King Triton

King Triton is a character who first appeared in the Disney animated movie The Little Mermaid. He was voiced by Kenneth Mars in the first two films and by Jim Cummings in the third film. His character is somewhat similar to the Greek Mythology sea god Poseidon.

Role
Triton is the king of the underwater Kingdom of Atlantica. He is a huge merman, husband of Queen Athena, brother of Ursula and the father of seven daughters: Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, Allana, and Ariel. He is also the father-in-law of Prince Eric and the grandfather of Ariel and Eric's daughter Melody.

Trident
He has a powerful magical trident which appears to be made of gold, it emits a glowing light and typical sound when in use. Furthermore he has a crown and two arm bracelets, which also appear to be made out of gold.

Personality
He is very protective of his daughters, which often turns into a conflict with Ariel. Although he is over 50 years old, Triton is still physically imposing. Triton's greatest wish is for his daughters to find respectable mermen to merry and to live happy lives. Triton was xenophobic about humans, and Ariel's fascination with humans strained their relationship. Despite his strength, power and honor, Triton has a terrible temper. When he gets angry, tremors shake the background, depicting his rage like his father, Poseidon. After finding out that Prince Eric killed Ursula to save his daughter Ariel, Triton softened his attitude towards humanity, and permitted his subjects to be in contact with humans.

History with Ursula
His sister and arch-enemy was Ursula, the old sea-witch who was once a senior member of the Court of King Triton. She has for many years been seeking a way to exact her revenge upon King Triton for banishing her from the kingdom.

The Little Mermaid
When the original film begins, Triton is xenophobic toward humans, and Ariel's fascination with humans casts a strain on their relationship. According to Triton, contact between the human world and the merworld is strictly forbidden. After an initial argument over Ariel over her latest trip to the surface, Triton orders his loyal servant, Sebastian, to keep an eye on her. When Triton learns that Ariel has saved the life of -and fallen in love with- a human being, he loses his temper and, determined to turn Ariel over to his views of humans, destroys her collection of human things, completely ignoring his daughter's pleas to stop. In the aftermath, Triton, instantly regretting this action, leaves a tearful Ariel alone in her grotto. Later on, after Ariel runs away from home in search of the sea witch Ursula, Triton orders a search for her, unaware that she has accepted Ursula's deal and become a human. When Sebastian, who had been watching over Ariel, arrives from the surface and tells the king about Ursula's scheme, Triton quickly goes out with Sebastian to find her. When Triton learns that Ariel has signed an agreement with Ursula, he willingly takes his daughter's place despite knowing the cost of his choice. Triton is temporarily transformed into a polyp, but when Ursula is killed, he is restored to his original form and regains both his crown and his trident. By the end of the film, Triton has softened his attitude towards humans, and allows Ariel to marry her love, Prince Eric, the man who killed Ursula and, subsequently, saved Triton's life.

The Little Mermaid Series
King Triton also appeared in the Little Mermaid animated TV series. According to the cartoon series, Triton was the son of Poseidon, his grandfather was called Neptune, and as a child, his nickname was "Red" for his red hair. Although his anti-human sentiments remained, he could sometimes be persuaded to recognise his mistakes, such as when he apologised to Ariel for scaring her so much that she failed to return home after a human charm bracelet was accidentally locked around her wrist, or when he was persuaded to help Ariel rescue a man trapped in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean (Implied at the end of the episode to be Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote the original tale).

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
Triton appears in the sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea. He seems to trust humans now. His weakness in the film is his love for his granddaughter Melody, and this is exploited by Morgana, Ursula's younger sister and his second rival. But when he has his trident back, he punishes Morgana by freezing her in a giant ice cube. Triton's character in this film is less menacing and intimidating when compared to his other appearances in all other films and the TV series.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
In the 2008 direct-to-DVD prequel The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, an opening prologue shows King Triton's wife, Queen Athena. The pair had a loving relationship, but after Athena was killed by pirates, Triton was broken-hearted, banned music from Atlantica and forced everyone to follow a strict daily schedule. Ariel's free-spirited personality is what casts a strain on their relationship in this film, and he is particularly angered when he discovers that the leader of the (illegal) Catfish Club is Sebastian, throwing his confidante into prison for this. He eventually comes to see the error of his harsh decisions, pardons Sebastian, lifts the ban on music and appoints Sebastian as his court composer at the end of the film, but retains his hatred toward humans until the end of the first film.

Kingdom Hearts
In Kingdom Hearts, he also knew protagonists Sora, Donald, and Goofy were from another world. He did not do much to contribute to the cause, distrusting Sora on principle due to implied past contact with other Keybearers.

Relationship with Daughters
The reason for his constant clashes with Ariel, as told by Ron Clements and John Musker (directors), is that he is very strong willed and independent, like his daughter. She is also his favorite of his offspring because as a child, he also had red hair and sees himself most in Ariel.

SpectroMagic
Triton appears in the SpectroMagic Parade. Triton appears with a lit up trident.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid
King Triton makes a vocal appearance in the beginning of the show confronting Ariel about humans. Triton reappers in animation on screen with Sebastian speaking as he did in the end of the original film.

Trivia

 * Since he is mentioned to be the son of Poseidon in The Little Mermaid Animated Series, he could in fact be the same Triton from Hercules the Animated Series. However, the other Triton is more amphibious and resembles Hercules with green skin while King Triton is a merman with known to have red hair in his child hood.
 * The original Triton is Greek Mythology was two finned.