10. Sebastian, one of the biggest breakout characters from the film, wasn’t written to be from the Caribbean, but rather was meant to be British.
However, when producer Ashman read the script, he suggested making the change because he wanted to infuse a “Jamaican and calypso influenced score that would give it a pop feeling.” And that’s how “Under the Sea,” the song that would go on to win Best Original Song at the 1989 Oscars, was born.
11. When Samuel Wright auditioned for his career-making role as a Caribbean crab, he actually had no idea what he was auditioning for.
“I was told they were looking for a Sammy Davis Jr.-type of character, a lot of energy, I was going to go in and do Sammy…that’s all I knew,” he recalled to Madame Noire. “I had no idea it was for Little Mermaid. I flipped out because I always wanted to work for Disney ever since I was a little kid. I used to paint Disney characters on window pane glass and mail it to Disney.”
12. While they initially didn’t want Wright to ad-lib lines, after he had finished his voice-work he was called back in for one last session where they asked him to spend three hours adding whatever he’d like. That included the line, “Teenagers, you think they know everything. You gave them an inch, they swim all over you.”
