Ariel's red hair in The Little Mermaid is iconic, but did you ever wonder why her hair is that exact shade of siren? There's actually a fascinating story behind the hair color choice. Disney's animators originally wanted Ariel to be a blonde, but they ended up making her a redhead so she wouldn't look too similar to the mermaid, played by Daryl Hannah, in the film Splash, which was wildly. Ariel's striking red hair in Disney's The Little Mermaid was chosen to distinguish her from Splash's Daryl Hannah, although it terrified toymakers.
Fire Engine Red Ariel One other place Ariel's hair color didn't really translate was in the Disney theme parks. In 1989, the year the film was released, her character was seen with light orange/strawberry blonde hair. Of course, people loved the movie and Ariel, and viewers expected the dolls and the character actors to match the movie.
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of "The Little Mermaid," starring Halle Bailey. Read the interview with her hairstylist on creating Ariel's look. The Little Mermaid Hair Dept.
Head Camille Friends shares secrets from and how her team created Ariel's iconic red hair for the film. The "Little Mermaid" hairstylist Camille Friend shares how they created the style, chose the color, and managed under. Ariel hair is this summer's red hot beauty trend with stars like Megan Fox, Emily Ratajkowski, Julia Fox and Marsai Martin all recently going crimson.
Ultimately, though, Ariel's red hair was selected However, as Oh My Disney reports, "While they originally wanted Ariel to be a blonde, some thought it was too similar to Hannah's character. Ariel was far from the first doll to sport red hair. A Brief History of Ariel's Hair In the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale published in 1837, Ariel is described as having "eyes as blue as the deepest sea, but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish's tail." Her hair color is not mentioned.