[Image Copyright Disney]
As
time goes on, it’s becoming more and more socially acceptable to dislike
Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Good thing, too, because as much as I hate arguing
with people, I have to say it: I don’t like The Little Mermaid.
Oh, I don’t wish to deny its landmark
status. The film did a lot to make Disney animated films popular again after
two decades of features that, while not necessarily terrible in and of
themselves, nevertheless failed to capture the same level of love among
audiences and critics that many of the animated films produced during Walt
Disney’s lifetime had garnered. It’s not hard to see why. For one thing, it
harkened back to Disney’s earlier roots in that it was an adaptation, however
“Disneyfied”, of a fairy tale, the way Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was. For
another thing, the animation was a notable improvement over the limited, less
than fluid visuals that Disney had been releasing since the end of the 1960s.
It had much catchier songs than its recent predecessors from the studio. And on
top of all that, it played right into the emerging “you go, girl!” sentiments
of the time that flourished during the 1990s, and that still exist today.
Disney, it seemed, had reinvented itself. And audiences loved it.
The question of whether any of Disney’s
animated films from the 1970s and 1980s are worth a second look is a debate
best covered elsewhere. For now, suffice it to say that The Little Mermaid was
definitely a turning point for Disney.
I said that I disliked it. Well, that’s
not entirely true. The animation, while it has definitely been surpassed since
the film’s release in 1989 [in fact, I’d argue that it was already being
surpassed as of the next Disney release in 1990], still holds up pretty well;
it’s much, much more fluid and less limited than the animation in a film like
The Rescuers. Artistically, it strikes me as a blend of previous Disney
animated styles and elements of what was to come from the studio during the
1990s. The songs, while not always my thing, are lavishly arranged, and are
indeed quite catchy. I’ll willingly admit a fondness for “Under the Sea” and,
to a lesser extent, “Poor Unfortunate Souls”.
But alas! Where the film falls flat for me
is in the categories that I care the most about: story and character. And what
a fall it is. It’s not just a matter of the film not interesting me- I actually
dislike the storyline. All the criticisms of Ariel being a self-centered,
unsympathetic protagonist who’s a bad-role model for young girls are every bit
as true as you’ve heard. She wants a man she’s only glimpsed a few times
briefly, and she wants him now! [Any objections about her being curious about
humans in general are non-sequiturs, in that the film makes Prince Eric the
near-total focus of this curiosity.] She strikes a bargain with a thoroughly
disreputable individual to get what she wants. And just when the film teases
you into thinking that she’s going to learn her lesson, it pulls back, and
gives her exactly what she wants. The End.
There were so many nuances Disney could
have inserted into this plot- I mean, if they were going to fundamentally alter
the original story by [among many other things] letting the titular mermaid
live, why not go all out and add nuance to the “true love” theme that the
film’s plot hinges on? Why not give the overbearing father figure more nuance
by exploring his motivations, and by letting Ariel learn that, however
overprotective he is, he actually means well, or -*gasp*- has an
understandable, if somewhat unnuanced, line of thought behind his attitude and
actions? [And don’t try to tell me the last scene between them was her having
learned to accept her father. She only accepts him -only says she loves him-
after he gives her exactly what she wants.] But no, they had to play all the
tropes so painfully straight. And the end result is a terrible role-model,
who’s held up by the film as a person we’re supposed to root for.
I’m sorry, but no thanks. For all his
faults, my sympathies lie with King Triton- who, incidentally, has the closest
thing to a complete character arc of anyone in this film. King Triton changes
over the course of the film. Ariel doesn’t. King Triton learns something. Ariel
doesn’t.
Say, why couldn’t this movie have been
about King Triton? His daughter is annoying, and her love interest, Prince
Eric, is a total snorefest owing to a lack of personality on his part. King Triton
would make for a much more interesting protagonist.
In a movie where the character we’re
supposed to root for is so fundamentally unlikeable, I have to latch onto what
I can to keep myself engaged. And for what it’s worth, I do like some of the supporting
roles. Sebastian the crab and Scuttles the seagull have their charms. Ursula
the sea-witch is far from my favorite Disney antagonist, but her voice actress
is clearly having a good time hamming it up- and it’s very hard for me to
resist enjoying hammy villainy. As for
Flounder, his voice grates a little, but he doesn’t bother me overmuch.
In the end, however, it’s the animation
and parts of the score that are the main attraction for me. And when the
storyline, the protagonist, and the message irk me so much, that’s not enough.
I’ll never deny The Little Mermaid’s place in movie history. I’ll concede that
is quite competently structured, animated, voiced, and scored, despite its lack
of nuance in the story and character department. But in the end, I just don’t
like it.
Actual Quality: 5.5/12
Personal Enjoyment: 2/12
