The Little Mermaid Film Response

I truly wish I could’ve made another live blog response for Disney’s The Little Mermaid like I did for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, I just flat out forgot to live record my view experience. Despite my forgetfulness, I’m excited by the fact that I’ve had time to brood over and analyze the overt as well as clandestine messages hidden within The Little Mermaid. Before I get to the spicy stuff, I just wanted to put it out there that animation-wise, I was somewhat shocked by how minimally the animation changed between Snow White and The Little Mermaid. Don’t get me wrong, the animation style in The Little Mermaid isn’t poorly done or bad in the least, it’s just that I was surprised by how on par the animation of the two films were. Even the animation in water in The Little Mermaid holds very little over the water effects in Snow White, which I’m now starting to realize must have been truly revolutionary for the time period in which the movie was released, but I digress.

It's good, but not that much better than Snow White

Overall, The Little Mermaid is a drastically huge improvement over Snow White and the Seven Dwarves for several different reasons, the main reason being it’s focus on plot. Although Snow White dazzles viewers with its technologically advanced animation effects, I think it’s fair to say that the story is about is one-dimensional and predictable as it gets. The Little Mermaid, on the other hand, is noticeably more layered, starting with the protagonist, Ariel. Unlike Snow White, who is both weak-willed and uninspiring, Ariel is far more complex with a vast array of emotions and motivations that drive the story in various directions. While many make valid criticisms of Ariel’s assumption of many gender role stereotypes, I think that the film still does a good job of using Ariel as a portrayal of the feminine ability to rebel from a patriarchal figure, such as Triton. Also, I think that Eric is a vastly better prince than the creepster from Snow White. While he also has his flaws and superficial tendencies, I think that Eric is also an underhandedly multifaceted character that experiences an internal struggle between doing what people expect from him as a prince and what pursuing what he personally desires. Finally, I have to touch on Ursula. Although in my opinion Ursula is a slightly more annoying villain than the Wicked Queen in Snow White, I do think that Ursula is a more effective villain, due to her dastardly plan of using Ariel as a means to take power away from Triton. The Wicken Queen is motivated by largely superficial reasons, whereas Ursula is driven by her dogged chase for power. While she is undoubtedly flawed, I personally find a complex villain vastly more effective. Take the Joker for example, he has so many layers that he might as well be an onion (gotta love the Shrek references).

While The Little Mermaid certainly has its imperfections, it is undeniably entertaining and asserts itself as a huge improvement for the evolution of Disney films in terms of plot and character development.