- “Now, go out there and change the world. Or whatever it is so we don't get left behind.”
- ―Queen Selina to Prince Eric[src]
Queen Selina is a character featured in the 2023 live-action film The Little Mermaid, a remake of the 1989 Disney animated classic of the same name.
Background[]
Selina is an original character written for the film, and she is played by Noma Dumezweni. She is a human queen and the adoptive mother of Prince Eric. She has dark skin and curly hair, and she wears elegant gowns and jewelry.
Personality[]
Like King Triton, Selina is very protective of her son Eric and does not approve of him going on voyages, fearing she could lose him just like she lost her husband. She does care about Eric and his well-being, though her overprotectiveness puts a strain on her relationship with him.
In addition, Selina holds signs of xenophobia towards sea creatures, and blames them for the death of her husband who died during a voyage at sea. Though she did not believe in the existence of merpeople, she believed that they along with all sea creatures to be evil beings. This is proven where she was horrified to discover Ariel was a mermaid and Ursula revealing her true form where Selina tries to dissuade her son from going after Ariel, only to be held back by Grimsby. However, after Eric and Ariel defeat Ursula where the mermaid saves her son's life, Selina realizes she was wrong about aquatic creatures and recognizes how much Eric and Ariel love each other.
Role in the film[]
When a group of royal guards safely bring Prince Eric to the castle after the latter survived a shipwreck, one of them tells the others to alert Queen Selina. Selina is seen discussing with Grimsby, who tells her that there were no casualties from the shipwreck. Once Eric arrives, Selina orders him to stay in the castle to avoid risking his life looking for the girl he supposedly claims saved him from drowning. As a result, Selina enforces a rule to Eric, telling him to stay in the castle and stop going on any more voyages or going after a girl he "imagined".
Later that night on the second day, Grimsby is seen chatting with Selina, who is worried about Eric since she hasn't seen him all day--not knowing he went out to town with a mute Ariel--and wonders if he was still searching for the girl in his imagination. Grimsby assures her he has not been doing that. The next day, Eric introduces Vanessa (a disguised Ursula) to his mother and Grimsby after the witch put him under a spell to make him think that she is the girl who saved him. Queen Selina admits her fault and starts planning an introduction this evening.
That evening, Selina approaches Eric to give him a ring her mother gave her years prior, only for Scuttle to disrupt the party long enough for Ariel to arrive and shatter Ursula's necklace to reclaim her voice. After Vanessa is revealed to be Ursula in disguise and Ariel a mermaid, Selina reacts in fear and attempts to stop Eric from going after Ariel, saying the world of the seas is nothing but evil. He refuses to listen, and when the queen tries to run after him, Grimsby stops her.
The next morning after Ursula is killed in the battle, Selina admits to being wrong about the sea world being evil, and apologizes to Eric for not understanding his feelings for Ariel. However, she also reasons that their worlds are not meant to be.
She is later seen attending the wedding between Ariel (who has become human, courtesy of her father) and Eric just as she bids farewell to the happy couple. Selina thanks Ariel for helping her realize how misunderstood both worlds have been and rejoices in their new beginning before Ariel and Eric leave to travel the world together. Selina, Grimsby, the residents of the kingdom, and a large group of merpeople watch the couple leave together.
Printed material[]
In the Disney Prince book Prince of Song & Sea, Eric's mother was known as Queen Eleanora and disappeared when Eric was 16 years old. She had written a note for Eric to find, about a curse that had been put on him that he will die if he kisses a woman who is not his true love, which he did not notice until the time the book starts. Inspired by the note, Eric ventures out on a journey on her behalf to get rid of Ursula, reluctantly bringing Ariel with him. When they got to the island, Ursula reanimates Eleanora's corpse and speaks to Eric. The corpse of the Queen then stays lifeless on the ship. At the end of the book, Eric reunites with his mother.
Trivia[]
- In The Little Mermaid: The Novelization, it was revealed that Queen Selina adopted Eric.
- The film confirms the king and queen adopted Eric after a shipwreck killed his biological parents when he was a baby, 21 years before the events of the film.
- She is the only original character featured in the film.
