Rating Redheads #1: Ariel from The Little Mermaid

As my first foray into rating fictional redheads, I thought I'd begin with one I know intimately, one who has had a lot of influence on me as a redhead myself, and one most people are familiar with.

No, not Jessica Rabbit... though I'll get to her.
Today I'm rating

Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid

I'll be rating all redheads based on 3 conditions (though I may change these as the blog evolves). The first 2 will be ranked on a scale of 1-5, then added together. The last condition will take off a point for each violation.
The conditions are:

1) Accuracy to the redhead experience
2) How being a redhead is used, or not used, in the film, and
3) How many redhead stereotypes the character hits.

If you'd like an overview on redhead stereotypes, I have a short article about them in the Pages of this blog.

Let's begin with a summary of Ariel and her personality. (For the sake of this rating, I'm only going to be considering the 1989 film, not the sequels or the TV show, or any of Ariel's guest appearances.)

Ariel is a 16-year-old mermaid princess, the youngest of seven sisters, and the only one with bright, primary-color-red hair. One could argue that her oldest sister, Attina, has red hair, but it could also be considered brown.
Then again, can Ariel herself be said to embody the redheaded experience?
Let's explore her world together.

1) Accuracy to the redhead experience: 2/5.
Ariel's hair is a color of red that cannot be attained naturally. This makes sense, as she is a mermaid, which also cannot be attained naturally. However, this doesn't negate the rating.
She is not shown to be treated differently because of her hair, or even acknowledge the color of her hair. The reason this rating isn't lower is because Ariel does feel like an outsider, and because she is the only redhead out of the seven sisters. There can be more than one redhead in a family, of course, but they are often the minority.

2) How Ariel's gingerness is used: 2/5
Like previously stated, Ariel's hair color is never mentioned in the film. Ariel was designed with red hair for a few reasons: one, Darryl Hannah's Splash had come out prior to The Little Mermaid's release, and Hannah's mermaid had blonde hair. Two, red (the primary color) was a better complement to Ariel's green tail and looked better in shadowy scenes.
Obviously, these have nothing to do with her character and everything to do with art direction and marketing.
However, Ariel does share a character trait with many redheads: the sense of not belonging. Though Ariel's red hair is a symbol of her alienation and not the cause of it, the camaraderie still remains.

3) Stereotypes used: -1
Though being an outsider is true for many redheads, it's also a stereotype, which I dubbed the "Special". Ariel's red hair isn't a cause of her ostracization, but a form of shorthand by the creators to show that Ariel is different than all the others in the story. Her gingerness is such a part of the public perception of her that, without her red hair, she is no longer recognizable as Ariel.

In conclusion, though Ariel has literal red hair, she doesn't live as a redhead. But that's not to say she-- and her hair color-- aren't important.
When The Little Mermaid was coming out and toys needed to be made, the Tyco Toys company was frantic because "redheaded dolls have never sold. They don't sell." So they gave the first run of the doll "strawberry blonde" hair. After the film came out and was a huge success, they had to remake the dolls with her iconic red hue.
Personally, Ariel was one of the first redheaded characters I knew. As a bullied ginger kid, I attached myself heavily to her uniqueness and defiance. How to Draw The Little Mermaid was my Bible, greatly influencing my art style for years.

So though Ariel isn't a true-to-life redhead, she's had a great positive impact for redheads worldwide.

Final score: 3/10

Sources:

https://www.cbr.com/disney-the-little-mermaid-ariel-red-hair-explainer/
https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2466802/why-toymakers-were-originally-horrified-the-little-mermaids-ariel-had-red-hair
How to Draw The Little Mermaid, 1992.