The Little Mermaid

Based loosely on a fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the Little Mermaid tells the tale of a young mermaid, Ariel, the youngest of King Triton’s seven daughters.


Ariel is a wistful daydreamer, enchanted by the mysteries of the surface world above and dissatisfied with her life under the sea. Curious and inquisitive, Ariel spends her days singing and exploring her fathers kingdom, collecting a menagerie of utensils and strange objects that have drifted down from above with the help of her close friends, a young fish named “Flounder”, and a hair-brained seagull named “Scuttle”. Charged with the frustrating task of watching over King Triton’s youngest daughter is the crab “Sebastian”, who simply can’t imagine why this little mermaid would be the slightest bit interested in the world above, when life is so much better under the sea.

On one of her excursions, the young Ariel swims to the surface to get a closer look at a passing ship, and falls in love with the handsome but very human Prince Eric, who is lamenting the fact that he has not yet found the woman of his dreams. The crew is celebrating the young prince’s birthday as a sudden storm arises, cutting the festivities short and and tearing the ship apart, hurling the young aristocrat into the water. Eric quickly climbs aboard the sinking vessel to rescue his loyal sheepdog, Max, and is blown into the water when a burning keg of gunpowder explodes. Ariel dives in and rescues him, resting his unconscious body on the sandy beach and leaving him in the care of his loyal sheepdog, vowing that someday, somehow, she will be part of his world.

The lovesick Ariel returns home, and upon hearing that his daughter had been on the surface, even rescuing a human from certain death, the furious King Triton forbids his daughter to have anything more to do with those “barbaric fish-eaters”. He wields his magic trident and destroys her collection of treasures, including a statue of Eric himself that had drifted down during the shipwreck. Alone and crying amongst her destroyed treasures, Ariel is approached by two eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, who encourage her to visit Ursula, the Sea-Witch. She reluctantly agrees, and sets off with her friend Flounder in tow and Sebastian doing his best to keep-up. She meets Ursula, the multi-tentacled Sea-Witch, and before Sebastian can stop her, Ariel impulsively agrees to strike a “bargain” of a deal with the sorceress, agreeing to trade her voice for a pair of legs and the chance to win the love of Prince Eric. Ariel is given three days to receive “the kiss of true love” from the handsome prince, otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid and forever belong to Ursula, joining the throngs of other poor, unfortunate souls that had made their own arrangements with the parasitic sea-hag and now tremble on the sea-floor like a pale garden of sickly weeds.

Sebastian and Flounder watch, helpless and unable to intervene in the transaction due to the efforts of Ursula’s sycophantic minions, the eels Flotsam and Jetsam. Immediately upon signing Ursula’s contract, Ariel’s voice is snatched away and kept in a small shell. The little mermaid is transformed into a mute human girl, struggling for air and kicking her way to the surface with the help of Sebastian and Flounder.

Ariel must quickly learn to navigate the strange waters of the surface world she so desperately wishes to join. She manages to pull herself onto shore, and with the help of her friends Sebastian and Scuttle, crafts a make-shift dress out of rope and a section of torn sail. Ariel is soon discovered by Eric, who is walking his dog Max down the beach. Eric had been consumed with the vague memory of the woman with the beautiful singing voice that he believed had saved him from the shipwreck, hoping desperately to find her. He thinks that this young woman might possibly be the girl he had been searching for, but his hopes are dashed when he sees that the beautiful girl is mute. Nevertheless, he brings her to the palace, where the staff believes that Ariel is the sole survivor of a shipwreck.


The servants get to work, bathing and dressing the young woman. Ariel dines with Prince Eric and his loyal and unflinchingly proper attendant, Grimsby, with Sebastian narrowly avoiding being served for dinner by the palace’s maniacal Chef Louie. The next day, Eric takes Ariel on a tour of the kingdom, ending the day with a romantic boat ride. they almost kiss, but their rowboat is overturned by the ever-vigilant Flotsam and Jetsam.

Sensing that she must stack the odds in her favor, Ursula transforms herself into a gorgeous young woman named “Vanessa”. She appears mysteriously on the beach that evening, singing a beautiful melody with Ariel’s confiscated voice which she kept in a nautilus shell around her neck. Eric is mesmerized and enchanted by her beautiful voice, making him forget all about the silent Ariel.

The next morning, Ariel learns from Scuttle that a royal wedding is being planned. The excited Ariel runs downstairs, shocked when she overhears that the wedding is for Prince Eric and Vanessa, who are to be married that evening aboard Eric’s ship. Ariel is left behind, crying as the wedding ship departs. She is soon informed by Scuttle that Vanessa is really Ursula in disguise, and chases after the wedding ship with Flounder while Sebastian goes to warn King Triton. Scuttle returns to the ship to create as much havoc as he can to buy Ariel some time. In the chaos, the shell containing Ariel’s voice is shattered, returning Ariel’s voice to the mute girl as she climbs aboard the ship and breaking Ursula’s spell over Eric. Having regained his senses, Eric understands that Ariel is indeed the woman who saved him from the shipwreck, and as the sun is setting, rushes to kiss the girl. However, It’s too late. The sun has set, transforming Ariel back into a mermaid. Vanessa transforms back into the disgusting Sea-Witch, and immediately grabs the mermaid, cackling and escaping back to her undersea lair.

Ursula’s retreat is thwarted when King Triton corners her with his magic trident, but even he is unable to undo the contract signed willingly by his daughter. Realizing that he has no other choice, Triton decides to trade his life for Ariel’s, signing his own contract with Ursula and immediately shriveling down and taking his place among Ursula’s garden of poor, unfortunate souls. Ursula is now Queen, and with her confiscated trident, Ursula attempts to destroy Eric, who, in an effort to rescue Ariel and her father, attacks her with a harpoon. Ariel quickly intervenes, pulling the hag’s hair and knocking the witch off-target, causing her to inadvertently destroy Flotsam and Jetsam in a blinding flash.

In her fury, Ursula grows huge, rising from the sea and wielding the King’s enchanted trident, she summons a terrible storm and creates a gigantic whirlpool, funneling everything into it. Eric frantically climbs aboard a shipwreck stirred-up by Ursula’s tantrum, and pilots it’s splintered bowsprit into her belly just as she is about to destroy Ariel once and for all, Killing the Ursula as she sinks into the ocean.

Ursula is gone, and the souls in her garden transform back into the merpeople they once were. Grateful to Eric for rescuing himself and his daughter and seeing how much they love each other, Triton aims his magic trident and turns Ariel back into a human. She runs to shore, where she and Eric finally kiss. The next day, the couple are married in a beautiful ceremony aboard Prince Eric’s ship.

Largely considered to be the film that Heralded the “Disney Renaissance”, the Little Mermaid was the first box-office smash for the studio in years. It had seemed that the company had lost it’s relevance, and after several luke-warm offerings by Disney in previous years, the studio decided to return to its roots and produce fairy tale-based films. The unforgettable songs and excellent voice characterizations dazzled audiences, making this film an instant classic.