- “I dunno, he looks kinda hairy and slobbery to me.”
- ―Scuttle, mistaking Max for Prince Eric[src]
Max is Prince Eric's loyal Old English Sheepdog in Disney's 1989 animated feature film The Little Mermaid.
Background[]
Personality[]
Coming Soon
Physical appearance[]
Coming Soon
Appearances[]
The Little Mermaid[]
Max in The Little Mermaid
Max is first seen aboard Prince Eric's ship in the opening scene. He is still there when Ariel spies on Prince Eric's birthday party. While prancing around, Max catches Ariel's scent and tracks her down at her hiding place. Ariel gets scared and hides, but then glances back in curiosity and comes face to face with a panting Max. Immediately taking a liking to Ariel, Max licks her cheek affectionately before being called away by Eric. When Ariel comments on how Eric is very handsome shortly afterward, Scuttle gets confused and initially thinks she's talking about Max and says, "I dunno, he looks kinda hairy and slobbery to me".
Eric is soon presented with a birthday gift of a large statue portraying him in fancy attire and a heroic pose, but Eric subtly shows dislike for the portrayal, and Max openly growls at it in utter disapproval. When a storm hits and lightning sets the ship ablaze, everyone on board managed to evacuate except Max, who has been left aboard, trapped by the fire. Eric goes back to the ship and saves his best friend by having him jump into his arms to safety, risking his own life. Max later finds his master on shore after the shipwreck, licking his face happily. He is also able to smell Ariel behind some nearby rocks and spots her in the distance. Although he barks at her in attempt to get Eric and Grimsby's attention toward her, they ignore him.
Later, Eric is walking Max out on the beach. Max smells the now human Ariel further on down the beach and excitedly runs away from Eric toward Ariel, prompting Eric to follow the dog. He arrives and playfully chases a frightened Ariel up a rock, joyfully licking her face once more. Ariel wipes her cheek and grins at Max, realizing the dog means her no harm. When Eric arrives, Max gets frustrated when his master doesn't realize that Ariel is the same girl who saved his life.
As Eric is about to marry Vanessa (Ursula's human disguise), Max immediately realizes Vanessa's true colors, presumably able to see and/or smell the difference and growls at her as she passes by. Vanessa sharply kicks his face with the point of her high-heeled shoe to keep him quiet. Before the vows can be read, Scuttle leads a flock of bluebirds, amongst sea and lagoon critters, against Vanessa flustering and humiliating her so much that her hands are full. Max starts barking and jumping around seeking the opportunity to help with this battle, eventually breaking off his leash and running up behind the bedraggled bride and biting her bottom in revenge.
Vanessa forcibly lets go of Scuttle after Max bites her and he breaks her necklace off while she screams in pain and strains away from Max and the shell containing Ariel's voice breaks, freeing the voice, which is restored to Ariel, who has just arrived. Max then excitedly runs over to Ariel, leading Eric to her. Max is last seen at Eric and Ariel's wedding, where he happily licks both the bride and the groom in a congratulatory mood.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea[]
Max plays a small role in the sequel. He is seen at the beginning on board Eric's ship again; when Ariel takes him for a walk near the wall dividing the kingdom from the ocean, and at the end when he comes to help Eric rescue Melody, and later partakes in the swimming party, knocking Grimsby into the ocean while jumping in himself.
The Little Mermaid: The Series[]
Max makes cameo appearances whenever Eric and his ship do, like in the episodes "Thingamajigger", "Ariel's Treasures", and "Scuttle".
101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure[]
A sheepdog resembling Max makes multiple cameos in this film, especially during the Thunderbolt auditions and the "Twilight Bark" scene.
The Little Mermaid (2023)[]
Max appears in the live-action remake. He is portrayed by a real-life dog named Gary.
Max is first seen onboard the Royal Ship with Eric's crew where Eric tells his fellow men attempting to hunt down a mermaid only for a dolphin to appear instead just as Eric tells Grimsby about his obsession in attempting to fall in love with a mermaid he is searching for. That night during Eric's birthday, Max is seen standing alongside with his owner Eric as the other sailors sing "Fathoms Below" where Eric's pet dog remains by his owner just as Ariel tries to get attracted to Eric. He then approaches Ariel and tries to tells Eric that he found a mermaid while Eric continues talking with Grimsby onboard the ship. However, during a storm, Eric tells the crew to hang on during a rainstorm, to which the ship crashes onto a rock, causing a lantern to fall on the ship to emit a large fire onboard the ship just as the crew retreat from the burning ship, followed by Max surrounded by the fire on the ship. Seeing Max surrounded by fire, Eric rushes to rescue him and gets him out of the ship, just as he drops him underwater, escaping the burning ship with the rest of the crew while Ariel suddenly rescues Eric from drowning into the ocean.
Later when Ariel turns into a human during the second day, Eric introduces Ariel to his pet dog which Ariel happily reacts to Max being kind as Eric gives a tour to Ariel just as Max approached Sebastian, telling him to stay away from the crab. On the third day during the wedding between Vanessa and Eric, Scuttle arrives to stop the wedding which Max attempts to stop Vanessa from marrying Eric to which as Ariel shatters the shell necklace to reclaim her voice, Vanessa is revealed to be Ursula in disguise which Max, Selina, Grimsby, and the other wedding guests retreat from Ursula who is revealed to be a sea monster. The next day after Ursula is killed, Max is last seen at the end of the film where he plays fetch with Eric who is at the queen's castle to which Ariel approaches Eric and pats Max on the head.
Once Upon a Studio[]
Max is seen picking up Prince Charming's shoe and running off with it with Charming chasing him and Cinderella cheering him on, to Mickey's amusement. He joins in the picture along with the rest of Disney characters.
Disney Parks[]
Max is seen in the last scene of the Voyage of the Little Mermaid stage show in Disney's Hollywood Studios. Max is also featured as a walk-around character for meet-and-greets; accompanied by Eric and the occasional Chef Louis at Tokyo DisneySea's Mermaid Lagoon.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Max was not in the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid.
- When Max growls at Prince Eric's statue, this snarling was reused from Toby from The Great Mouse Detective when he made stairs out of his left ear while he, Basil, Dr. Dawson, and Olivia were leaving Ratigan's Lair.
- Throughout the franchise, Max lived a remarkably long life for a dog, being a full-grown adult sheepdog at the time of the original film. Interestingly, he showed no signs of aging, and his physical condition had not deteriorated at all by the events of the sequel. In real life, the average typical lifespan of an Old English Sheepdog is between 10 to 11 years.
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