Let's see...

Lion King was awfully similar to Kimba, ne?

Altantis is... hmm, no, nothing similar to 
Nadia, ne?

Does anyone remember a children's mermaid toy
doll that came out in the mid-80s called
"Sweet Sea"?  She was a cute little mermaid with
a pearl necklace that could be taken in the
bath tub, etc... very popular for a while...

Anyway, the TOMY corporation released a short 
movie about Sweet Sea in 1986.  (I think the toy
first came out in 1984 or 1985.)  The plot:

Sweet Sea is an underwater mermaid princess.
She likes to run around and have adventures with
her friends, particularly her best friend (a
seahorse), and she doesn't listen to her father,
the King, and often gets in trouble because of
her irresponsibility.  

Enter the villain:  Sheeba, the evil sea 
serpent (also a witch).  She also has a little
henchman squid who lurks around awfully like
Ursula's eels.  Mmhmm...

Anyway, the King tries to talk some sense into
his daughter.  He gives her the power of the
city (her necklace).  She then has to perform
a RECITAL (which she totally bombs) and the
necklace is stolen by the sea witch.  The town 
becomes deserted and Sweet Sea finally decides
she has to learn responsibility and face the
sea witch.

Okay, so there was no land-bound prince... but
watching this movie a long-while after my 
childhood, I was absolutely struck by how 
much was the SAME or VERY similar (there are even
songs in Sweet Sea) to the Little Mermaid...
which, I might add, wasn't released until 3
years later, in 1989.

Good ole Disney.

Kim
aka Lady Zatara