He isn't actually a flounder. Seriously. If you look at the flat, bottom-dwelling fish that actually go by that name in the real world, they look nothing like the bright yellow and blue guy we grew up with. Flounder from The Little Mermaid is one of those character design choices that just sort of stuck, regardless of biological accuracy, and honestly, the movie is better for it.
Most people remember him as Ariel’s "guppy" companion—a nickname Sebastian uses to tease him—but his role in the 1989 Disney classic goes way deeper than just being the scaredy-cat sidekick. He’s the emotional anchor for Ariel’s connection to the surface. While King Triton is busy smashing statues and Sebastian is trying to keep everyone in line, Flounder is the only one who actually listens to her. He’s her confidant. He’s the one who helps her haul a literal ton of human junk into a secret cave. That's a lot of loyalty for a fish that’s constantly shaking in his scales.
The Biological Identity Crisis of Flounder from The Little Mermaid
Let's address the elephant—or rather, the flatfish—in the room. A real flounder is a member of the Pleuronectidae or Bothidae families. They are weird. They start life looking like normal fish, but as they grow, one eye literally migrates across their skull to the other side so they can lie flat on the ocean floor and look upward. They are camouflaged, brownish, and definitely not sporting vibrant "electric blue" stripes.
So, what is he?
Animators at Disney, led by supervising animator Dan Haskett, wanted something that popped against the blue-green hues of the Atlantic (or wherever Atlantica is supposed to be). If they had gone with a realistic flounder, he would have been a beige pancake that was impossible to express emotion with. Instead, Flounder from The Little Mermaid looks much more like a tropical angelfish or perhaps a yellow tang with some creative liberties. His rounded body and expressive face allow for that wide-eyed "scaredy-cat" look that defines his personality. It’s a classic case of character appeal over-taxonomic accuracy. Interestingly, in the 2023 live-action remake, they tried to bridge this gap by making him look a bit more like a sergeant major fish (Abudefduf saxatilis), which has those distinct vertical stripes, but many fans felt the realism stripped away the warmth of the original design.
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Why Flounder Was Essential to the 1989 Plot
Without Flounder, Ariel probably gives up in the first twenty minutes. Think about the opening sequence where they are exploring the shipwreck. Ariel is driven by curiosity, but she’s also a teenager who needs a best friend to validate her rebellion. Flounder is terrified. He's terrified of sharks, terrified of the surface, and terrified of getting in trouble with the King. Yet, he never leaves her side.
That loyalty is the engine of the story.
He is the one who helps her move the massive statue of Prince Eric into her grotto. Do you know how much a stone statue weighs underwater? A lot. Even with buoyancy, that’s a massive undertaking for a small fish. He isn't just a mascot; he’s an enabler of her dreams. When the transition to the 2023 film happened, Jacob Tremblay took over the voice role from the original actor, Jason Marin. While the voice changed, that core "anxious but loyal" energy remained the hallmark of the character.
The Voice Behind the Fins: Jason Marin and the 1989 Magic
A huge part of why Flounder from The Little Mermaid feels so "human" is the vocal performance of Jason Marin. At the time of recording, Marin was a child actor, and he brought a genuine, crackly-voiced innocence to the role that an adult trying to sound like a kid just can't mimic.
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During the production of the original film, the directors (Ron Clements and John Musker) actually encouraged Marin to lean into that breathy, nervous energy. It made the stakes feel higher. When Flounder stutters or gasps, it isn't just a cartoon trope; it feels like a kid who is way out of his depth but loves his friend too much to run away. It's a stark contrast to the more "composed" sidekicks we see in later Disney eras. He’s messy. He’s a mess! And that’s why we like him.
Controversies: The 2023 Live-Action Redesign
You can't talk about Flounder from The Little Mermaid today without mentioning "the redesign." When the first images of the 2023 live-action Flounder dropped, the internet went into a tailspin. People called him "flat," "devoid of life," and "uncanny valley."
The problem? Physics.
In a CGI-heavy "realistic" underwater world, you can't really have a bright yellow, circular fish with massive human-like eyes without it looking terrifyingly out of place. The filmmakers opted for a more realistic fish anatomy. They thinned him out. They gave him realistic scales. But in doing so, they lost the "eyebrows"—those little patches of color that allowed the 1989 version to look surprised, worried, or happy. It sparked a massive debate about the necessity of hyper-realism in animation. Does a talking fish need to look like something you'd see on National Geographic? Probably not. The charm of the original Flounder was his "squash and stretch" capability, something a photorealistic model simply cannot do.
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Key Differences: Original vs. Prequel vs. Sequel
Most people don't realize that Flounder actually has a fairly extensive history beyond the first movie. Disney produced a TV series in the early 90s and a prequel film called The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning.
- The Meeting: In the TV series and the prequel, we get different versions of how they met. The prequel suggests they met as kids when Flounder was a bit of a social outcast because of his love for music (which was banned at the time).
- The Name: There’s a long-standing fan theory/joke that "Flounder" is his name, not his species, which is the only way to explain the biological discrepancy.
- The Grown-Up Flounder: In the sequel, Return to the Sea, we see a much older Flounder. He’s now a father with his own kids, and he’s significantly bulkier. It’s one of the few times Disney actually aged a sidekick, and it’s kind of jarring to see him with a "dad bod" and a deeper voice, voiced by Parker Goris.
What Most People Get Wrong About His Bravery
People call Flounder a coward. That's a fundamental misunderstanding of what bravery is. Bravery isn't the absence of fear; it's acting in spite of it. Sebastian is a coward because he usually only acts when he's forced to by the King or his own ego. Flounder, on the other hand, is paralyzed with fear every time a shark appears or they go near the surface, yet he always stays. He goes to the surface to watch the ship.
He goes into the Ursula’s lair.
He helps pull the carriage.
He is arguably the bravest character in the franchise because he has the most to overcome internally. If you’re a 6-inch fish in an ocean filled with things that want to eat you, every day is a horror movie. But for Ariel? He faces it.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're looking to dive deeper into the lore or collect pieces of this character's history, you need to know where to look. The 1989 merchandise is significantly more valuable than the modern era stuff, specifically the "Polly Pocket" style playsets and the original plush toys that used a thicker, more vibrant yellow fabric.
- Check the Eyes: When buying vintage Flounder toys, look at the eye paint. The original 1989-1991 runs have a specific iris blue that was changed in later "Diamond Edition" re-releases.
- The Park Experience: If you're visiting Walt Disney World, Flounder's presence in the Under the Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid ride is a great example of how animatronics can capture that "cartoon" feel better than CGI. Pay attention to how his tail moves—it's a specific side-to-side wiggle that mimics the hand-drawn animation frames.
- Animation Study: If you are a student of animation, watch the "Under the Sea" sequence and focus only on Flounder. Notice how he is used as a "reaction shot" tool. He guides the audience's emotions. When the music gets big, he looks excited; when it gets scary, he shrinks. This is a masterclass in using a secondary character to set the tone of a scene.
Flounder remains a staple of the Disney brand because he represents the "best friend" we all want—the one who will follow us into a dangerous shipwreck just because we asked. Whether he's a biological flounder or a misplaced tropical angelfish doesn't really matter. What matters is that he's been Ariel's—and our—favorite "guppy" for over thirty years.
To really appreciate the character design, go back and watch the 1989 film on a high-definition screen and look at the "ink and paint" lines on Flounder during the "Part of Your World" sequence. The subtle use of blue shadows on his yellow body was a breakthrough in traditional cel animation at the time, giving him a three-dimensional feel without the use of computers.