not delve much into the subject, save the obvious reverse-electral drama. The presence and effect of this drama is not kept unconscious by Walt Disney and motivates much of the dialogue and conflict of the film.

The second triangulation depicts the electral drama proper. The father betwixt the mother and the daughter. This, too, has been elaborated upon by Dundes & Dundes (2000). This love triangle, however, is only exposited directly during the last moments of the film, in which Ariel seeks to save her father from the curse placed upon him by Ursula. Ariel seeks to restore her fathers manhood and defeat her mother who castrates him and prevents him from loving her.

The third triangulation, as mentioned previously, is a sublimation of the second. In reality, the conflict between Ursula and Ariel lies in their sexual competition over Eric. Ursula’s own personal strivings lie between her competition and sibling rivalry with Triton. Her antagonism towards Ariel is one of pure sexual competition. Her rivalry with Ariel is purely on a sexual basis. Ariel and Vanessa when viewed together represent the idealised polarities of the Madonna-Whore complex. Ariel represents the ideal wife, while Vanessa represents the ideal mistress. Ultimately, Eric realises what his idealisations has led to and he accepts Ariel for who she is. This also is a masculine-oriented approach to the resolution, signifying that it is better for a man to commit to the maiden than the seductress. It is once that Eric resolves his own erotic idealisation of the feminine, mourns it, and accepts it for what it is, that we arrive at the resolution of the film. Ariel, too, mourns the loss of the ideal erotic masculine as unwaveringly loyal and commited and accepts Eric with his flaws as well. It is once this maturation is achieved that Ariel weds and her Electral complex is resolved as indicated by the final words of the movie: “I love you, Daddy.”

REFERENCES

Acuna, K. (2019, July 13). How “The Lion King” codirector, a drag queen, and one of Disney’s greatest animators helped bring “The Little Mermaid” villain to life. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-little-mermaid-ursula-concept-art-2019-7

Barraca Mairal, J. (2015). The “Fortunata syndrome”: A form of emotional dependency. Papeles del Psicólogo, 36(2), 145–152.

Dinnerstein, D. (1967). “The Little Mermaid” and the situation of the girl. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 3, 104–112.

Dundes, L., & Dundes, A. (2000). The Trident and the Fork: Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ as a male construction of an Electral fantasy. Psychoanalytic Studies, 2(2), 117–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/713692451

Meyers, R. W. (2001). The Little Mermaid: Hans Christian Andersen’s feminine identification. Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 3, 149–159.

Tseëlon, E. (1995). The Little Mermaid: An icon of woman’s condition in patriarchy, and the human condition of castration. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 76, 1017–1030.

Wickes, J. (2023, May 30). Jess Alexander is The Little Mermaid’s shining femme fatale. The Face. https://theface.com/culture/jess-alexander-interview-the-little-mermaid-ursula-halle-bailey-melissa-mccarthy-disney-film