Prince Eric is the main character in Disney’s 1989 feature picture The Little Mermaid, as well as its television series and sequel. The character is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘prince’ figure from ‘The Little Mermaid,’ but was reworked for Disney’s film by writer Roger Allers.
In the original film and the Kingdom Hearts video games, Christopher Daniel Barnes voices the character; in the prequel television series, Jeff Bennett voices the character; and in the direct-to-video sequel, Rob Paulsen voices the character. Sean Palmer played the character in the Broadway musical adaptation in 2007.
Despite his royal status, Eric is a skilled sailor who is frequently seen performing various chores aboard ships in his own fleet, demonstrating his status as a merchant prince. According to a page from A.L. Singer’s official novelization of the film from 1997, Eric is eighteen in the film, two years older than Ariel, who is sixteen at the time.
The prequel television series takes place before the events of the 1989 film and is nearly entirely focused on Ariel. Eric, on the other hand, makes three very brief cameo appearances. The first appearance is in Season 1’s “Thingamajigger.” Eric appears to play a key part in changing Ariel’s perception of mankind in this episode.
