Flounder from Disney's The Little Mermaid has a twin sister named Sandy. Ariel and her friends rarely talk about her.
They also hardly ever mention their friend, Scales the Dragon. Scales lives in a cave and is a musician.
Sandy and Scales were new characters created for a 1990 Disney Channel series called "Little Mermaid's Island." This series featured a live actress playing Ariel and puppet versions of Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle, and their friends. Puppet versions of Disney characters were not new to Disney Channel viewers. "Dumbo's Circus" and "Welcome to Pooh Corner" had been entertaining children for years. "Little Mermaid's Island," however, was a collaboration between Disney and Jim Henson.
"The Little Mermaid" was a big hit for Disney in 1989, so naturally, spin-off projects were considered. "Little Mermaid's Island" was not picked up by the Disney Channel. The stories developed for the series, however, were adapted for a collection of storybooks.
"The Little Mermaid's Treasure Chest" (really? Who approved that title?) brought Ariel's adventures with Sandy and Scales to young readers.
Ariel and Sebastian did end up getting their own television series, but it was a hand-drawn animated series. "The Little Mermaid" was launched as a CBS Saturday Morning series in 1992. This was a prequel to the animated film. It had nothing to do with "Little Mermaid's Island."
Sebastian the Crab was also featured in another 1992 CBS series, "Disney's Raw Toonage." Sebastian short cartoons were also seen in "Marsupilami," the 1993 Disney CBS Saturday Morning series.
A live action Ariel teamed with puppet versions of Sebastian, Flounder and the gang did show up in "The Voyage of the Little Mermaid" attraction at the Disney MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida in 1992. The puppets used for this show had no connection to "Little Mermaid's Island."
This picture is from a big 1992 Walt Disney World advertising section from USA Today (USA Today always had such great pictures).Flounder, Ariel and Sebastian from "Voyage of the Little Mermaid" can be seen here. The show is still running after all these years, though the park is now called "Disney's Hollywood Studios."
"Dinosaurs," which was a Disney/Jim Henson collaboration from 1991, were featured at The Disney MGM Studios. The versions of the characters seen here did not have moving mouths or eyes (that would have been impressive!).
"Jim Henson's MuppetVision 3D" debuted at the Disney MGM Studios in 1991. The show is still entertaining visitors in Florida. Muppetvision 3D can also be seen at Disney's California Adventure theme park at the Disneyland Resort (it opened there in 2001).
The Muppet versions of Sandy and Scales from "Little Mermaid's Island" look a bit different from the illustrations in the "Little Mermaid's Treasure Chest" books. Be sure to check out the Muppet Wiki Little Mermaid's Island page to see pictures of the puppets and learn more about the show.
It would be nice if this lost Little Mermaid project could be included as an extra on a DVD as a "Bonus Treasure."
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I remember seeing pics of Dumbo's Circus and Pooh Corner, but never got to see them because I didn't have cable back then. : ( It seems like a Little Mermaid puppet show would have been popular. I love the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show at WDW!
ReplyDeleteWow neat! I've never even heard of this project. I'm confused- was the info about the unsold pilot in that Disney Newsreel or did you find that somewhere else?
ReplyDeleteHey TokyoMagic! I thought Dumbo's Circus and the Pooh Corner show were nicely done. We did not have cable until I was older, so I don't think I saw them until I was no longer in their target audience! I also liked Voyage of the Little Mermaid, especially the "Under the Sea" puppets.
ReplyDeleteHey Eric! The Disney Newsreel just notes that the books were "Adapted from scripts developed by the Disney Channel." I remembered hearing about the Disney/Henson Mermaid project for the Disney Channel when it was in the works. Then I learned about Disney TV Animation's series, then the information from the Disney Newsreel, and then saw the big ad for the books (in a 1992 Disney Channel Magazine). When I learned about the animated series, I figured the puppet show was not happening. I later (many years later---like, recently) found The Muppet Wiki Little Mermaid's Island page, which covers the history of the project.
My kids really enjoy the book series with scales and sandy. I was disappointed to find out it was never a series given the quality of the book work.
ReplyDeletePS, sorry to raise the zombie thread
Hey Terence Clark! I never saw the books in person, so I'm glad to hear they were good. It really is too bad that the show was never made. No need to apologize about raising a "zombie thread" (ha ha!). It happens all the time, and sometimes I get responses from people involved in what I've written about. So maybe the puppeteers for Scales and Sandy will read this and tell us a story about the production. Fingers crossed...
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