Ariel Color Red

Ariel's red hair in The Little Mermaid is iconic, but did you ever wonder why her hair is that shade? There's a fascinating story behind the hair color choice. 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. If you want to know why Ariel's hair is red in The Little Mermaid, we have the right answer.

Read on to see why Disney's creators picked the fiery red hue. Since red is a complementary color to Ariel's green tail, the choice was made." Without Splash, the Ariel character we know and love today might look completely different! The sea-green color of Ariel's mermaid tail was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab; the color was named "Ariel" after the character.

The choice of red as Ariel's hair color was the subject of dispute between the filmmakers and studio executives who wanted the character to have blonde hair. Ariel was far from the first doll to sport red hair. For over 30 years, Ariel's red locks have become an iconic part of her look and a symbol of her curiosity, spirit, and determination.

Why Change Ariel's Hair Color? Casting a Black actress as Ariel has naturally sparked questions about how she will look in the live. Image via Disney's The Little Mermaid It's hard to imagine Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid with a hair color that's other than an intense, fiery red. Startlingly, Disney previously planned for her to be blonde.

Why the dramatic dye job? Disney's official blog, Oh My Disney, explained that in 1984. In The Little Mermaid (1989), Ariel's bright red hair was chosen deliberately by Disney animators to distinguish her from the blonde mermaid played by Daryl Hannah in the 1984 movie Splash.