{"id":27874,"date":"2024-06-28T08:50:21","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T12:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2024-07-01T09:39:50","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T13:39:50","slug":"ariel-swims-into-a-new-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/ariel-swims-into-a-new-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Ariel Swims into a New Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disney Jr.\u2019s Ariel<\/em>, a new animated musical series for preschoolers inspired by The Little Mermaid<\/em>, had its debut on June 27. It follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on underwater adventures throughout their fairytale kingdom and beyond. With the new series comes both reimagined and familiar versions of beloved characters, along with new additions.<\/p>\n

One such reimagining is for Ursula, known in The Little Mermaid<\/em> as a villainous, manipulative sea witch. In Disney Jr.\u2019s Ariel<\/em>, Ursula acts as the princess\u2019s loving and understanding aunt. \u201cThe Ursula character had to change, sort of out of necessity,\u201d explains Lynne Southerland, executive producer. \u201cOur audience is 4- to 6-year-olds, and they\u2019re not going to be drawn to any story where someone is mean and aggressive or doing bad things to their favorite character.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southerland adds: \u201cUrsula is integral to the story; she is a member of the family. It\u2019s not like we could just throw her away. So, we reshaped her into someone who belongs in this version of Ariel<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping the age range and appetite of the audience in mind is, indeed, crucial. When using known IP, it\u2019s a delicate balance between maintaining the story\u2019s cozy familiarity and still making thoughtful adjustments.<\/p>\n

Amber Riley (Glee<\/em>), who plays Ursula in Disney Jr.\u2019s new iteration, quipped, \u201cI got involved because, selfishly, I just want all my nieces and nephews to see me play her.<\/em>\u201d An icon is an icon. Certain characters and facets of IP are indispensable.<\/p>\n

Alongside Riley, Disney tapped quite a few known talents for this series. Taye Diggs (Rent<\/em>) voices King Triton, Ariel\u2019s father, while Mykal-Michelle Harris (mixed-ish<\/em>) stars as the titular mermaid princess. Disney benefits from its powerhouse brand recognition, which certainly helps attract celebrities and, in turn, makes the show stand out that much more in a crowded market.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny opportunity to work with Disney is something that you have to seriously consider,\u201d Diggs explains. \u201cI\u2019m also right in that age bracket where I grew up on The Little Mermaid<\/em>. To be a part of a new construct meant a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris adds, \u201cI was really excited to get involved with [the project]. The reason that this type of show is so important is because it shows such a diverse group of characters. It really is important to show that type of cast in front of young kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diversity is a main tenant of Disney Jr.\u2019s Ariel<\/em>. \u201cThe next generation comes into the world cable-ready,\u201d says Southerland. \u201cWe\u2019ve laid a path, and now this group of kids is born ready for things that we couldn\u2019t be ready for. They\u2019re ready to live in a world where everyone doesn\u2019t look like them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKids are like sponges,\u201d Harris says. Those different life experiences, viewpoints and more are crucial, both when it comes to shaping the next generation and keeping them interested. Southerland comments, \u201cWe\u2019re tapping into where kids are.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s known or new IP, animation or live-action, the intention behind the content is the key to helping it shine through. \u201cYou don\u2019t know when you\u2019re doing things the impact they can have until you turn around and look behind you,\u201d Southerland reflects. \u201cI\u2019ve been extremely fortunate to have worked on some shows that people now come up to me and say, I watched that 100 times.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Disney Jr.\u2019s Ariel<\/em> cements its place in the vast library of Disney content, Southerland says, \u201cI really believe it will join as something that kids will turn on over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taye Diggs, Amber Riley, Mykal-Michelle Harris and Lynne Southerland talk about Disney Jr.\u2019s Ariel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3087,"featured_media":27875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,21],"tags":[9698,9454,9700,9699,9697],"class_list":["post-27874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-amber-riley","tag-disney-jr-s-ariel","tag-lynne-southerland","tag-mykal-michelle-harris","tag-taye-diggs","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nAriel Swims into a New Series - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/ariel-swims-into-a-new-series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ariel Swims into a New Series - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taye Diggs, Amber Riley, Mykal-Michelle Harris and Lynne Southerland talk about Disney Jr.\u2019s Ariel.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/ariel-swims-into-a-new-series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-28T12:50:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-01T13:39:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/06\/DisneyJr-Ariel-0624.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"394\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alexa Alfano\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alexa Alfano\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/ariel-swims-into-a-new-series\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/ariel-swims-into-a-new-series\/\",\"name\":\"Ariel Swims into a New Series - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-28T12:50:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-01T13:39:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/2653b97e27eaf76a4713c75f0e821dad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/ariel-swims-into-a-new-series\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/ariel-swims-into-a-new-series\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/ariel-swims-into-a-new-series\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ariel Swims into a New Series\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\",\"name\":\"TVKIDS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/2653b97e27eaf76a4713c75f0e821dad\",\"name\":\"Alexa Alfano\",\"description\":\"Alexa Alfano is associate editor at World Screen. 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