Life is about finding yourself and learning more about who you are. Unfortunately, like most media outlets, most children movies do not point out the importance of being who you are. Little girls are not taught by the media to love themselves before they love someone else. This is why little girls grow up trying to find “Mr. Right” or their “Prince Charming” before they know who they are. They are taught to be what the other people in the world want them to be. This is no different in Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid, where Ariel gives up her voice, a key aspect of who she is, to gain legs in hope of finding true love.
Throughout The Little Mermaid Ariel becomes obsessed with life above the surface instead of focusing on what she has at her fingertips. Her father, King Triton, spends the majority of the movie telling his daughter Princess Ariel to stay away from the surface because it is dangerous. Ariel becomes fixated on everything that has anything to do with life on land. Her main obsession revolves around a man she saved after a shipwreck – a man she barely knows. The fact of the matter is everyone, whether they are animated or not, wants what they cannot have. I have straight hair so I long for curly hair. Ariel lacks legs and a chance to fulfill her fantasy of finding “Mr. Right,” so she wants legs.
The particular scene I want to focus on is shown below in the YouTube clip. I’m showing this particular clip because it captures the point in the story where Ariel gives up an important aspect of herself so that she can obtain a chance to fulfill the ultimate fantasy of having her Prince Charming. The clip shows Ariel going to meet the sea witch Ursula to make a deal with her. In exchange for Ariel’s voice Ursula promises her legs and a chance at love. The catch is, Ariel does not just lose her singing voice – she loses her voice all together.
The clip ends once Ariel has reached the surface thanks to her faithful friends Flounder and Sebastian. After she has reached the surface she finds it almost impossible to get her kiss because Eric is caught up trying to find the woman who saved him – the one with the very beautiful voice. Ariel is obviously frustrated by this but cannot voice her thoughts because she wagered her voice when she made her deal with the sea witch. Ursula was sabotaging Ariel and Eric’s relationship by using Ariel’s voice as a weapon. According to the Disney Archives, “Ariel and Eric together foil Ursula’s evil plans, save the undersea kingdom, and receive Triton’s blessing.” But, what worries me is -what if the truth never came out?
Ariel would have lost an important part of herself – her voice. Her voice allows her to express her thoughts and feelings and she gave that up for a man she didn’t even know. Why can’t we just accept ourselves for who we are in today’s society? This movie came out about 20 years ago and the media, to this day, still paints the picture of Prince Charming coming in to save the day. Why? Learn about yourself, find what is special about you and use it to your advantage. Nobody should feel the need to change who they are to find their significant other because when you do find them they will love you for who you are.
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January 24, 2010 at 11:47 pm
bgw1088
I totally agree with you! I love the Little Mermaid, but I always disliked the scene where Ariel gives up her voice. But, see it they way you did. I didn’t like this scene because Ursula was going to use the voice to trapped Triton and Ariel. It wasn’t until you pointed it out; that Ariel gave up an important part of her in order to achieve her goal–to be with Eric and live on land. No woman should change herself to for anyone. This is the wrong message, Disney sent to girls in today’s society where they are constantly being pressured into changing themselves for someone else.
January 25, 2010 at 1:34 pm
kyluna
Never related to todays media and outlook on women. Before this I kinda just loved the movie and thought it was her taking a risk for something she truly desired. I still think it can be looked at as giving up something important to you for something more important and life changing but your right it would influence small children to think that love and the man are more important than things they should value and nurture. Eric loved ariel for her voice and she just seemed to ignore her gift for the whole movie. It was sad really.
January 25, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Megan Pettry
I really like your reading of “The Little Mermaid,” when I was a child I was absolutly enchanted with this movie. The analysis you gave about Ariel giving up what made her special and her family in order to be with her true love makes young girls think that this is an appropriate behavior. This makes young girls think that it’s okay to give up what makes them special just to be with their ‘prince charming.’ In today’s society the media emphasizes beauty and cosmetic products to make you become more beautiful. Like Heidi Montag just underwent 9 plastic surgeries at the same time and almost died just to feel pretty. Girls risk their lives sometimes to become what is cosidered more attractive, which can be traced back to messages like the one in “The Little Mermaid.”
January 25, 2010 at 6:21 pm
nma1203
I agree with you when you stated, ” Her voice allows her to express her thoughts and feelings and she gave that up for a man she didn’t even know. ” This statement hit home with me because I have known several women who have given up everything- job, life, family, and friends – all for a guy. And for what? They usually end up in a terrible situation and end up separating from the guy. I truly believe that if the guy is right for someone, you should not have to give up anything!! Yes you may have to make compromises every now and then, but nothing should fully have to be given up.
I like how you related this point of giving up something for a man to The Little Mermaid. When I was young watching it I never would have thought twice about the point, but it is fun as we age to look at the hidden perspectives and messages in the children movies.
January 25, 2010 at 8:44 pm
danyaelrose
I think you are missing the point in some ways. Ariel was making a deal with the Devil (Ursula) to obtain something that is one of the most important things on the planet: to make a real connection and fall in love with someone. This is not done just with words.Ariel was not happy in her way of life. She wasn’t meant for it and was an outsider because of this. She did not change for him. She changed to be with him, and not in some sort of high school way. I know love at first sight is not something everyone believes in- I certainly do not, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t nice to have in our entertainment. Many people do believe that this exists. Ariel did not have insecurities. In fact, she was the opposite. She knew exactly what she wanted and was willing to risk anything for it. Isn’t that the love people dream about- a kind of love that makes you go to the end of the world and back. Maybe I am a hopeless romantic, but I am not with my head in the clouds. I have been with my husband for almost 6 years now and would do anything for him, not because I am unhappy with myself but because I love him that much. That is what Disney tried to capture.
January 27, 2010 at 11:21 am
animashunation
I really wish Disney would change this whole “prince charming” thing. We can look back at history and I’m pretty sure we would find VERY few Princes that were “charming” in anyway, other than the fact that they are loaded with money, and are heir to a throne or kingdom which, for all we know, could have been acquired in a very “uncharming” way; through war, murder, bribes, violence, persecution, etc. And as far as them being handsome, (while beauty is in the eye of the beholder,) the title of a prince does not guarantee that one will be handsome in anyway. There are many recent animations that have have poked fun at this whole “prince charming” issue. One example is “Shrek,” where “Prince Charming” is anything but charming, and instead of Fiona going after him (as typical in fairytales) he is actually going after her (for money of course, big surprise there.) She prefers an ogre over the handsome Mr. Charming (straying from the typical) and prefers to live in a swamp instead of a castle for the rest of her life (again, straying from the typical). The difference that I see in “The Little Mermaid” from the other Disney fairytales however, is that she is a princess, granted of the sea, but still a princess, to begin with. This is different from the whole “damsel in distress” situation where the beautiful maiden is abused, usually by a stepmother or maybe just society in general, and gets “rescued” by becoming a princess. Here, she is already a princess and I don’t think she really needs rescuing. I agree with you, that here the situation is a bit different in that instead of being rescued, Ariel plunges herself into trouble in an attempt to get something she can’t have in her current life. Ironically enough, that something turns out to be a guy (what can you do?) which bring me to the question: where exactly were all the mermen?? I saw fishes, crabs, mermaids, freaky octopuses, eels, and yes there was her father Triton but other than him, I do not recall seeing even one merman in the whole film! Perhaps the only reason Ariel wanted legs to go meet Eric on land was because there was a shortage of guys under the sea!
March 17, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Midterm Specimen Post « Animation
[…] 17, 2010 in Uncategorized I chose to resubmit blogs one and four as my midterm specimens. Blog one was entitled “An Analysis of the Little Mermaid” […]
October 19, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Pitch Perfect And Its Far-From-Perfect Portrayal of Asian-American Women « The Racist and Unoriginal Anglo-American Entertainment Industry
[…] how The Little Mermaid got all that criticism because Ariel gives up her voice to Ursula just for a man? Yeah, just switch the two films and use […]
July 3, 2013 at 4:48 am
josh
well if you made a research the original story was a lot worse! she died at the end because the man she loved didn’t marry her :Sob: so i don’t think we can blame disney since the story was not originally theirs, they just edited it. anyway i think women are different, there are some who are strong and independent and there are some who are hopeless romantics and can’t live alone. and why are we condemning the story now(maybe because of internet)? but it was made 24 years ago when society was different and as you can see in the movie the setting was like 1800’s or maybe even older? and as we can sobserve from present disney that its not just about love anymore its also finding who you really are and more, because that’s what society is right now. but i do get that you’re just making your point that this story-line could not work at present time
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