Even before we ever got acquainted with Flounder Little Mermaid on Disney, we were Animal Planet worms. Remember that channel from our childhood that was the repository of documentaries and movies on different species of the world? But we all crave fictional stories when informative documentaries while they exhaust our attention. That is when films like The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, and others come in. So, for today’s chatter, we have in front of us Flounder Little Mermaid.
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Flounder Little Mermaid
If you haven’t heard the name of Flounder from The Little Mermaid, you need not worry. Here is a little introduction for you. Flounder is a tropical fish with bright blue stripes in its yellow body. The name may be deceptive, for he is not a Flounder even if he has this name. We will come back to that later.
Flounder is a sweet little creature who gets too panicky in stressful situations. However, he is Ariel’s best friend, and the duo often find each other together in several adventures. Whenever Ariel is in any trouble, Flounder always hops in to help. Thus, Flounder Fish Little Mermaid is a cute, adorable, and loyal character you cannot ignore in the show.
What does he do in The Little Mermaid movie?
In The Little Mermaid, Flounder is a character whose support for Ariel, the film’s lead protagonist, never flounders. He is always there like a rock-solid pillar for her. Thus, he is the one who always supports Ariel when she talks about how much humans fascinate her. So much so that, Flounder also gifts Ariel a statue of Eric.
Ariel is in love with Eric, and upon her confession, she also comes to a pact with an evil sea witch. Flounder still doesn’t leave her back and joins Ariel in her quest for Eric in the latter’s kingdom.
In a final battle between Ariel and Ursula, the primary villainess of the story, Flounder supports Ariel and helps her defeat the witch. Also, there is a happy song sequence, Kiss the Girl, where Flounder joins in with Scuttle, Sebastian, and other sea and pond creatures.
After the death of Ursula, whom Ariel manages to kill, Flounder Little Mermaid attends the marriage of her best friend and Eric. Finally, Ariel gives him a farewell kiss, and he leaves while the other two ties the knot for the rest of their lives.
In the 1989 film, Jason Marin gave the voice of Flounder in The Little Mermaid.
Why is Flounder again in the news?
However, do you ever wonder why this favorite character of ours has again resurfaced, metaphorically at least? Wait. Haven’t you heard of the latest news? The Little Mermaid, the cult classic, now has a live-action avatar.
Are you not aware of what a live-action is? Here is a very brief glimpse. A live-action anime uses photography instead of paintings. There have been many debates regarding using live-action in animation films, and Flounder has not escaped the brunt of it. So, Flounder Little Mermaid live action was popularised when The Little Mermaid live action premiered in the theaters in May 2023. In this version, Jacob Tremblay, the kid from the movie Wonder has perfectly played the role of Flounder.
The film is directed by a Disney veteran, Rob Marshall, and the genius writer of Jane Goldman has accompanied him in this brilliant live-action remake of The Little Mermaid film.
Also, there has been much talk in the town regarding the perfect identity of Flounder as a fish. According to many marine biologists, the fish in the movie isn’t a Flounder, even if he has this name.
On top of that, we also have a weird trivia regarding flounders. Let’s first know that and then see whether our favorite Flounder in The Little Mermaid is at all a Flounder or not.
Flounders’ floundering identity
Southern flounder is a flat fish. It is a specific type of fish species whose sex can be reversed. Science bugs out there, keep your eyes and ears open. For the southern flounders, there is a critical time frame in their juvenile stage when their respective sexes can get reversed while being in the stage of mature development.
When the southern flounders measure between 35-65 mm, one can understand their sex by looking at their secondary sexual behaviors and organs. Thus, if you meet a genetically male flounder, they remain that way throughout their lives.
However, the situation gets different when it comes to female flounders. Female flounders have a certain plasticity while developing their sexuality. They can either continue to be females or turn into males; their sex can get reversed.
Under normal conditions and a healthy environment, the flounders develop to be females. However, in stressful conditions, it so happens that the sex of the female flounders gets reversed. Mainly, the rise in water temperature creates this stressful condition. Scientists believe this is because the energy required to be a male is lesser than being a female.
Well, feminists here will pause and think about how relevant this is for humans too. We wish we could get our sex reversed as well.
Jokes apart, when this development window gets closed, the flounder do not get to change or reverse their sex ever. However, even if this sounds weird and funny, these reversals are only sometimes good for the flounder population in general. This is because we all know that females are needed to sustain a species. Thus, often it becomes a cause of trouble for this fish population.
What type of fish is Flounder from the Little Mermaid?
So, does all of this apply to our beloved Flounder Little Mermaid? Some experts and marine biologists will say no. Many viewers have asked, “What type of fish is Flounder from the Little Mermaid?”
The latest little mermaid film has been fraught with many controversies, including the representation of fish in the film. According to these experts, all the fishes depicted in the film are mainly derived from real-life fish species, which is a nearly accurate representation scale.
While the film suggests a Caribbean environment, some of the fishes should not be placed as they have been in the film. This means the fish species that those fishes portray are usually from somewhere other than the Caribbean corner of the sea world. There is a fish in the film which represents the queen angelfish, which is most certainly from the Caribbean. Flounder is primarily an Atlantic sergeant major.
Thus, from here, one might take the cue to the answer that seeks to find the original identity of the Flounder Little Mermaid.
Flounder fishes vs flatfishes
According to these experts, Flounder from Little Mermaid is not originally a flounder. Flounders are usually called flatfishes, whose scientific order is pleuronectiformes. They are the inhabitants of the deepest layer of the sea, which is near the sea surface.
They are asymmetrical creatures where they derive their name, flatfishes. Thus, while they have their fins, eyes, and organs on one side, the other is completely blank. That side is called the blind side.
The fish depicted in the Little Mermaid film is not a flounder. Instead, it has a different name. He is a damselfish. These fish belongs to the family Pomacentridae. They are mainly the inhabitants of the coral reefs and are mostly found worldwide.
Moreover, unlike Flounder Little Mermaid, damselfishes are usually very aggressive and territorial. They are mostly brilliantly colored and are mostly found in shades of blue, yellow, orange, and red. These fishes do not usually cross the size of 6 inches. Thus, Flounder in the movie isn’t a flounder, it’s a damselfish Atlantic sergeant major. So, putting him in a Caribbean seascape isn’t a blunder.
However, other fish species belong outside the Caribbean region apart from him and a few others. They are mostly a mix and match from the Pacific and Indian oceans, thus migrants from completely different ocean basins.
However, does this make Flounder less adorable? Not at all. Flounder from The Little Mermaid is the most loyal companion to Ariel in her journey, and the fans love him.
Where have we seen Flounder before?
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
So, where does he exist beyond the latest rendition of The Little Mermaid in 2023? He has featured in the 2000 film The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. In this film, we see that Flounder is reunited with Ariel. Ariel now has a daughter with Eric, and her name is Melody.
Melody is the main protagonist of this film, who is not allowed in the ocean. However, when she turned 12, she ran away. Flounder, just like an ever-loyal friend, joins Ariel in her search for her daughter in this film. Flounder has also become a grown-up in this film and is a father. Cam Clarke voiced his role in this film. However, his screen time was small in The Little Mermaid II.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
In The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning, Flounder has a bigger role. So, if you have switched your TV to watch Flounder, you should watch this film. At first, we see the first encounter of Ariel and Flounder, and his characterization is different in this film. In Flounder The Little Mermaid, we saw that it was very easy to scare him. But in this film, his character has more integrity and lively. Also, he has a very carefree attitude.
Thus, instead of adoring him, you might also fancy him in this movie. Hence, he is not a soul swimming in a fishbowl in this film. Instead, he is a soul who obsesses over music. But he gets into trouble for this as they don’t allow singing and music in Atlantica. However, this nature helps keep up the spirits of the others around him.
Viewers especially get delighted when his humming and beatboxing lead to the reprise of “Jump in the Lake,” that too at a time when he, Sebastian, Ariel, and the Catfish Club Band is on the run. Parker Goris plays Flounder’s character in this film.
Flounder Little Mermaid live action controversy
However, Flounder Little Mermaid is not away from controversies, especially in the latest live-action rendition. According to many critics and their critiques, the fishes depicted in the film are unnecessarily realistic in their animated skin. The same goes for Flounder. He is usually depicted as brightly colored and chubby in the original Little Mermaid film.
But, according to them, his appearance is nowhere near that in this live-action version. For others, due to this realistic appearance, Flounder has lost his expressiveness and is more mundane in the visuals. A similar criticism meted out for the CGI-animated remake of The Lion King film, whereby people said that the realistic appearances could not best express the desired emotions.
Social media swarmed with different memes relating to the latest remake of Flounder’s appearance. While some urged them to give him back his buccal fat, others cried out because of his “dull appearance.”
Final Thoughts
Thus, whatever the controversy, it seems clear that Flounder has quite a fan base, mostly because of his cute nature. So, hit the theatres to view The Little Mermaid to give your opinion regarding the newest rendition of the character.
