Adventures of the Little Mermaid

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Adventures of the Little Mermaid
SabanLittleMermaid.jpg
Opening titles.
人魚姫 マリーナの冒険
(Ningyo Hime Marina no Bouken)
Genre Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
Anime television series
Directed by Takehiro Miyano
Studio Fuji Eight Co., Ltd.
Licensed by United States Saban Entertainment
Network Fuji TV
Original run 02013-02-02February 2 – July 27, 1991 (1991-07-27)
Episodes 26
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Adventures of the Little Mermaid (人魚姫 マリーナの冒険?) is an animated series produced by Fuji Television in the early 1990s, based on upon the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Little Mermaid.

This 26-episode TV series was originally a Japanese/French co-production created by Jean Chalopin and directed by Takehiro Miyano. The title of the series in Japan was Ningyo Hime Marina no Boken (The Adventures of Mermaid Princess Marina), and the series was broadcast on Japan's Fuji TV network from February to July 1991. As in the 1975 feature-length movie version produced by Toei, Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid (with which this series may be confused), the mermaid protagonist was drawn as a blonde in this version and given the name Marina. It also added a new ingredient to the story: a magic potion given to the prince with which he could use to breathe underwater and be with Marina.

Released in America for Saturday morning and weekday afternoon syndication by Saban Entertainment in the summer of 1991, the series wasn't nearly as popular as Disney's version and faded quickly.

Contents

Plot [edit]

Marina is a mermaid who is in love with Prince Justin, a human prince from a kingdom on the shore. Marina saves Justin when he almost drowns after a shipwreck chase from a giant Cyclops, and she makes a deal with Hedwig the sea witch to become human temporarily to try to win his love. Justin and Marina became close, but Justin believed that Princess Cecily, a human princess, was the one who saved him from drowning, and got engaged to her. Justin eventually remembered Marina was the one who saved his life, but by then Marina had become a mermaid again. The four continue to secretly meet and try to find a way to be together, while avoiding Hedwig's plans to take over the kingdom, Cecily's attempts to get Justin to marry her, and the monsters they run into. Marina and Justin are aided by their underwater friends, Winnie the seahorse, Bobo the clownfish, and Ridley the sea otter. They are also aided by the wizard Anselm and Chauncey, Justin's page.

Characters [edit]

Main characters

  • Marina: A mermaid with waist-lenght blond hair and green tail, who is the main protagonist of the show. After saving Prince Justin of Gandor, she fell in love with him and desired to become human.
  • Prince Justin: Prince of Gandor and Marina's boyfriend.
  • Winnie: Marina's seahorse friend. Unlike real world seahorses she has the abilities of screaming at very high pitches which causes people to pass out, and flying when she is out of water.
  • Bobo: Marina's clown fish friend. He has extensive knowledge of ancient legends. He also often spies on Hedwig and reports back to Marina and the rest of the gang.
  • Ridley: Marina's sea otter friend and Anselm's companion. Unlike real world sea otters he seems to be able to breathe under water indefinitely.
  • Anselm: Prince Justin's tutor and secretly a sorcerer who was once in love with Hedwig.
  • Chauncey: Prince Justin's short, goofy, and loyal page.


Antagonists

  • Hedwig the Sea Witch: The sea witch who acts as the main antagonist of the show. She was once a sorceress who was in love with Anselm until her hunger for power forced Anselm to banish her to the sea. She comes up with plot after plot to capture Marina and Justin so she can exchange them for the Amulet of Power which would make her the most powerful person on both land and water and therefore rule the world. Just like a mermaid she doesn't have legs but her tail resembles the one of a snake rather than a fish's tail. The power that she uses most often is to release prehensile vines from her long fingernails.
    • Dudley: Hedwig's dim-witted hammerhead shark lackey. While a bit on the nasty side, he really has a good heart. His role is a lot more prominent than the one of Hedwig's other minions, and he servs as the comic relief among the antagonists.
    • Ray: Hedwig's manta ray. He acts as her transport and spy. He is heard speaking sometimes but other times he is shown to only be able to mumble (though Hedwig can understand him even then). It's not clear what his name is as Hedwig once calls him Ray and another time she calls him Manta.
    • Hugo: Hedwig's giant octopus who acts as her strongman.
    • Sharks, Barracudas, and Eeels: Hedwig's army of minions.
  • Cecily: A mean aristocratic girl who likes Prince Justin even though he doesn't reciprocate her feelings. She was his promised bride before he met Marina.
  • Prince Lothar: Prince of Brakston (Gandor's enemy country) and Justin's sworn enemy. He often cooperates with Hedwig.


Secondary and minor characters

  • Barnabas: Marina's younger cousin. He is a very good inventor and his tail is blue.
  • Coral: Marina's bossy older sister. Her tail is pink.
  • The Queen of Gandor: Prince Justin's mother. She is very interested in her son's love life and tries to act as his matchmaker.
  • Marina's father: King of the world's oceans. He is extremely strong as can be seen when he easily beats Hugo, a giant octipus, with his bear hands. His tail is dark blue.
  • The King of Gandor: Prince Justin's father.
  • Orcus: A whale that helps Marina and her friends a few times.
  • Marina's grandmother: She lives in the same castle as Marina. She is seen very briefly in one episode and her voice can be heard in another one. Her tail is never seen.
  • Various Forest Animals: The animals of the forest including deer, foxes, wild boars, squirrels, owls, hawks, rabbits, birds, hedgehogs, moles, butterflies.

Episodes [edit]

  1. Return to the Sea
  2. In the Wrong Hands
  3. Water Water Everywhere
  4. A Leopard and Her Spots
  5. Lothar's Revenge
  6. What's Cookin'?
  7. Be Careful What You Wish
  8. A Day In the Country
  9. Safe Deposit
  10. Sugar and Spice
  11. A Friend Indeed
  12. Song of the Sea Witch
  13. The Valley of the Volcanoes
  14. Quest for the Golden Tablet
  15. A Case of Mistaken Identity
  16. Beauty and the Beastly Prince
  17. A Man's Beast Friend Is His Dogfish
  18. A Mortal In Mermaid's Clothing
  19. Nature Hike
  20. My Bonnie Lies Under the Sea
  21. The Trojan Seahorse
  22. A Rose By Any Other Name
  23. X Marks the Spot
  24. One Man's Bread Is Another Man's Poison
  25. Hold That Thought
  26. Waste Not, Want Not

Cast [edit]

English Cast [edit]

Additional Voices [edit]

Music [edit]

The series uses two pieces of theme music for the original Japanese version. The opening theme is called "Yumemiru Mermaid (夢みるMERMAID lit. Dreaming Mermaid)" and the ending theme is called "Pearl-no Kimochi (パールな気持ち lit. Pearl Feelings)", both by vocalist Yumi Hiroki, who also portrayed the voice of Winnie in Japanese version of the show.

Music from the English version was used for the English dub of Digimon Adventure.

External links [edit]
Films
Television
  • Mahō no Mako-chan (1970 Japanese anime)
  • Adventures of the Little Mermaid (1991 Japanese)
Disney franchise
Films
Characters
Music
Albums
Songs
Adaptations
Attractions
Other
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