Part of Your World

Hans Christian Andersen must have been kind of depressed. He wrote The Ugly Duckling, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Little Mermaid, and Thumbelina. The first is about bullying; the second is about sacrifice; the third is about redeeming love; the fourth is about . . . . well, living happily ever after I guess.

The Little Mermaid is my sister's favorite princess, so she has a bunch of Ariel pins and she's seen the movie a lot. I on the other hand came out of the theater crying when I first watched it. At least that's what my parents tell me. I must've blocked out that memory because I haven't the foggiest about it. Although now when I see the scene in which Ursula grows to a gigantic horrendous size, I'm sure that did scare me when I was a kid.

Anyway, I discovered the original version of the Little Mermaid in sixth grade. There was a bookshelf in homeroom and there was a book about the Little Mermaid. I grew up knowing the Disney version and another happy-ending version in my fairy tale book, so when I read about how the prince chose another girl, and the little mermaid had a chance to stab his heart and spread his blood on her legs to become a mermaid again, I was traumatized. But the other day, I was thinking how beautiful it really is that she couldn't kill him because she loved him too much. She would die and see him happy than return to his old life and see him dead. And for her selfless act, she is rewarded.



But thanks to Disney, we don't have to suffer through the Little Mermaid's death. :) Even so, the theme of redeeming love is in the Disney version.

Although Ariel is a headstrong girl, we never have any doubt that she loves her father. She wishes that he could understand why she loves the human world so much. And when he breaks her heart by destorying her collection of human objects, she rebels, seeking the advice the sea witch. In doing this, she "makes a pact with the devil," who pretends to care about her, but really just wants ultimate power (every bad guy's dream). What's interesting is that for the first time I noticed that Urusla says she used to live in the palace. What? What was she? Some kind of noblewoman? Like Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove?

Eventually, her father takes her place in the contract, showing his love for her. And in the end, he gives her legs because it's what will make her happiest even though she won't be with him anymore. Everytime I see that scene, I go, "Man, that was sooo easy. If only they could've resolved their differences before Ariel went to Ursula." Of course, there wouldn't be much of a movie. Ariel sacrifices her life for Eric and then her father sacrifices his life for Ariel. It all comes together, and it's beautiful.

I think it'd be funny if someone at Disney had said, "Wait. Why don't we make Eric a merman?" That would've been cool, right? But it just wouldn't have been the same.

Prince Eric is really cool, and I love how he comes to the rescue in the end. No matter how mean spirited people may be about this creating a whole "damsel in distress" thing, keep in mind that he has to do everything he can to save Ariel. I mean, come on. If he just swam around like an idiot, we'd hate him.

The Little Mermaid's popularity must be growing because Disney has created new attractions based on it. I think this is a little much. I mean, surely there has to be something more to expand on?

But still, I love Voyage of the Little Mermaid at Disney World.



A note on the sequels: They suck. But it's interesting to see how Ariel's daughter almost exactly follows her mother's path. And I find it a little creepy that Ariel's mom in the third film looks waaay too much like Ariel.

Conclusion: The Little Mermaid is one of Disney's best movies, and the music is incredible.