Poor Unfortunate Souls!
Poor Unfortunate Souls!
The Little Mermaid was originally written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837, but was first properly considered for film in 1985. The concept soon entered production to become the next full-fledged Disney release, but hit a small road block when the original book lacked a true villain. Instead of creating an entirely new character, the film-makers decided to turn the sea witch responsible for Ariel's transfiguration into human a proper villainous monster for the animated film. The name "Ursula" was conceived, as was the character's design. Of course, The Little Mermaid was an instant classic when it finally released in 1989, and Ursula became one of Disney's most popular villains. Since her original introduction, Ursula cameod in Descendents 2 in 2017, a Disney+ The Simpsons short in 2022, and most recently, was recreated in live-action in The Little Mermaid from 2023. Her iconic character and design was fitingly incorporated into the first ever LEGO Disney Minifigures series in 2016, where she included 6 pieces and retailed for $3.99 USD.
This hair-piece was brand new for the figure! It's an exceptional mould that is not only detailed, but it's entirely accurate to the source material! The gray printing on the sides of her hair is perfect, and an extremely generous touch, given the figure is already detailed enough!
Ursula's head print is so expressive, and definitely remeniscent of how she appeared in her 1989 film! The tone of purple it's caste in is perfect, as is the blue eyeshadow above her eyes, and her cherry-red lipstick. She doesn't have an alternate head print, which is completely fine with me.
Her torso includes more printing, with purple flesh above her tentacle piece, and the iconic shell necklace which she uses to trap Ariel's voice. The purple flesh is also printed onto her back, while her arms are simply caste from light purple plastic.
Obviously, the show stealer on this figure is her ginormus tentacle piece. As you might've guessed, this was a completely new mould that was made specifically for this character, and oh my gosh, it might just be one of the best new pieces in the entire Disney series. It's bulky, it's big, and it is detailed, which is exactly what I expect from this character. The tentacles on the bottom are moudled so beautifully, and the piece cleverly incorporates anti-studs to allow connections for a minifigure stand. I absolutely adore this mould, and it's simply exceptional. It has been used once since this figure released.
Accessory-wise, Ursula includes King Triton's staff, which I think is a fitting accessory! It's not a new piece or a new colour, but it looks very similar to the staff seen on The Little Mermaid.
Overall, this is an iconc character that results in an exceptional minifigure. The execution on her is wonderful, her printing is great, her two new moulds are outstanding, and it does such a fantastic job capturing Ursula's original design. LEGO has released Ursula four times since 2016: first as a mini-doll in 2017's Ariel and the Magical Spell; then as a minifigure six years later in 2023's The Little Mermaid Royal Clamshell; thirdly, as a micro-doll in 2023's The Little Mermaid Story Book; and most recently, as a mini-doll once again in 2024's Ariel's Crystal Cavern. Despite the many iterations of Ursula, this 2016 CMF is definitely my favorite version. I'm easily granting her 5 out of 5 stars.
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