The Little Mermaid Research Paper

916 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of ""The Little Mermaid"

“The Little Mermaid” was originally a fairy tale written in 1837 by Hans Christian Andersen that has since inspired several movies adaptations, once of which being “The Little Mermaid” produced by Disney in 1989. Both the movie and book portray a young mermaid that face the tribulations that comes with growing up and her struggle to obtain what she wants most in life, however the mermaid’s ultimate fate and personality is evidently disparate within these two versions. To begin, in Andersen's original story a mermaid lives in a underwater kingdom with her widowed father, grandmother, and five older sisters where the mermaid learns that she must be fifthteen in order to visit the upper world. Soon enough, the mermaid comes of age and decides …show more content…

Ariel spends her time collecting grotto with her companions, Flounder and Sebastian and constantly visits the surface of the ocean with Scuttle, a seagull who offers her very inaccurate knowledge of human culture. Although, one night Ariel decides to travel up to the top of the ocean with Scuttle to watch the birthday celebration of Prince Eric’s birthday and falls in love. However, when a storm strikes, Ariel comes to Eric’s aid and sings to him while leaving him upon the shore. When Eric awakes, he remembers Ariel’s voice and vows to find the woman who saved him. Ariel, blinded by love, sets out to find him, but her plans are foiled when Ariel’s father Triton, the King of the Sea, finds out. He forbids her plans, but just when Ariel is ready to give up two eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, convince her to visit Ursula, an evil sea witch. Taking their advice, Ariel is tricked into making a deal that results in her turning into a human for three days in exchange for her voice. Within those three days, Ariel must win the love of Prince Eric or she will turn back into a mermaid and forever belong to Ursula. Ariel agrees and eventually is found by the prince on the beach who becomes enamoured with Ariel, but is soon hypnotized by Vanessa, a beautiful woman that Ursula has transformed into. However, Scuttle discovers Vanessa’s true identity and informs Ariel, while Sebastian informs Triton. Assisted by her friends, Ariel stops Ursula plan to marry Prince Eric and regains her voice back. Eric then recognizes Ariel, but is too late to kiss her and she turns back into a mermaid and becomes Ursula’s captor. When Triton attempts to save Ariel, he becomes Ursula’s new prisoner, however Prince Eric intervenes and releases both Triton and Ariel from Ursula’s power. Enraged, Ursula grows to monstrous proportions and

Show More
Related

  • Richard Van Camp's Short Story Mermaids

    280 Words  | 1 Pages

    Tragedy acts as an antidote to human fallibility; it also warns individuals of the dire consequences of follies in a way that comedy cannot. It accentuates how a character of high rank falls from grace due to his or her character flaw. More importantly, the downfall evokes pathos, which results in the viewers’ emotional cleansing and purging. In Richard Van Camp’s short story, “Mermaids”, the main character “Torchy” is a native Indian who struggle to find a goal in life. To cope with the loss of his brother and his traumatic life, he abuses alcohol and drugs.“Mermaids” is not considered as a tragedy since the main character does not fulfill a noble tragic hero, he does not go through peripeteia, and the ending of the story does not let the

    Read More

  • My Alter Ego; Ariel

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first reason why Ariel is most like myself is because of her love for adventure. In the film, The Little Mermaid, Ariel wonders off to ship wrecks and swims up to the surface to speak to birds to identify human objects. She is always on the run for an adventure, much like myself. If I am not at home taking care of my family, we are out at the Kermit sand hills, taking last minute trips to Indiana, or spending the weekend at my families’ lake house. Like the quote in The Little Mermaid and on “IMDb” says, “If only I could make him understand. I just don't see things the way he does. I just don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad,” I too agree, the world is a beautiful, magnificent place and taking adventures and exploring is something that has always been appealing to me.

    Read More

  • Lust, Loss, and Immorality in the Little Mermaid

    1877 Words  | 4 Pages

    Anderson, Hans Christian. “The Little Mermaid.” Folk and Fairy Tales. 3rd ed. Eds. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek. Toronto: Broadview, 2002.

    Read More

  • Disney and Traditional Stereotypes

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Disney films, it is important for women to achieve the stereotypical characteristics of a woman, such as maintaining their beauty to capture a man, and being weak and less educated than male characters. The women in Disney movies are always beautiful, which help them to obtain a man. They are often encouraged to use their looks and their body to capture a man’s attention, and having a curvy, petite body is required in all good Disney women. The Little Mermaid is a 1989 movie directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, where “A mermaid princess makes a faustian...

    Read More

  • The Little Mermaid: Hans Christian Andersen vs Walt Disney

    2433 Words  | 5 Pages

    Trites, Roberta. "Disney's Sub / Version of Andersen's The Little Mermaid." Journal of Popular Film and Television 18.4 (1991): 145-52. Print.

    Read More

  • Comparing Cinderella and Ever After

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    When most people think of the movie, "Cinderella';, they think of the animated Disney version with the little mice and the happy ending where Cinderella marries the prince and they live happily ever after. While the movie "Ever After'; is based on "Cinderella';, it is not animated, but still has many of the same characteristics as the Disney version. Of course it is not exactly the same, and since it is not animated there are many differences.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In The Little Mermaid

    1432 Words  | 3 Pages

    Once upon a time, there was a 16 year old mermaid princess named Ariel who gave up her voice, an important part of her identity, in order to be with a man who she became infatuated with at just one glance. Ariel has a very traditional gender-stereotypical role in the film, as the helpless, clueless, naive, physically weak, submissive, and attractive female protagonist that Disney films, especially the classics, portray so often (England). There is a lot of controversy surrounding this film in regards to its patriarchal ideals. The Little Mermaid, like most media, is build for the ‘male gaze’, a term coined by Laura Mulvey that suggests that visual entertainment, such as movies, are structured to be viewed by a masculine consumer. I will argue that the male gaze perpetuates harmful gender-stereotypes in The Little Mermaid.

    Read More

  • Mary Poppins Essay Questions

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the famous story that we all were read as children, Mary Poppins, the author P.L. Travers depicts a story of an astonishing nanny who arrives at the Banks household to look after the four children, Michael, Jane, and the twins. Jane and Michael live pretty boring lives before Mary Poppins, the nanny, arrives. These two children are very critical thinkers, and it is apparent that they receive these traits from their parents, so because of this Poppins challenges their beliefs when she arrives. Through many adventures and the character of Poppins, Jane and Michael come to learn that there is not always an answer for all of their questions. To their displeasing, the nanny tells them that they have to use their imagination to come up with answers to all of their questions. Eventually, the children are able to discover their childhood, that seemed to be lost, once the nanny leaves. Throughout the book Poppins takes the children on journeys to help them discover what they are missing out on and help them regain that ability to make believe just as every other kid in the world does.

    Read More

  • The Little Mermaid Comparison

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    In both Hans Christian Andersons “The Little Mermaid,” and Disney’s version of the story, the main character— a young and beautiful mermaid— waits anxiously for her fifteenth birthday to venture from her father’s underwater castle to the world above the water. As the story carries on the mermaids priorities change; her modest and selfless nature is revealed towards the end in Andersen’s version. However, Disney’s version encompasses a rather shallow ending and plot throughout. The theme found in comparing the two versions reveal that Andersen’s substance trumps Disney’s entertainment factor in fairy tales.

    Read More

  • Disney Films: The Little Mermaid

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...depicts human love as a product of maturity, whereas Disney depicts it as a cause of maturity” (Trites 4). This fundamental change of maturity in Disney’s version is where the problem rests, teaching audiences that seeking a mate is the path to maturity and independence for women, when in reality love is complicated and ever changing. The “disneyfication” of The Little Mermaid perpetuates negative aspects of American cultural ideals, losing the moral integrity and lessons intended to be taught from the original fairytale.

    Read More

  • The Little Mermaid Deconstructed

    2844 Words  | 6 Pages

    The text I will be deconstructing is the Walt Disney Feature Animation film The Little Mermaid released in 1989. The film was directed by Ron Clements and produced by John Musker. The Little Mermaid (1989) is the story of a young mermaid who gives up her voice in order to become human and find her one true love Prince Eric. I find the film to be incredibly significant, not only in its portrayal of feminine roles, the human body, and the willingness to sacrifice for true love, but in the film's vast audience and popularity. I will be using the feminist framework, as described in Critical Media Studies: An Introduction by Ott and Mack (2010), to deconstruct The Little Mermaid (1989).

    Read More

  • Walt Disney Films Analysis

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    Walt Disney Films are known to be as an incredible and outstanding fantasy stories producer. It created more than a hundred of films. Majority of what has been produced rely on fictional stories. The films that were released used animation to capture children’s interest and musically performed as well. Walt Disney produced fantasy stories like The Little Mermaid 1989; Sleeping Beauty 1959; Beauty and the Beast 1991; Cinderella 1950 and more. The tales most often than not were always about the life of a princess in search of her prince charming.

    Read More

  • Fairy Tale Differences In The Tale Of Cinderella

    1643 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the years, fairytales have been distorted in order to make them more family friendly. Once these changes occur, the moral and purpose of the stories begin to disappear. The tales featured in the many Disney movies - beloved by so many - have much more malignant and meaningful origins that often served to scare children into obeying their parents or learning valuable life lessons.

    Read More

  • Ambiguous Language In The Tempest

    1624 Words  | 4 Pages

    Following this scene of dramatic beauty, making reference to the gods and creating a spectacle magnificent magical proportions, Prospero calls to Ariel and during the conversation Ariel claims to have “presented Ceres”. Ariel playing Ceres in the masque would be in character for Ariel as Ceres is referred to as “air—the Queen o’ th’ sky”. In this case Ariel would be playing a goddess, yet another roll he molds himself into in order to please Prospero. The submissive nature of Ariel is receding in his final speech, as he gives his opinion on Prospero’s feelings. The transition from unfeeling spirit to human emotion is mirrored in the transition from subservience to freedom exemplified is Ariel’s speech.

    Read More

  • The Little Mermaid Short Story Analysis

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    No matter how much we try and do everything right, some things just are not meant to be and the mermaid was not meant for the prince (Ingwersen). Love can make people go crazy and they will do anything to receive that same love and passion back from them (Cravens). In this story, the little mermaid is madly in love with the prince and she does everything and anything to gain love back from him. “Stick out your little tongue, and let me cut it off in payment, and you shall have the potion." "Let it happen," whispered the little mermaid” (Andersen).

    Read More

More about The Little Mermaid Research Paper

Open Document