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"The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!"

—Ursula

Ursula is a sea witch who repeatedly tries to take control ofAtlantica in theKingdom Hearts series.

Ursula used to serveKing Triton and once lived in the palace. However, she was banished for scheming. Ursula has two pet eels,Flotsam and Jetsam, whom she refers to as her "poopsies". Using magic, Ursula can turn into a young woman namedVanessa. She first appeared in Disney'sThe Little Mermaid.

Development[edit]

Ursula's death scene inKingdom Hearts II was actually the original storyboarded version forThe Little Mermaid, but was changed to Eric ramming a wrecked ship's splintered bowsprit through Ursula's abdomen.^[1]

Story[edit]

Kingdom Hearts[edit]

Ursula comes crawling out to fight Sora and the others.

Ursula was one ofMaleficent's followers in her ring ofvillains, and assisted her by lending the powers of the ocean. With Ursula's help, theHeartless entered Atlantica. Ursula tricked PrincessAriel into helping her steal theTrident from King Triton so that Ariel could see other worlds. Ursula didn't keep her end of the deal - she did threaten Ariel to enter into the dark world of the Heartless, giving herself into darkness in the progress, but failed when Sora and company came to King Triton's palace. She disappeared in ink with the trident in her possession. Ariel joinedSora,Donald, andGoofy to confront her in her lair to get the trident back. Once they arrived, she, Flotsam and Jetsam battled them. In the end, Flotsam and Jetsam were defeated, and Ursula swore revenge before disappearing once again.

Sora and friends found Ursula in a large empty trench. She called them pathetic fools, claiming that she rules the sea now. She used the power of the trident and darkness to become a giant, demanding the sea and its spoils bow to her power. Sora and friends battled her once again. She wielded powerfulThunder magic. However, Ariel, Sora and friends defeated her and she vanished intodarkness.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories[edit]

When Sora arrives inCastle Oblivion's memory version of Atlantica, Ursula tells Ariel that she could help her find her missing friendFlounder with the trident. Ariel agrees, but, unsure of the morality of her actions, tells Ursula she needs more time to think about it. Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive and tell Ariel not to trust Ursula, but they accompany her to Ursula's lair to save Flounder. When Ariel asks to get Flounder back first, Ursula reveals that she kidnapped Flounder to obtain the trident and refuses to release him unless Ariel surrenders it to her. With the trident in her possession, Ursula uses it to become a giant and attacks Sora and his friends, but they are able to defeat her in battle.

Meanwhile, in the Basement,Riku also encounters a memory version of Ursula, but this one is a figment of his inner darkness. He subdues her in battle and takes his leave.

Kingdom Hearts II[edit]

After obtaining the trident, Ursula attempts to destroy Ariel and her friends.

Revived by the powers of darkness, Ursula returns, but without the Heartless and Maleficent on her side. She tells Ariel that she can help her be withPrince Eric by turning Ariel herself into a human (a spell that only lasts for three days). Ariel agrees and signs a contract with Ursula which states that if Ariel was able to kiss Eric before the sunset of the third day, then she could stay human forever, but if she didn't obtain a kiss, she would turn back into a mermaid and belong to Ursula. After Ariel signs the contract, Ursula takes Ariel's voice (the price for Ursula's spell) and turns the princess into a human girl.

After three days had passed and Ariel still hadn't obtained a kiss, Ursula turns herself into a human girl (Vanessa) and uses Ariel's voice to hypnotize Eric, taking him away from Ariel. Sora and the others saw through Ursula's disguise and broke the amulet in that contains Ariel's voice, thus releasing Eric from her grip and returning Ariel's voice. However, the sun had set and Ursula drags Ariel into the sea with her. King Triton tries to stop Ursula, but not even he could break the contract, so King Triton signs over Ariel's name and takes her place. This allows Ursula to have possession over the trident once again, and she uses its power to become gigantic one more time. With the trident, Ursula turns King Triton into a lowly sea creature.

Sora battles Ursula, defeating her "poopsies" Flotsam and Jetsam. Sora finally knocks the trident out of Ursula's hand and it lands in the boat which Prince Eric is on. He then throws it at Ursula and the trident goes through her chest in a beam of light. The fatally wounded Ursula sinks below the waves.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance[edit]

The phantom Ursula rises out of the ocean to fight Sora and Riku.

After Riku and Sora head out on their raft from theDestiny Islands to begin theirMark of Mastery exam, an apparition of Ursula rises out of the ocean in her giant form following the sudden strike of a storm, shocking both Keyblade wielders. She leaks that theRobed Figure had directed her toward Sora and Riku, then assaults the pair. Although they defeat her, they are dragged into the water by her wake, where they find theKeyhole toTraverse Town.

Design[edit]

Ursula in her "Vanessa" form.

Ursula is an obesececaelia, a mythical being with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of an octopus, with lavender skin. The top side of her octopus half is pitch black and reaches up over her chest, resembling a shoulder less, backless gown. The underside is a bright violet color, while Ursula's short hair is stark white with a few grey streaks that stands on end. She also sports a widow's peak hairline. She wears various forms of make-up, including purple nail polish on her pointed nails, light blue eyeliner, dark purple eye shadow, bright red lipstick, and seemingly penciled-on black eyebrows. Ursula has a small beauty mark near her chin on the left side of her face.

She also wears a yellowspiral shell necklace on a thin black cord, as well as two violet,thinner spiral shells as earrings, one on each ear. Despite being based on an octopus, Ursula only has six tentacles, as opposed to an octopus's eight. This was a change made in the original film, because it would have been too expensive to animate eight tentacles.

When disguised as Vanessa, Ursula takes the form of a thin, fair-skinned young woman with long, black hair. She wears black shoes, pantyhose, and a navy blue and sky blue dress. She also wears red lipstick and a yellow seashell - which contains Ariel's voice - as a necklace. Her attire is very similar to the clothing Ariel wears as a human.

Personality[edit]

Ursula bears strong resentment towards King Triton, wishing revenge and ill will on him. Being banished from his kingdom has seemed to turn her into a lonely individual, as well as a megalomaniac who wishes to become powerful and rule all the seas. Another example of her vengeful nature is that anyone who does not keep their end of the bargain in Ursula's contracts are doomed to become polyps in her garden; though she cheats by setting them up to fail.

Ursula is a witch who is interested in black magic. For example, she has a cauldron in her cave, and has the ability to transform merpeople into humans and polyps without the Trident's help, although she seems to need her magical contracts and the signature of the consented for this. Curiously, the fact she interfered with Ariel did not void the contract.

Ursula is scheming, deceitful, and devious. She is a highly skilled manipulator, twice deceiving Ariel into helping her under false pretenses (she persuaded her that she only wanted to help).

She only cares for herself, and her "poopsies", Flotsam and Jetsam. Unlike the other villains, she cares about her minions, the "poopsies", treating them as almost like sons or beloved pets. She is very protective of them and becomes enraged and vengeful if they're killed in combat, to the point of a psychotic hate.

Origin[edit]

Ursula originates from Disney's 1989 movieThe Little Mermaid, voiced by the late Pat Carroll, who reprised the role in theKingdom Hearts series. Ursula was banished from Atlantica's royal palace by King Triton. She then sought revenge to the King and wishes to command the sea by taking King Triton's trident. One day, she founds out that King Triton's daughter, Ariel, was in love with a human prince, Eric. Seeing this as an opportunity, she manipulated Ariel into signing an agreement in which Ursula transformed Ariel into a human, and Ariel had three days to get Prince Eric to kiss her or otherwise Ariel will belong to Ursula. In exchange, Ursula also took Ariel's voice. Seeing how Ariel nearly kissed with Prince Eric, Ursula transforms herself into a beautiful woman named "Vanessa" and she uses Ariel's voice to sing, which attracts Prince Eric's attention. Prince Eric eventually decides Vanessa was the one that saved him and he planned a marriage with her. Ariel thwarted the plan and Ursula escapes with Ariel into the ocean. Trying to broke free Ariel from Ursula's deal, King Triton trades place with Ariel and is turned into a polyp. Ursula gains King Triton's Trident and wreaks havoc in the sea by turning into a giant, but she is destroyed when Eric rams a ship's splintered bowsprit through her stomach, causing her to lose control of the Trident's powers which subsequently consume her. All of her spells are undone, returning King Triton and the merpeople back from their polyp forms.

The name of Ursula's human disguise, "Vanessa", is derived from the Latin word "Vanitas" (but unrelated toVanitas himself), meaning "vanity".

Notes and references[edit]

• Entelechy
• Atlantica
• Destiny Islands
• Disney characters
• Kingdom Hearts characters
• Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories characters
• Kingdom Hearts II characters
• Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance characters
• Antagonists