The Little Mermaid Coloring Pages
By:
Jennifer Thoa – Content Editor & Designer
Updated:
Free The Little Mermaid Coloring Pages: 77 printable PDF designs featuring Ariel in classic portraits, undersea scenes, and moments with Flounder, Sebastian, and Prince Eric. Each page can be downloaded as a PDF to print or colored online in the browser.
The Little Mermaid is Disney’s 1989 film, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, widely credited with starting the Disney Renaissance after a 30-year gap since the studio’s previous fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty in 1959. It also changes the ending of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 story significantly. In Andersen’s original, the mermaid dissolves into sea foam rather than marrying the prince, while Disney gave Ariel a happy ending instead. This collection colors the same reimagined mermaid and her world across dozens of scenes.
This set works well for introducing an older child to the idea that stories change over time, since Disney’s cheerful ending is very different from the original Danish fairy tale it came from. The undersea and palace scenes give an older child more background detail to work through, while the simpler portraits suit a child just starting to color a face and hair.
What Is Inside This Collection
The 77 pages fall into a few clear groups, built around Ariel’s expressions, her friends Flounder and Sebastian, the undersea kingdom, and the story’s villain.
Classic Ariel Portraits
A large share of the set is solo portraits showing Ariel smiling or posed with her tail. Color her hair a bright Red, her tail Green, and her seashell top Purple, her most consistent color combination, keeping this palette the same across every portrait.
Ariel with Flounder and Sebastian
Several pages pair Ariel with Flounder, her fish friend, or Sebastian, the crab. Color Flounder Yellow with Blue stripes, and give Sebastian a bright Red shell, the standard look for a Caribbean-style crab, so both stay visually distinct next to Ariel.
King Triton and the Undersea Kingdom
A number of pages show King Triton, Ariel’s father, along with other undersea scenes and creatures. Color Triton’s tail a deep Green or teal, similar to Ariel’s, with a Gold crown and trident, since he rules the same kingdom she comes from.
Ursula and Her Eels
The rest of the set includes Ursula, the sea witch, and her eel companions, Flotsam and Jetsam. Color Ursula’s upper body a pale Lavender or Gray and her octopus-like lower half a deep Purple or Black, and give the eels a matching dark Green with Yellow eyes.
What The Little Mermaid Coloring Pages Do
Scales, one small shape at a time. Ariel’s mermaid tail is often drawn with individual overlapping scales rather than one smooth shape, which asks a child to color many small, similarly sized sections in a repeating pattern. The American Academy of Pediatrics identifies this kind of detailed, structured coloring as a core contributor to fine motor skill development in children ages 2 through 7.
A chance to compare two different endings. Because Disney’s version of the story changes the ending of the original fairy tale so completely, these pages work well alongside asking an older child what they think should happen at the end of a story, before or after sharing how the original tale actually ends. It turns a familiar movie into a starting point for talking about how stories get retold.
A steady task in a busy underwater scene. A 2005 Art Therapy Journal study found that coloring inside defined shapes produced measurably lower anxiety than drawing freely, and the coral reef and undersea background pages, full of small repeated shapes like bubbles and coral branches, are especially suited to that kind of steady, structured coloring.
One of the last hand-painted Disney films. The Little Mermaid was the last Disney animated feature made with hand-painted cels and traditional camera work, using more than one million individual drawings across around 1,100 painted backgrounds. Sharing that detail while coloring is a way to talk about how much hand labor went into a movie before computers took over most of that work.
How to Color The Little Mermaid Pages Well
- Bright red hair: Color Ariel’s hair a bright Red, her most iconic feature, kept flowing and wavy.
- Green tail with a purple top: Color her mermaid tail Green and her seashell top Purple, her signature color pairing throughout the film.
- Flounder in yellow and blue: Color Flounder Yellow with Blue stripes along its sides and fins.
- Sebastian in red: Color Sebastian a bright Red with darker red or black for his eyes and claws, standard coloring for a Caribbean-style crab.
- Triton in teal and gold: Color King Triton’s tail a deep Teal or Green like Ariel’s, with a Gold crown and trident to mark him as king.
- Ursula in purple and gray: Color Ursula’s human-like upper half a pale Gray or Lavender and her octopus tentacles a deep Purple or Black, keeping the contrast strong between the two halves.
5 Creative Craft Ideas With The Little Mermaid Coloring Pages
- Trident Wand. Materials: a colored trident or King Triton page, scissors, cardboard, a craft stick, and tape. Cut out the colored trident shape, glue it to cardboard for stiffness, and tape it to the top of a craft stick to make a wand for pretend play.
- Shell Necklace Charm. Materials: a small colored Ariel or shell page, scissors, a hole punch, clear tape or a laminating sheet, and a cord or string. Cut out the colored shape, cover both sides with tape or laminate, punch a small hole near the top, and thread the cord through to wear as a necklace.
- Pop-Up Wave Card. Materials: a colored Ariel page, blue cardstock folded in half, scissors, and glue. Cut a small accordion-folded paper strip, glue one end inside the folded card, and the other end to the back of the colored Ariel cutout, so she pops up in a wave shape when the card opens.
- Coral Reef Collage Board. Materials: several colored coral and sea creature pages, scissors, poster board, and glue. Cut out each colored piece and arrange them together on the poster board to build one full reef scene, layering closer pieces over the background ones.
- Bubble Wrap Ocean Texture Art. Materials: a colored Ariel page, white or light blue paint, a small sheet of bubble wrap, and a paper plate for the paint. Press the bubble wrap into a thin layer of paint and stamp it around the colored page to add a bubbly, textured ocean background.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Little Mermaid coloring pages?
The Little Mermaid coloring pages are printable designs featuring Ariel in portraits, undersea scenes, and moments with Flounder, Sebastian, and Ursula. This collection offers 77 free designs as printable PDFs or online coloring pages.
Who created The Little Mermaid, and when did the film debut?
The Little Mermaid was directed and written by Ron Clements and John Musker, and released by Disney in 1989. Jodi Benson voiced Ariel, with Pat Carroll as Ursula and Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian.
What colors does Ariel wear?
Ariel has bright red hair and a green mermaid tail, paired with a purple seashell top, her most consistent color combination throughout the film.
How is the Disney film different from the original fairy tale?
In Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 story, the mermaid does not marry the prince and instead dissolves into sea foam. Disney’s version gives Ariel a happy ending, marrying Prince Eric, a major change from the original tale.
Who inspired the design of Ursula?
Ursula’s design was based on drag performer Divine, with an early suggestion from writer Howard Ashman to also draw on Joan Collins’s character from the television series Dynasty.
Why is The Little Mermaid considered an important film in Disney’s history?
It was the first Disney fairy tale since Sleeping Beauty in 1959 and is credited with starting the Disney Renaissance, a period of renewed success for the studio’s animated films that followed its release.
Are The Little Mermaid coloring pages suitable for young children?
The simple portraits suit ages 3 and 4. The undersea and palace scenes, with more detail, suit ages 5 and up.
What age group are the undersea and palace scenes best for?
These pages include smaller background details like coral, bubbles, and crowds, so they suit children ages 6 and up with some coloring experience.
Start Coloring
Download any page by clicking the design. No account, email, or payment is required. Pages print directly from the browser at full resolution or open in the online coloring tool for screen use. Share finished pages on Facebook or Pinterest with the share buttons at the top of each design page.
