The little Mermaid was a groundbreaking project for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ flags animation department, but more than that, it completely redefined the idea of the Disney princess. When the animated movie hit theaters in 1989, it had been 30 years since the studio’s last princess movie, Sleeping Beauty. Previous Disney princesses, such as Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping BeautyAurora’s are kind and caring, but they’re usually pretty numbers who tend to their households and flit around with cute woodland animals surrounding them. Ariel fancied something new for Disney: a bold, outspoken young woman who isn’t afraid to pursue what she wants, rather than sit by a wishing well and patiently hope that her world will change. As Roger Ebert put it at the timeAriel is a “fully realized female character who thinks and acts independently, even rebellious, rather than sitting around passively as fate dictates her destiny.”
Ariel saves the life of her love interest, Prince Eric, stands up to her tyrannical father and dares to face the sea witch. In addition to domestic skills, she has a genuine interest in something else: studying and collecting objects from the human world. But her trajectory eventually gives in to the fairytale formula, with Prince Eric saving her from the villain and celebrating with a wedding.
The positive changes in Rob Marshall’s live-action remake The little Mermaid show us what Ariel’s character looks like without those clichés. Halle Bailey’s luminous performance is a big part of Ariel’s transformation into a more well-rounded character. Especially her interpretation of ‘Part of Your World’ gives goosebumps; her whole body trembles with a desperate desire to escape her oppressive world. Bailey’s voice fills every pure, soulful note with deep emotion. She brings Ariel’s intelligence, curiosity and spirit to a magnificent life.
One of the biggest criticisms of the original Little Mermaid is that Ariel is only 16 when she gives up her life to be with Prince Eric. (The live-action iteration never mentions her age.) Even Bailey disapproved of that aspect of the animated film, telling The Hollywood Reporter“I’m really excited about my version of the movie because we definitely changed that perspective that she only wants to leave the ocean for a boy.” Instead, the new version digs deeper into Ariel’s personal journey: “It’s much bigger than that,” Bailey said. “It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants.”
Photo: Giles Keyte/Disney
While these criticisms of the animated film are valid, they obscure the fact that Ariel has always been fascinated with the human world and wanted to join it. Eric was a catalyst, but if she hadn’t met him, she probably would have found another reason to seek out Ursula and accept her proposal, whether she was head over heels for a human or not. But The Little Mermaid ends like every other Disney princess story up to that point: with a fairytale wedding. The live-action version, which is an hour longer than the original film, leaving plenty of time to add more detail, softens the love-at-first-sight trope without losing any of the romance.
Animated Ariel’s attachment to Eric is deep and immediate, from her delighted smile when she first notices him on his ship to her quick declaration of love. Ariel van Halle Bailey, on the other hand, respects Eric’s compassionate and kind qualities more than his looks. At first she is more fascinated with him as someone to study than being hit by Cupid’s arrow. She constantly defends humans as individuals, pointing out that they are not deliberately harming the seas with their shipwrecks. Her determination to be part of the human world is more of a driving force in this new film than an instant crush.
The little Mermaid live action film develops Ariel and Eric’s relationship in a much more realistic and beautiful way. They are written as two sides of the same coin: they both have strict parents who want to protect them from the potential harm of the outside world, and they both enjoy exploring, studying maps, and stargazing. Eric is even a collector, just like Ariel, with an entire room devoted to nautical treasures. In the 1989 film, Eric is so busy finding the woman with the angelic voice who saved him from a shipwreck that he doesn’t really spend time with Ariel until his assistant Grimsby forces them to take a carriage ride together . In the 2023 version, they enjoy sneaking around and breaking away from the confines of the palace to laugh, dance and enjoy the island together.
Image: Disney
One of the best moments between Ariel and Eric comes during “Kiss the Girl,” where Ariel takes control of her own story by finding a way to teach Eric her name. It’s a small but important interaction that gives Bailey’s Ariel more strength and independence. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s song “For the First Time” also gives her more agency and perspective, allowing the audience to experience in her head her excitement and anxiety about being on land for the first time. The little Mermaid 1989’s never does this – it focuses more on Sebastian’s kitchen haircuts and leaves Ariel’s reactions to what’s going on around her as silent gestures. The new version gives her a voice throughout the film.
The live-action release doesn’t always do well. The changes in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” are disappointing. Ursula adds a confusing caveat to the spell: Ariel doesn’t remember needing Prince Eric to kiss her. The filmmakers cut the entire verse where Ursula pretends Ariel can earn Eric’s love by enacting the historical stereotypes of femininity – silence, submission, and conventional beauty. We were never meant to take Ursula’s suggestion that Ariel seduce Eric with “body language” seriously, as it comes from a villain who is clearly selfish, but also slightly lewd.
But the original film does reinforce Ursula’s message. Animated Eric is in awe of Ariel’s looks, especially in her pink ballgown. Grimsby even calls her a “vision.” Ariel often seems like a nice accessory in Eric’s palace, and a mild distraction that Eric turns to when he wants to escape his obsession with his mysterious savior on the beach.
Live-action Eric, on the other hand, appreciates Ariel’s intelligence and sense of humor. He values her for her personality and their mutual interest in global discovery, rather than just commenting on her looks. Which robs Ursula of a bit of threat and manipulation – her gender performativity was always a particularly devious way of revealing her conniving nature.
Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Ariel’s tenacity fades towards the end of the film, when she takes on the traditional female role in a fairytale romance. But the live-action interpretation supports her courage and self-determination all the way through. She is the one who takes charge and defeats Ursula. Like most Disney princess movies at the time, the animated ones Little Mermaid ends with a wedding kiss, while Ariel, a 16-year-old girl, leaves her strict, authoritative father for the handsome Prince Eric. The sequel, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Seaimmediately transitions into the role of Ariel as a mother, which means we barely see her as an individual: she jumps from childhood to parenthood with barely a beat between them.
The new version, on the other hand, sends the newlyweds on a journey to explore the corners of the world together. Their upcoming adventures and the true bond they’ve forged over their shared passions are far more important than settling down and raising heirs. This delightful ending fits much better with the plucky mermaid who longed to see all that the human world has to offer – not just a limited domestic role.
“As women we are amazing, we are independent, we are modern, we are everything and above. And I’m glad Disney is updating some of those themes,” Halle Bailey said in an interview with Edition. Ariel has always been a feisty heroine, relentlessly chasing her dreams no matter what anyone thinks. And she paved the way for future princesses with even more autonomy and guts. The changes in the last update of The little Mermaid lets Ariel break even further out of her traditional Disney shell and turn her into a dynamic female protagonist who is truly admirable.