A Passionate Defense of The Little Mermaid

I can't believe the Internet convinced some people that this movie isn't an animated masterpiece when, in fact, it is.

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The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 28th Disney animated feature film, it is loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The film tells the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel, who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric, which leads her to make a magic deal with the sea witch, Ursula, to become human and be with him. The Little Mermaid was written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the film’s songs with Alan Menken. Menken also composed the film’s score. The film stars the voices of Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, and Buddy Hackett.

Walt Disney planned to put the story in a proposed package film containing Andersen's stories, but scrapped the project. In 1985, while working on The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Clements and Musker decided to adapt the fairy tale and proposed it to Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, who initially declined due to its similarities to a proposed sequel to the 1984 film Splash, but ultimately approved of it. Ashman became involved and brought in Menken. With supervision from Katzenberg, they made a Broadway-style structure with musical numbers as the staff was working on Oliver & Company (1988). Katzenberg warned that the film would earn less since it appealed to females, but he eventually became convinced that it would be Disney's first blockbuster hit.

The Little Mermaid was released to theaters on November 17, 1989, to critical acclaim, earning praise for the animation, music, and characters. It was also a commercial success, garnering $84 million at the domestic box office during its initial release,[4] and $235 million in total lifetime gross worldwide.[3] After the major success of both the 1986 Disney animated film The Great Mouse Detective[5][6] and the 1988 Disney/Amblin live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid is given credit for breathing life back into the art of Disney animated feature films after some films produced by Disney were struggling. It also marked the start of the era known as the Disney Renaissance. The film won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Under the Sea").

The film's success led to a media franchise. A direct-to-video sequel was released in 2000, focusing on Ariel's daughter, Melody. A prequel followed in 2008. The first film was adapted into a stage musical with a book by Doug Wright[8] and additional songs by Alan Menken and new lyricist Glenn Slater opened in Denver in July 2007 and began performances on Broadway January 10, 2008 starring Sierra Boggess. Other derived works and material inspired by the movie, include a live-action film adaptation, directed by Rob Marshall, currently scheduled for release in 2023, and a 2019 live musical presentation of the film aired on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney.

#disney #thelittlemermaid #animation #littlemermaid

[tadashihatsudai]

The funny thing about these bad faith arguments against the film is that I still clearly remember how I felt as a kid when I watched it. Ariel supposedly wanting to give up her voice for a man completely flew over my head and I was way more interested in wanting to be a mermaid like her.

[blakegriplingph]

We can rag on Disney as a company for all the shit they did (and continue to do so), but at the same time, dumping on Disney Princesses because of their saccharine, girly-girl nature is unwarranted especially for those who know the series by heart and understood the characters and their message.

Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora all get shat on for their seeming passivity, but those who said so forgot the memo that Snow and Cindy are victims of domestic abuse, and Aurora a victim of circumstance. None of them deserved to live a drudge of a life, and in Cindy's case she only wanted a brief respite from all the physical and emotional suffering she got from the Tremaines.

[ceres]

I also hate the arguments that Eric only wanted a pretty face. His whole arc is about letting go of his idea of the perfect woman and accepting the love that is developing right in front of him. I understood that even as a kid.

[nickthepick]

You have no idea how relieved I am to know that there's still sensible people like you in the world.

[ninak]

Not main character, but I think it is amazing how SEBASTIAN was changed and transformed. At the beginning he was a coward, cared only about his music, forced to be Ariels guardian, then turned to be her protector, and finally, a friend .

[mk_wizard]

Well said. When I was a girl, I hated King Triton for being so harsh and even in my adult life, him destroying everything she collected is an act of abuse and violence. And honestly... he pushed Ariel into being that desperate.

[MistieHollow]

I feel like the argument that some disney princess/ characters don't make good role models is in poor taste. They weren't written to be role models, they have flaws that's what makes us connect with them. A good character doesn't always mean a morally right one.
But they also have dreams/goals, and they do whatever it takes to make it come true despite their flaws and the obstacles in their way, which is something relatively relatable.

Tangent aside I love seeing people analyzing old disney movies. Lovely video~

[Dragontamer]

The other thing I think people forget? Gloss over? is that she is a teenager, teenagers aren't exactly known for always making the best or most thought through decisions, and as you pointed out Ursula then gave her that final push during her most emotional and vulnerable point. This was an impulsive, emotional choice (and it wasn't like Ursula exactly gave her the choice to think it over and come back later with a clear head it was- sign now or never)

[moobius_o_the_starz]

The interesting thing is, what Eric loved most about Ariel was her voice, which is why Ursula knew it was imperative to take it away from her before making her deal. No man took her voice or wanted her to lose it, but she did fall for the tricks of a witch. What you learn from this is NOT to let a villian pull the wool over your eyes and to stay away from sweet-talking sales folk who will take much more than they are willing to give.
I loved this analysis, little mermaid is my favorite film, thank you for beautifully defending its merit and true message

[jesuschrist]

10/10 definitely one of the best interpretations of The Little Mermaid I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear

[pecahalloween]

I think most people confuse Ariel's motivation is because they confuse the first song with the reprise.
In the original song, she never says "Part of YOUR world", she says "Part of THAT world", when she met Eric and saved him, she found another reason to dream about the human world.

[OpticalSorcerer]

Ariel had an overprotective dad who turned abusive when she disobeyed him. She already wanted to be part of the human world, but that only made it worse. There are a lot more factors outside of Eric.

[JuFated]

I took it that Ariel's motivation is to see the world and Eric is just a bonus. In general, there was no way she was gonna let the poor man drown when she's floating there witnessing the storm. Ursula was def watching by then and used Eric as a bargaining chip. Ariel was probably gonna be fine if Eric doesnt pay her any attention, as long as she gets to live and explore the land.

[amyfalls]

im so done with ppl dissing old, WELL WRITTEN movies and painting them as outdated or problematic without any good context just to sound 'hip' or 'cool'. SO DONE

[ZoeLycan]

The argument against the little mermaid is only half right...so it's also half wrong
Ariel gave her voice not only for a man, but for a chance to explore an entire NEW world, which also had the man she loved. But for the most part of the time she is on the surface, she is far more interested in the world than she is with the man she loves. If anything, she is more frustrated that she can express how fascinated/captivated and happy/exited is for learning than she is for not expressing love for the man. After all, they barely know each other, so she has less interest for him than she has for the NEW world.
As an artist (creative person) and a curious mind (scientist-mind), I can understand Ariel so much. A chance to discover and learn all that is NEW (with the added bonus there is some1 you might get a chance to build a love relation)....so yeah, I think this movie was way ahead of her time. She wanted independence and discovery, the man (love interest) was just a Bonus, so much it would make sense in a follow-up movie she ends up with some else. The Guy is a prince, has duties and would stay still in his "kingdom". So if she was a chance to go with, let's say, and explorer, she WOULD. She would actually join a circus (all that is odd, NEW and constantly move place to place)

[ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣΛΑΧΑΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ]

Nah she didn't, like Ema Watson didn't watch Beauty and the beast. And Naomi Scott probably didn't watch Alladin.

It's my theory that Disney spesifically instructs their actresses to shit on old princess movies and cater to online pseudo feminist bad faith arguments so that they then can market the remakes as the "correct" versions

[MiciousDawn]

This got me choked up and tears in my eyes. Thank you for making this.

I saw the little mermaid when I was 4 or 5 and I loved it so much. I would play with my Ariel doll in the bath and would pretend to be a mermaid when I went swimming. I remember not really caring so much about the Eric plot but her fascination with humans, because I ended up wishing to be a mermaid like her. It has almost become shameful to like this movie and means you aren’t enough of a feminist if you do. I remember my aunt watched it with me once (a lawyer who never married with no kids, very ahead of her time with feminism and civil rights) and after finishing the movie she said “don’t you ever make any sacrifices like this for a man.” It made me feel like there was something wrong with me for liking it, even though her intentions were coming from a good place. But you articulated exactly what this movie meant to me, and I appreciate it.

[wallaroo]

Where have all these wonderful writers gone?
You covered so many aspects of this movie I never noticed before.
It truly still is a classic that should stay as is.

[jonnyboy]

What about your thoughts on Ariel being called out for being "another weak and helpless damsel in distress"?

She outmaneuvered a shark and saved Flounder along the way, destroyed Ursula's eels in the climax, and saved Eric 2 times. But, many people are saying it's not good enough and continue to dismiss Ariel as weak and helpless (like Princess Peach or Mary Jane Watson from the Spiderman Trilogy (2002-2007) because she had to be saved in the third act.

[VongolaChouko]

Basically, Ariel wants to be isekaied, and boi do I relate so much to that... Yearning for a world that is supposed to be untouchable that it makes you feel so lonely. I'm just glad that in her paticular case, the world she yearns for is not completely untouchable, just prohibited, so I'm happy for her that she was able to be a part of that world at the end.