![]() Instead of being a beautiful, tall and thin woman like in the villain versions in Snow White o Sleeping Beauty Úrsula was a curvaceous woman with short hair and exaggerated makeup. His sister, Sarah Ashman Gillespie, tells Hazlitt that through writing for Ursula, Ashman "could let himself go and let the nasty out." The fact that Divine's magical vulgarity made it as far as Disney is an incredible feat and The Little Mermaid is forever tied to LGBTQ+ history as a result.After the first glimpses of the characters in The Little Mermaid remake were published, many fans were filled with nostalgia to remember what the animated film was like, remembering the red-haired Ariel or the imposing Úrsula.Īnd it is that, in the case of the villain, that style that broke the stereotypes of the villains that preceded her. Divine's brashness and audacity created room for Ashman to express himself in new ways. ![]() Ashman's connection to, and appreciation of, Divine is especially clear in his own performance as Ursula.Īlthough Divine died before being able to perform the role himself or even see the movie, his influence is loud and clear. Ashman coached Pat Carroll in her performances as Ursula, and there is even an early demo recording of him singing "Poor Unfortunate Souls." Once you know about Divine's influence on the characterization and appearance of Ursula, it's hard to unsee it. It's not just her appearance that was influenced by Divine, but her personality and diction too. The original design was slightly different: for example, she had a shark tail in place of her tentacles, but with a few tweaks she would become the Ursula we know today. When the animator, Rob Minkoff, came up with a sketch that looked a lot like Divine, Ashman was inspired. When Ashman joined the production team for The Little Mermaid, the team had already begun working on sketches for Ursula. Related: The Little Mermaid: What Happened to Ariel’s Mom? These two early works provide a great example of the absurdity and breadth of Waters and Divine's collaborations. The latter is an assortment of seemingly random clips with a soundtrack made of radio adverts, music, and press conferences. The former follows a nanny who kidnaps girls and makes them model in front of an audience in which one member, Divine, imagines she is Jackie Kennedy reliving the JFK assassination. He told NPR that the intention behind his appearance was to be "the exact opposite of what normally would be beautiful." Waters and Divine's first collaborations were the short films Eat Your Makeup and Roman Candles. Divine's sharp and unmistakable makeup look was created by the artist Van Smith, another frequent collaborator with John Waters. He would exaggerate the size of his forehead by shaving his hairline further back, which also made room for larger eye makeup. These early projects were key in the development of Divine's iconic image. It was Waters who gave Divine the name and tagline, "the most beautiful woman in the world.almost." Divine became Waters' muse, and the two quickly began making movies together. After graduating from high school, he worked as a hairdresser, and it was this that sparked his interest in drag. Born in 1945, in Baltimore, Milstead soon met the legendary filmmaker John Waters, who lived on the same street as him. He was a multi-hyphenate who acted, sang, and performed drag. Harris Glenn Milstead was a performer whose stage name was Divine. Here’s how that came about and who Divine is. It’s a beloved story, as with all Disney classics, but even if you’ve seen it several times, what you might not know is that Ursula is based on the legendary drag queen Divine. ![]() Of course, this plan doesn’t quite go as she imagines, as risky deals with sea witches never do. On a forbidden visit to the water’s surface, one human in particular catches her eye, Prince Eric, so she makes a deal with Ursula the witch to become human for three days. If you need a refresher on the plot, it follows Ariel, a mermaid, who dreams of walking on land and being around humans. In this adaptation, Ursula is played by Melissa McCarthy. Now, we have a live-action adaptation of the story, with Halle Bailey in the starring role. ![]() Wright as Sebastian, and Pat Carroll as Ursula. The voice cast included Jodi Benson as Ariel, Samuel E. It was written and directed by Disney veterans Ron Clements and John Musker - who also worked on Hercules and Aladdin - and based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen. The original - animated - version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid was released in 1989. ![]()
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