A new preschool series inspired by “The Little Mermaid” launches on Disney+ on June 28

“Ariel from Disney Jr.” (Disney photo)

Flora Sanchez

May 8, 2024

Disney Branded Television announced May 8 that the animated musical series “Disney Jr.’s Ariel” will debut June 27 on Disney Junior and Disney Channel, with eight episodes airing the next day, June 28, on Disney+.

“Disney Junior’s Ariel” is aimed at preschoolers and is inspired by the original fairy tale “The Little Mermaid,” by Hans Christian Anderson, and the animated (1989) and live-action feature films ( 2023).

Set in the Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica, the series follows young mermaid princess Ariel (Mykal-Michelle Harris) as she embarks on underwater adventures with her family and friends, including King Triton (Taye Diggs), Ursula (Amber Riley), Flounder (Gracen Newton) and sea friends Fernie (Cruz Flateau) and Lucia (Elizabeth Phoenix Caro).

Disney also announced that Yvette Nicole Brown, Melissa Villaseñor and Ron Funches had joined the cast.

To promote the new series, several short films, under the banner “Disney Jr.’s Ariel: Mermaid Tales”, will premiere on Disney+, Disney Channel and Disney Jr. starting June 5. Each two-minute short will highlight a different aspect of Ariel’s life in Atlantica.

Music plays a vital role in the series, with original songs inspired by various genres of Caribbean music. The songwriting teams consist of Anthony M. Jones (Tone), Sofia Quinn, Olivia Waithe, Chantry Johnson, Michelle Zarlenga and Rosemarie Tan. Emmy Award winner Christopher Willis is the composer. Sean Skeete, dean of Professional Performance at Berklee College of Music, is the Caribbean music consultant.

Walt Disney Records will release a digital soundtrack on Friday, June 28, and a line of dolls, playsets, role-play, costumes, clothing, books and more from Disney Consumer Products will be available this summer.

Disney also revealed the theme song for the new series on May 8. A clip can be viewed below: