The Little Mermaid

Release Date: November 17, 1989

Watch Date: July 27, 2023

“Ariel, the fun-loving and mischievous mermaid, is enchanted with all things human. Disregarding her father’s order to stay away from the world above the sea, she swims to the surface and, in a raging storm, rescues the prince of her dreams. Determined to be human, she strikes a bargain with the devious sea witch Ursula and trades her fins and beautiful voice for legs. With her best friend, the adorable and chatty Flounder, and her reluctant chaperone Sebastian, the hilarious, reggae-singing Caribbean crab, at her side, Ariel must win the prince’s love and save her father’s kingdom – all in a heart-pounding race against time.”

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    I don’t know very many girls that didn’t want to be Ariel when they were growing up. A magical mermaid princess with a universally acknowledge perfect singing voice and gorgeous long red hair that you can only dream of? Who wouldn’t want that?

    Of course, now, I’m older. Now I’m wondering why I thought it made sense for a sixteen year old to be trusted to make life changing decisions for a man she had literally never met or spoken to, and who hadn’t even seen her. How responsible is it for a sixteen year old to literally bet their entire life and future freedom on whether or not she can convince a guy to kiss her. I mean, she’s clearly spoiled, right? Her father doesn’t seem to pay much attention to his older daughters, and even they seemed obsessed with how perfect Ariel is. I don’t know, there’s some red flags here and maybe Triton was right to not want his daughter running off with someone from, literally, a completely different species, beyond the fact that the knowledge that mermaids actually exist puts his entire species at risk – because I’m betting those wedding guests at Ursula and Eric’s wedding probably reported far and wide about the girl who turned into a mermaid, and the giant octopus lady wielding magic. That probably didn’t just stay within the kingdoms borders right?

    Also, where is Eric’s parents? If he’s the leader of the kingdom, he’s not a prince then – he’s a king. Unless his parents have recently passed away, which would explain why there were off to Glowerhaven, or wherever, and so marrying him off and securing an alliance with a neighboring kingdom would be very smart. He probably hasn’t had a chance to be crowned yet, but even then usually they’re still referred to as King not Prince. I guess his parents could be away traveling, since they’re not in attendance at either of his weddings, but it seems kind of dumb for all three rulers of the kingdom to be away. But, they do reference the fact that Eric was mopey for awhile after Ariel rescues him, so maybe a lot more time has passed between rescue and Ariel signing away her life, and so he arrived and they left?

    I just have so many questions!

    And none of them were properly addressed this go around, because Bob and I didn’t pick this film. Our son came home from daycare one day and said “Can we watch the mermaid movie?” because I’ve had a painting from “The Little Mermaid” hung up on his bathroom wall for as long as he’s been alive, and he knows watching movies is something Bob and I do, one of the main things Bob and I do, and how could we say no? Did we want to hold off on picking this one for a little bit longer? Absolutely. But when your five year old wants to participate in this weird hobby of yours, when he’s asks so genuinely, of course I’m going to give up my pick and let him have his way. What else could you do?

    But despite all this, I still love this film. It’s still one of my favorites. I still can’t stop myself from belting out each and every song, much to our son’s chagrin (“Mommy, I can’t hear the mermaid sing!”). Every single song in this film is a Disney classic. Seriously, tell me one song people don’t know, and Disney doesn’t market? Even “Les Poissons” gets featured on occasion. “Part of Your World” set the standard for the Disney Princess ‘I want’ song. “Kiss the Girl” began the classic romantic interlude. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is still one of the best Disney villain songs of all time. “Under the Sea” is still fun to sing, and everyone on the planet seems to know the words, and it’s immediately recognizable after the first few notes hit.

    Honestly, I think the songs, despite all of Ariel’s kind of obnoxious traits, is what makes everyone look back at this film fondly thirty three years later. Of course, the animation still holds up, but it’s the songs that defined many people’s childhood, the songs and the princess that launched the Disney Renaissance that all Disney fans hold so near and dear to our hearts, and the plot and all the rest of it just don’t matter that much. For most people; when they think Disney Princess the first example that’s going to pop into their heads is Ariel.

    So whether or not this is a good movie isn’t really the question. It’s a cultural icon. It’s “The Little Mermaid” which makes it a force to be reckoned with all on it’s own. It’s untouchable. It’s a classic.

    I’d still probably be on King Triton’s side now though, as a mother with a daughter of my own. Maybe not as violent. But still. You either relate to Ariel or you relate to Triton, and I’m sad to say I’ve crossed over that threshold and I don’t think it’s something you ever come back from.