Prince Eric’s New Little Mermaid Story Explained (2024)

The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid features multiple changes and updates to the 1989 animated movie, including a new origin story for Prince Eric and the inclusion of his mother. Back in 1989, The Little Mermaid’s success was credited with launching what has since become known as the Disney Renaissance, having led to a great run for the company that had been plagued in the previous decade by box office failure. Thus, it was only natural for Disney to want to revisit The Little Mermaid and Ariel with a live-action remake with expansions to the characters and story.

One of the biggest changes in the live-action The Little Mermaid is Prince Eric’s character. In the original animated film, Prince Eric, like many other love interests of the Disney Renaissance, was a bit one-dimensional. However, the live-action The Little Mermaid’s runtime, coming in at 52 minutes longer than the original, offered plenty of room to flesh out Prince Eric’s character through some added backstory and even his own song, “Wild Uncharted Waters,” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Little Mermaid's new additions also help improve the central romance between Ariel and Eric and are evidence of the fact that changes and updates in remakes can be done for the better.

The Little Mermaid Remake Reveals Eric Was Adopted By The King & Queen

In the animated version of The Little Mermaid, Prince Eric’s parents aren’t present, but the 2023 live-action remake features the addition of his mother, Queen Selina. A conversation with Queen Selina in the remake also reveals that Prince Eric isn’t a prince by birth, but was rather adopted by the queen and the now-deceased king when he was a young boy. The circ*mstances of how he came into the king and queen’s care are unknown, but given that they are rulers of a Caribbean island in The Little Mermaid, it's likely that his parents died in a shipwreck similar to the one that Ariel saved Eric from.

Another change the live-action The Little Mermaid made from the animated original was that rather than Eric finding the human form of Ariel on the beach after her deal with Ariel, she is caught up in the net of a palace worker who takes her in. The fact that a young woman was brought into the palace so willingly and met with open arms and care shows that there is a history of the royal family doing this, and Eric’s adoption could be an example of that. It could also help explain why Prince Eric is so eager to help Ariel and perhaps sees her as a kindred spirit.

What Happened To Eric's Father In The Little Mermaid Remake

While it is made clear what happened to Ariel’s mother in The Little Mermaid remake, the film offers no explanation for how the king died or when. Prince Eric is expected to follow in his father’s footsteps when he becomes king, and while not much is actually known about the deceased king, there could be further parallels between Ariel and Eric through their parents’ backstories. From the start, King Triton is opposed to humans and the surface world and Ariel’s interest in them because they killed his wife, though Ariel argues that it was just one man who was at fault, not all of mankind.

Similarly, Queen Selina is opposed to merpeople, and while reasoning isn’t provided, it’s possible that her husband could have been killed at sea or even by merpeople. Selina wants Eric to stay on the island rather than travel at sea, with Sir Grimbsy often reminding Eric of her orders to stay in the palace until he is healed from the shipwreck incident. It’s obvious that Selina views the ocean as dangerous, which could be that not only did she almost lose Eric, but that the sea took her husband from them as well.

Eric's New Backstory Explains His Big The Little Mermaid Character Changes

Prince Eric’s new origin story explains why his character is so similar to Ariel’s, and why this Eric is so different from his character in the original The Little Mermaid animated film. As he sings in “Wild Uncharted Waters,” Prince Eric has wants that didn’t match up with what was expected from him as the future king. The song opens with him singing, “All I ever wanted / Was the open sea and sky / Freedom from the life I always knew.”

Prince Eric is resistant to following in his father’s footsteps as king because while it’s all he’s ever known since he was adopted so young, he wasn’t born into the role. Instead, he wants to sail the seas and connect with people and other kingdoms, bringing them into the modern day as he explains to his mother. Prince Eric’s desire to be with the people makes sense as that’s where he truly came from, and his desire to be on the sea could be a hint towards his biological parents, how they died, and how he was then adopted by the king and queen in The Little Mermaid.