Though Eric did not get a good look at Ariel, he is able to remember her voice, describing it to be beautiful and falls in love with his mysterious rescuer, becoming determined to marry her to show gratitude for saving his life.
In the animated movie, when King Triton gives Ariel back her human form, she walks right into Eric's arms. But, for the new version, Eric can be seen missing Ariel at the palace while playing with Max, and she sneaks up on him. It's such a small change, but really shows how much Eric loves Ariel as he hugs her.
But before he can approach Ariel, Ursula, disguised as a human girl named Vanessa, arrives and uses Ariel's voice to hypnotize Eric into believing she is the girl who saved his life, causing him to forget all about Ariel.
However, towards the bottom of the chart are some very young couples, including The Little Mermaid's, Ariel and Eric, who are just 16 and 18, and the youngest, other that Snow White, being Aladdin's Jasmine who is only 15-year-old, who is with 18-year-old Aladdin.
Ariel was offered by Ursula to become a human for three days and would become human permanently if she shares a kiss of true love with Eric, but will turn back into a mermaid and be bound to Ursula for eternity if she fails to kiss Eric.
In the animated film, Ariel's 16, something which made her quick marriage to Eric within a few days of meeting him cringeworthy. Disney's production notes for the live-action film note that Ariel's a "spirited 18-year-old."
In the classic, she falls in love with Eric because she's physically attracted to him, seeing him first as a literal statue, not a walking, talking, thinking human man. If you watch that movie, she's really, really into that statue!
The decision to fix Ariel's age at 16 years old was also likely to appeal to the target audience of Disney's version of The Little Mermaid. Her age makes sense to the narrative of the story as it's driven by her curiosity about the world and her identity crisis; relatable themes for many at the same stage of life.
While it is known that her mother perished, there is no story attached to the event. However, much later, in 2008, an animated The Little Mermaid prequel revealed that Ariel's mother was crushed by a pirate ship during an altercation between humans and merpeople.
They were given an official number in the franchise line-up based on the chronological order in which their films were released, starting with Snow White as the first and original Disney Princess, with Cinderella being the second, followed by Aurora and so on.
A noticeable absence from this film: Ariel's shell bra.
I just think we wanted to have a more fishlike quality to the girls. Having them all plonk seashells on their breasts seemed like a weird way to go. And when you start putting shells on real bodies, it's hard to make them look good, believe me.
Ursula marries Eric and becomes Princess. This story brings us 6 years in the future when Vanessa is slowly using her new Kingdom to take over the surrounding land and start an all-out war. Ariel has taken over her father's rule as Queen of Atlantia.
Diversity. Ariel had 3 male animal friends, so they needed to make one a girl. Same reason they made Jock a girl (Jacqueline aka Jacque) in the Lady & The Tramp live-action remake.
Here, we get to see the sweet moment Prince Eric goes in for the big kiss with Ariel — only for an even bigger splash to ruin the vibe. Sha-la-la-la-la-la, indeed.
Rather, Ursula's appearance is radically different from her family, and she sports tentacles that look like a permanent black dress. It's possible Ursula is not a mermaid in appearance because she and Triton did not have the same mother or father. If they're half siblings, Ursula's tentacles make more sense.
Years later, Ursula, in her guise as Vanessa, goes to the Odd Sisters and asks for their help to defeat Triton, who in the book is Ursula's brother and therefore makes Ursula Ariel's aunt, in exchange for helping them find their sister, Circe.
One theory is that each of Ariel's sisters represents different oceans that are home to various cultures and ethnicities. It's pretty problematic to have mermaids who all look the same representing such an expansive underwater world.
That honor goes to a song that's not in the movie - the “If Only” quartet that Ariel sings with Sebastian, King Triton and Prince Eric. Among Mermaid's many subplots is the special relationship shared by Ariel and Flounder. While Ariel regards Flounder as more of a sidekick, Flounder has an adolescent crush on Ariel.
I Think About This a Lot: Ursula Applying Red Lipstick in The Little Mermaid. Sealed With a Kiss is a series of stories devoted to the transformations that come with a swipe of lipstick.
In the first Frozen movie, Elsa's age was 21, while Anna was 18. Considering Frozen revolved around Elsa's coronation, it's refreshing to see that Arendelle waited until she was a more appropriate age to receive the queen title. Frozen II occurred after a 3-year time jump, with Elsa now 24 and Anna 21.
Triton is restored, but Ariel and Eric are both sad because they think they can no longer be together. However, Triton grants Ariel her wish to be human and she and Eric get married, uniting both their people.
