Who is Sebastian the Crab

• He's got rhythm. He can sing, dance, and come up with a catchy tune on the spot.


• He's funny. He'd prefer it if we all took him seriously, which is part of what makes him so amusing. But mostly it's those startled reactions and exaggerated facial expressions...


• He's a softy. He might try to act crusty and stern, but he can't bring himself to crush Ariel's dreams.

Little Mermaid byDisney
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Surprisingly, this has been a debate amongst Disney fans for years: Is Sebastian a crab or a lobster?

Answer: Sebastian is a CRAB!

But no matter how many times you try to tell some people, they will insist that Sebastian is a lobster. And they'll laugh at you for thinking otherwise.

Why are so many people convinced that Sebastian is a lobster? Let's analyze each argument...

• He's red, so he must be a lobster! On the contrary, only cooked lobsters are red. Lobsters come in almost every color under the sun except red. However, there are red crab species. Christmas Island crabs, for example, are very red.


• His body is too long for a crab! Sebastian's head does stick out quite a bit, but I chalk that up to artistic license. Sebastian would not be nearly as expressive or endearing otherwise. It's more important to examine his shell, which is compact and shaped like a crab's, NOT segmented like a lobster's body. When you take Sebastian's head out of the equation, you are left with something that is unmistakably crab-like.


• His pinchers are too big! Again, creative license. Besides, some crabs in real life have pretty big pinchers too.

If you need further proof, people in The Little Mermaid refer to Sebastian several times as a crab. Check out these quotes:

King Triton: "And you are just the crab to do it!"

Sebastian: "I'll tell you what her father'd say. He'd say he's gonna kill himself a crab, that's what her father'd say!"

Chef: "What a sweet, little succulent crab!"

Finally, let's compare Sebastian with a lobster that also appears in The Little Mermaid...



Observe that the blue lobster has antennae, an elongated body, and bigger pinchers. You wouldn't mistake this guy for a crab. But you will note that Sebastian is lacking those distinctly lobsterish traits.

In conclusion, Sebastian is a crab.

Like all important animated characters, Sebastian evolved through a series of concept sketches. Here are some examples: