Sebastian (The Little Mermaid)

DisneyChar
name =Sebastian


image caption =Sebastian
first appearance =The Little Mermaid (1989)
created by =Roger Allers (story)
voiced by =Samuel E. Wright
aliases =
friends =Flounder, Ariel, King Triton and others
rivals =Zeus (a lobster who is perfect at everything)

Sebastian the crab (full name "Horatio Thelonious Ignacious Crustaceous Sebastian") is a fictional character who first appears in Disney's 1989 feature film "The Little Mermaid". He is one of the main characters of the film, and has since appeared in the prequel television series "The Little Mermaid", the direct-to-video sequel ' and direct-to-video prequel '. In all the above animated material, Sebastian is voiced by Samuel E. Wright.

Sebastian appears in the "Kingdom Hearts" series of games, in which he is voiced by Kōichi Yamadera in its original Japanese version, and by Kevin Michael Richardson in the English-language version. In international dubs of the original film, Sebastian has been voiced by Henri Salvador (French original dub), Christophe Peyroux (French re-dub), Ronald France (Quebec, speaking voice), Michel Comeau (Quebec, singing voice).

Background

Sebastian the crab, as a sidekick for "The Little Mermaid"'s protagonist Ariel is a character developed solely for the film, and is not derived from the original Hans Christian Andersen story.

Sebastian was conceived as a musical character for "The Little Mermaid", and performs two songs ("Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl")that went on to become hits for Disney and were nominated for "Best Original Song" at the 1990 Academy Awards. Voice actor Wright's singing style and the compositions by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken for the Sebastian character lean heavily to calypso and reggae influences.

Fictional biography

According to the Disney website, official novelisation and Disney-sanctioned reference material, Sebastian is a crab. [ [http://home.disney.go.com/guestservices/faqs#history_archives40 Disney.com FAQs, 'Q39. Is Sebastian a crab or a lobster?'] ] cite book | last = Singer | first = A. L. | title = Disney's The Little Mermaid: Official Novelisation | publisher = Disney Press | date = 1997 | isbn = 978-0786842025 ] cite book | last = Grant | first = John | title = Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters (Third Edition) | publisher = Hyperion | date = 1998 | pages = 348-349 | isbn = 0-7868-6336-6 ] .

The Little Mermaid

When the film opens, Sebastian is announced as being the "royal court composer", and conducts a concert that King Triton's seven daughters are supposed to perform. Ariel, the youngest daughter, fails to show up for the concert, and later Sebastian joins King Triton in scolding her, blaming her for his humiliation. King Triton, worried about Ariel, tasks Sebastian with following Ariel and keeping her out of trouble.

Sebastian tries to do the job given to him, and is horrified when Ariel saves the life of and falls in love with a human. Sebastian accidentally lets this information slip to King Triton, who confronts Ariel. Feeling guilty for having "betrayed" Ariel, Sebastian follows Ariel when she visits Ursula the sea witch for help, and later becomes an adviser in her quest to win Prince Eric's affections.

In the film, Sebastian starts out in a parental, supervisory role over Ariel, and over time becomes her close friend.

The Little Mermaid television series

Sebastian appears in almost every episode of the prequel television series, which follows the adventures of Ariel when she is still a mermaid. Sebastian is shown as being a good friend of Ariel and Flounder, as well as Urchin, a new character unique to the television series. He is sometimes strict and often critical of Ariel's adventurous ways, but often ends up going on her adventures with her. In the series, Sebastian's occupation is King Triton's assistant, adviser and confidant.

Throughout the series Sebastian's character is further developed via dialogue and entire episodes dedicated to him. In the series, Sebastian is said to have come from a large Jamaican family. In the episode "Tail of Two Crabs", Sebastian has a rivalry with another crab named Zeus, and the both try to one-up the other. According to dialogue in this episode, Sebastian was born in Jamaica and went to Music Academy in Trinidad prior to joining King Triton's staff as his assistant.

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea

In the sequel, Sebastian is tasked by King Triton to watch over Ariel's daughter, Princess Melody, repeating his role from the original film.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning

In the 2008 prequel, Sebastian is King Triton's attache, and is initially shown as being a strict enforcer of the sea king's rules. All music has been banned from Atlantica, but it is later revealed that Sebastian has been secretly performing music as the leader of The Catfish Club Band, which performs in an underground club. Technically this makes Sebastian first character in "The Little Mermaid" universe to break a major law of Triton's.

When the underground club is revealed to Triton, Sebastian is placed in jail with the rest of his band. Thanks to Ariel, they manage to escape. As part of a premeditated plan, Sebastian leads them far away from Atlantica to a specific spot where Ariel finds her mother's discarded music box. Sebastian wants music to return to Atlantica, and he returns with Ariel to convince Triton to change his mind. When the film ends, music is restored to Atlantica, and Sebastian becomes the "royal court composer", setting up his role in the opening of the original film.

According to this film, Sebastian is the eldest of Ariel's friends, having been present since she was a small child all the way to her own parenthood in "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea".

Music

Sebastian has released two reggae albums for children under the Walt Disney Records label. Both of these were released on CD and audio cassette, and are well out of print. The first was a self-titled release, featuring songs from The Little Mermaid, along with covers such as Three Little Birds, and original tunes. Ariel herself appears in two tracks, along with the interstitials between tracks. The second, released in October 1991 is "" This album consists entirely of reggae covers of classic songs such as "Iko Iko", "Octopus's Garden", "Twist and Shout", and "What a Wonderful World", as well as a few original tunes. [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,316128,00.html Entertainment Weekly article about Sebastian's second album] ]

Other appearances

Kingdom Hearts

nihongo|Sebastian|セベスチン|Sebasuchen made an appearance in all three titles of the "Kingdom Hearts" series by Square Enix and Buena Vista Games, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. He also made a brief appearance in "Aladdin": When the Genie, whilst trying to find the right 'recipe' for turning Aladdin into a prince, is looking at the Royal Recipes book, he pulls out Sebastian (clamped to his finger) and flicks him off. He also appears in the Aladdin video game in a cameo scene, as a prisoner in the level "Sultan's Dungeon."

Other Disney media

Sebastian makes a "cameo" appearance in Disney's "Aladdin" when the Genie is preparing to turn Aladdin into a prince.

Sebastian was featured as a guest in "Disney's House of Mouse". Sebastian also appeared in the finale to the "101 Dalmatians" TV series in which he pinches a puppy's tail.

In popular culture

Sebastian, or a likeness of him, has appeared in various parodies/homages in non-Disney material.

In the "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy" episode "Billy Ocean", "Ziggy the lobster" tries to tempt Billy to stay under the sea with his "Under De Ocean" song.

In "The Simpsons" episode "Homer Badman," Homer fantasizes about moving "Under the Sea" to escape a phony sexual harassment charge, eating various sea creatures as he sings, "There'll be no accusations, just friendly crustaceans/Under the sea!"

References