Ursula is the main antagonist of Disney's 1989 animated feature film The Little Mermaid and its 1992-94 spin-off television series. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in all of her appearances (and for less than a second by Jodi Benson). Over the years, Ursula has become one of the most popular and iconic of all the Disney villains and is one of the franchise's official members. Ursula is based on the "sea witch" character in Hans Christian Andersen's story The Little Mermaid. In the original story, the sea witch is a neutral enabler, but for Disney's animated adaptation, the character was modified into a full-fledged antagonist and plays a larger role in the overall story. Ursula is a cecaelian sea witch who "helps" unfortunate merfolk to achieve her own goals.