Birth order en

The birth order of King Triton's daughters is debatable, as they vary in the original and the third movie.

The canon of the first movie is as follows:

- Aquata
- Andrina
- Arista
- Attina
- Adella
- Alana
- Ariel

They introduce themselves in this order during "Daughters of Triton" which made fans believe is the order from oldest to youngest. This was never confirmed and I think that the order was random and had no meaning.

In the third movie, according to dvd extras, this is the canon: 

- Attina
- Alana
- Adella
- Aquata
- Arista
- Andrina
- Ariel

Aquata and Attina, Alana and Andrina and Arista and Adella were switched. The girls also sat together in these pairs during their performance of the above mentioned song.

However, as Adella states in the movie that she's two years older than Ariel, this is the actual canon.

- Attina
- Alana
- Aquata
- Arista
- Adella
- Andrina
- Ariel

What I like and don't like about the changes:
- I like Attina being the oldest in the third movie. Firstly, she has a similar name as her mother and it makes perfect sense to name your first-born child after a parent rather than the fourth. Secondly, she is wearing a crown similar to her father's. Aquata doesn't look like a heiress while Attina does, not only because of her hairstyle looking very queenly and the crown on her head. Only the colour of her tail would militate for Aquata as it resembles her mothers' the most. I don't get why she is assumed be the oldest in the first movie. It doesn't make sense. If she was, why isn't she wearing a crown instead of Attina? It doesn't make sense to wear a crown when you're the fourth sister.
- I have to admit, it quite makes sense to make Alana the second because it would explain her tiara (being second-in-line after Attina) but I can't get used to it, especially considering that she was on the opposite position in the first movie: sixth. That change was too drastic and not necessary at all, since it doesn't match her personality in the books were she is very shy. In the books (and the tv series), she is very close to Ariel and therefore should have a smaller age difference. Alana being older than almost all of the sisters? That doesn't work! It's similar with Andrina. Her personality in the books only suits her when she's one of the older sisters. As she has a similar personality in the third movie, she should stay one of the oldest. Instead, she is the sixth. That's hard to accept. The pink thing on her head that looks like a ponytail could be seen as a crown as second-in-line after Aquata/Attina. Her relationship to Attina in the third movie is also a big factor. She might be afraid to go to the club because she can think more about the consequences being the second oldest. Regarding her close relationship to Ariel it would make sense to be younger but Andrina is simply displaced as sixth. Andrina being younger than Alana? It doesn't sound right. (Maybe I'm just influenced by the colors and I simply don't like the fact that the one with the tail in my favourite color (Alana) is the second and the one I like the least (Andrina) is the sixth.)
- What I like about the canon of the third movie is the fact that Aquata and Adella are one year apart. They look so similar in this movie that they could pass as twins and their hairstyles are similar as well. That's also the reason why I don't like Aquata as the first-born. The age difference with Adella is too big. But Adella as one of the oldest sounds as wrong as Andrina being one of the youngest. I prefer her being fifth, her real position. She also behaves like a younger one. It's hard to believe that she's meant to be older than Andrina, Aquata and Arista. And Arista as one of the younger sisters? It doesn't work at all. (Maybe it's just the fact that Adella is my favourite that I can't see her as third)
- Another argument for Alana and Adella being one of the youngest is the fact that they have two different colours, like Ariel. Alana's seashells are purple while her tail is pink, and Adella has green seashells and a yellow tail.


My suggestion is, that everyone deems the canon right he thinks makes the most sense. For me, it's the following:

- Attina (because of the crown)
- Andrina (because I like her the least)
- Aquata (because there was no other place left for her)
- Arista (because I somehow always thought she was in the middle)
- Adella (because I like her the most)
- Alana (because of her tail color)
- Ariel

It's the actual canon of the third movie with Alana and Andrina switching places again because it makes more sense. Arista suits as the middle sister because I can neither see her as one of the oldest nor as one of the youngest.

While re-watching the movie, I discovered something interesting. During the morning walk with their father they are standing in the following order: 

-Attina
-Aquata
-Arista
-Alana
-Adella
-Andrina
-Ariel

Is this possibly the true canon? Why should they be in this order if there was no meaning behind it? A lot of fans discuss whether Attina or Aquata is the oldest, and this would be the perfect solution for all those. (Though I wouldn't like the age difference between Aquata and Adella) Alana would be closer to Ariel, and Adella's statement of being two years older than Ariel would be confirmed. It's not the only time we can see them in this order. In their first scene, when Marina wakes them up, they are swimming out of their room in this order. This can't be a coincidence, can it?