The Little Mermaid Reflection

I've seen this movie, but it was so long ago that I remembered none of it.  I found it quite objectionable and dull.  The dull part isn't surprising as it is a children's movie.  A lot of it though infuriated me.  First, I was confused when Ariel claimed to love Eric.  She'd watched him from afar (a little creepy) and then saved him (the entirety of this encounter, with him unconscious).  How she can claim to love him after these experiences baffles me.  I thought that this film would include more about Ariel wanting teenage independence and wanting the experiences and freedom associated with legs and being on land.  Unfortunately, though, this film revolved entirely around Eric, especially considering that we hardly got to know him.  On a similar, feminist thread, the size and shape of Ariel's body certainly isn't helping how girls view their body from a young age.  While I absolutely oppose skinny-shaming, the animators of The Little Mermaid made Ariel fake.  Striving for how Ariel looks is unhealthy and dangerous.  Creating Ariel this way also could make children think that they are not beautiful unless they look like her. 

On an unrelated note, Ursula is truly a villain.  All she wants is for people to suffer.  Her main motive was to overthrow Triton for the throne.  However, as made evident by the weird green things in the ground (ghouls?), Ursula was also very interested in simply causing people pain.  Posing danger for Ariel, she is skilled at manipulation and can make herself seem like she is doing people favors.  And then when she turns people into those ghoul things, she blames them for doing something wrong!  This appears to go beyond just the search for power, and she seems to just want people hurt.

The appearance of Ursula is, unfortunately, very classic Disney villain.  She has dark skin, a deeper voice, heavy makeup, a heavier build, white hair, and the darkest, most colorless eyes of all of the characters.  As Priscilla Warner's essay "Fantastic Outsiders" explains, this look is intended to be foreign and different.  The idea that darker features can achieve this in 1989 America is sad, anti-progress, and should just be incorrect.  I understand that this is a classic villain look, but it is damaging to children and society and this villain archetype should be changed.

In my upcoming paper, I will discuss the abandonment of conventional values for the sake of power.  One of the values is family.  While this is typically a trait of the villain, interestingly, Ariel is the one who abandons family for something!  Her total abandonment of all of her family and friends for this one man who she hardly knew seemed extreme and maybe misguided.

All of this said, I guess I did get some enjoyment out of watching the film.  A lot of lines, especially from the crab, Sebastian, made me chuckle.  The plot, despite being dull and intensely Eric-driven, was enjoyable.  Also, upon seeing Flounder, I got a little hit of nostalgia, remembering that my arm floaties when I was learning how to swim were Flounder. 

Edit: my mom alerted me that my floaties were actually Tweety Bird.  Bummer.