60 free The Little Mermaid trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
54 free The Little Mermaid trivia questions with answers. Andersen's little mermaid gives up her tongue and walks on knives; Disney's Ariel gets a talking crab and a happy ending. This quiz covers both, plus everything in between: the 1989 animated film's voice cast, songs and Oscars, the direct-to-video sequels, the CBS cartoon, the Broadway show, the 2023 live-action remake with Halle Bailey, and the much-vandalised statue on the Copenhagen waterfront. It is built for families and Disney fans alike. Roughly a third of the questions are easy enough for kids who know the film by heart, and the rest climb steadily to real stumpers about production trivia, animation decisions and Andersen's original text. Every answer has been checked against a primary source, mainly the relevant Wikipedia articles and official pages, so the fun facts hold up when someone in the room insists you are wrong.
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Q 01In The Little Mermaid, who is Ariel's best friend, a nervous yellow-and-blue fish?
Flounder
Despite the name, he is drawn to resemble a royal angelfish rather than an actual flounder.
Q 02What are the names of Ursula's two green moray eel henchmen?
Flotsam and Jetsam
Both eels were voiced by the same actress, Paddi Edwards, who gave them their eerie whispering unison.
Q 03What breed of dog is Max, Prince Eric's loyal pet in the animated film?
Old English Sheepdog
Max was voiced, uncredited, by Frank Welker, the prolific animal-voice specialist behind Scooby-Doo's Fred and countless creatures.
Q 04Who plays Ariel in Disney's 2023 live-action remake?
Halle Bailey
She rose to fame as one half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle before landing the role.
Q 05Which comedy star plays the sea witch Ursula in the 2023 live-action remake?
Melissa McCarthy
The animated Ursula was voiced by Pat Carroll for more than three decades, from the original film until her death in 2022.
Q 06How old is Ariel in Disney's animated film, as she famously reminds her father?
Sixteen
Her outburst 'I'm not a child anymore!' is the line that sets up her rebellion against King Triton.
Q 07Hans Christian Andersen, author of the original fairy tale, was from which country?
Denmark
He wrote the tale in Danish under the title 'Den lille havfrue', which has also been rendered in English as 'The Little Sea Maid'.
Q 08In the direct-to-video sequel Return to the Sea, what is the name of Ariel and Eric's child?
Melody
That film made Ariel the first, and so far only, Disney Princess to become a mother.
Q 09The famous bronze Little Mermaid statue sits on the Langelinie promenade in which city?
Copenhagen
At only 1.25 metres tall, the statue is regularly cited as one of the world's most underwhelming landmarks by first-time visitors.
Q 10What name does Ursula use when she disguises herself as a human to seduce Prince Eric?
Vanessa
The disguise runs on Ariel's stolen singing voice, kept in the seashell around Ursula's neck.
Q 11What is the title of Ursula's big villain song in the animated film?
Poor Unfortunate Souls
The number was performed by Pat Carroll, who was chosen after names such as Bea Arthur, Joan Collins and Elaine Stritch were considered.
Q 12Which duo wrote and directed Disney's animated The Little Mermaid?
Ron Clements and John Musker
The same pair went on to direct Aladdin, Hercules, The Princess and the Frog and Moana.
Q 13Who wrote the lyrics to the animated film's songs, working with composer Alan Menken?
Howard Ashman
Q 21The 1992-94 animated TV series based on the film aired Saturday mornings on which US network?
CBS
It was a prequel set before the film, and brought back Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Kenneth Mars and Pat Carroll.
Q 22Which sculptor created the bronze Little Mermaid statue unveiled in 1913?
Edvard Eriksen
When the ballerina he asked to pose declined to model nude, he used his own wife Eline as the body model instead.
Q 23Carl Jacobsen, who commissioned the Little Mermaid statue, was the son of which company's founder?
Carlsberg
Jacobsen was also the founder of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum, filled with sculpture he collected.
He also produced the film, and pushed for the songs to drive the story the way they would in a Broadway show.
Q 14Before the film's lyricist reworked him, Sebastian was originally conceived as what kind of character?
An English butler crab named Clarence
Making him Jamaican shifted the whole score toward calypso and reggae, which is how the film ended up with its most famous song.
Q 15Ursula's look was famously modelled on which real-life figure?
Drag queen Divine
Divine, John Waters' muse from films like Pink Flamingos, died in 1988 before the film was released.
Q 16Animators studied footage of which person to work out how Ariel's hair should move underwater?
Astronaut Sally Ride in space
Weightless hair in orbit turned out to be a close match for hair drifting in water, and the team also filmed a live-action model in a swimming pool.
Q 17Who originated the role of Ariel in the Broadway stage adaptation?
Sierra Boggess
Boggess later became Broadway's Christine in Love Never Dies and the 25th-anniversary Phantom of the Opera.
Q 18In the sequel Return to the Sea, how is the villain Morgana related to Ursula?
She is her younger sister
Pat Carroll returned to voice Morgana, meaning she played both villains of the franchise.
Q 19Which Oscar-winning actress voiced the villain Marina Del Rey in the prequel Ariel's Beginning?
Sally Field
Marina is a scheming governess who wants Sebastian's job as King Triton's right hand.
Q 20In the prequel Ariel's Beginning, what did a grieving King Triton ban from Atlantica after Athena's death?
Singing and playing songs
Ariel breaks the ban when she follows a new fish friend to a secret underground club where Sebastian performs.
Q 24In Andersen's original tale, at what age is a mermaid first allowed to swim up and see the world above?
Fifteen
Each of her older sisters gets her turn first, and the little mermaid must wait years listening to their reports of ships and cities.
Q 25In Andersen's tale, what happens to a mermaid when she dies?
She turns into sea foam
That is the crux of the story: unlike humans, mermaids have no immortal soul, which is what the heroine truly wants.
Q 26Who directed the 2023 live-action remake?
Rob Marshall
Marshall is the musical specialist behind Chicago, Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns.
Q 27Alan Menken wrote the new songs for the 2023 remake with which Hamilton creator?
Lin-Manuel Miranda
His additions included 'Wild Uncharted Waters' for Eric and a rap number for Scuttle called 'The Scuttlebutt'.
Q 28Jodi Benson, the original animated voice of Ariel, has a cameo in the 2023 remake as what?
A market vendor
She hands Ariel a fork during the tour of the kingdom, a wink to Scuttle's most famous mislabelled 'human stuff'.
Q 29Besides Ariel, Jodi Benson is best known for voicing which character in the Toy Story films?
Barbie
She was named a Disney Legend in 2011 and voiced Ariel again among the princesses in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Q 30Which song from the animated film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song?
Under the Sea
The film picked up two Oscars that night; Alan Menken took the other for Best Original Score.