title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: On May 1, Trudeau announced that the sale, transportation, importation, or use of "assault-style" firearms in Canada was now banned effective immediately. Via Order in Council, the government re-classified them as "Prohibited" under the Firearms Act, with a two-year amnesty period to allow current owners to dispose, export, register, or sell them (under a buy-back scheme), and for special uses. The prohibition applies to at least 1,500 models and variants, largely semi-automatic firearms (fully automatic and certain specifically chosen firearms were already classified as "Prohibited"), including the AR-15 and guns that had been used in other notable mass shootings in Canada, such as the Ruger Mini-14 (École Polytechnique massacre), the Beretta Cx4 Storm (Dawson College shooting), and the CSA vz. 58 (Quebec City mosque shooting).


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: The intended long-term effects of the ban were questioned by experts, who pointed out it would have had no effect on Wortman's illegal acquisition of his firearms. They also highlighted the ban's inability to address international firearms trafficking or other types of firearms used in criminal activity, like handguns and other semiautomatic rifles such as the SKS. Five separate court challenges were raised in response to the ban, claiming the Canadian government contravened the Firearms Act and unfairly targeted legal gun owners.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: On May 3, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced plans to expand Canada's red flag law to include family members and others.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: The Liberal Party of Canada announced on its website measures against gun violence and a ban on the use, sale or import of assault weapons, most used in mass shootings in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: The families of the victims, as well as the residents of Portapique, strongly condemned the RCMP's response to the attacks, as well as their transparency in the criminal investigation. CBC News' television program "The Fifth Estate" and online newspaper "Halifax Examiner" analyzed the timeline of events, and both observed a myriad of failures and shortcomings in the RCMP response. A criminologist criticised the RCMP's response as "a mess" and called for an overhaul in how the agency responds to active shooter situations, citing its failure to properly respond to other such incidents in the past.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: Starting April 22, 2020, the RCMP began providing updates on the investigation into the incidents on April 18-19 and launched a condolence platform on its official website.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: Flags across Canada were lowered to half-mast, and the House of Commons observed a moment of silence for the victims.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: On April 20, the CN Tower was illuminated in blue and white, the colours of the Nova Scotia flag, and also in RCMP red, blue, and gold in honour of Stevenson, on the quarter- and half-hours. On April 21, at Niagara Falls, both the Canadian Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls were also illuminated in blue and white as a symbol of bi-national solidarity with Nova Scotia.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: In the days after the incident, many fundraisers for the victims and their families were started on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. There was also at least one fake or fraudulent fundraiser started, which was subsequently removed. Jeff Thomson of the RCMP's Anti-Fraud Centre warned Canadians to be diligent when donating to charities related to the tragedy.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: As large gatherings were restricted in the province due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a public virtual vigil was streamed online via Facebook, and broadcast by CBC Television in the Atlantic provinces.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: A permanent memorial to the victims was set up at a former church in Portapique, after an earlier makeshift memorial was dismantled by residents.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: On April 18, 2022, the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety issued his statement on this tragedy.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: Following RCMP confirmation that the attacks were preceded by an act of domestic violence, women's rights advocates said the rampage highlighted a broader problem of domestic violence in Canada, as well as its potential as a warning sign for future violent behaviour and public threats. Activists criticised law enforcement's inability to respond to earlier domestic violence reports against Wortman, and called upon attention to be placed on the role of misogyny in the attacks. These activists also expressed concern about the criminalization of Wortman's victimized spouse, who suffered extreme domestic violence.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: Citing eyewitness reports of Wortman's behaviour and ways of controlling his partner, domestic violence experts called for the passage of a coercive control law in Canada, similar to one that had been passed by the United Kingdom in 2015, which they say may "help prevent other abusers from escaping detection".


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: In the wake of the shooting, many unanswered questions remain, both specific in relation to domestic violence and to this incident in general. Finding answers to these questions may aid in coping, understanding, and healing for those affected by this tragedy in Nova Scotia and beyond.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: To help find answers, a multidisciplinary group of individuals from the Nova Scotia Health Authority, IWK Health Centre, and Dalhousie University have partnered with DHW and other universities across the province to establish Heal Nova Scotia (Heal-NS), a program devoted to bringing together researchers to investigate topics related to violence with the common goal of helping Nova Scotians find answers and healing in the aftermath of the Portapique mass shooting.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: Relatives of the victims filed a lawsuit against Wortman's estate for damages caused by the rampage. Another lawsuit was filed by victims' families against the RCMP and Nova Scotia, citing the former's "disrespectful manner" to victims and their families and its handling of the attacks, both during and after the event. In June, Wortman's partner renounced her status as his executor and eventually filed her own lawsuit against his estate on August 13. In February 2021, the lawsuit filed by the victims' families added the names of Wortman's partner, her brother, and her brother-in-law.


title: 2020 Nova Scotia attacks

text: The alleged representatives of the plaintiffs in the case are Tyler Edison Blair and Andrew Frederick O'Brien, who filed the lawsuit in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities after the area's two largest cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Minnesotans often refer to the two together (or the seven-county metro area collectively) simply as "the cities". It is Minnesota's economic, cultural, and political center.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Minneapolis and Saint Paul are independent municipalities with defined borders. Minneapolis sits mostly on the west side of the Mississippi River on lake-covered terrain. Although most of the city is residential neighborhoods, it has a business-dominated downtown area with some historic industrial areas, the Mill District and the Warehouse District. Minneapolis also has a popular uptown area. Saint Paul, which sits mostly on the east side of the river, has quaint tree-lined neighborhoods, a vast collection of well-preserved late-Victorian architecture, and a number of colleges. Both cities and the surrounding areas are known for their woods, lakes, hills and creeks.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Originally inhabited by the Ojibwe and Dakota people, the cities were settled by various Europeans. Minneapolis was strongly influenced by early Scandinavian and Lutheran settlers, while Saint Paul was settled predominantly by the French, the Irish, and German Catholics. Today, both urban areas are home to new immigrant communities, including Somalis, Hmong, Oromo, Cameroonians, and Liberians.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: "Twin Cities" is sometimes used to refer to the seven-county region governed by the Metropolitan Council regional governmental agency and planning organization. The United States Office of Management and Budget officially designates 15 counties as the "Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area". It is the 16th-largest metropolitan statistical area and third-largest metropolitan area in the Midwest, with a population of 3,690,261 at the 2020 census. The larger 21-county Minneapolis–St. Paul MN–WI Combined Statistical Area, which also ranks as the 16th-largest, had a population of 4,078,788 at the 2020 census.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The first European settlement in the region was near what is now the town of Stillwater, Minnesota, about from downtown Saint Paul and on the western bank of the St. Croix River, which forms the border of central Minnesota and Wisconsin. Another settlement that fueled early interest in the area was the outpost at Fort Snelling, which was constructed from 1820 to 1825 at the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Mississippi River.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Fort Snelling military reservation bordered both sides of the river up to Saint Anthony Falls. The town of Saint Anthony grew just outside the reservation on the river's east side. For several years, the only European resident to live on the west bank of the river was Colonel John H. Stevens, who operated a ferry service across the river. When the military reservation was reduced in size, settlers quickly moved to the land, creating the new village of Minneapolis. The town grew, with Minneapolis and Saint Anthony eventually merging. On the eastern side of the Mississippi, a few villages such as Pig's Eye and Lambert's Landing grew to become Saint Paul.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Natural geography played a role in the two cities' settlement and development. The Mississippi River Valley in the area is defined by a series of stone bluffs that line the river. Saint Paul grew up around Lambert's Landing, the last place to unload boats coming upriver at an easily accessible point, seven miles (11 km) downstream from Saint Anthony Falls, the geographic feature that, due to the value of its immense water power for industry, defined Minneapolis's location and its prominence as the Mill City. The falls can be seen from the Mill City Museum, housed in the former Washburn "A" Mill, which was among the world's largest mills in its time. The phrase "St. Paul is the last city of the East, Minneapolis the first city of the West" alludes to the historical difference.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The state's oldest farms are in Washington County. The county borders the St. Croix River and Wisconsin on the eastern side of the metropolitan area. Joseph Haskell was Minnesota's first white farmer, harvesting the first crops in the state in 1840 on what is now part of Afton Township on Trading Post Trail.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Grand Excursion, a trip into the Upper Midwest sponsored by the Rock Island Railroad, brought more than a thousand curious travelers into the area by rail and steamboat in 1854. In 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published "The Song of Hiawatha", an epic poem based on the Ojibwe legends of Hiawatha. A number of natural area landmarks appear in the story, including Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Falls. Tourists inspired by the coverage of the Grand Excursion in eastern newspapers and those who read "The Song of Hiawatha" flocked to the area in the following decades.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: At one time, the region also had numerous passenger rail services, including both interurban streetcar systems and interstate rail. Due to the river's width at points further south, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area was briefly one of the few places where the Mississippi could be crossed by railroad. Much commercial rail traffic also ran through the area, often carrying grain to be processed at Minneapolis mills or delivering other goods to Saint Paul to be transported along the Mississippi. Saint Paul was long at the head of navigation on the river, until a lock and dam facility was added upriver in Minneapolis.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Passenger travel hit its peak in 1888, with nearly eight million traversing to and from Saint Paul Union Depot. This amounted to approximately 150 trains daily. Soon, other rail crossings were built farther south and travel through the region began to decline. In an effort by the rail companies to combat the rise of the automobile, some of the earliest streamliners ran from Chicago to Minneapolis/Saint Paul and eventually served distant points in the Pacific Northwest. Today, the only vestige of this interstate service is Amtrak's Seattle/Portland to Chicago "Empire Builder" route, running once daily in each direction. It is named after James J. Hill, a railroad tycoon who settled on Summit Avenue in Saint Paul in what is now known as the James J. Hill House.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Like many Northern cities that grew up with the Industrial Revolution, Minneapolis and St. Paul experienced shifts in their economic base as heavy industry declined, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. With the economic decline of those decades came population decline in the central city areas, white flight to suburbs, and, in the summer of 1967, race riots on Minneapolis's North Side. But by the 1980s and 1990s, Minneapolis and Saint Paul were often cited as former Rust Belt cities that had made successful transitions to service, high-technology, finance, and information economies.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: In May and June 2020, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area became a focus of international attention after MPD officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for almost ten minutes. The murder sparked local, nationwide and international protests against racism and police brutality, bringing considerable attention to the MPD. Minneapolis–Saint Paul was the site of the second-costliest act of civil disobedience in U.S. history, after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Local protests and riots caused an estimated $550 million in damages and affected around 1,600 businesses.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Minneapolis and Saint Paul have competed since they were founded, resulting in some duplication of effort. After Saint Paul completed its elaborate cathedral in 1915, Minneapolis followed up with the equally ornate Basilica of St. Mary in 1926. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the rivalry became so intense that an architect practicing in one city was often refused business in the other. The 1890 United States Census even led to the two cities arresting and/or kidnapping each other's census takers, in an attempt to keep each city from outgrowing the other.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The rivalry occasionally erupted into inter-city violence, as at a 1929 game between the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints, both baseball teams of the American Association. In the 1950s, both cities competed for a major league baseball franchise (which resulted in two rival stadiums being built), and there was a brief period in the mid-1960s when the two cities could not agree on a common calendar for daylight saving time, resulting in a few weeks when people in Minneapolis were one hour "behind" those in Saint Paul.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The cities' mutual antagonism was largely healed by the end of the 1960s, aided by the simultaneous arrival in 1961 of the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, both of which identified themselves with the state as a whole (the former explicitly named for both Twin Cities) rather than either city (like the earlier Minneapolis Lakers). Since 1961, it has been common practice for any major sports team based in the Twin Cities to be named for Minnesota as a whole. In terms of development, the two cities remain distinct in their progress, with Minneapolis absorbing new and avant-garde architecture while Saint Paul continues to carefully integrate new buildings into the context of classical and Victorian styles.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Like much of Minnesota, the Twin Cities area was shaped by water and ice over millions of years. The area's land sits atop thick layers of sandstone and limestone laid down as seas encroached upon and receded from the region. Erosion caused natural caves to develop, which were expanded into mines when white settlers came to the area. During Prohibition, at least one speakeasy was built into these hidden spaces—eventually refurbished as Saint Paul's Wabasha Street Caves.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Lakes across the area were formed and altered by the movement of glaciers. This left many bodies of water in the region, some with unusual shapes. For example, Lake Minnetonka, toward the western side of the Twin Cities, consists of a complex arrangement of channels and large bays. Elevations in the area range from above sea level in the northwest metro to at the edge of the Mississippi River in the southeast.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Because it is relatively easy to dig through limestone and there are many natural and manmade open spaces, it has often been proposed that the area should consider building subways for public transportation. That could be less expensive in the Twin Cities than in many other places, but would still be much more expensive than surface projects.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Owing to their northerly latitude and inland location, the Twin Cities experience the coldest climate of any major metropolitan area in the United States. But due to their southern location in the state and the urban heat island, the Twin Cities are among Minnesota's warmest places. The average annual temperature recorded at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport is ; colder than Winona, Minnesota, and warmer than Roseau, Minnesota. Monthly average daily high temperatures range from in January to in July; the average daily minimum temperatures for those months are and respectively.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Minimum temperatures of or lower are seen on an average of 29.7 days per year, and 76.2 days do not have a maximum temperature exceeding the freezing point. Temperatures above occur an average of 15 times per year. High temperatures above have been common in recent years; the last was on July 6, 2012. The lowest temperature ever reported at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport was on January 22, 1936; the highest, , was reported on July 14 of the same year. Early settlement records at Fort Snelling show temperatures as low as . Recent records include at Vadnais Lake on February 2, 1996 (National Climatic Data Center)


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Precipitation averages per year, and is most plentiful in June () and least so in February (). The greatest one-day rainfall amount was , reported on July 23, 1987. The cities' record for lowest annual precipitation was set in 1910, when fell throughout the year; coincidentally, the opposite record of was set the next year. At an annual average of , snowfall is generally abundant.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities area takes the brunt of many types of extreme weather, including high-speed straight-line winds, tornadoes, flash floods, drought, heat, bitter cold, and blizzards. The costliest weather disaster in Twin Cities history was a derecho event on May 15, 1998. Hail and wind damage exceeded $950 million, much of it in the Twin Cities. Other memorable Twin Cities weather-related events include the tornado outbreak on May 6, 1965, the Armistice Day Blizzard on November 11, 1940, and the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. In 2019, Minnesota experienced its coldest temperatures since 1996, when a polar vortex dropped temperatures as low as in Cotton, Minnesota, with wind-chill temperatures lower than in much of the state. These temperatures are colder than those found on the surface of Mars. (See: Department of Natural Resources - Cold Outbreak: January 27-31, 2019)


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: A normal growing season in the metro extends from late April or early May through the month of October. The USDA places the area in the 4a plant hardiness zone.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, or Twin Cities, includes 15 counties, of which 13 are in Minnesota and two in Wisconsin. The Minnesota portion accounts for almost two-thirds of Minnesota's population.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Note: Counties that are bolded are under jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Council. Counties that are "italicized" were added to the metropolitan area when the Office of Management and Budget revised its delineations of metropolitan statistical areas in 2013. Sibley County was included in the metropolitan statistical area from 2013 to September 2018.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN–WI Combined Statistical Area is made up of 19 counties in Minnesota and two counties in Wisconsin. The statistical area includes two metropolitan areas and four micropolitan areas. As of the 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 3,682,928 (though a July 1, 2012 estimate placed it at 3,691,918). In 2013, the Owatonna Micropolitan Statistical Area was added.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: There are approximately 218 incorporated municipalities in the Twin Cities metropolitan region. This includes census-designated places and villages in Wisconsin, but excludes unincorporated towns in Wisconsin, known as civil townships in other states. Population numbers are from the 2020 census.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area fine art museums include the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker Art Center, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota Museum of American Art and The Museum of Russian Art. Other museums include American Swedish Institute, Science Museum of Minnesota, Minnesota Children's Museum, Bell Museum (natural history and planetarium) and The Bakken Museum (science and technology). The Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra are full-time professional musical ensembles. The Guthrie Theater is a world-class regional theater overlooking the Mississippi River. The Minnesota Fringe Festival is an annual celebration of theatre, dance, improvisation, puppetry, kids' shows, visual art, and musicals.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities is also the home of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), the nation's second-largest public radio station. It has both a classical station and a contemporary station, The Current, which plays music from regional and other contemporary artists. The MPR program "A Prairie Home Companion", hosted by Minnesota native Garrison Keillor, aired live for many years from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul. The show ended its run in 2016, with its successor "Live from Here" also airing from the same venue. This radio program was the basis of the 2006 film "A Prairie Home Companion".


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theater is a sketch and improvisational comedy theater in Minneapolis. It is the nation's oldest comedy theater.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Current and the Walker Art Center also host the annual music festival Rock the Garden, which features nationally recognized and local artists. The festival has been held annually since 2008 and has featured artists such as Lizzo, Hippo Campus, Chance the Rapper, Bon Iver, The Flaming Lips, Wilco and Sonic Youth.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis hosts the annual Basilica Block Party, another music festival, which has featured nationally recognized artists such as Weezer, Andy Grammer, Death Cab for Cutie and Panic! at the Disco. The festival is used as a fundraiser for the restoration of the basilica. The event draws about 25,000 people to the downtown area.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities area also has a number of venues where artists come to perform. Minneapolis is home to First Avenue. First Avenue is known for being the starting venue for many famous artists and bands from the area, including Prince, The Replacements, Atmosphere, and Manny Phesto. It became one of the most recognizable venues in Minnesota after the release of the Prince movie Purple Rain, in which it is featured.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: There are numerous lakes in the region, and some cities in the area have extensive park systems for recreation. Organized recreation includes the Great River Energy bicycle festival, the Twin Cities Marathon, and the U.S. pond hockey championships. Some studies have shown that area residents take advantage of this, and are among the most physically fit in the country, but others have disputed that. Medicine is a major industry in the region and the southeasterly city of Rochester, as the University of Minnesota has joined other colleges and hospitals in doing significant research, and major medical device manufacturers started in the region (the most prominent is Medtronic). Technical innovators have brought important advances in computing, including the Cray line of supercomputers.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Many Twin Cities residents own or share cabins and other properties along lakes and forested areas in central and northern Minnesota, and weekend trips "up North" happen in the warmer months. Ice fishing is a major winter pastime, although overambitious fishers sometimes find themselves in danger when they venture onto the ice too early or too late. Hunting, snowmobiling, ATV riding and other outdoor activities are also popular. This connection to the outdoors also brings a strong sense of environmentalism to many Minnesotans.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: In 2011 and 2012, the American College of Sports Medicine named Minneapolis–Saint Paul the nation's healthiest metropolitan area.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities is one of 13 American metropolitan areas with teams in all four major professional sports—baseball (MLB), football (NFL), basketball (NBA) and ice hockey (NHL). Including Major League Soccer, it is one of 11 metro areas with five major professional sports teams. To avoid favoring either city, most teams based in the area use only the word "Minnesota" in their names, rather than "Minneapolis" or "St. Paul".


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Minneapolis was the site of two Super Bowls—Super Bowl XXVI in 1992 and Super Bowl LII in 2018. It is the farthest north that a Super Bowl has ever been played. The Minnesota Vikings have played in four Super Bowls—IV in 1970, VIII in 1974, IX in 1975 and XI in 1977.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The World Series has been played in the Twin Cities three times—1965, 1987 and 1991—as have three Major League Baseball All-Star Games—1965, 1985 and 2014. NHL All-Star games were hosted in 1972 and 2004, NBA All-Star game in 1994, WNBA All-Star game in 2018 and MLS All-Star game in 2022.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Stanley Cup Finals have been played in the Twin Cities twice, in 1981 and 1991. The NHL Stadium Series had a game in the Twin Cities in 2016.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Final Four Men's National College Athletics Association (NCAA) basketball tournament has been hosted by Minneapolis four times—1951, 1992, 2001 and 2019—and the Women's twice, in 1995 and 2022.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Frozen Four Men's NCAA hockey tournament has been hosted by the Twin Cities eight times—1958, 1966, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2002, 2011 and 2018. It is scheduled to return in 2024.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Major golf tournaments hosted in the Twin Cities include: U.S. Open—1916, 1930, 1970, 1991; U.S. Women's Open—1966, 1977, 2008; PGA Championship—1932, 1954, 2002, 2009; Women's PGA Championship, 2019; Walker Cup, 1957; Solheim Cup, 2002; and the Ryder Cup, 2016. The Ryder Cup is scheduled to return in 2028.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The 2017, 2018 and 2019 X Games were held in Minneapolis. The 2020 X Games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities host three nationally competing Roller Derby leagues: the Minnesota Roller Derby of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1, the North Star Roller Derby of WFTDA Division 2, and Minnesota Men's Roller Derby, a league of the Men's Roller Derby Association. MNRD and NSRD have four home teams each: the Dagger Dolls, Garda Belts, Rockits, and Atomic Bombshells of MNRD and the Banger Sisters, Delta Delta Di, Kilmores, and Violent Femmes of NSRD, as well as two traveling teams each. MMRD has three home teams: The Gentlemen's Club, Destruction Workers, and Thunderjacks, and two traveling teams.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The annual Twin Cities Marathon is held in the fall with a course running through Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Minneapolis was the birthplace of Rollerblade and is a center for inline skating, as well as home to the most golfers per capita of any U.S. city. Additionally, water skiing got its start on Lake Pepin, a lake southeast of the metropolitan area, in the Mississippi River about downstream from Saint Paul.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Some other sports teams gained their names from being in Minnesota before relocating. The Los Angeles Lakers get their name from once being based in Minneapolis, the City of Lakes. The Dallas Stars also derived their name from their tenure as a Minnesota team, the Minnesota North Stars.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities are also home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers who play in the Big Ten Conference.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities have two major daily newspapers: the "Star Tribune" and the "Saint Paul Pioneer Press". The "Minnesota Daily" serves the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus and surrounding neighborhoods. There is one general-interest neighborhood weekly newspaper still in the cities: The "East Side Review", devoted to the 90,000 residents in St. Paul's eastern third. Other weekly papers are devoted to specific audiences/demographics, including (until 2020) "City Pages".


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The region is the 15th-largest television market, according to Nielsen Media Research. Three duopolies exist in the Twin Cities: Twin Cities PBS operates KTCA and KTCI, Hubbard Broadcasting (built by Stanley E. Hubbard) owns ABC affiliate KSTP-TV and independent station KSTC-TV, and Fox Television Stations operates Fox owned-and-operated station KMSP-TV and MyNetworkTV O&O WFTC. Diversified from radio, KSTP-TV became the first TV channel to air in the region with a show reaching 3,000 sets in 1948, and the 17th station to broadcast in the U.S.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The only station with its main studios in Minneapolis is CBS O&O WCCO, while Saint Paul hosts KSTP/KSTC, KTCA/KTCI, and CW affiliate WUCW. NBC affiliate KARE has a broadcasting complex in suburban Golden Valley. KMSP is in suburban Eden Prairie. For much of the last two decades, WCCO and KARE have shared in having the most popular evening newscasts in the area. On the other end, KSTP has struggled to maintain ratings on its news programs. KMSP has had a 9 o'clock newscast since at least the early 1990s, when it was an independent channel.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Communities in the region have their own public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable television channels. One, the Metro Cable Network, is available on channel 6 on cable systems across the seven-county region.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Several television programs originating in the Twin Cities have aired nationally on terrestrial and cable TV networks. KTCA created the science program "Newton's Apple" and distributes a children's program today. A few unusual comedic shows also originated in the area. In the 1980s, KTMA (predecessor to WUCW) created a number of low-budget shows, including cult classic "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The short-lived "Let's Bowl" started on KARE, and PBS series "Mental Engineering" originated on the Saint Paul cable access network.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities radio market was ranked 15th by Nielsen in 2018. In November 2018, the area's top five morning radio shows were all FM stations: KSTP, KXFN, KQQL, KDWB, and KXXR. Three of those stations are owned by iHeartRadio. Most stations broadcast on air and online, as livestreams from their websites.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: KSTP, a television station, also has radio stations, with pop music format on FM and ESPN Radio on AM. KSTP-AM and FM are owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. In 1985, Hubbard—valued at $400 million—was one of the nation's larger corporate media companies; in 2005, valued at $1.2 billion, Hubbard was a fairly small major-market media operation.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities have a mix of commercial and non-commercial radio stations. The city's market is dominated by iHeartRadio, which operates seven stations. Two small, independent stations are award winners—KUOM, operated by the University of Minnesota, and KFAI public access radio in Cedar Riverside.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) airs on KNOW 91.1 FM, KSJN 91.5 FM and KCMP 89.3 FM, with separate programs on each station. It was first nationally known for the variety show "A Prairie Home Companion", which ceased production in 2016. Doing business under the name American Public Media, the company is the second largest producer of NPR content, after National Public Radio (of which MPR is an affiliate). KCMP is also known as The Current.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities is home to many independent media organizations, including The UpTake and "MinnPost".


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: About 93% of the metropolitan area's population is native to the United States, including 0.6% born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, or abroad to American parents. The rest of the population is foreign-born.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The highest percentages of immigrants came from Asia (38.2%), Latin America (25.4%), and Africa (20.1%); smaller percentages of newcomers came from Europe (13.1%), other parts of North America (3.0%), and Oceania (0.2%).


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a major center for religion in the state, especially Christianity. The state headquarters of five major Christian churches are there: the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, the Presbyterian Synod of Lakes and Prairies, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The Presbyterian and LDS churches both have missions in Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and Bloomington, as does the Orthodox Church in America.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The headquarters of the former American Lutheran Church (ALC), Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lutheran Free Church and the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church were in Minneapolis; the headquarters of Augsburg Fortress publishing house still is. The Minneapolis Area Synod and the Saint Paul Area Synod are the largest and third-largest synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), respectively.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Evangelical Free Church of America is headquartered in Bloomington, and the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations is headquartered in Plymouth, along with its seminary and a Bible School.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities are home to a Jewish population of approximately 64,800, with about 31% of Jewish households in Minneapolis suburbs, 24% in Minneapolis, 16% in St. Paul, 14% in the St. Paul suburbs, and 15% in outer suburbs. There is also a Hindu temple in the Twin Cities suburb of Maple Grove. The Twin Cities' sole Sikh gurdwara is in Bloomington. A recent influx of immigrants from Laos and Northern Africa has brought many more religions to the area. There are several Islamic Masjids in the area. There is a temple for the religion of Eckankar in the suburb of Chanhassen known as the Temple of Eck. In addition, many Hmong and Tibetan Buddhist peoples live in Saint Paul; a Hmong Buddhist temple opened in suburban Roseville in 1995. The LDS St. Paul Minnesota Temple opened in Oakdale, a suburb east of Saint Paul, in 2000. There are several Unitarian Universalist communities, such as the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, as well as several Pagan and Buddhist groups. Minneapolis–Saint Paul has been called Paganistan due to the large numbers of Pagans living there. An estimated 20,000 Pagans live in the area.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Minneapolis is where the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association started and was its home for more than 50 years.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The 2008 Republican National Convention was held at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. Minneapolis and Saint Paul had submitted combined bids to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention. Minneapolis hosted the 1892 Republican National Convention.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Like most major metropolitan areas, the Twin Cities is a stronghold for the Democratic Party, known in Minnesota as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. At the state level, DFLers in the Minnesota legislature have increasingly relied on the Twin Cities to build majorities. Outside of the staunchly liberal urban core, the suburbs of the Twin Cities have been historically competitive for both the DFL and the Republicans.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Private companies headquartered in the Twin Cities area include Cargill, the country's largest private company, Carlson, Radisson Hotel Group, Holiday Stationstores, and Andersen. Foreign companies with U.S. headquarters in the Twin Cities include Aimia, Allianz Life, Canadian Pacific, Coloplast, Medtronic, Pearson VUE and Pentair.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Twin Cities' economy is the nation's 13th-largest and ranks second in the Midwest after Chicago. The Minneapolis–Saint Paul area is also North America's second-largest medical device manufacturing center and the fourth-largest U.S. banking center, based on total assets of banks headquartered in the area, after New York, San Francisco, and Charlotte.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis covers the 9th District of the Federal Reserve System, which is made up of Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Its geographical territory is the third-largest of the 12 Federal Reserve banks.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The 11 tallest buildings and 16 of the 17 tallest buildings in the area are in downtown Minneapolis. There is some dispute over which building is the tallest—most Minnesotans think of the IDS Center if asked, but most sources seem to agree that Capella Tower is slightly taller. In early 2005, it was found that the IDS Center is taller by a washroom garage on top, bringing its height to . Capella Tower and the Wells Fargo Center differ in height by a foot or two.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Buildings have gone up and been torn down rapidly across the region. Some city blocks have been demolished six or seven times since the mid-19th century. No single architectural style dominates the region. The cities have a mishmash of different designs, although structures from a few eras stand out. There were once many stone buildings in the Richardsonian Romanesque style (or at least Romanesque-inspired variants). Minneapolis City Hall is one prominent example of this, though buildings of all types—including personal residences such as the James J. Hill House—were similarly designed. A few decades later, Art Deco brought several structures that survive today, including St. Paul City Hall, the Foshay Tower, and the Minneapolis Post Office. The style of buildings in the two cities varies greatly. In Minneapolis, the trend has been toward sleek lines and modern glass facades, while Saint Paul tends to follow a more traditional style to better accompany its older structures.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Saint Paul and especially Minneapolis underwent massive urban renewal projects in the post-World War II era, so a vast number of buildings are now lost to history. Some of the larger and harder to demolish structures have survived. In fact, the area might be signified more by bridges than buildings. A series of reinforced concrete arch spans crossing the Mississippi River were built in the 1920s and 1930s. They still carry daily traffic. A number have undergone major repair work, but retain the original design. Several are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the 10th Avenue Bridge, Intercity Bridge (Ford Parkway), Robert Street Bridge, and the longest, the Mendota Bridge. The area is also noted for having the first known permanent crossing of the Mississippi. That structure is long gone, but a series of Hennepin Avenue Bridges have since been built at the site. Both downtowns have extensive networks of enclosed pedestrian bridges known as skyways.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Several prominent Minneapolis buildings helped modernize the city. These include the Walker Art Center, Central Public Library, Weisman Art Museum and the Guthrie Theater. Opening in April 2005, the new Walker Art Center, nearly double its former size, includes increased indoor and outdoor facilities. The Walker is recognized internationally as a singular model of a multidisciplinary arts organization and a national leader for its innovative approaches to audience engagement. The Guthrie received a large amount of media coverage for its opening in June 2006. It was designed by Jean Nouvel and is a facility that houses three theaters: the theater's signature thrust stage, seating 1,100; a 700-seat proscenium stage; and a black-box studio with flexible seating. In 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation put the old Guthrie building on its list of the most endangered historic properties in the U.S. in response to plans the Walker announced to expand on the land occupied by the theater. The original Guthrie building was torn down in 2006.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: In the 20th century, the Twin Cities area expanded outward significantly. Automobiles made it possible for suburbs to grow greatly. The area now has a number of freeways, and many traffic cameras and ramp meters to monitor and manage traffic congestion. There is some use of HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) express lanes, which is becoming more common. To use an express lane, a driver must have a MnPASS transponder or at least one passenger. MnPASS rates are determined by the amount of traffic on the road and/or the time of day. During non-peak times, the MnPASS express lanes, except those on Interstate 394 (I-394) between Minnesota Highway 100 (MN 100) and I-94, are open to all traffic.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: I-94 comes into the area from the east and heads northwest from Minneapolis. Two spur routes form the I-494/I-694 loop, and I-394 continues west when I-94 turns north. I-35 splits in Burnsville in the southern part of the region, bringing I-35E into Saint Paul and I-35W into Minneapolis. They rejoin to the north in Columbus (just south of Forest Lake) and continue to the highway's terminus in Duluth. This is one of only two examples of an interstate highway splitting into branches and then rejoining; the other is in Dallas–Fort Worth, where I-35 also splits into east and west branches.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: On August 1, 2007, much of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge near downtown Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River around 6:05pm CDT. A replacement bridge opened on September 18, 2008.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The main airport in the region is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), a major hub for Delta Air Lines. The airport is also the main hub and operating base for Sun Country Airlines. There are six smaller (relief) airports in the area owned and operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (the same agency operates MSP). Some people commute by air to the Twin Cities from northern Minnesota.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: Metro Transit, by far the area's biggest bus service provider, owes its existence to the old streetcar lines in the area. Metro Transit provides about 95% of the public transit rides in the region, with over 900 buses, while some suburbs have other bus services. The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities operates a free bus system between its campuses. This system includes the Campus Connector bus rapid transit line, which travels between the Minneapolis and Saint Paul campuses by a dedicated bus line and throughout the two campuses on normal access roads. The METRO Blue Line LRT (light rail) began operations in June 2004, connecting downtown Minneapolis, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and the Mall of America in Bloomington. It was followed by the METRO Red Line BRT (bus rapid transitway) in 2013 connecting the Mall of America with Lakeville along Cedar Avenue through the southern suburbs. The METRO Green Line LRT connecting downtown Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota campus and downtown Saint Paul along University Avenue opened in 2014. Metro Transit operates all three lines. The Northstar Line commuter rail line connecting Minneapolis with Big Lake opened in 2009.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The METRO system consists of six separate projects. There are two light rail lines: the Blue Line, which runs from Target Field in downtown Minneapolis past Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport to the Mall of America; and the Green Line, which runs from Target Field past the University of Minnesota to Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul. The BRT Red Line serves as an extension of the Blue Line across the Minnesota River, where it connects with southern suburbs at four different stations. The BRT Orange Line connects downtown Minneapolis with Burnsville along I-35W. The arterial BRT A and C lines serve as upgrades to existing local bus routes and connect with the Blue and Green lines at certain shared stations.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: A variety of rail services are being pondered by state and local governments, including neighborhood streetcar systems, intercity light rail service, and commuter rail options to exurban regions. Minnesota is one of several Midwestern states considering high-speed rail service, using Chicago as a regional hub.


title: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

text: The Minneapolis–Saint Paul area has been criticized for inadequate public transportation. Its public transportation system is less robust than those of many other cities its size. As the metro area has grown, the roads and highways have been updated and widened, but traffic volume is growing faster than the projects needed to widen them, and public transportation has not expanded commensurate with the population. Minneapolis–Saint Paul is ranked the fifth-worst for congestion growth of similar-sized U.S. metro areas. Additional lines and spurs are needed to upgrade public transportation in the Twin Cities. Construction is underway for Green Line extension connecting downtown Minneapolis to the southwest suburb of Eden Prairie. A northwest LRT (Blue Line extension) along Bottineau Boulevard is being planned from downtown Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park. The METRO Orange Line BRT will eventually be extended to Lakeville. The METRO Gold Line BRT is planned to connect downtown Saint Paul to the eastern suburbs within the next few years.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Pictures' 28th animated feature film "The Little Mermaid" (1989). Voiced by American actress Pat Carroll, Ursula is a villainous sea witch who offers a mermaid princess named Ariel a temporary opportunity to become human so that she may earn the love of Prince Eric within three days. However, Ursula is, in fact, determined to sabotage Ariel's chances so that she can ultimately usurp King Triton's position as ruler of the oceans.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Created by directors and screenwriters Ron Clements and John Musker, Ursula is based on the sea witch character who appears in the 1837 fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen. However, her minor role was greatly expanded into that of a much more prominent villain for the film. Disney had struggled to cast Ursula for a year, during which the role was well sought after by several coveted television actresses at the time. Clements and Musker disagreed with lyricist Howard Ashman about who should voice the character. While the directors had written the role with Bea Arthur in mind, Ashman intended to offer it to soap opera star Joan Collins; both actresses rejected the part. When Ashman cast his second choice, Broadway actress Elaine Stritch, as Ursula, both stage veterans disagreed about the manner in which Ursula's song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" would be performed, and Pat Carroll was finally hired to replace Stritch after Ashman fired her. Deepening her own voice for the role, Carroll based her performance on a combination of Shakespearean actresses and car salespeople.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Animated by Ruben A. Aquino, Ursula's original design was inspired by several different sea creatures, including manta rays and scorpion fish, before Clements finally decided to base the character on an octopus; her number of tentacles was reduced from eight to six for financial reasons. Ursula's appearance was also inspired by American actor and drag queen Divine. When "The Little Mermaid" was first released in 1989, Ursula was immediately embraced as one of Disney's best villains, and continues to be ranked highly among the studio's greatest by the media. Praised for being humorous and frightening, the character has garnered positive reviews from film critics, some of whom dubbed her Disney's strongest villain in decades. Meanwhile, Carroll's performance has garnered similar acclaim to the point that the role has eclipsed her previous body of work, ultimately becoming virtually synonymous with the character.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: At the behest of Disney executives Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, director and screenwriter Ron Clements was among several film-makers instructed to research new story ideas that could potentially be adapted into the studio's next major animated film release. Clements first discovered Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" at a local bookstore, and began deliberating why Disney had never attempted to adapt the story before. Clements eventually learned that Walt Disney himself had actually attempted to adapt the fairy tale into a feature-length animated film as early as the 1930s, but the project was ultimately shelved due in part to its sad ending. Clements suggested "The Little Mermaid" to Katzenberg, who finally green-lit it after having first rejected it.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Hardly present in Andersen's original story, the sea witch is not a prominent character and lacks a proper name. Among Clements' ideas to alter the story, the film-maker decided to "make the witch more of a villain", describing Ursula as "a fun character to develop" into such. In Andersen's tale, the sea witch is not a villainess as much as she is "a disreputable mermaid." JR Thorpe of "Bustle" agreed that, in Andersen's story, "The sea witch isn't the enemy". Instead, "human ... nature is." While the original sea witch is willing to help the little mermaid despite the fact that she openly disagrees with her motives, Ursula is only interested in helping Ariel in the hopes of ultimately overthrowing her father. Emma James of "Teen Ink" observed that in addition to giving the character the name "Ursula", the studio "changed her role as a catalyst in the tale, and morphed her actions into those of an antagonist." Unlike the sea witch, Ursula deliberately intervenes in an attempt to keep the mermaid from success.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Lyricist, producer and writer Howard Ashman had originally envisioned Ursula's relationship with King Triton as a soap opera, and thus drew inspiration from soap opera actress Joan Collins. Ursula was originally conceived as Triton's sister, which would have naturally made the character Ariel's aunt, but the idea was ultimately abandoned. However, their blood relationship is still vaguely alluded to when the character mentions a time during which she actually lived in Triton's palace. Clements and Musker had originally intended for Ursula to remain her original size at the end of the film. However, Katzenberg had just recently seen the film "Die Hard" (1988), which inspired him to request a "bigger" ending for "The Little Mermaid", and thus he instructed the writers to have Ursula grow much larger in size during her climactic fight with Ariel and Eric.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula is voiced by American actress and comedian Pat Carroll. Carroll was not the filmmakers' first choice for the role; Clements, Musker and Ashman had long debated who should voice the villainess, the casting of whom was long and tedious, spanning an entire year. In his book "Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies", author Allan Neuwirth documented that the filmmakers searched "for just the right performer who could put across the deep-voiced, world-weary, deadpan villainess they had in mind–but never quite snaring their catch". While Ashman was interested in actress Joan Collins because he was a fan of her performance as Alexis Colby in the soap opera "Dynasty", Clements and Musker favored actress Bea Arthur, for whom they had actually written the role, describing Ursula as "having a Bea Arthur-type basso voice" in early drafts of their screenplay. Clements and Musker expected Arthur to accept the role because she had already been working for Disney's Touchstone Television on the sitcom "The Golden Girls". However, Arthur's agent resented the directors-writers for insinuating that her client voice a witch, refusing to even present the script to the actress.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: With Arthur eliminated, Clements and Musker were forced to audition several other popular television actresses of the decade, including Nancy Marchand, Charlotte Rae and Roseanne Barr, the last of whom had originally auditioned for the supporting role of chambermaid Carlotta. Amused by her nasal voice, Howard invited the comedian to read for Ursula, but concluded that her approach was ultimately not suitable for the character. Jazz singer Nancy Wilson also auditioned. Meanwhile, Ashman himself had been similarly unsuccessful in recruiting Collins because "Dynasty" producer Aaron Spelling feared that the actress' reputation would be jeopardized should she voice an animated character. Thus, Ashman pursued Broadway veteran Elaine Stritch, of whom he had been a long-time fan. The audition process for Ursula required each hopeful to both recite a scene from the film and perform a Broadway-style song of their choice. The finalists became Clements and Musker's Rae versus Ashman's Stritch, the latter of whom ultimately won the role over Rae with her preferred rendition of Ursula's song "Poor Unfortunate Souls". Musker described Stritch's approach to Ursula as "an eccentric, loopy reading". However, Stritch and Ashman soon began to experience creative differences over "Poor Unfortunate Souls" because the actress refused to follow the lyricist's "very specific directions". After refusing to perform the song at Ashman's preferred tempo (combined with her alcoholism), the songwriter fired Stritch from the project, thus forcing Clements and Musker to find a replacement with yet another round of auditions.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Carroll first learned of "The Little Mermaid" from her agent, and immediately agreed to audition for Ursula because she had always wanted to voice a Disney character. However, the actress felt that her chances were slim to none upon realizing that her competition largely consisted of famous film and television actresses. Musker described Carroll's audition approach as a hybrid of actors Maurice Evans and Tallulah Bankhead. Although confident in both her acting and singing auditions, Carroll did not hear back from her agent about the role until a year afterward, by which time she had already forgotten she had ever auditioned. Upon being cast, Carroll was entirely committed to the role, giving it complete precedence over all other jobs and projects at the time. Carroll's first task was to record "Poor Unfortunate Souls", her approach to which was remarkably different than Stritch's, first asking Howard to demonstrate exactly how he would like her to perform the song before attempting it. Carroll completely credits Ashman with her delivery, explaining, "I got the whole attitude from him ... and his shoulders would twitch a certain way, and his eyes would go a certain way ... I got more about that character from Howard singing that song than from anything else." Carroll also borrowed Ursula's habit of saying "innit" instead of "isn't it" from Ashman. Despite their strong working relationship, Carroll described working with Ashman and composer Alan Menken as a "brutal" experience because of the songwriters' "military" approach; she would often return home from recording sessions with blown vocal chords. Carroll recalled her daughter, filmmaker Tara Karsian, reassuring her that "you're in something that fifty years from now may be shown ... What you're working on now will be seen by our children, and our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren" after complaining to her about one of her recording sessions. Describing her own performance as Shakespearean, Carroll perceived Ursula as an "ex-Shakespearean actress who now sold cars", which inspired her dry, theatrical interpretation. Carroll also deepened her own voice for the role. When Carroll watched the completed film for the first time, she was frightened by her own performance, comparing it to actress Margaret Hamilton's performance as the Wicked Witch of the West in the film "The Wizard of Oz" (1939). Actress Jodi Benson, who voices Ariel, briefly provides the voice of "Vanessa", Ursula's beautiful human alter-ego, in lieu of Carroll. With the writing and recording of "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Ursula became the first Disney villainess to receive her own song.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: On June 28, 2019, it was announced that Melissa McCarthy was in talks to play Ursula in the upcoming live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid", set to be directed by Rob Marshall. On February 18, 2020, McCarthy confirmed her casting as the villainess during an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show": “I play Ursula, the sea witch. It is so fun, we're just in rehearsals. It's been an absolute blast. Stepping into the world of Rob Marshall, it's like a fever dream, I just went to London for a week, I was like, ‘I don't get to go to dance camp for a week.’ All day he's like, ‘Do you want to slide down this 40-foot clamshell?’ I'm like, ‘Yes! Of course, I do. What are you, crazy?’ It's been wildly creative.” In December 2020, McCarthy stated that she would hopefully begin filming the movie in January 2021. McCarthy eventually began filming her scenes in April 2021. Later that year, McCarthy described the experience of playing Ursula as "glorious" and adding, "The world of Disney and (director) Rob Marshall is a world that I wish everyone could experience because it's so creative, kind and lovely. Going to singing class every day ... I got to record with an orchestra, which is a mind-bender for someone who is not a singer ... but it was such a fun process. It's going to be incredible ... To me, Ursula is everything. She's one of my absolute favorite villains so to play her was delicious."


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: During production of "The Little Mermaid", Ursula's design evolved and transformed dramatically. Animator Glen Keane's earliest sketches of Ursula were drawn to resemble Rae, specifically based on the actress' audition for the role. The short-lived casting of Stritch as Ursula and her subsequent performance eventually inspired the animators to design the character as "a tall, thin regal-looking sea witch" based on manta rays and scorpion fish, complete with a long cape. At one point, Ursula had also been drawn with spikes to resemble a spinefish. Ursula's appearance was largely inspired by American actor and drag queen Divine, who was best known for his frequent appearances in several films directed by filmmaker John Waters. Similarities were first drawn between the character and the actor after animator Rob Minkoff sketched "a vampy overweight matron", to which Ashman responded, "She looks like a Miami Beach matron ... playing Mah Jong by the pool.” The character shares Divine's signature eye makeup, jewelry and body type while originally sporting a Mohawk, the last of which was borrowed from the actor's "Pink Flamingo"s (1972) character Babs Johnson. However, Minkoff had been drawing the character with a shark's tail at the time. Clements eventually decided to place Ursula's head on top of the body of an octopus instead, which ultimately resulted in her current design. The animators then studied the way in which octopuses move, explaining, "There was a very kind of seductive and yet scary aspect", which they incorporated into the character's own gait. The "Pink Flamingos"-inspired Mohawk was ultimately discarded because Disney felt that the hairstyle was "too over-the-top" for the film. Additionally, Ursula's face was also inspired by that of Madame Medusa from Disney's "The Rescuers" (1977)"." According to "The Gospel according to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust" author Mark I. Pinsky, Ursula became "the most grotesque characterization Disney ... have created for a female villain" at that time.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Having animated previous Disney villains, Keane was originally approached to be the supervising animator of Ursula, but declined in favor of animating Ariel because he longed to do something different. Thus, Keane was replaced by Ruben A. Aquino. The character was originally drawn with a full set of eight tentacles similar to a real-life octopus, which were eventually reduced to a more manageable six because the original amount would have been too difficult and costly to animate. According to Carroll, this modification actually makes the character more similar to a squid than an octopus; whether or not Ursula is an octopus continues to be debated among both critics and devout fans, some of whom believe that the character's pair of arms actually account for the remaining two tentacles. Clements admitted that the character's six tentacles made animating her a challenge nonetheless. Ursula was intentionally designed to instill fear in "The Little Mermaid"'s viewers. Animators studied Monstro from Disney's "Pinocchio" (1940) in order to animate the character's enlarged self emerging from the sea. Ursula's appearance was also based on that of the character Norma Desmond, who appears in the film "Sunset Boulevard" (1950). Divine never lived to see his own likeness appear in "The Little Mermaid"; the actor died in 1988, one year before the film's release. However, his cohorts agree that Divine would have greatly enjoyed Ursula. Documentarian Jeffrey Schwartz joked that the actor would have wanted to play Ursula himself had he known about the character, having once told Waters "When I was young, all I wanted to be was a Disney villain".


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: About.com's David Nusair observed that "There's no limit to how low Ursula will stoop to achieve her goals"; the character often relies on a combination of sorcery and deception to achieve them. "A bargainer of the worst kind", Ursula only agrees to help the less fortunate when she's confident that she can gain something from them in return. Identifying Ursula as Ariel's binary due to the character's experience and authority, "Collision of Realities: Establishing Research on the Fantastic in Europe" author Lars Schmeink described Ursula as a "more complex and mature character" than Ariel, embodying everything that the mermaid can potentially become. To Ariel, Ursula represents "the matronly image" who "instigate[s] the young princess' epic journey" as she longs to achieve the witch's "sage-like knowledge and power". Ursula teaches Ariel about womanhood, a theme "From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture" author Elizabeth Belle noticed is absent in Anderson's story. According to Bell, "Ursula can retrieve Ariel from her destined alliance with patriarchy", observing that the witch actually "teaches Ariel that performance and voice and manifestations" are "liberations of gender". "Teen Ink"'s Emma James believes that Ursula's death ultimately prevents Ariel from experiencing and learning from the consequences of her actions, concluding, "Ariel never really owns up to all the mishap she caused." Observing that Ursula actually warns Ariel about the consequences should she fail to earn a kiss from Eric, Laura Stampler of "Time" described the character as a "savvy contract negotiator". Writing for Collider, Dave Trumbore identified Ursula as the film's "Crossroads Demon". According to Gary Thompson of the "Philadelphia Daily News", Ursula is similar to businesswoman Leona Helmsley.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: "Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies" author Allan Neuwirth observed that Ursula obeys Disney's "long-standing tradition of depicting classic scoundrels ... none so unsettling as their female villains." Neuwirth believes that the public's fear of Disney's female villains "stems from our expectations of nurturing, comfort and honesty from our mothers", while Disney's villainnesses, including Ursula, tend to "lust after ... youth and beauty." Ursula even goes as far as transforming herself into a beautiful young woman in order to trick Ariel's love interest into marrying her instead. Janet Wasko believes that Ursula's role as a powerful but antagonistic woman in "The Little Mermaid" alludes to the idea of patriarchy being preferable to matriarchy. Sophie Hall of Beamly identified Ursula as a woman struggling to "run the kingdom in a man's world, having been kicked out for no specific reason." In her book "Emerson Goes to the Movies: Individualism in Walt Disney Company's Post-1989 Animated Films", author Justyna Fruzińska claimed that "the masculine rule of Triton is presented as positive and opposed to the negative, feminine rule of Ursula". "Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy" author Janet Wasko accused the film's treatment of Ursula of "eliminat[ing] many of the female characters and undermin[ing] [the] feminine power" present in Andersen's fairy tale. However, Wasko also argued that Ursula could possibly be considered a mother figure for Ariel; the tunnel of Ursula's cave resembles a vagina, while Ursula's mannerisms evoke those of a mother as she refers to Ariel as "my dear sweet child". Gwynne Watkins of Yahoo! accused Ursula of "assur[ing] Ariel that human men prefer their women to be silent". Meanwhile, in response to feminist critiques of the character, author Amy M. Davis observed in her book "Handsome Heroes and Vile Villains: Masculinity in Disney's Feature Films" that Ursula is actually responsible for giving Eric the "power to make Ariel permanently human". However, author Alan Dundes in his book "Bloody Mary in the Mirror: Essays in Psychoanalytic Folkloristics" in conjunction with co-author Lauren Dundes observed that Ursula becomes masculine and deep-voiced once she acquires Triton's trident, implying that even "the only powerful woman in the story fulfills her desire for supreme power by becoming masculine". Dundes and Dundes also observed that Ursula reverts to being feminine once she is impaled.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In her book "Tales, Then and Now: More Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults", author Anna E. Altmann compared Ursula to Satan because both Ariel and Triton "sign a contract ... with her"; James Plath of Movie Metropolis described Ursula's contract as "a Mephistophelean bargain." Much like Satan, Ursula was banished from Triton's palace, similar to the way in which Lucifer was exiled from heaven. Felix Vasquez of Cinema Crazed believes that Ursula "is evil just for the sake of being evil". Writing for the Disney Archives, Dave Smith observed that Ursula "has the gross unsubtlety of Ratigan from 'The Great Mouse Detective' but substantially more brio." Describing Ursula as "Bejeweled and lip-pouting like an overweight, over-rich, over-pampered, over-the-top society hostess gone mad," Smith perceived the character as "all flair, flamboyance, and theatricality mixed with a touch of con-artistry", citing wrath as her only genuine emotion. Additionally, Ursula tends to act as though she is performing for an audience. Jay Boyar of the "Orlando Sentinel" compared the character's appearance to that of evangelist Tammy Faye. At times, Ursula tends to demonstrate stereotypically masculine physical traits. Describing the character as "A campy sea witch with an insatiable thirst for power", "Rolling Stone"'s David Ehrlich believes that Ursula resembles a child of Divine and Donald Trump. Some critics identify the character with body positivity. According to Michaela Glover of "The Odyssey", """Ursula portrays a bold business woman, not being afraid to show off her curves and use them, which defies the typical standards of beauty by also being a full figured woman."


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula debuted in the 1989 adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" (where she is voiced by Pat Carroll), as a sea witch who is scheming to take advantage of the ambitions of King Triton's youngest daughter Princess Ariel in order to usurp the throne and turning merpeople into seaweed for her garden. When Ariel saves and falls in love with a human named Prince Eric much to her father's chagrin, Ursula temporarily grants Ariel's wish to live as a human for three days in return for her voice. If she successfully earns a kiss from Eric by the end of the third day, Ariel will remain human permanently; if she fails, she will turn back into a mermaid and belong to Ursula forever. However, Ursula is determined to sabotage Ariel's and Eric's budding romance at any cost; when she realizes that Ariel and Eric are falling in love, Ursula transforms herself into a beautiful young woman named "Vanessa" and hypnotizes Eric, tricking him into agreeing to marry her instead. Ariel manages to thwart Ursula and Eric's wedding. Eric realizes that it was Ariel who saved him when her voice returns to her and is about to kiss her, but as the sun sets Ariel transforms back into a mermaid and is captured by Ursula. Triton confronts Ursula and agrees to give up himself and his magical trident in return for Ariel's freedom. Ursula then uses the trident to expand into monstrous proportions and attempts to kill Ariel and Eric, but Eric manages to impale Ursula with the splintered bowsprit of a wrecked ship, and she dies. With Ursula gone, her powers cease, the merpeople turn back to normal, Triton's power is restored, and Ariel marries Eric once she is permanently transformed into a human.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula appears as the antagonist in four episodes of "The Little Mermaid" prequel television series: "Against the Tide", "Tail of Two Crabs", "Heroes" and "Ariel's Treasures". In all four episodes, she executes various plans to antagonize King Triton and take over Atlantica, but all fail.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Due to her death in the original film, Ursula does not appear in the direct-to-video sequel "", but she is mentioned many times, mostly by her younger sister Morgana (also voiced by Pat Carroll). Her image does appear in a photograph that Morgana has of Ursula. In the family portrait during the cut song "Gonna Get My Wish", Ursula was also depicted as a young girl with light green skin similar to Morgana and their mother.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In the "Kingdom Hearts" video game, Ursula appears as one of Maleficent's co-conspirators, using the power of the Heartless to attack Atlantica and gain power. In this version of events, the official walkthrough states that Ursula was King Triton's fortuneteller before she was banished. Ursula is eventually defeated by Sora, Ariel, Donald Duck and Goofy. In "", she appears as a facsimile created from Sora's memories. In "Kingdom Hearts II", Ursula mysteriously returns through the powers of darkness and appears to Ariel, and recreates her film role. As the film's storyline is retold in the game, Ursula does not recognize Sora and company, and Ariel makes no mention of her defeat in the original "Kingdom Hearts". In fact, when Ursula arrives to make the deal with Ariel, the latter reacts as though she has seen Ursula for the first time. Sora, however, does note that Ursula "got what she deserved" in the first game. At the story's climax, she is defeated when Eric hurls the trident straight through Ursula's chest, destroying her seemingly once and for all. However, she reappears in the "", confronting Sora and Riku out at sea in her giant form from the end of the movie. The game gives conflicting hints on whether or not this Ursula is the "real one," and serves a very small role, providing the tutorial to the game's battle system and delivering a line that foreshadows the plot of the game's main antagonist, Xehanort. She is again voiced by Pat Carroll in the games


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: She has appeared for the concept art from "Epic Mickey" in 2010. When Ursula tries to kidnap Gremlin Gus, Mickey comes to the rescue and saved him from trying to let go of her clutches.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula appears in Disney park attractions such as the "Fantasmic!" show debuted in 1992 at Disneyland Park, as one of the Disney Villains summoned to destroy Mickey Mouse. A massive Ursula Audio-Animatronic appears in The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure, a dark ride at Disney California Adventure, and Magic Kingdom. Ursula is a central character in the annual Halloween-themed fireworks show HalloWishes at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" "hard ticket" event. Ursula also appears at the tail end of the "Little Mermaid" unit in Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams at Disneyland.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula has appeared in various Disney Press novels and tie-ins for the franchise. A comic book series, "Disney's The Little Mermaid", was released in 1992, revolving around the adventures of Ariel living under the sea as a mermaid. Ursula appears in a few issues, notably "Serpent Teen", which depicts how Ursula obtained the sea serpent carcass that makes her home. "My Side of the Story: Ursula" (2004) retells the plot of the film from Ursula's point of view, and depicts Ursula having romantic feelings for Triton. "The Villain Files" (2005) depicts Ursula's youth living in Triton's castle while Ariel was a baby.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula is a main character in the 2016 young adult novel "Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch" by Serena Valentino. The novel is the third entry of the "Villains" series, a shared universe that crosses over various theatrical Disney films including "Beauty and the Beast", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Sleeping Beauty". In this novel, Ursula is King Triton's younger sister who was betrayed by him as a child for choosing a tentacled form instead of a mermaid's tail, and grew up as a human in the town of Ipswich with an adoptive human father. Ursula returned to the sea when her adopted father was killed by the townsfolk for protecting her, befriending Athena, Queen of Atlantica, but was denied her inheritance by Triton and banished to the shadows. Ursula conspires with three other witches to steal Triton's soul and become ruler of all the seas, but is ultimately defeated.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula is the villain in the 2020 children's horror novel "Part of Your Nightmare" by Vera Strange, which is the first book of the "Disney Chills" series. The novel's setting is modern day, in a beach city named Triton Bay where eleven-year-old Shelly Anderson has just moved to a new school. Shelly struggles to fit in and especially wants the approval of Kendall, the popular captain of their school's swim team. Shelly first encounters Ursula at the aquarium owned by the Anderson family, and afterward has sleeping and waking nightmares of Ursula offering her a deal where that Shelly can be the "fastest swimmer ever", if Shelly does her a small favor in return.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In the musical version of the original film, Sherie Rene Scott originated the live role, which she played until January 25, 2009. Other actresses who played the role are Heidi Blickenstaff and Faith Prince.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In this version, Ursula is King Triton's sister, a concept for the original film that was eventually dropped. When Ursula and Triton's father died, the pair were given equal share of the sea plus two magical items. Triton received the trident while Ursula received the magic Nautilus shell. Though the two were meant to rule the seas together, Ursula's greed and use of dark magic to usurp Triton led to her being banished. The desire for revenge and power is her motivation for the show. The musical's plot is similar to the film, with the exceptions that Ursula doesn't transform into Vanessa, and she is ultimately defeated by Ariel rather than Eric, when the mermaid destroys the Nautilus shell that contains Ursula's power. In the revamped version of the musical developed by Glenn Casale in 2012, Ursula and Triton's backstory was changed, making them the seventh and eighth of eight siblings respectively. Ursula killed their older siblings one by one until she became a queen, and she forgot about Triton until he became old enough to depose her and become king. Ursula's motivation for revenge otherwise remains similar to the original book of the musical, with the addition that she was the one who killed Ariel's mother.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In addition to her song from the film, Alan Menken and Glenn Slater wrote new songs for Ursula: "I Want the Good Times Back", which introduces Ursula and her backstory, "I Want the Good Times Back (reprise)", where Ursula orders Flotsam and Jetsam to sabotage Ariel's attempt to get Eric to kiss her, and a reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls", where Ursula forces Triton to sign a deal and claims the trident. In the workshop stage, Ursula had a different introductory song: "Wasting Away", and its reprise featured Ursula preparing to transform into Vanessa. Emily Skinner provided vocals for Ursula in the workshop. In the 2012 revamped version of the musical, "I Want the Good Times Back" is replaced with a new song, "Daddy's Little Angel".


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In 2016, Rebel Wilson performed the role of Ursula at a stripped-down concert version of "The Little Mermaid" at the Hollywood Bowl, which featured the songs from the film and four songs from the Broadway musical. Wilson was praised for her performance, which was described by "The Huffington Post" as "pitch perfect."


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Queen Latifah portrayed Ursula in the 2019 television special, "The Little Mermaid Live!" which used a similar format of the live concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, by combining a screening of the film with live accompaniment by guest musicians and celebrities.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula appeared occasionally in the animated television series "Disney's House of Mouse" (2001) as one of Mickey's guests at the nightclub. In the feature film "Mickey's House of Villains" she is one if the main villains as one of Jafar's sidekicks, and participated in the musical number "It's Our House Now" alongside other Disney villains.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula the Sea Goddess appears in the third season, where she is voiced by Yvette Nicole Brown. In the episode "Ariel", Ursula is described as a sea goddess whom no one has seen for a thousand years. According to Ariel, Ursula gave merfolk the ability to gain legs once a year, when the tide is highest. Ariel uses this ability to visit Prince Eric at his castle, where he is having a ball honoring Ursula. Later, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) disguises herself as Ursula in order to make a deal with Ariel and trick her into capturing Snow White. This physical disguise includes short white hair and tentacles, similar to Ursula's animated appearance. Although the Queen considers Ursula to be "a long-dead octopus", she is shocked when the real Ursula possesses a statue and warns the queen not to impersonate her again.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula the Sea Witch appears as an antagonist of the second half of the fourth season, where she is portrayed as an adult by Merrin Dungey, and as a teenager by Tiffany Boone.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: The episode "Poor Unfortunate Soul" contains further flashbacks to Ursula's youth, when she was a teenage mermaid living under the sea with her father King Poseidon (Ernie Hudson). Ursula was gifted with a beautiful voice, which Poseidon wanted her to use to lure pirates to their death, in order to avenge the murder of Ursula's mother at the hands of an unnamed pirate. Ursula refused and instead befriended a pirate, Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue), who supported her desire for freedom. Ursula and Hook's friendship fell apart when Hook sealed Ursula's singing voice inside an enchanted shell, in order to punish Poseidon for destroying a weapon Hook wanted for himself. Ursula, angered and disappointed with both merfolk and humans, used Poseidon's trident to transform her tail into tentacles, emulating the ancient sea goddess that she was named after.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: The episodes "Heroes and Villains" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town" contain flashbacks to the Enchanted Forest past, where Ursula teamed up with fellow witches Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten) and Cruella De Vil (Victoria Smurfit). The three of them worked together to try to defeat the heroes and find their happy endings, but failed. In the episode "Best Laid Plans", while trying to rescue Maleficent's baby from Snow and Charming, Ursula and Cruella fell into a portal that lead into the non-magical world. Three decades later, in modern-day New York, Ursula is working as a cleaner in an aquarium when she is recruited by Rumplestiltskin, who also reunites her with Cruella. Ursula, Cruella and Rumplestiltskin then trick their way into entering the magical town of Storybrooke. In the episode "Unforgiven", they resurrect Maleficent to join their group.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In the episode "Best Laid Plans", flashbacks show how she and Cruella were sent from the Enchanted Forest before the first Dark Curse to the Land Without Magic because of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas)'s actions.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In the present day plotline of "Poor Unfortunate Soul", a remorseful Hook makes a deal with Ursula to get her singing voice back. They are only successful when Ariel intercedes, bringing Poseidon to Storybrooke so that he and Ursula can reconcile, and the enchantment is broken. Having achieved her happy ending, Ursula then tells Hook the full plan Rumplestiltskin has for the heroes, and afterward returns to the sea with her father.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula makes an appearance in the 2017 television film, voiced by Whoopi Goldberg. Twenty years prior to the film, Ursula had been banished on the Isle of the Lost with other villains. In the film, her daughter Uma is the main antagonist, portrayed by China Anne McClain. During one scene, Ursula whips her tentacle out from the kitchen of her Fish and Chips shop and yells at Uma to stop singing and come to wash the dishes.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula appeared in the episode "Keep on Rollin'" of the Disney+ series "The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse", with Carroll reprising her role, where together with Pete and the Beagle Boys they confront Mickey Mouse and his friends for being the skating rink where the characters meet. This would be the final time Carroll reprised her role before her death on July 30, 2022.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula will be played by Melissa McCarthy in the upcoming 2023 live action remake of "The Little Mermaid", directed by Rob Marshall.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In this Disney+ short, Ursula and other Disney villains welcome Lisa Simpson to "Disney Villain Land," and persuade her to become evil. Ursula was voiced by Dawnn Lewis, due to Pat Carroll's sudden death happening during the short's production.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula is mentioned and appears in the second book of the Villains series by Serena Valentino, "The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince", appearing before the Odd Sisters.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: She is the main character in the third book. Prior to the events of the book, Ursula appears in the English town of Ipswich and proceeds to inflict pain on the citizens of the town and turn them into twisted sea creatures before being stopped by King Triton. Years later, Ursula, in her guise as Vanessa, goes to the Odd Sisters and asks for their help to defeat Triton, who in the book is Ursula's brother and therefore makes Ursula Ariel's aunt, in exchange for helping them find their sister, Circe. Unknown to the Odd Sisters, Ursula has turned Circe into one of her polyps and is keeping her captive in her cavern.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Initially the Odd Sisters help her, but upon discovering that Ursula is keeping Circe captive, they turn on her and use their magic to influence Eric's ship to impale Ursula and kill her as revenge for keeping Circe captive. Circe is freed after this and discovers Ursula's golden shell. After finding out that her sisters killed Ursula, she banishes them to sleep to keep them from harming anyone else.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In the fourth book "Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy", Circe and Nanny gather Ursula's remains and give her a burial at sea prior to Maleficent's arrival.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: The fifth book in the A Twisted Tale series and written by author Liz Braswell, it addresses the question "What if Ariel had never defeated Ursula?" In the book Ursula, in her guise as Vanessa, ultimately wed Prince Eric and still possesses Ariel's voice five years later, and uses Eric's connections to go to war with neighboring kingdoms and expand the territory of Eric's kingdom. She maintains a beautiful appearance and a rich lifestyle. She is ultimately overthrown, by Ariel and Eric.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: In this book Braswell describes Ursula's species as “cecaelia,” a term created by fans in the late 2000s. This was the first Disney-published work to use the name.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula is the primary antagonist in the first book of the Disney Chills series, written by author Jennifer Brody under the name of Vera Strange. In the book, Ursula agrees to make protagonist Shelley more popular at her school. However, Shelley soon discovers that this deal comes with a price, one she may not be willing to pay.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula has earned a positive reception from entertainment critics. When "The Little Mermaid" was first released in 1989, film critics and audiences alike immediately embraced Ursula as one of Disney's best villains, as well as one of the studio's strongest and most powerful villains in several years. Film critic Roger Ebert dubbed Ursula Disney's "most satisfying villainess since" "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"' Evil Queen, who debuted in 1937. Critics agree that Ursula played an important role in the overall success of "The Little Mermaid". Samantha Rullo of "Bustle" reviewed Ursula as a "way more interesting" character than Ariel herself, while praising her for "rocking the best hair and makeup of any Disney villain." Also writing for "Bustle", Caitlyn Callegari appreciated Ursula for "tell[ing] it like it is." Jay Boyar of the "Orlando Sentinel" hailed Ursula as "A total success" despite sharing some similarities with previous Disney villains. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times "described Ursula as "a fabulously campy creation embodying the film's well-developed sense of mischief." Describing the character as an "inventive high-camp villainess," the "New York Daily News"' Kathleen Carroll cited Ursula as a prime example of the film's "outstanding" animation. Hailing the character as "a visual feast," "Variety" considered Ursula to be among "the film's more inspired inventions."


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: William Thomas of "Empire" described Ursula as "truly quake-inducing", while "Time"'s Eliana Dockterman enjoyed the fact that, unlike previous Disney villains, "Ursula doesn't even pretend to be good ... Right off the bat, she owns her evil witchiness". Kilmeny Fane-Saunders, writing for "Radio Times", warned parents that Ursula could possibly frighten young children. However, "The Huffington Post"'s Hilary Sheinbau believes that "there are many of these people who walk ... talk and strive among us", concluding, "it's important for kids to know that not everyone is going to look out for their best interests, however tempting some offers may be." "Metro"'s Duncan Lindsay agreed that Ursula teaches children "that binding contracts are a necessary part of every deal. We can thank her for all of our business sense as we are always sure to triple check that paperwork when ... securing deals." Dave Smith of the Disney Archives wrote, "When anger does bring out her true emotion, the effects are staggering. Her look of stark hatred, even while her face is still human, must certainly have brought nightmares to young children. And when she finally changes into a giant, towering up through the waves and over puny mortals, the embodiment of fury is quite breathtaking." Smith concluded, "Earlier we may have chuckled at her villainy; at this moment, there is no laughter ... only genuine fear." Meanwhile, SMOSH's Francesco Marciuliano praised the character as "one of the most gleefully evil characters Disney has ever created."


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Carroll's vocal performance as Ursula has been met with similar praise. Michael Wilmington of the "Los Angeles Times" predicted that the actress "will make [the film] a hit". Roger Hurlburt of the "Sun-Sentinel "enthused, "If Academy Awards were given for vocal talents, then Pat Carroll ... certainly is deserving." Hurlburt went on to extol Carroll as "a tour de force ... making such previous Disney villainesses -- Cruella de Ville (sic) ("101 Dalmatians") and the Evil Queen ("Snow White") -- pale in comparison", while the "Deseret News"' Chris Hicks described her performance as "delightful". To-date, Carroll's interpretation of Ursula remains so respected that it has ultimately eclipsed her previous body of work as an actress, of which she is "most proud" nonetheless, not minding that she is associated with the role almost exclusively. Carroll explained that she continues to sign autographs "Dear Sweetlips: I hug you with my tentacles. Oceans of love, Ursula.' And then, underneath, in parentheses, I put 'Pat Carroll,' very small" because her fans are more likely to identify with her character than her.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Revered as a fan favorite, Ursula has established herself as one of Disney's most iconic characters; she is widely regarded as one of the studio's "classic" villains. Author Corey Sandler described Ursula as a popular "anti-favorite" in his book "Econoguide Disneyland Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood: And Other Major Southern California Attractions Including Disney's California Adventure". The character's impact as a villainness has ultimately eclipsed those of her predecessors. According to Laura Rosenfeld of Tech Times, Ursula has had the most profound influence out of all animated characters in the Disney canon. The character is considered to be one of the greatest Disney villains of all-time, and continues to be ranked highly on countdown lists compiled by various publications. Ursula topped E!'s Disney villains ranking; author John Boone concluded that "There will never be a Disney villain more wickedly wonderful than" Ursula. Yahoo! Movies ranked Ursula third, praising her "for being the first female Disney baddie to get her own song." On "The Huffington Post"'s "Definitive Ranking Of 25 Classic Disney Villains", Ursula was also ranked third. About.com placed the character at number four in the website's "Top 10 Disney Villains" article. Babble.com ranked the character the fifth greatest Disney villain "From Bad to Worst". Moviefone ranked Ursula seventh on the website's list of the thirty greatest Disney villains of all-time. TVOvermind also ranked Ursula seventh in its article "Ranking the Top 10 Animated Disney Villains". Recognizing Ursula among "8 Disney villains who are better than the heroes", Beamly's Sophie Hall believes that the character "had more charisma than Ariel". By extension, Ursula is also often considered to be among the greatest animated villains of all-time. Sky Movies included the character on the website's list "Despicable Them: Top Animated Villains". The "Toronto Sun" ranked Ursula the third "top animated [villain] of all time".


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula is also considered to be one of Disney's most terrifying villains. Oh My Disney ranked Ursula's line "Triton's daughter will be mine and then I'll make him writhe. I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!" the fifth "Most Sinister Disney Villain Quote". Meanwhile, "Rolling Stone" included the climactic sequence in which Ursula grows into a giant on the magazine's list of the "12 Scariest Moments in Kids' Films", comparing the sequence to the iconic shower scene in the horror film "Psycho" (1960), while BuzzFeed ranked the character's death fifth on the website's "Definitive Ranking Of The Most Horrific Disney Villain Deaths". In the wake of the release of "Maleficent" (2014), a live-action remake of Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" (1959) told from the perspective of the film's villain, several publications voted for Ursula among Disney villains who deserve to star in their own films, including Yahoo! Movies, MTV, "Bustle" and the "New York Post." David Crow of Den of Geek selected actor John Travolta as his first choice for the role of Ursula because of his drag performance as Edna Turnblad in the film "Hairspray" (2007), a role actually originated by Divine, the actor upon whose appearance Ursula's design was based.


title: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

text: Ursula's body type has been positively embraced by the public; the character has since been recognized as a symbol of body positivity. HelloGiggles believes that "Ursula has the most positive body image" out of all of Disney's villainnesses: "She may not be a size zero, like the other villains and heroines, but she's equally as confident. She is sexy, she is glamorous and she shows of her curves with no apology." From 2007 onwards, Disney launched an advertising campaign called "Disney Dreams Portraits" featuring celebrities dressed up as various Disney characters and photographer Annie Leibovitz; Queen Latifah was photographed as Ursula for this campaign in 2011. In 2012 Disney released a Disney Villain line of dolls and make-up, and its revamped imagery was criticized for "slimming down" of Ursula to make her "marketable" and ignoring body diversity. For Halloween of 2013, Amber Riley portrayed Ursula in a celebrity parody/tribute of "Cell Block Tango" from "Chicago" titled "Spell Block Tango", directed by Todrick Hall, which was praised for its highlighting Disney villains. Lady Gaga wore an Ursula-inspired dress during . In the 2015 season of "Dancing with the Stars", Rumer Willis dressed up as Ursula to perform a samba set to "Poor Unfortunate Souls". As arguably "the most famous example of a direct tie to the LGBT community," Ursula has also become something of a gay icon, due in part to sharing Divine's appearance and personality.


title: Brine

text: Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (HO). In diverse contexts, "brine" may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for brining foods) up to about 26% (a typical saturated solution, depending on temperature). Brine forms naturally due to evaporation of ground saline water but it is also generated in the mining of sodium chloride. Brine is used for food processing and cooking (pickling and brining), for de-icing of roads and other structures, and in a number of technological processes. It is also a by-product of many industrial processes, such as desalination, so it requires wastewater treatment for proper disposal or further utilization (fresh water recovery).