Concept Art for Ariel and Prince Eric from “The Little Mermaid”
During production for “The Little Mermaid,” animators took inspiration for their lead characters from a lot of contemporary sources in the 1980s. Animators Glen Keane and Mark Henn based Ariel’s look on Alyssa Milano, who was starring on the show “Who’s the Boss?” at the time, and they created Prince Eric’s look based on Broadway performer Joshua Finkel’s movements.