Ariel is a beautiful mermaid who lives in the underwater city of Atlantica with her father and her sisters.  Being a headstrong teenager, Ariel tries to make others see things her way.  She has a bit of a problem with her father's rules, especially when it comes to humans.  You see her father, King Triton, believes that humans are dangerous; but Ariel's heart is filled with romantic dreams of the world above.  Believing the human world is a happier place than life under the sea, Ariel sets about collecting anything she can from the humans.  Then one day it happens, Ariel sets her sights on a handsome prince named Eric.  When Ursula the Sea Witch discovers that Ariel has fallen in love with a human, she plots to use the little mermaid's weakness to destroy King Triton.  In the end, Ariel gets her man, but she also learns that Daddy knows best. 

Ariel is a princess by birth, as her father rules the oceans; however, she is also a human princess after she marries Prince Eric.