Disney's version has many variations on the original story
Disney's version has many variations on the original story, published in 1837. For example, the sea witch is a marginal character in the book - she has no name. In the cartoon, she is known as Ursula, with visual characteristics inspired by the famous drag queen and actress Divine. Another variation is that the ending is different: in the tale, the mermaid disappears and turns into an ethereal spirit, much more tragic than the ending in the animation... Did you know?