Ursula's Garden
| “ | King Triton's headstrong, love-sick girl would make a charming addition to my little garden. | „ |
| ~ Ursula threatens to "add" Ariel to her "Garden" in Disney's The Little Mermaid. |
| “ | They're all liars who came to me for help but couldn't pay the price. | „ |
| ~ Ursula about her merfolk victims turned into polyps and remain trapped within her Garden in the Kingdom Hearts manga. |
Ursula's Garden is an area that is the cruel sea witch Ursula's own "garden" and her personal collection of merfolk that turned into polyps and hang around the entrance hall to her lair. Each one was once a mermaid and a merman who came to Ursula for help in some matter, but could not afford her high demands, leaving them helpless before her power.
History
Ursula overseeing her Garden and the polyps in it within her Grotto.
The polyp's first appearance in the movie was when Ursula chuckled at the idea of Ariel becoming a "charming addition to my little garden.".
Their second appearance was when Ariel went to Ursula's lair. Ariel was disgusted by the sight of the polyps, but continued forwards anyways. One of the polyps grabbed Ariel's wrist and tried pulling her away from Ursula's lair, but in a fit of fright, Ariel managed to pull her wrist away.
During the song "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Ursula explained the backstory of how all her polyps were merfolk who were unable to pay her price, so she took them as compensation, and if Ariel was unable to complete her side of the deal, she would be transformed along with them. The film also implies that their souls were absorbed by Ursula in the process.
During the battle with Ursula, King Triton was transformed into a polyp when he decided to take Ariel's place in the deal, but shortly after the battle, (when Ursula was killed), he and the rest of the garden were transformed back into merfolk.
Appearances in other media
TV appearances
The polyps in Ursula's lair were never featured in The Little Mermaid TV series, probably due to their frightening appearance, but a creature of similar appearance did appear in the episode, "Tale of Two Crabs". In this, Ursula steals a magical stone which she uses to transform the denizens of Triton's Palace into what she calls, "worms". When she successfully manages to transform King Triton, Ariel, and Flounder, it fell unto Sebastian's rival Zeus to save the day by destroying Ursula's stone.
In the episode titled "Pete's House of Villains" of Disney's House of Mouse, Pete hires Ursula to seat guests to their tables, only instead of seating them to tables, she transforms them into polyps. King Triton is the first one to be transformed and see on screen. His appearance being vastly different from his appearance in the movie; what with his eyes being white instead of golden, his crown shrinking with him, and still sporting his white beard. Fast forward through the episode and Pete is firing Ursula because of this behavior. In annoyance, Ursula briefly transforms him into a polyp. He bounces away angrily, saying he does not want to see her again. Though later in the episode, he appears to have made a recovery.
Videogame appearances
The polyps as seen within Ursula's Castle in the NES video game adaption of The Little Mermaid.
In the NES videogame adaptation of The Little Mermaid, the polyps are stationed in the far end of Ursula's lair, in a hallway just before your encounter with her. Because of Ursula's lair being designed as a maze, the polyps serve the purpose of telling the player that they have reached the correct destination and are on their way to fighting Ursula. All they shall do is point vertically from the position they are in and bite at Ariel, most likely warning her to turn back. But they will hurt the player if touched.
In the SEGA genesis videogame adaptation of The Little Mermaid, Ursula has transformed all the citizens of the entire kingdom of Atlantica into polyps and have scattered them across the ocean. It is up to Ariel of King Triton to free them from the spell. For the whole game the polyps serve as items to collect. Simply touching the polyps will free them from the curse and return them to their merfolk forms. Ariel's singing is also able to free them as well. In the game, along with the randompolyps Ariel or King Triton have been transformed into polyps and are being held hostage by Ursula in her fortress.
In the videogame Ariel's Story Studio, the polyps can be found in Ursula's lair and during the final battle. If the player were to click on them, all that would happen is that they would moan and groan in agony. In the game, after the final battle takes place the polyps will transform back to normal, and Ursula will have been transformed into a polyp herself.
The polyps appear for 3 minigames of The Little Mermaid 2 Pinball Frenzy. The first one they would appear in is a minigame called, Flotsam and Jetsam, where they are background objects watching you face Flotsam and Jetsam. The second minigame where they're featured is the Ursula minigame, where you battle Ursula in her giant form. Once again they are background objects. The third minigame is the King Triton minigame. In this minigame the you knock your pinball into the creatures, and after 2 hits they shall be transformed back to normal. The goal is to free every polyp on the board, so that you can free King Triton, who is the final polyp you must rescue.
In the PlayStation game The Little Mermaid II , you control Ariel as she travels to Ursula's lair. Once inside you must get through her garden of polyps to reach the main hall of her lair. The polyps will swing back and forth to hit Ariel, and she must maneuver through the tight corridors to escape them.
Polyps in Ursula's Garden within her Lair in Kingdom Hearts.
In Kingdom Hearts, the polyps can be seen in the front of Ursula's cavern in the Tidal Abyss. All they do in the game is watch Sora. They will follow him wherever he goes, but do nothing else. Strangely, after Ursula is defeated, the polyps do not return to their original forms, probably due to complications with the hardware.
In Kingdom Hearts II, King Triton is briefly turned into a polyp and is about to be killed by Ursula, until Eric interupts the act by throwing his spear at her.
The polyps in the Kingdom Hearts manga.
In the first Kingdom Hearts manga, King Triton is transformed into a polyp when Ursula uses his Trident against him. The polyps in her garden were all described by Ursula as, "Liars whom came to me for help but couldn't pay the price." When Ursula is defeated, they all transform back into normal merfolk.
Manga appearances
In the printed manga Kilala Princess, the polyps make a short appearance shortly after Ursula has knocked Kilala into submission. After she declares herself to be queen of the ocean, Ursula turns to Kilala and tells her that she'll turn into a polyp during the celebration.
Gallery
Trivia
- Despite what many may think, the polyps were not an original concept by Disney. They were taken from the original fairy tale The Little Mermaid, only there they were guardians to the witch's lair instead of doomed merfolk.
- The SEGA genesis video game based off the movie was the first form of media to give Ariel a fully polyp transformation, and was the first to give Ariel a non-human/mermaid transformation before the TV series episode that aired in 1993.
- The polyps share some similarities to the boys who were transformed into donkeys in Disney's Pinocchio which is based on another classical fairy tale of the same name, in that they were transformed by villains who took advantage of their desires. The only difference being that the polyps were freed from their curse in the end, while the boys were not.