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| “ | I consider myself a reasonable merman... I set certain rules and I expect those rules to be obeyed! | „ |
| ~ King Triton to Ariel |
| “ | Never again, will you or yours threaten my family! There will be no escape for you! EVER!!! | „ |
| ~ King Triton to Morgana as he imprisons her in a small iceberg. |
King Triton is the false antagonistic tritagonist of Disney's 28th full-length animated feature film, The Little Mermaid and a major character in its sequels. His character is somewhat similar to the Greek Mythology sea god, Poseidon.
He was voiced by the late Kenneth Mars in the first two films, and by Jim Cummings in the third film.
Contents
Biograpghy
Triton is the king of the underwater Kingdom of Atlantica. He is a huge merman, the husband of Queen Athena, and the widowed father of seven daughters: Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, Alana, and Ariel.
He is also the father-in-law of Prince Eric and the grandfather of Ariel and Eric's daughter Melody. As King of Atlantica, he has in his possession a powerful magical trident which appears to be made of gold. It emits a glowing light and typical sound when in use. Furthermore he has a crown and two arm bracelets, which also appear to be made out of gold.
His arch-enemy was Ursula, the old sea-witch who was once a senior member of the Court of King Triton. She has for many years been seeking a way to exact her revenge upon King Triton for banishing her from the kingdom and become queen of the ocean.
Personality
The prequel film The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning initially depicts Triton as a devoted and loving father and husband. After his wife's death, he becomes extremely strict due to the grief he suffered over his queen's demise but eventually comes to terms with the incident, showing this by permitting music back into Atlantica after previously banning it in the wake of the tragedy.
The television series, set before the events of the original film, shows Triton to be a wise ruler. He is bigoted towards humans (possibly due to the death of his wife, even though Athena's death was an accident and despite evidence that Merpeople are half-human). Though he's constantly at odds with Ariel regarding humans and dangerous adventures, he has shown to have a large feeling of guilt and remorse for breaking his daughter’s heart.
In the original film, Triton is shown to be a caring father. However, his prejudice regarding humans often led to personality conflicts with Ariel. He is shown to have an explosive temper when he gets provoked. It was also implied that he might have had genocidal thoughts on humans in general for a very short time, or at the very least didn't particularly care if a human ended up drowning, as when he quarreled with Ariel shortly after discovering that she rescued Eric. When Ariel tried to explain that Eric could have died if it wasn't for her, Triton unmovingly stated that it was "one less human to worry about" in response, despite confirming shortly afterward that he doesn't even know what Eric looks like. His eruptive nature, when pushed far enough, was also shown to lead to violent acts, as he eliminated most of Ariel's human artifacts as a way to "get through to her" after the possibility of losing his daughter to the human world was brought into play. Despite this, he showed remorse afterward at once, as his angered expression softened to one of despair. After Ariel goes missing (after becoming human) he blames himself for the situation and tirelessly spends his time searching for her, unable to rest until she's safe at home, showing he is able to admit when his bellicose actions (in spite of the reasonings) have gone too far. Earlier in the film, he confided in Sebastian out of the fear that he might have been too strict with Ariel in addition, showing a struggle in both keeping her safe and being a loving father.
By the time of the sequel, Triton has become accepting of humans. He has a notable soft spot for his granddaughter, Melody and highly values her safety. He's presented as still very wise, though incredibly toned down temper wise. However, his hostile nature remains in times of crisis.
Physical appearance
King Triton is a large, handsome elderly merman with fair skin and a massive, well-muscled physique. He has long white hair, a thick, matching beard and mustache, a widow's peak hairline, and bushy, gray eyebrows. As a child, he had freckles and his hair was originally red but turned auburn (the same color as his daughter Attina's hair) when he was a young merman. Like his daughter, Ariel, Triton has blue eyes (which are olive green in Ariel's Beginning), though they are more of a grayish hue compared to hers. Because he is a merman, Triton's lower body is a navy-blue fish-like tail with cyan, translucent fins and a matching, fish-lip waist-line. Triton also has three signs of his royal status; he wears gold gauntlets with borders on the edges and five studs around the middle on his forearms, stopping just below the elbow, a golden, five-pointed crown resembling a sea star, and, most important of all, wields the legendary trident, a golden, three-pronged weapon with vast magical powers and abilities.
Appearances
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
In the prequel film, an opening prologue shows King Triton's wife, Queen Athena. The pair had a loving relationship. However, Athena was crushed to death by a pirate ship while trying to save the music box King Triton gave her as an anniversary present. Triton was so broken-hearted by her death that he banned music from Atlantica and forced everyone—even himself—to follow a strict daily schedule and it was the possible reason why he hated humans. Ariel's free-spirited personality is what casts a strain on their relationship in this film too, and he is particularly angered when he discovers that the leader of the (illegal) Catfish Club is, in fact, Sebastian, throwing his confidante into prison for this. He eventually comes to see the error of his harsh decisions, pardons Sebastian, lifts the ban on music and appoints Sebastian as his court composer at the end of the film.
The Little Mermaid: The Series
King Triton in The Little Mermaid: The Series.
King Triton also appeared in The Little Mermaid TV series. According to the cartoon series, Triton was the son of Poseidon and the grandson of Neptune, of whom he had many fond memories. As a child, his nickname was "Red" for his red hair.
Sebastian: Party Gras!
In the 1992 Disney Special "Sebastian's Party Gras", Sebastian and his performing friend, Sam Wright, are back for another spectacular show at New Orleans Square in Walt Disney World! Kids at home are invited to "Twist And Shout", join a "Conga Line", and do the "Limbo Rock"! Combining colorful animation and engaging live entertainment, "Sebastian's Party Gras" introduces the Little Mermaid's father, King Triton, who urges Sebastian to conduct his concerts under the sea only! But through the magic of music, the King changes his tune, learning that when you "Give A Little Love", "Life Is A Magic Thing" indeed!
The Little Mermaid
King Triton in The Little Mermaid.
In the original film, Triton is prejudiced toward humans and Ariel's fascination with humans casts a strain on their relationship. According to Triton, contact between the human world and the merworld is strictly forbidden.
Triton first appears at a concert in Atlantica, presented by the seahorse serving as the host. After Sebastian the crab, the distinguished royal court composer, and Triton's loyal servant are presented, Triton and Sebastian have a discussion about how they anticipate the concert due to Ariel, Triton's youngest daughter, is supposed to make her musical debut. But Ariel turns out to be absent, much to Triton's extreme fury. After an initial argument with Ariel over her latest trip to the surface, Triton orders Sebastian to keep an eye on her. When Triton learns that Ariel saved the life of a human being she has fallen in love with, he loses his temper and, determined to turn Ariel over to his views of humans, destroys her collection of human things, completely ignoring his daughter's protests. In the aftermath, Triton, instantly horrified and remorseful over his actions, leaves a tearful Ariel alone in her grotto in shame.
Later on, after Ariel runs away from home in search of the sea witch Ursula and Triton sees she disappeared, he orders a search for her to apologize for what he had done, unaware that she has accepted Ursula's deal and become a human with Prince Eric. He asks Seahorse Herald if any sign of Ariel and Sebastian and he replies that they searched everywhere and found no traces of them and Triton orders them to keep looking and no one sleeps until they return home safe and sound and he sadly did so. Triton is briefly seen suffering extreme remorse over what he had done, blaming himself for his daughter's disappearance.
When Sebastian, who had been watching over Ariel, arrives from the surface and tells the king about Ursula's scheme, Triton quickly goes out with Sebastian to find her. Ariel apologizes to her father, who attempts to destroy the contract between Ariel and Ursula, to no avail. Upon learning from Ursula that Ariel had signed an agreement with Ursula and that she may be willing to make an exchange for someone even better, Triton willingly takes his daughter's place, despite knowing the cost of his choice. Triton is temporarily transformed into a polyp, but after Ursula is destroyed, he is restored to his original form and regains both his crown and his trident, as well as his regal status.
By the end of the film, Triton has softened his attitude and realized that he had made a mistake by thinking humans were vicious and that he had been wrong in doing so. Upon noticing how much Ariel loves Prince Eric (who had destroyed Ursula and subsequently not only saved Triton's life, but also the entire kingdom of Atlantica) as much as she is loved by Triton, as well as considering Sebastian's statement "Children got to be free to lead their own lives", Triton transforms Ariel into a human once again, allowing Ariel to be with Eric. He is later seen at the wedding of Ariel and Eric, where he gives his daughter a heartwarming hug and accepts Eric as his son-in-law; when Eric bowed, smiling, Triton returned the smile as though thanking him for saving his life and the kingdom of Atlantica. After saying goodbye, he then uses his trident to cast a beautiful rainbow over the sky
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
Triton appears in the sequel, The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea. He seems to trust humans — or at least his son-in-law, Eric — by the time of this film. Upon the birth of Ariel and Eric's daughter Melody, he attends a celebration of her birth that takes place at sea. As a gift, he gives Melody a special locket that reveals a picture of Atlantica. However, his love for his granddaughter proves to be a weakness, which is exploited by Morgana, Ursula's younger sister. Morgana attacks the ceremony, desiring to avenge Ursula, and demands Triton's trident in exchange for Melody's safety. While Ariel and Eric are able to foil Morgana's plot, Ariel makes the decision to withhold all knowledge of Atlantica and mermaids for Melody's safety, and Triton orders a search for Morgana and no one will rest until she is vanquished. A sea wall is put up around the kingdom, sadly cutting Triton off from his daughter and granddaughter.
Twelve years later, Triton is met at sea by Eric and Ariel, who explains that Melody has gone missing. Triton transforms Ariel into a mermaid to assist in the search. Triton and Ariel eventually find Melody with Morgana. With Melody ignorant of her true heritage, Morgana had convinced the girl that Triton had stolen the trident from her. Melody had been transformed into a mermaid and tasked with retrieving the trident, as only Triton or one of his descendants could remove it from its resting place. Despite Ariel's protests, Melody gives the trident to Morgana, resulting in an epic battle.
Eventually, Triton is able to retrieve his trident after Melody steals it back, and then throws it to him. Triton states that neither Morgana or her family will threaten his ever again before using the trident to freeze Morgana in a block of ice, which sinks to the bottom of the sea. He then offers to allow Melody to become a mermaid permanently. However, she instead requests that he remove the sea wall, reuniting the humans and the merpeople.
Other appearances
King Triton made a few cameos in the series House of Mouse. In "Jiminy Cricket", he was seen sitting alongside Rafiki, Grandmother Willow, and Merlin the Wizard. In "Salute to Sports", when Mickey said he wanted the audience to do the wave, Triton summoned an actual wave. In "Pete's House of Villains", Ursula was in charge at the reservation desk and refused to let Triton in the club. Instead, she morphed him into a polyp again.
King Triton made a small cameo appearance in The Princess and the Frog as a float in Charlotte La Bouff's and "Naveen"'s (Lawrence in disguise) Mardi Gras wedding.
The Little Mermaid Musical
In the stage adaptation of the film, Triton's role is similar to that of the original. However, it also adds in a twist that Ursula is his sister (based on a deleted concept from the original film). It also reveals that the reason why he banished Ursula was that of her attempt to gain the Trident when she was inherited with the Nautilus. He also has his own musical number in a reprise of "World Above", where he forbids Ariel from pursuing Eric and the human world as a whole
Printed Material
Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch
Triton appears as a minor character in the novel by Serena Valentino. It's revealed that Ursula is his long-lost sister who was raised by a human fisherman after Triton abandoned her. When Ursula brings destruction to her old village to get revenge for them killing her father, Triton appears and tells her of their blood relation to each other. He brings her back to his kingdom but he is disgusted by her cecaelian form and tells her she could only live in his palace if she was in mermaid form, which adds a further strain in their relationship. He is shown to have no sympathy for any human because humans eat fish, and even tells Ursula explicitly that her adopted father deserved to die. When Ursula tells her story to the Odd Sisters, they grow a deep hatred of Triton and they agree to help Ursula plot his downfall. Later he is seen with Ursula giving up his freedom in exchange for his daughter's. After Ursula's death, he comes to realize that he treated her harshly and decides to make things right with Ariel and turn her into a human permanently.
Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale
In this alternate reality, Ariel was unable to reclaim her voice in the depicted 'final' confrontation with Ursula although she was able to retrieve the trident, with the result that Ursula spends five years as ruler of Eric's kingdom while Ariel is made to act as ruler of Atlantica, her sisters declaring this as her punishment for failing to save their father (although really because none of them wanted the responsibility). After one of Scuttle's grandchildren witness Ursula keeping the still-polyp Triton prisoner, Ariel is able to retrieve her voice and ally with Eric to try and oppose Ursula, as they learn that she intends to sacrifice Triton to gain more magical power that she can use away from the sea. Eventually Ariel defeats Ursula and Triton is restored, initially appearing on land as a human before he and Ariel return to Atlantica and Triton retakes the throne. Acknowledging Eric's assistance in their fight against Ursula, Triton concedes to Ariel's request to become an ambassador to the humans so that she and Eric can explore their relationship while he resumes the throne.
Video games
Kingdom Hearts
King Triton plays a role in the Kingdom Hearts video game series, again as Ariel's overprotective father who openly berates the worlds outside the ocean floor. In the original game, he appears to have an impressive knowledge of the worlds outside Atlantica, despite said worlds supposedly being a secret. Triton also shows awareness of the Keyblade and its lore, proving he's been aware of the events of the Kingdom Hearts universe even longer than the protagonist Sora.
Triton makes his first appearance in the series' flagship installment, Kingdom Hearts where he forbids Sora, Donald, and Goofy from interacting with his world in their quest to find and seal the keyhole, knowing Ariel's fascination with worlds outside of Atlantica would lead her into trouble during the trio's mission. However, after Ursula causes havoc in search of the keyhole, as well, Triton leaves it in the hands of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ariel to stop her, eventually revealing the keyhole to be within Ariel's grotto.
In Kingdom Hearts II, the king's worries are switched from Ariel's obsession with the worlds outside of Atlantica, to the human world above the sea surface. To revert her mind from it, he asks Sora, Donald, and Goofy to help Ariel instead focus on Sebastian's concert, in which she's set to sing in. Things take a turn for the worse when Ursula returns and attacks, taking over the sea and transforming Triton into a polyp. However, due to the actions of Prince Eric, the heroes are able to save the day, and the king, teaching Triton the surface isn't all bad, thus allowing his daughter access to the surface, as well as Eric's hand in marriage.
Trivia
- Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alec Baldwin, Dustin Hoffman, Jeff Daniels, Michael Caine, Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Jeff Bridges, Gary Busey, Sean Connery, James Earl Jones, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, Liam Neeson, Jack Nicholson, Willem Dafoe, John Lithgow, James Woods, Bryan Cranston, Tim Curry, Gene Hackman, Charles Dance, Robert Patrick, Christopher Walken, Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Tom Selleck, Anthony Hopkins, Albert Finney, Peter O'Toole, David Warner and Christopher Plummer were considered for the role of King Triton.
- The death of King Triton's wife, Queen Athena, may be the reason why he forbade Ariel and his other daughters from interacting with humans in the original film. Athena's death was a misunderstanding because the ship had unintentionally crushed her.
- In The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, it seems that Triton's overprotectiveness came to Ariel, his daughter, as both of them forbade from their daughters (Ariel in Triton's case, and Melody in Ariel's case) to do something they wanted (Going up to the surface in Triton's case, and Going to the sea in Ariel's case). However, both Triton and Ariel did this to protect their daughters from a danger (Humans who might kill Ariel in Triton's case, and Morgana in Ariel's case) In both cases, their daughters sought the help of villains (Ariel to Ursula, and Melody to Morgana) which eventually put everyone in Atlantica and the human world in serious danger. The difference is that Ursula is well known to all, including Ariel; Melody on the other hand never knew that Morgana is evil when she sought her help.
- A theory among Disney fans is that King Triton, alongside his daughters (including Ariel) are related to Hercules. King Triton confirms that Poseidon is his father in one of the episodes of the animated series, and if true, would make him cousins with Hercules, whose father is Zeus whose brother is Poseidon. However, it is not confirmed whether or not the Disney incarnation of Poseidon is fact his father as Hercules is set roughly 3000 years before The Little Mermaid. However this can also be countered by the fact that King Triton is technically a god and thus is immortal.
External links
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