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Prince Eric has been a considerable part of The Little Mermaid enterprise, and with the new live-action remake of the 1989 Disney original film all set to premiere in theatres on May 26, 2023, the character has naturally garnered attention from fans.
The fans are incredibly excited to see the character finally come to life in the upcoming film. Since his role is slated to be played by the incredibly talented British-American actor Jonah Hauer-King, the anticipation for the film is at an all-time high.
Prince Eric is known for being a hopeless romantic, a warrior, and an incredibly charming prince and his love story with Ariel has been deemed one of the most beautifully crafted stories in all of Disney.
Here are some facts about the character that The Little Mermaid fans may not know about:
5 interesting facts about Prince Eric
1) Prince Eric is based on the prince in the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale The Little Mermaid
In the original 1837 novel The Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Anderson introduced the character of Prince Eric to the readers. However, the character in the book was nameless and his relationship with Ariel was strictly platonic.
Even though the prince's character was featured briefly in the actual novel and his love story with Ariel was a secondary storyline, the 1989 animated Disney film adaptation of the novel portrayed Eric's character in the lead role with his love story with Ariel being the central focus of the film.
2) Prince Eric does not end up with Ariel in the novel
In the novel, Ariel's primary objective is not to fall in love with Eric, but to gain an eternal soul by becoming a human. Eric, however, is just one of the many characters Ariel encounters in her coming-of-age story.
While the film correctly saw Ariel save Eric from drowning, the incident did not lead to the start of both the characters' love stories. Instead, the book dictates that Ariel, after saving Eric, must leave him on land to go and meet Ursula.
When Eric eventually wakes up, he sees a different princess passing by and assumes that it was her who saved him from drowning. The character eventually marries that princess, while Ariel who was supposed to get the prince to fall in love with her, fails in her quest and chooses death.
3) Prince Eric does not sing until the second movie
Unlike other Disney princes, Prince Eric is the only prince in the entire history of Disney to skip out on the traditional role of singing in a film.
While the other films from the studio always see the male protagonists singing a song to impress and confess their love to the Disney princess, what is surprising is that The Little Mermaid saw nothing of the kind.
Down to the Sea is the first song sung by the Disney character in the second installment of the franchise titled Litte Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. While the song is sung mainly by Ariel and Sebastian the Crab, there are parts of the song sung by Eric. The song is sung to celebrate Eric and Ariels' daughter Melody's christening as she's the first child ever born of land and sea.
4) Christopher Daniel Barnes voiced the character at 16 years of age
Prince Eric's character was voiced by actor and writer Christopher Daniel Barnes at the young age of 16. The producers and executives of The Little Mermaid made this decision as the actor sound much older than his actual age.
5) Rob Paulsen voices Eric's character in the second film
In an unexpected decision by Disney executives, animated voice actor and director Rob Paulsen was chosen to voice Eric's character in the second installment of The Little Mermaid franchise.
Actor Christopher Daniel Barnes did not reprise his role in the film and while it has been speculated that he was unable to take part in the film due to scheduling issues, it has never been confirmed.
The Little Mermaid arrived in theatres on May 26, 2023.
