The Little Mermaid has captured the hearts of millions from the moment she made a big splash on the silver screen in the legendary year of 1989. She started the Disney Renaissance, amazed critics, and brought home Academy Awards, Golden Globes and a Grammy. She is all over the Disney parks, with her castle in the Magic Kingdom, a fountain in Shanghai, a themed land in Tokyo, and two rides in the USA. Children adore her, boys admire her, millennial women have a strong nostalgia for her. She is funny, outgoing and, according to some, a "feminist's worst nightmare".
Ariel is one of the most adored of all the Disney Princesses, and is also the most heavily criticized. There are so many arguments to be made both for her and against her that I have spent months trying to conceive this article. So, let's dive right into it. Is Ariel a good role model?
One criticism is that she disobeyed her father, and was rewarded for it in the end. This could be concerning because it could teach children that it is okay to not listen to their parents. This, however, is oversimplifying and twisting one of the themes of the story.
The main theme of the original book by Hans Christian Anderson is sacrifice. The Little Mermaid sacrificed her voice to become a human, and then ultimately sacrificed her own life to save the prince's life. In the Disney version, the theme of sacrifice is still there, just a little more subtle. And it's presented in a different way than in the book. Instead of focusing on Ariel being the one to make the sacrifice, it is the father, King Triton, who makes the sacrifices. When Ursula is about to take Ariel's soul, King Triton instead takes Ariel's place. He sacrifices his soul so that his daughter can live. At the very end of the movie, King Triton uses his magic to turn Ariel into a human forever, so that she may be with the one she loves and in a world she loves. This is very difficult for King Triton. He wants Ariel close to him. He wants to keep her safe. But he realizes that Ariel is much happier as a human, and hey, maybe Prince Eric isn't such a bad guy. So he puts his daughter's happiness before his. He lets her go. That is beautiful, and in my opinion, the best metaphor for being a parent. Being a parent is all about putting your children's needs before your own desires. It is about raising your children to make the right decisions and then letting them go out into the world, knowing that they will be okay as adults.
And Ariel is aware of this. She does not take her father for granted. This is evident in her very last line of the movie, "I love you, Daddy." It should be noted that the writers chose this line as the very last spoken line of the entire movie. Ariel's last line is not about Prince Eric or being a human. It is about her relationship with her father.
Triton is a very important character in The Little Mermaid, and one that is all too often overlooked. If you are looking for a character that grows and learns something over the course of the movie, do not look at Ariel. Instead, turn your attention to Triton. He has a strong prejudice against humans. He makes blanket statements, accusing them all to horrible, selfish, murderers (or shellfish murders haha...). This is why he forbids Ariel from going to the surface. This is why Ariel has to keep her collection of human items a secret.
Once Prince Eric saves both Ariel and Triton by defeating Ursula, that is when Triton starts to realize that maybe not all humans are as bad as he once thought. And it is through Ariel's love of humans that he begins to accept them. Triton, even though he was the parental role in the film, was in the wrong this time. And that's okay. Parents are not always right. Children do not have to blindly follow them, especially if the adults' views are prejudiced against another group. That is not to say that Ariel disrespects her father or hates him. And that is not to say that all parents are wrong all the time. But sometimes adult's views need to be challenged by the younger generations. And sometimes adults can learn a thing or two from kids.
The other very popular criticism is the same one used for the majority of the Princesses. She married a man she just met. It should be noted that it is not specified exactly when Ariel and Eric got married. It could have been days, it could have been months. The audience does not know for sure. What the audience does know is that Eric is a good guy. He is sweet. He has a good sense of humor. He loves his dog, Max. He is selfless. He accepts Ariel for who she is. Eric sees Ariel as a mermaid and still loves her. He risks his own life multiple times in the movie to save others.
Ariel was stupid, some feminists say. She gave up her voice for a guy she didn't know. She only liked him based on his looks. And because Ariel could strike up a meaningful conversation with him, he could only fall in love with her based on her looks. But it should be noted that it is Ursula, the VILLAIN of the film that says, "it's she who holds her tongue who gets her man". Not one of the good guys promotes the idea that only looks are important in a relationship. It's the bad guy who says this. And all Disney fans know that you're not supposed to listen to the bad guys. They are not the people we should emulate. A closer examination of the lyrics of Poor Unfortunate Souls and you'll see that Ursula supports this idea of silence, particularly the silence of women. "On land it's much preferred for women not to say a word", she sings. This is exactly what feminists are fighting against. We do not want women to be silenced.
It is Ariel who sings for women empowerment: "Betcha on land they understand/ Bet they don't reprimand their daughters/ Bright young women/ Sick of swimming/ Ready to stand". This is the message feminists want to get across. A woman's opinion matters as much as a man's does. Your voice is important. And this is the message I as a feminist choose to take away from the movie.
Ariel does not turn into a human just for a guy. This has been pointed out by many Disney fans before, but the point does not get across to everyone, so I will reiterate it. Ariel is obsessed with the human world way before she even sets eyes on Eric. In her very first scene of the movie, she is exploring a shipwreck for items to add to her collection. It is not until after she sings Part of Your World that she swims up to Eric's ship. But once Ariel falls in love with Eric, it gives her enough encouragement to finally take action and turn into a human. It should also be noted that before Ariel meets Eric, she sings "wish I could be part of THAT world". When she is on the beach with Eric, the lyrics finally change to "wish I could be part of YOUR world".
Some people will complain about how selfish Ariel is. Not only is she a mermaid, but she's a princess mermaid. She's rich, she's got power, she lives in the ocean and she's pretty. Why does she want more? Why can't she just be happy with what she has? A lot of other people would love to be a beautiful princess mermaid.
Ariel was NOT selfish for wanting to be human. Yes, she was a mermaid. Yes, she was a princess. Yes, she was pretty. But riches and status and attractiveness do not always bring happiness. Ask anyone who suffers from depression. And Ariel truly was depressed being a mermaid. This is evident in the scene when Ariel is first shown on the surface with human legs. Sebastian is trying to convince her to go home. "You can go home with all the normal fish and just be..." and then he gets a look at Ariel's face. Ariel is heartbroken at the thought of going back to being a mermaid. "...And just be miserable for the rest of your life", Sebastian realizes. So he agrees to help Ariel be a human.
Once Ariel finally ends up on land with a pair of legs, she needs to get Eric to fall in love with her. And he does, eventually. Eric has his hopes set on marrying the girl that saved him. He does not think it is Ariel, but he is still kind to her. He takes Ariel on a tour of his kingdom. During this time, Eric gets to know her. Fortunately, there are other ways to communicate besides just talking. And Ariel's personality is so vibrant that she does not need to talk. Eric learns that Ariel is curious, a go-getter, and funny. She is not afraid to explore anything. She is constantly seeking to learn about the world around her and educate herself. It is this boldness and sense of wonder that Eric likes about her. The same reasons the audience falls in love with Ariel are the same reasons Eric falls in love with her.
Yet, Eric cannot let go of his "dream girl", the one that he thinks rescued him. Grimsby gives Eric some advice. "Far better than any dream girl is one of flesh and blood. One warm and caring and right before your very eyes". Ariel may not be the girl in Eric's head, but she is kind and caring and can make him laugh. This is perhaps the first Disney movie that portrays relationships in such a real way. We tend to build up this girl or guy in our heads. They are perfect. They are everything we ever wanted in a partner. They have no flaws. But they do not exist. And if we compare every single person we meet to the girl/guy in our heads, we will never be happy. We might never meet the Prince Charming or Cinderella of our dreams, but that does not mean the real people in front of us are not amazing and completely worthy of our love.
Yet another argument people make against Ariel is that, similar to the Princesses before her, she needs a man to save her. They are forgetting that Ariel saves Eric's life in the beginning of the film. And then Eric saves Ariel at the end of the film. They saved each other. They are on equal terms.
One reason people love Ariel is her personality. She is brave, saving Eric from drowning. She has a sense of wonder about her. She is always excited about the things around her. This is a quality she shares with Walt Disney himself. This attitude is very optimistic and youthful. Ariel seeks to educate herself. She wants to learn absolutely everything she can about the human world. She is not dumb or ignorant. Furthermore, those who feel that they are misfits can relate to her. Ariel does not feel like she fits in with the other mermaids, or even her own family. She is unhappy as a mermaid. As someone who spent their entire adolescence questioning where they belong, Ariel definitely strikes a chord with me.
To summarize:
- Ariel gets Triton to change his prejudiced views
- Ariel wants her voice heard
- Ariel saves Eric's life. And then Eric returns the favor.
- Ariel wants to educate herself and explore the world
- Eric falls in love with Ariel's personality, not her looks
- The villain of the story encourages women not to speak
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