My guess as to why she wanted the voice was because she loved to foil the deal in her favour to get what she wants. In most cases she double crosses her own deals to make her garden bigger.
In a deleted scene a character called Herman was tricked into a deal with Ursula for a certain flower thing which he didn't know wasn't in season and was thus turned into a plant thing when due time was up.
She uses the deal to use something of yours to foil you. Ariel's voice was her connection to Eric cos he heard/saw her singing to him just as he was waking up so Ursula uses this against Ariel. If she can't sing or use her voice she can't just say it was her or sing to Eric. But Ursula was using Ariel for a bigger plot, When the deal ended in Ursula's favour she would use her to get to Triton as we see in the film.
"Poor little Princess. It's not you i'm after. I've a much bigger fish to Fry!" she said to Ariel. She wanted Triton to ultimately trade himself in his daughter's place which then she can take his crown, his trident and his position which as we learned throughout the entire history of the Little Mermaid universe that is what she has always wanted. Her reason for being banished from the kingdom.
I hope y'all understand
"You'll have your looks your pretty face. And don't forget the importance of body language HA! The men up there don't like a lot of blabber. They think a girl who gossips is a bore!.."
Ursula

This message has been deleted.

She was absolutely brilliant as Ursula. Scared the life out of me when I was a kid, like Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.
"Life after death is as improbable as sex after marriage"- Madeleine Kahn(CLUE, 1985)

Yeah, she did an AMAZING job! I love the tone of her voice, its' brilliant. I don't understand why Ursula wanted Ariels voice. lol.

This message has been deleted.

This message has been deleted.

I simply adore her! Here is my fanbase dedicated to her, Morgana and the characters they interact with
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Poor-unfortunate-souls/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/justine-waddell/

Yes! Definitely my favourite Disney Witch (Maleficent comes a close second)

'Poor Unfortunate Souls' is like, my favorite villain song!
followed by '1c84Savages' from Pocahontas,
and 'Be Prepared' from The Lion King.

i'm not just a boy with bad ideas

She was terrific in that role. I love imitating her delivery at the beginning of her big number: "The only way to get what you wantis to become humanyourselfmy dear, sweet childthat's what I
do
. It's what I
live for
" Wonderful!

i've always loved her as ursula since i saw this movie as a 9-10 year old her voice is just SO full of character. i LOVE actors with voices like that Vincent Price, Christoper Lee, HER - i mean i could listen to them for hours simply b/c their voice is just.. SO interesting
luv it!
"A little bit of cheesiness never hurt anyone!" * "Yeah, I'm a geek. Ya got a problem with that?"

Hmm, Ursula sings "Ursula's Revenge" on Kingdom Hearts 2, but is it Pat Carroll singing it? Or someone completely different? Cause it hasn't been added on her page at all.
Shut up or I'll eat you ~ Me

heres a good questionis she going to reprise her role as Ursulaini hate saying thisthe little mermaid 3?
Friggin-A!

She's going to be the voice of Ursula in the Broadway Version?
Awesome! Didn't sound like her in the demo but then that was just a demo I guess.
Here's hoping she can bring back the energy and manipulative nature of Ursula that was present in the original film that wasn't as strong as it was in the Kingdom Hearts series or in the television show.

Hey everyone, I'm Leah, an Aussie Ursula fan.
I adore ursula! I'm trying to build a huge discussion/fanart/screencap group for her on yahoo groups.
If you want to help. let me know.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/justine-waddell/

She is a classic villain. And she has just been confirmed as the voice of the Ursula puppet in the forthcoming LM Broadway show! Bring it on!

I would have to agree! She takes her place alongside Lucille La Verne as the Wicked Queen/Pedlar in Snow White, Geraldine Page as Medusa in the Rescuers, and Eleanor Audley as Malificent in Sleeping Beauty