In Andersen's tale, the Little Mermaid does not marry the Prince but instead learns she must murder him to save herself. The Little Mermaid does not kill the Prince and dies. The Little Mermaid is given a chance to gain an immortal soul by servicing humanity for 300 years after her death.
The original story is dark that included a murder and suicide. When Little Mermaid visits Ursula, the Sea Witch she strikes a deal, swapping her voice and tongue for legs. She will only survive if she wins over the affections of the Prince.
While the original tale was likely influenced by folklore about mermaids and sirens, scholars have speculated that "The Little Mermaid" was also inspired by the author's own life, as some events in the story parallel his experiences with navigating family pressures, discovering his true identity, and pursuing love.
In the original story, The Little Mermaid is motivated by a fear of death and desires a soul and an afterlife in addition to love. The original Little Mermaid story is much darker and violent than Disney's version, with the sea witch brutally cutting out the mermaid's tongue in exchange for legs.
While lighting itself isn't all that expensive, darkness can be used to hide a lot of things. Halle Bailey is not actually a mermaid, and so having the scenes be darker makes it easier to disguise the CGI work.
In the movie The Little Mermaid (Clements & Musker, 1989), Ariel displays symptoms of disposophobia, which is defined as the fear of getting rid of things.
On the significance of casting a Black actress as Ariel
Sherri Hope Culver: To have a Disney character who is not just a princess but a live-action, real flesh and blood person that children can be inspired by is important. This is because people of color are less likely to see themselves reflected in the media.
Summary. Disney has confirmed a fan theory that the hyenas in The Lion King survived by cannibalizing each other, adding a dark twist to the story. This revelation is smart as it aligns with the natural behavior of hyenas and emphasizes their exclusion from the Circle of Life.
Why the latest "Little Mermaid," played by Halle Bailey, is just one in a long line of Black mermaids. When Halle Bailey was cast in the live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid,” some critics blasted the decision, proclaiming Princess Ariel could not possibly be Black.
Most of the plot remains the same: a curious, adventurous mermaid princess wants nothing more than to become human and explore the world above. But some mostly minor tweaks do remain: the villain becomes an octopus rather than a squid, a new royal character enters the picture, and a few new musical numbers crop up.
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.
What race is Ariel in the original Little Mermaid?
In the 1989 movie, Ariel was born in the fictional underwater kingdom of Atlantica, which technically makes her Atlantican, not Danish. As Ariel is half fish, she cannot be categorized by our ethnicities and races.
What does The Little Mermaid symbolize? The little mermaid symbolizes of loneliness and not having a place in society. She feels like she does not belong in the sea, but when she arrives on land, she discovers that she does not have a real place there either.
She chooses to die instead. Andersen's original The Little Mermaid ending is so much darker than Disney's as a result. While she makes an incredibly selfless decision and becomes a spirit of the air, it's still a tragic ending for the character who doesn't find love or a welcoming life above the water.
How many times has The Little Mermaid been vandalized?
The mermaid's head was stolen in 1964, and her arm cut off in 1984. In 1998, vandals removed her head again, but it was later returned, before the statue was blown up in 2003. The statue has been tagged and painted many times, most recently in 2020 with the mysterious inscription “racist fish”.
Melissa McCarthy knew she had big tentacles to fill portraying villainous Ursula for the live-action “The Little Mermaid.” McCarthy fell hard for the outrageously coiffed, half-octopus sea witch of the 1989 Disney animated original while working as a nanny for two VHS-obsessed children.
One thing to note, Hans Christian Andersen left out race, skin color, and character names. For the animated movie, Disney made the little mermaid white, made her hair red, and gave her a name, Ariel.
There are several instances when Eric's mother Queen Salina (Noma Dumezweni), who is Black and adopted him as a child when he washed up from the ocean, chastises him for his obvious love for beings that are considered other.
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.
Although there are several minor areas which call for discernment, the good far outweighs the bad. The film includes a positive portrayal of an intact family, as well as a portrait of a powerful, yet humble, leader willing to sacrifice for others.
In the movie “The Lion King”, many of the characters have a psychological disorder. The main character that I chose to talk about is Simba. Simba was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, better known as PTSD. PTSD is a condition of persistent emotional and mental stress.
What he thinks happened is that the hyenas ate Mufasa's body and then gave Scar the bones. Later, when Scar falls, they eat him too. The same fate befalling two brothers. Which, as he points out, is very Shakespearean as well.
The reason studios make beloved characters black in the live action adaptations is so they don't have to go to the trouble of actually giving special, brand new unique characters made from scratch to black people.
The reported box office result of The Little Mermaid 2023 remake is about $560 million. On paper, these numbers look good. The film grossed over $298 million domestically and more than $263 million internationally.
