While The Little Mermaid would go on to be popular, not everyone was initially thrilled about the choice to make Ariel a redhead. The Tyco Toys company, which was manufacturing Ariel dolls to coincide with the film's release, was horrified at the decision, as the film's co-director, Ron Clements, told CinemaBlend. "They said, 'All of our research,' at that time, 'shows that redheaded dolls have never sold. They don't sell.' And they're making the dolls. And we said, 'Well, I'm sorry, but she's going to be a redhead.'"
The company was so worried about the dolls not selling that they made the first dolls with strawberry blonde hair. They were proven wrong, though, and ended up having to remake the dolls after people demanded the redheaded version of Ariel. "Nowadays, you see that hair color, it's not that unusual anymore," said Clements.
It wasn't just the toy company that objected to Ariel's hair color. Former Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted Ariel to be a blonde. "I remember him saying at the time, 'Everybody knows all mermaids are blonde,'" said Clements. "I don't know exactly where that came from."
