2545. Sebastian

Sebastian is a red Jamaican crab, the servant of King Triton and the film's primary tritagonist. The character was developed solely for the film, and is not derived from the original Hans Christian Andersen story. Aside from being a crab, Sebastian is also known for his Caribbean accent. In his appearances in film and television, Sebastian is voiced by Samuel E. Wright. When the film opens, Sebastian is announced as being the "royal court composer", and conducts a concert that King Triton's seven daughters are supposed to perform. Ariel, the youngest daughter, fails to show up for the concert, and later Sebastian joins King Triton in scolding her, blaming her for his humiliation. King Triton, worried about Ariel, tasks Sebastian with following Ariel and keeping her out of trouble. Sebastian tries to do the job given to him, and is horrified when Ariel saves the life of and falls in love with a human. Sebastian accidentally lets this information slip to King Triton, who confronts Ariel. Feeling guilty for having "betrayed" Ariel, Sebastian follows Ariel when she visits Ursula the sea witch for help, and later becomes an adviser in her quest to win Prince Eric's affections. After Ursula disguises herself as a human and wins over Prince Eric, Sebastian goes down to inform King Triton, and later becomes instrumental in helping Ariel and Prince Eric defeat Ursula.
Sebastian appears in every episode of the prequel television series, which follows the adventures of Ariel when she is still a mermaid. Sebastian is shown as being a good friend of Ariel and Flounder. He is sometimes strict and often critical of Ariel's adventurous ways, but often ends up going on her adventures with her. Throughout the series Sebastian's character is further developed via dialogue and entire episodes dedicated to him. In the episode "Tail of Two Crabs", Sebastian has a rivalry with another crab named Zeus, and they both try to one-up the other. According to dialogue in this episode, Sebastian was born in Jamaica and went to Music Academy in Trinidad prior to joining King Triton's staff as his assistant; in "Eel-Ectric City" he also reveals he had the stage name "Dizzy Crustace" (krust-AY-she).