Malaika Aman
Ursula Was Disney’s First Plus Size Character.
Yes, that shocked me too when i first heard it. Apparently she is the first plus size ‘woman’ to ever grace our beloved Disney movies. I am quite sure everybody already knows who she is. As a character like her doesn’t need an introduction.
I mean who could forget her overdrawn eyebrows, her iconic blue eyeshadow and the curve hugging black dress. No I didn’t forget about her very glamorous six tentacles. Her face was adorned with red lipstick and quite a lot of jewelry.
Her Six tentacles However, Didn’t Stop Her From Wearing One Of The Most Iconic Gowns Ever.
The real inspiration behind Ursula however, might surprise you. Ursula’s look, manners, makeup was actually inspired by Divine. Don’t know her? Well, she is actually a Baltimore drag queen. She frequently teamed up with filmmaker John Waters, as she played notable characters in his films like Pink Flamingos and the original Hairspray.
The Disney’s Movie playwright and lyricist Howard Ashman actually grew up in the Baltimore gay scene. He is the one who is responsible for bringing the trash-talking queen in a Disney movie.
Vampy Overweight Matron Who Everyone Agreed Looked A Lot Like Divine.
Larger than life characters give voice to our own rebellious impulses. Divine was funny, sure. But, as anyone who’s smiled after realizing Ursula stole Ariel’s voice in order to bag Prince Eric for herself knows, it can feel really good to watch someone behave this badly. Like Ursula, who has an eye on King Triton’s throne, Divine and the roles she played are equal parts aggrieved and aspiring.
Thus our beloved Villian Ursula was born. Surprisingly, She still has a lot of influence on the social media as shown below.
“Everyone thinks I was inspired by the princesses. If they only knew…”
At The End Of The Day, We Should Just Accept Ourselves And Ignore The Unfortunate Souls Who Tell Us Otherwise.
