Ariel is a mermaid and lives in an underworld city called Atlantica, which is ruled by her father King Triton. She has a big fascination with the world above the water, where the humans live and often explores to find human artifacts that she keeps in a secret cave. Ariel can be quite rebellious, and her curiosity causes her to disobey her father's orders about staying away from the human world and being so preoccupied, she forgets her responsibilities of being in a royal family.