Response to The Little Mermaid

As I watched The Little Mermaid for the first time in over ten years, I was very surprised. The only scenes I had remembered were those that were happy and upbeat, particularly the songs. However, I was confronted with very dark and scary images of Ursula and her two eels. I had forgotten how much evil and negativity the movie actually possessed. The Little Mermaid is the least “Disneyfied” movie Disney ever made.

Ariel’s father, King Triton, has some major anger outbursts. The worst one was when he destroyed all of Ariel’s trinkets and collection of human artifacts. Although he felt some remorse about doing so, it was a very traumatic scene and afterwards Ariel is so distressed she won’t even talk to her best friend, Flounder.

Image from http://hero.wikia.com/wiki/File:King_Triton_destroying_Ariel's_treasures.png

Also, when Ariel swims into Ursula’s cave, the worm-like souls who had fallen into Ursula’s trap before reach up and grab Ariel’s arms. Although I found out later that they were trying to warn her, at the moment it was a very scary scene.

Image from http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ariel_in_Ursula's_Garden.JPG

Additionally, when Ursula is stealing Ariel’s voice in exchange for legs and a chance to be with prince Eric, there is a frightening scene of two hands grabbing at Ariel’s neck. Apparently, the glowing sphere that Ursula takes is Ariel’s voice. I am surprised that I was not absolutely terrified when I watched this scene as a child.

Image from http://littlemermaid.wikia.com/wiki/Ariel

Furthermore, Ursula transforms into a towering giant with a terrifying voice and face. She creates a whirlpool and a terrible storm to kill both Ariel and prince Eric. Fortunately, she does not accomplish her goal but succeeds in scaring the movie viewers.

Image from http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/disney-princess/picks/show/958854/tumblr-disney-confessions-28-which-agree-with

At the same time, The Little Mermaid lacks the humor aspect normally associated with Disney movies. Although some scenes like Sebastian trying to avoid being cooked, were meant to be humorous, they also include scary themes such as death and murder.

 Image from http://www.cracked.com/article_20380_5-horrifying-details-hidden-in-classic-childrens-cartoons.html

Between the anger outbursts, lack of humor, and frightening scenes, I am surprised this movie is considered a children’s movie. Ursula’s absolutely evil character is very one dimensional and never shows any remorse. Unlike more recent Disney movie villains who more developed backstories and reasons to be evil, Ursula has no such character development.

When compared to Cinderella, The Little Mermaid also contains antifeminist ideals. When Ariel asks Ursula how she is supposed to make prince Eric fall in love with her without her voice, Ursula responds by saying, “you’ll have your looks, your pretty face and don’t underestimate the importance of body language!” Ursula reinforces the idea that only physical looks matter when you fall in love while objectifying women’s bodies. Later in the song, she also says, “it’s much preferred for ladies not to say a word . . . It’s she who holds her tongue who gets a man.” Young girls could interpret this to mean that to fall in love, you have to be beautiful and not bore or bother a man by expressing your opinions.

The accumulation of anger outbursts, scary scenes, and antifeminist ideals make The Little Mermaid the least “Disneyfied” movie Disney ever made.