"I just don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad"
Before you get the wrong idea, I love this movie. I paid $30 for the Gold Edition of the Blu-Ray just for the bonus features. I will defend this movie until the end of time as a good movie, but upon seeing this movie again, I realized that it isn't as good in some areas as I last saw it. Be that as it may, it is phenomenal in other areas that I never noticed as a kid. So, I ask you to please forgive me for probably my most controversial review, The Little Mermaid. This review will contain spoilers.
The story to The Little Mermaid revolves around a mermaid by the name of Ariel who is fascinated by the people from the surface. Her father King Triton disapproves of her fascination which fuels her love for humans even more. She has gadgets and gizmos a plenty. She's got whozits and whatzits galore. You want thingamabobs? She's got twenty. But who cares? No big deal. She wants more. One night, she decides to swim to the surface to observe Prince Eric's birthday celebration aboard his ship. She is told not to interact with humans, but when a terrible storm destroys the ship, Ariel saves Eric and falls in love with him. She adds a statue of Eric from the wreckage of the ship to her collection, and Triton quickly learns that Ariel is in love. However when he learns that she is in love with a human, he destroys her collection of human objects. Out of the wreckage, Floatsam and Jetsam, Ursula's hench-eels, swim to Ariel and convince her to see Ursula, the sea witch, to trade her voice for a pair of legs. Ariel agrees to trade her voice for a pair of legs, but she must receive a kiss of true love from Eric or else her soul is forfeit to Ursula who wants to use her to get the crown from Triton. The story is creative and complex for its time, but where the story to The Little Mermaid really shines is from the wonderful character of Ariel who makes every want seem like a need and every trivial act seem like an extraordinary event.
The animation of The Little Mermaid is unbelievable. It is a huge step up from previous Disney films such as The Black Cauldron which was so dark that it had to be edited before its release. This film still amazes me by how much was drawn and hand painted because this was the last Disney film before the CAPS system which digitally painted the cels used in animation. Each time a character moves bubbles had to be drawn and there are over 1 million bubbles that were drawn for the film.
The songs in The Little Mermaid are also well done. They were written and composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman who are the best song writing duo Disney has ever had. You can thank Howard Ashman for making Sebastian a Jamaican Rastafarian crab. These two also wrote the songs for Beauty and the Beast and got started on Aladdin when Howard Ashman died of AIDS. Every song is great in this film. My favorite is Part of Your World (I especially love the reprise). Kiss the Girl and Under the Sea are also sound great and are wonderfully written. The Little Mermaid even contains a song call Les Poissons that sounds very similar to Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast. This film also boasts one of the best Disney villain songs ever written called Poor Unfortunate Souls. These songs are so good that I will sing Part of Your World in a high pitched voice just because I like it that much.
So, you are probably wondering at this point what I don't like about the film. Well, my main problem with the film stems from two characters: Ariel and Eric. Ariel in the film is essentially greedy. She puts her life and other lives in danger and doesn't feel sorry for it. She is never reprimanded for acting so carelessly. Well, there is one scene where she apologizes to her father for what she did, but it's only for a second and is quickly forgotten. In this regard, I do not particularly care for Ariel, but that in no way infringes on my enjoyment of her character. Eric is my real problem with the movie. He is a bore. He has little to no personality which is a shame because I can identify with him. He is chasing after a dream girl, he rolls up his jeans, has perfect hair, plays the flute, and has a cape! What's not to love? Well, his personality. I seriously cannot remember a single line this guy has said. He is almost as boring as Prince Charming from Cinderella, the Prince from Snow White, or Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty. Speaking of which, many girls complain about women having to be saved in Disney princess films, but at least the princesses are interesting. Disney Princes did not get interesting until Prince Adam and Aladdin. Speaking of being saved, Ariel gets saved by Prince Eric but not before she saves him from drowning and from Floatsam and Jetsam. Which was the first step the right direction for Disney.
Another thing I didn't care for is the love story (*gasp*). I know. I know. Everyone loves these two, and I would be lying if I said I didn't like them. However in the film, it feels like a serious infatuation on both sides. So, Ariel falls in love at first sight. I guess that is okay. I mean it is a Disney film, but Eric falls in love at first song. I mean that is kinda pushing it. Don't get me wrong that is still way better than kissing an unconscious girl or matching shoe sizes, but I still would have liked a little more interaction between the two. They are a great looking couple though and win my award for couple with the best hair.
So, what do I just love about this film that would make me want to spend $30 on it? I love Ariel. She is so great in the movie. She goes out and gets what she wants. She doesn't listen to those who disapprove of her actions, and she does them any way. She is also Disney's first princess that doesn't wait for her prince. She goes out and saves him. As much as I love her ambition, I do believe that she should have some consequence for wanting too much just like Aladdin with being a Prince and Flynn with stealing, but again this is a minor problem and should not overshadow the film. When she gives up her voice, it is so much fun to see her interaction with the human world and how much fun she is having. Many people criticize Ariel for giving up her voice for a man, but I think it's sweet. I like to think of it like giving up something for someone else. I mean it is kinda patriarchal, but I think that Eric would have done the same thing for Ariel if he could have. This film also started the Disney Renaissance which was when Disney was going to make really good movies really quickly. The Disney Renaissance includes films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, and Mulan. Frozen was said to start the second Disney Renaissance, but I think The Princess and the Frog started the second Disney Renaissance.
When I think of The Little Mermaid, I think of a template for some of the best Disney films of all time. Frozen and Tangled both draw a heavy resemblance to the film, and every princess after Ariel can thank her for revolutionizing the way princesses act. The only thing I think that holds me back from considering The Little Mermaid as one of the top 5 best Disney films is just the love story. With so many Disney films that have great love stories, this one just doesn't do it for me.
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