"The human world is a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there." — Sebastian
Initial thoughts before viewing: From as far back as I can remember, I hated The Little Mermaid. As a child that had a pretty massive Disney VHS collection, the one movie I could not stand to watch was The Little Mermaid. I don't know if it started out as a blind hatred or what, but as a young child I would absolutely yell and scream when my sisters tried to play The Little Mermaid. It became a running joke at my house (well, not for me, because I took my hatred very seriously). My sisters would torment me with Ariel throughout my childhood (ah, siblings). Now as an adult, I can't really explain my distaste for The Little Mermaid. When I asked one of my sisters about the origin of the great Ariel hate, she said that 5 year-old me once simply quipped, "It's boring under the sea." 🐟🐠 So there you go.
If you have never seen The Little Mermaid or need a refresher, here is a link to the movie's Disney Wiki page where you can read the plot summary.
Highlights:
-The dynamic musical duo of Howard Ashman & Alan Menken. If you are a fan of the Disney Renaissance, do you self a favor and go watch Howard on Disney+. This riveting, emotionally satisfying documentary is the untold story of Howard Ashman, the brilliant lyricist behind Disney classics like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. Howard Ashman and his creative partner Alan Menken are undisputed Disney legends, and The Little Mermaid was their first foray into Disney animation. Their talented DNA is all over this movie. The opening score around the title card is beautifully haunting as it transports you to the mystical mermaid world. I was genuinely surprised by how the music of this movie emotionally engaged me on so many levels. There's nothing else I can say except that it's so damn good. One of the best Disney soundtracks to date.
-The birth of the modern "I want" song. In almost every Disney movie from 1989 onwards, a movie's heroine sing what's referred to as an "I want" song -- that is, a song that explains the heroine's driving force and dearest wish. This song is designed to get the audience to empathize and root for the character. "Part of Your World" is arguably the first and best example of a Disney "I want" song. I'm not the biggest Ariel fan, but even I can admit that "Part of Your World" is fantastic. It actually makes you start to understand how Ariel is feeling trapped and controlled by the merworld and her father. It's crazy to think that Disney exec Jeffrey Katzenberg nearly cut the song (he thought the entire sequence was boring). It's also crazy to think that this song was beaten out by "Kiss the Girl" and "Under the Sea" for Best Original Song Oscar nominations (the latter which won).
-The gift of Ursula. This movie gave us the gift of one of the most fabulous, powerful villains ever - the wonderfully theatrical sea witch, Ursula. Sure, she's a little power hungry, but the women (er, octopid) is the antithesis of Ariel - astute, shrewd, and patient. She waits for the right time to take advantage of Ariel so as to use her as a pawn in her larger scheme against Triton. "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is pure fun and is surely a contender for the best Disney villain song ever.
Disliked:
-Ariel is the worst Disney heroine. She's foolish, self-indulgent, and irresponsible. Even before Eric is introduced as her love interest, Ariel demonstrates how thoughtless and self-serving she is by missing Sebastian's big concert in order to go exploring with Flounder. I get that she feels stifled and bored by her vanilla life, but THAT'S CALLED BEING A TEENAGER, KID. It's SO CRINGEY when she shouts, "Daddy I love him!" Girl, we all thought we were in love when we were 16. That does not mean you sell your literal voice and agency to the sea witch so you can change your life for a boy you've known for 20 minutes.
Granted, upon rewatch, I realize that King Triton too is not without fault. He has a serious prejudice against humans: "Know [Eric]? I don't have to know him! They're all the same. Spineless, savage, harpooning fish-eaters! Incapable of any feeling!" So while I understand a little more as to why Ariel feels so desperate to make things happen for herself, I can't get behind the fact her motives are entirely, 100% selfish.
Hey, self care and happiness is important, don't get me wrong: but Ariel jumps from impetuous action to impetuous action here. She's all emotion and activity without any real plan. She's not a smart character in as much as an impatient, lovestruck, and headstrong one. In the end, we find out that King Triton had the power to change her into a human all along. 😑 Maybe try negotiating with your father instead of gambling with Ursula was a better way to play that situation...?
Random Thoughts I Had While Watching:
-So Ariel's just cool with the fact that Eric and humans eat seafood...? One of King Triton's big faults with humans is that they hunt and eat sea creatures (so presumably, merpeople eat seaweed then?) So when Ariel is finally human for good, does she talk to Eric about not eating her fish friends anymore? Or does she accept that humans eat fish and adapt (she already changed her entire life for Eric, after all).
-Was Ariel ever disappointed with the human world? Ariel definitely had a skewed, idealistic view of the human world. In "Part of Your World", Ariel muses "Betcha' on land, they understand. Bet they don't reprimand their daughters. Bright young women, sick of swimming, ready to stand." Was Ariel terribly disappointed when she realized that sexism and overbearing parents still exist in the human world? Just another example of Ariel viewing the human world through rose colored glasses.
-Was Ariel always going to love the first human male she saw up close? Ariel's obsession and desperation to be a part of the human world makes me wonder whether she actually loved Eric, or merely loved the *idea* of Eric.
Closing Thoughts:
-Where The Little Mermaid sinks. It's no secret that I think Ariel is a brash, foolish heroine. Aside from this big criticism, other flaws include the extraneous sequence with Sebastian and Chef Louis ("Les Poissons") and the film's overall message that women should change who they are in order to snag a husband. It doesn't help that 16 year-old Ariel is hyper sexualized in a movie made by a group of middle aged white men.
-The Littler Mermaid feels different (and that's good). I want to hate The Littler Mermaid. I want to vindicate my younger self, to reinforce that I had been 100% right in my ardent hatred for both Ariel and this movie. While I do maintain that Ariel is a terrible, terrible character, she was necessary in terms of progression for the Disney female protagonist (we'll see that with later films).
I also can't deny that this movie has a spark, that classic Disney magic. No disrespect to the animated features from the Bronze/Dark Age (most of which I actually like a lot), but The Little Mermaid certainly feels like elevated filmmaking and a return to dramatic, earnest storytelling, particularly through music. Lauded film critic Roger Ebert wrote in 1989 that "Watching The Little Mermaid, I began to feel that the magic of animation had been restored to us. Here at last, once again, is the kind of liberating, original, joyful Disney animation that we all remember from Snow White, Pinocchio and the other first-generation classics."
It's not on over exaggeration to say that The Little Mermaid ushered in a new era for Disney animation. The movie was insanely popular both critically and commercially. It was nominated for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes (a first for a Disney animated feature), and it went on to win 2 Academy Awards for Best Original Song "Under the Sea") and Best Score. The Little Mermaid was a worthy start to the Disney Renaissance, and things would only go up from here.
So do I still hate The Little Mermaid? No. It's a good movie.
Do I still hate Ariel? Yes. She's the worst kind of Gryffindor. All action, no brains.
My Rating: 7.5/10
My Rating Scale/System:
10 - Masterpiece / Award Worthy 🤩
9 - Almost perfect / Exceptional 🥰
8 - Great / Well-crafted 😁
7 - Good / Noteworthy 😊
6 - Above average / Memorable 🙂
5 - Solidly average 😐
4 - Mixed feelings / Mediocre 😕
3 - Uninteresting / Struggle bus 🥱
2 - Barely watchable 😡
1 - Failure / Why is this a thing? 💩
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