The Little Mermaid

As a kid I always remembered The Little Mermaid being one of my favorite movies and, after watching it again, I can see why. The animation was cute, yet exciting at times and the timeless plot of star crossed lovers rarely disappoints (even if it is terribly overdone.) Even the songs were great and this is coming from a guy who usually hates songs in movies. However, these were different. Fun and catchy. That's what movie songs should be and these didn't fail to deliver with "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea" headlining with "Poor Unfortunate Souls" adding a different edge. In these ways the songs were also quite symbolic of the goings-on in the movie, another plus.

In comparing this film to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I could definitely note similarities. For one, a large part of the animation was devoted to the "cuteness" of animals. This was done throughout with Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder leading the way just as the dwarfs and animals did in Snow White. The whole love story with the kiss of true love also linked the two, as it does with many Disney movies. The witch villains did as well. Seeing the two movies almost simultaneous makes me realize how many Disney films have the same structure and techniques. Here, we can see Disney incorporates minor plot changes (such as being a mermaid) into an otherwise generic, stock story-line. It is definitely effective, but nevertheless is a little disappointing, but I digress.

Returning to The Little Mermaid, I could definitely see how many people would be disappointed with the message it conveys, which has been quite public and is something I'm sure we'll discuss in class. The fact that Ariel drops everything, even abandoning her family, for an unknown man (just as Snow White does) doesn't give a positive vibe to young girls, and even to boys for that matter. And that Ariel is initially able to woo her prince with just her looks, not even being able to talk, is even worse. I'm not someone to usually read too deeply into something but this was so apparent I think most kids would pick up on it at some level subconsciously.