5 epic works that inspired the creation of Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony
Written by Merman Moises
Edited by Mermaid Wioletta
No work is born completely original; all writers get inspired by books, movies and games that they came upon earlier. “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony” is no exception and in this short article we will briefly discuss inspirations that prompted Maxine Foti to write her hyper-popular mermaid novel.
Among those that she mentioned, are:
- Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch / Pure (anime),
- Carmen Sandiego: Knowledge Adventure (computer game),
- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (computer game),
- W.I.T.C.H. (comic)
- Captain Nemo and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (novel).
Let’s take a closer look at each one now.
Inspiration #1 – Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch / Pure
Mermaid Melody is an anime series that tells the adventures of Luchia, mermaid princess of the pink pearl from North Pacific Ocean, and her friends; Hannon, Rina, Karen, Noel, Coco, Sara and Seira, all mermaid princesses from other oceans. Luchia meets them all, and eventually becomes friends with each and everyone. Maxine Foti stated that she and her friends used to write fanfiction about this anime. That time was an inspiration for her to create various mermaid kingdoms in Amelia’s world, and let her mermaid meet many mermaids friends even on land. Still, it’s important to mention that Amelia’s world, is much more complex and detailed than the one presented in Mermaid Melody.
Inspiration #2 – Carmen Sandiego: Knowledge Adventure
The millennials born in the 90s surely still remember the popular franchise of video games, board games, and children’s quizzes dedicated to the character of Carmen Sandiego, an international phantom thief, and leader of a criminal organization called V.I.LE. Carmen Sandiego travelled around the world, stealing historical artifacts of huge value.
Maxine stated she was her main inspiration for the characters Lumina Mond and Jet Mir Thakur, who both just like Carmen, travel the world looking for certain artifacts. Some ideas, such as the guarding plate, or the ancient board game senet, were inspired by the game Carmen Sandiego: Treasure of Knowledge, which was one of Maxine’s favorites, when she was a child.
It’s important to note, though, that the detectives chasing Carmen eventually found a cave with world treasures, and took riches for themselves; while in “Mermaid Princess Amelia,” the characters find an ancient shrine with four forgotten musical notes… and barely make it out alive.
Inspiration #3 – Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
In this old pixel computer game, the famed professor and researcher Indiana Jones, and the psychic archaeologist Sofia Hapgood embark on a quest to find the lost city of Atlantis. Maxine stated that Atlantis portrayed in the game, served as an important inspiration for the creation of Antemidia. Atlantis in the game, had rings and disks, and those motives also appear in Antemidia. However, it’s important to remember that in the game, Atlantis was located near Crete, and not in the Caribbean Sea.
Interestingly, Indiana and Sofia’s exploration of Tikal, Guatemala, was an inspiration for Maxine, which prompted her to create the previous princess of Antemidia: Tikalie Uxmal. It also encouraged her to research Mesoamerican and Caribbean cultures, and add those influences to Antemidia.
And last but not least, there’s a bond between the great king Nur-Ab-Sal from the game, and the gods Sal-An-Syon and Um-Nah-Mel of Antemidia. However, similarity seems to end with names and legendary status. Nur-Ab-Sal was an Atlantinean priest and king, who built a machine creating dangerous horned humans, which killed him later. Meanwhile, Sal-An-Syon and Um-Nah-Mel were both great military heroes that saved Antemidia from war annihilation.
Inspiration #4 – W.I.T.C.H.
W.I.T.C.H. is a series of fantasy comics and books published in 2001 in Italy. It tells the story of Will Vandom, a teenage girl who (along with her friends Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin) becomes the new guardian of Kandrakar, the central dimension of their multiverse. The girls have magical powers, each with the power of one of the four elements (fire, water, earth, air), and Will, who, as the guardian of Kandrakar’s Heart, is the guardian of energy.
One influence from this comic which we can spot in the Mermaid Princess Amelia series, is the Jade Dragon. In the comic, Hay Lin’s Chinese parents had an enterprise called Silver Dragon. However, it’s important to note, that the Jade Dragon looks completely different, and the character related to it – Mermaid Princess Greene Grant from East China Sea – isn’t related to it in any way, except that she works there part time.
Another inspiration seems to be the rose garden of Meridian. When Amelia travels to Nerland, she spots an undersea park, with dark flowers. However, the rose garden of Meridian was in reality a prison full of people transformed into flowers – while the flowers in Nerland, are real flowers, only kept alive with mermaid magic.
The last inspiration, is the old book shop. In W.I.T.C.H. it belonged to Cedric, and had a secret portal leading to Meridian. In Mermaid Princess Amelia, there’s also a book shop, that however belongs to Sawa, Mermaid Princess from the Baltic Sea. The book shop contains countless undersea maps and mermaid publications, but it doesn’t have any secret passages to other worlds.
Inspiration #5 – Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
This literary work by Jules Verne, with its detailed and almost encyclopedic descriptions of underwater technologies and sea creatures was an indirect inspiration. Maxine never read the book but she’s learned about it through other works which heavily drew from it. The character of Captain Nemo, who is the most emblematic of this classic’s characters, was of great inspiration for her. Captain Nemo (nemo meaning ‘nobody’ in Latin) was the exiled son of a Raja, who lived in an enigmatic and amazing submarine called Nautilus. Jet Mir Thakur is very similar to him, being the exiled prince of a mermaid kingdom located in the Laccadive Sea, and a captain of a crab-shaped submarine.
Know some of these works and would like to learn more about Mermaid Princess Amelia’s story? You’re in the right place: you can find all relevant information on this blog. Start from here!
Related articles:
- Jet Mir Thakur’s Submarine from “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony”
- Santa Ana, the charming fictional Portuguese town from fantasy series “Mermaid Princess Amelia”
- All artifacts from “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony”
- The Mermaid World described in “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony”
- Antemidia (The Caribbean Sea)
Grab your copy of “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony” here…
English: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T6BJ6RG
Spanish: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Z8GK1JX
Italian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0953PN3Y7
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