The Little Mermaid Movie Review
Since Disney's been on my mind lately, I decided to re-watch "The Little Mermaid." Upon reflection, though, there were many I things I didn't like and a few things I did. I did like the way the characters were drawn. I thought the songs in the movie were good. I also liked Prince Eric's dog, Max, since he seemed to have a sense that Ariel was a good-hearted person. I did not like the fact that Prince Eric only fell in love with Ariel because of her voice, as well as the fact that she saved him from drowning. Also, I understand that it's an important plot point of Ariel giving her voice to Ursula in exchange for legs to be with Prince Eric, but I think it's silly how fast they fell in love. A person should fall in love with somebody due to several qualities, not just two.
When it comes to the main character, I did not like Ariel at all. I mean, I know she was 16 and teenagers make some very poor decisions around that age, but I do not think it was a wise for her to leave home for her obsession with land. I feel like her love for Prince Eric is simply an extension of her curiosity about life on land. She had the same problem Prince Eric had because she fell in love so quickly and did not get to know his personality, flaws, back story or anything like that. So, for all she knew, he could have been a truly awful person. But still, I am sure, even in the time this story was set, there would've been a courting phase between the two lovers. There is none of that in this movie. They rush the love story to a ridiculous degree. I know most of this is because of plot progression, but still, I just think her decision to leave the ocean just out of curiosity and rush into love is truly dumb move on her part. Plus, she signed a contract with a sorceress, let alone not even reading it. The only 2 things I think Ariel learned in this entire movie was not to sign a contract that she had not read fully as well as there can be severe consequences for impulsive actions.
In terms of plot, I wish that instead of killing Ursula, they found a way to seal away her magic or put her in a kingdom prison because I feel like she was the most interesting part of the entire movie. Instead of doing that, they simply use her as the long-lost sister villain. I feel like if they kept Ursula alive, she could have been brought back for a sequel, which I would've liked. But instead of leaving her alive, they have her impaled to death. I also think that King Triton should have been the one to deal with Ursula and not Prince Eric because I felt it was more his responsibility.
I thought that the Little Mermaid was a poor adaptation from the original source material. I mean, I kind of understand why they made the choices they did, but I still think there were better ways to have written the character so that she did not come off as clueless and scatterbrained. Also, I wish there was a better way to illustrate what she did and didn't know because she just came off as too clueless. For instance, showing her in some sort of princess school just so that you could see her in a more intellectual setting. Despite this, I want to reiterate that I liked the music and the and movie artwork. But I ultimately thought the story was a complete waste of time. I suggest that you just read the source material, which is Hans Christian Anderson's "Little Mermaid." I do recommend this movie to fans of musicals or Disney movies. I am curious about your thoughts on this Disney film.
What did you or didn't you like about it? Do you agree with any of my thoughts?