"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

animated film ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...

''. Written by

Howard Ashman Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

and Alan Menken and performed by

Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and NB ...

, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch (the first film's villainess). In a style that combines

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

with Burlesque, Ursula uses the song to seduce Ariel into trading her voice for the chance to temporarily become human.

recorded a version of the song with himself in the role of Ursula, to send to Carroll to convince her to take the role, which it did. This version was released in the four-CD set '' The Music Behind the Magic''. Carroll admits that she borrowed some of the inflections she used in the song from Ashman's performance, and that he had been delighted she had done so. "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is also noteworthy for Ursula's incantation at the end of the song actually being sung, rather than merely recited. Accompanied by Gothic organ music, the spell features words somewhat twisted from normal everyday words, only strung together extremely quickly: :

Beluga The beluga whale (/bɪˈluːɡə/) (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the wh ...

Sevruga The starry sturgeon (''Acipenser stellatus'') also known as stellate sturgeon or sevruga (Drakul, , and tr, Uzun Burun, lit=long nosed), is a species of sturgeon. It is native to the Black, Azov, Caspian and Aegean sea basins, but it has be ...

:Come winds of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

: Larynxes,

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:Et Max Laryngitis :La voce to me Carroll's original rendition of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" was included on a 1995 compilation CD of songs performed by or about various Disney villains called ''Rascal Songs''. The CD was released as part of a three-disc Disney song series as a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

promotional item.

Reprise(s)

No less than four versions of a reprise have been written and produced for Ursula to sing in various incarnations of the Disney story. A short reprise of this song is featured later in the original Disney movie being sung by Vanessa (

Jodi Benson Jodi Marie Benson (née Marzorati; born October 10, 1961) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for providing the voice of Ariel in Disney's 1989 animated film '' The Little Mermaid'' and throughout other films, including its seq ...

). This reprise is sometimes referred to as "Vanessa's Song". It was included in '' The Legacy Collection: The Little Mermaid'', released as a two-disc album on November 24, 2014, to coincide with the film's twenty-fifth anniversary. Two versions of a full reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" were written for the Broadway adaptation. The first version, used for the demo workshop and performed by Emily Skinner, contains lyrics implying that it is meant to be sung before Ursula transforms herself into Vanessa, with the spell incantation: :

Mascara Mascara is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has vari ...

tiara A tiara (from la, tiara, from grc, τιάρα) is a jeweled head ornament. Its origins date back to ancient Greece and Rome. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women ...

:Yea, winds of the

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appear :

Catharsis Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...

, :Et qua manicurus : mutato me here! The above demo reprise was scrapped when Ursula's temporary transformation into Vanessa was removed from the storyline of the Broadway show. It was replaced with a different reprise, sung by Ursula to King Triton to force him into taking Ariel's place in the agreement. A completely new reprise was featured in the Little Mermaid Live! show produced in November of 2019 by

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

Jonas Brothers cover and other versions

The Jonas Brothers covered "Poor Unfortunate Souls" for the ''Little Mermaid'' two-disk special edition of the soundtrack, released on October 3, 2006 to correspond with the two-disk ''The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition'' DVD. The Special Edition Soundtrack includes a music video for the song, where the boys are singing around a public swimming pool. Although the song mostly stays true to the lyrics of the original, certain lines have been changed to prevent any reference to magic or gender. For instance, the line "They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch" was changed to "They weren't kidding when they called me kinda strange", as well as the line "I'm a very busy woman" changed to "I'm a very busy person." Where the original line was "Flotsam, Jetsam, now I´ve got her, boys", the cover features the line "Nick and Kevin, now I´ve got her, boys". The second verse and ending have also been omitted. Instead, the song ends with a reprise of the chorus following the first verse. The song is also featured on Disney's On the Record along with "

Part of Your World "Part of Your World" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Disney's animated feature film ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989). Performed by American actress and singer Jodi Benson in the titular role as Ariel, a merm ...

", "

Under the Sea "Under the Sea" is a song from Disney's 1989 animated film '' The Little Mermaid'', composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. It is influenced by the calypso style of the Caribbean which originated in Trinidad and Tobago, as well ...

" and "

Kiss the Girl "Kiss the Girl" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken Walt Disney Pictures' 28th animated feature film ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989). Originally recorded by American actor Samuel Wright in his film role as Sebasti ...

" of songs from ''The Little Mermaid''. A portion of the song is performed twice in the

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

Halloween-themed

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

show HalloWishes during

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is a separate-admission Halloween-themed event held annually during the months of August, September, and October at the Magic Kingdom theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vis ...

and in

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

's similarly-themed

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during

Mickey's Halloween Party Mickey's Halloween Party (formerly known as "Mickey's Halloween Treat" from 2005 until 2007 and Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party in 2008 and 2009) was an annual Halloween-themed separate admission at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. An ...

. Also at Walt Disney World, an instrumental snippet of the song is featured in the

Electrical Water Pageant The Electrical Water Pageant is a show that takes place every evening (weather permitting) on Walt Disney World's Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. It features 14 floats with lights that depict images of sea creatures. Though it has changed somewh ...

to accompany the appearance of a red octopus. It was performed at Miss America 2016 by

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Alexandra Curtis. A cover by the

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

band

Pretty Addicted Pretty Addicted is an English electronic music group formed in London, England, in 2011. The project is the brainchild of Vicious Precious with a live band and a live drummer. History The band was started in late 2011 by Vicious Precious. Mus ...

was released on February 14, 2016. American singer

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

performed a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

version of the song, entitled "Poor Unfortunate Queens", during ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

'' Battle of the Seasons Tour. A pop rendition of the song is sung by the American actress and singer

China Anne McClain China Anne McClain (born August 25, 1998) is an American actress and singer. McClain's career began when she was seven years old, portraying Alexis in the film ''The Gospel'' (2005), and then China James in '' Daddy's Little Girls'' (2007). Sh ...

, in the

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner na ...

, '' Descendants 2''.

Certifications

References

External links

* (on Disney's official channel) {{Jonas Brothers 1989 songs 2006 singles Jonas Brothers songs Songs from musicals Deal with the Devil Songs from The Little Mermaid (franchise) Songs with music by Alan Menken Disney Renaissance songs Songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman Songs about witches Song recordings produced by Alan Menken Song recordings produced by Howard Ashman