“Kids love comedy, music, and to see themselves on the screen,” Disney Junior’s Ariel executive producer Lynne Southerland said during a Disney Television Animation panel at the TCA Winter Press Tour. At the time, the public debut of her show was still half a year away, but the wait is almost over with the June 28th launch of the animated musical series. “Ariel is an opportunity to meld all of that into a half-hour show, and the kids will tell us whether they like it or not.”
(Disney/PictureGroup)
Kids are already responding positively to music from the series, which was released early on streaming platforms. “I think we will engage the parents through the amazing music that the show has in every episode,” Lynne explained about the rise in popularity of co-viewing. Ariel’s stories are tailored to a preschool audience, but parents will likely find themselves responding to the music. “I think [some of the songs] could end up like top 40-type songs. I’m looking forward to getting them out there.”
Lynne Southerland’s career in entertainment began with live-action films, primarily as an editor, which is how she made the jump to animation on films like The Road to El Dorado and Bebe’s Kids. That led to animation-producing roles on HBO’s Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child and Disney’s direct-to-video film An Extremely Goofy Movie, and even her directorial debut with Disney’s Mulan 2. “I'm always coming from the place of being a storyteller,” Lynne said of her approach to Ariel. “Just put good ideas out there, build a group, a family of characters who can share different aspects of who we are emotionally. And when we put them together, we're watching it feel like we're in a neighborhood. We're part of something.”
One of Laughing Place’s animation experts, Tony Betti, recently interviewed Lynne Southerland about the upcoming launch of Disney Junior’s Ariel. “I love that Ariel becomes my second iconic Disney female character,” Lynne shared. “The benefit with Ariel is I bring everything that I've learned from the past.”
Unlike the previous series spin-off of The Little Mermaid (1992-1994), Disney Junior’s Ariel is indirectly connected to the 1989 animated classic. “For those of us who know The Little Mermaid, there are certain aspects of [Ariel’s] world that, if they weren't there, it would feel off,” Lynne shared about what is and isn’t incorporated from the film. “That includes Ursula and Triton, as well as Flounder and Sebastian. That's core to the circle of her family, in a sense. Then, because of who the audience is, it is a preschool audience. we thought it was important that she actually have a group of friends rather than be on a solo Journey, thus the creation of Lucia and Fernie to round out her little team of adventurers.”
Incorporating classic elements from the hit film, but done in a way relevant to today’s preschool audiences, Disney Junior’s Ariel isn’t trying to continue a story in the same way The Lion Guard did. “It was kind of elemental that [Ursula] could not be that character from the movies,” Lynne said about the film’s villain, who is now Ariel’s helpful aunt, voiced by Glee’s Amber Riley. “For this audience, we didn't want to lose Ursula. We just needed to shift how we see her, and bring up the good qualities within her. She's still Triton’s sister, but now she is the adoring auntie. We were lucky enough to get Amber Riley. This is where voice casting is so important. She brings such a loving, warm energy to the character that it fully comes together. You could have a whole different kind of voice attached to that design, which would then develop who Ursula is, but Amber brought exactly the right tone for this audience.”
“I want this preschool audience to be inspired by how self-possessed [Ariel] is,” Lynne Southerland concluded about her hopes for the series. Just like the animated heroine from The Little Mermaid that inspired the show’s lead character, Disney Junior’s Ariel is a headstrong, inquisitive child with a thirst for knowledge and a love of music. “She's full of dreams and a desire for adventure and has a great big heart. Those are the things I want kids to feel inspired by.”
Disney Junior’s Ariel premieres with two back-to-back episodes this Thursday, June 27th, at 9:00 am ET on Disney Junior, with an encore presentation on Disney Channel at 10:00 am ET. The first eight episodes begin streaming on Disney+ this Friday, June 28th.