A staple of John Watersmovies like the forever iconic Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble, Divine’s drag typified over-the-top confidence paired with a trashy demeanor and persona. Unlike other queer-coded villains that are based on a pastiche of the “idea” of a gay person or a drag queen, Ursula is very specifically based on the drag queen Divine. Ashman is likely also the savior of Ursula – seeing a set of concept art designs of the sea witch, he chose one that reminded him of a specific person: the drag queen Divine. Taking on a role of a producer as well as a writer for both lyrics and dialogue, it’s because of Ashman’s influence and tenacity that “Part of Your World” remained in the film, despite higher-ups wanting the now iconic song struck from the soundtrack. Ashman’s influence on The Little Mermaid is so large that while his title of composer is mythical in of itself, it barely scratches the surface. More than just the story it was based on, the film had another prominent gay man involved in its creation, that being The Little Mermaid’s late composer, the legendary Howard Ashman. So what makes Ursula different, and why has her queer coding made her feel timeless rather than regressive? The sea witch is steeped in queer-coding the same as most of the villains from Disney’s Renaissance era, but is considerably better remembered than the likes of Pocahontas’ Governor Ratcliffe or the live-action Beauty and The Beast’s LeFou. One such example is Ursula from John Musker and Ron Clements’ 1989 animated powerhouse The Little Mermaid. However, every once in a while, a character that’s queer-coded is not just accepted by the LGBT+ community, but becomes iconic. The trend is overall considered offensive and outdated, attempting to associate LGBT+ people with evil and villainy in the minds of audiences. Villainy in media has always been connected with groups, cultures and behaviors that are considered outside “the norm” of society, and since the early days of cinema, this has often taken the form of villains being “queer-coded." This often takes the form of male villains being depicted as feminine, foppish and deceitful.
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