Keck's Exclusives: "Once Upon a Time" Casts JoAnna Garcia As Its Little Mermaid
Aug 16, 2013
by William Keck


"Once Upon a Time's" sixth episode of the new season will be titled 'Ariel' and introduces "Reba" fave JoAnna Garcia as the finned Disney princess from under the sea.

Producers promise a compelling back-story and twist for their Little Mermaid, while retaining the beloved character's "wide-eyed" charm and ambitions we came to know in Disney's 1989 animated classic. And as is the norm with "Once" characters, she'll most likely have ties to a character we know.



Could Ariel's witchy octopus nemesis Ursula the sea witch be far behind? "Ursula could appear this season, absolutely," teases executive producer Eddy Kitsis. "But on our show you never know what that might mean."

I'm personally campaigning for Sebastian the crab!

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Once-Upon-Time-Joanna-Garcia-Ariel-1069268.aspx

I love Once Upon a Time and Joanna Garcia. Win win! :D

Keck's Exclusives First Look: Ariel Washes Ashore on "Once Upon a Time"
Sep 23, 2013
by William Keck


"Once Upon a Time" goes under the sea on its Nov. 3 episode with the introduction of Ariel (aka the Little Mermaid), her strapping beau Prince Eric and Ursula the wicked sea witch.

The story finds Ariel (JoAnna Garcia Swisher, who will appear in a handful of episodes) rescuing one of the ABC fantasy's regular characters before experiencing her own adventure, which incorporates elements from the 1989 animated Disney classic.



"Once we realized we were going to Neverland, it felt like the perfect place to see Ariel," says executive producer Edward Kitsis.

Fans should look for winks at some of the movie's iconic moments, such as a gag with a fork that nods to the clumsy dinner scene, says *executive producer Adam Horowitz.



As for speculation that Lana Parrilla's Evil Queen will transform into Ariel's eight-legged nemesis, Kitsis hints, "In a world where our crocodile turns out to be Rumplestiltskin, you never know what might happen."

Holy mackerel!

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Once-Upon-Time-Ariel-First-Look-1070711.aspx

Ariel Returns for Princess Team-up!
by Natalie Abrams
January 6, 2017


"Once Upon a Time" will soon unite the Disney Princesses! EW has learned exclusively that JoAnna Garcia Swisher will reprise her role as Ariel on the ABC fairy tale drama this spring.

An ally of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin), the titular character from The Little Mermaid was last seen helping Ursula (Merrin Dungey) get her happy ending by reuniting the sea witch with her father, Poseidon (Ernie Hudson), in season 4.



However, when Ariel pops back up for at least one episode, she’ll be interacting with some very different characters.

“Ariel returns and meets Princess Jasmine [Karen David] as they join Hook [Colin O’Donoghue] on an adventure as he and Emma [Jennifer Morrison] face a daunting challenge that requires a big time princess team-up,” executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis tell EW.






When "Once Upon a Time" returns in March, the heroes are scattered:

- Emma and Regina (Lana Parrilla) are stuck in the wish realm after crossing paths with Robin Hood (Sean Maguire).

- Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and Rumple (Robert Carlyle) must venture to the Dark Realm to save their son, Gideon (Giles Matthey), from the Black Fairy (Jaime Murray).

- Hook and David (Josh Dallas) are tasked with finding Emma and Regina, while also trying to prevent the prophecy of Emma’s death — that is, when David isn’t taking turns being under the sleeping curse with Snow!




So yeah, a princess team-up is very much needed. "Once Upon a Time" returns in March.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/01/06/once-upon-a-time-ariel-princess-team-up/