#seventh daughter of triton (ariel)

[muses-of-the-memory]

Zizzi had been given a gift box before she had been sent on this mission. A little confused as she would look at it. Before she was teleported in front of a castle that looked familiar to her. She soon looked excited as she ran inside to look around. (Ariel)

Zizzi was in Prince Eric's castle. After Ursula the Sea Witch was defeated, Ariel was married to Eric. Now, there was a wall built around the castle, to keep their daughter, Melody from going to the sea since Morgana, Ursula's sister was in hiding, wanting to avenge her sister.

Now it was her 12th Birthday, and Ariel was looking for Melody. "Melody? Melody?" Ariel called out. "Oh, Carlotta, have you seen Melody?" She asked to the castle maid. "Not since this morning, Your Majesty." Carlotta said shaking her head.

"Oh hello, Zizzi." Ariel greeted.

@bluemajingirl

[friendlyheartless]

"We're right here." Elsa spoke as she, Anna and her friends from Arendelle were in the house of mouse. "And so you know, this blizzard has nothing to do with Elsa." Olaf said. "That's true." Anna nodded.

"Well, we do have Mole make a tunnel." Audrey spoke. "He could dig us out, but..." Milo Thatch said about one of his friends. "He's a bit different." Kida said to Lucas about Mole. "I could make a tunnel, but it would take me a while, without being frozen." Mole said to the group.

"Did you hear, Belle? It could us a while for us to go home." Beast said to comfort his lover, Belle. "Well, we could always build a home." One of the Three Little Pigs said, given they always make houses of hay, sticks and bricks. "Then, what can we do?" Melody asked. "I'm sure Mickey will think of something." Ariel spoke to Eric as she comforts her daughter. "Of course he will. He always does know what to do." Cryst said.

@the-world-hopper

As Asha was holding hands with Lucas, Mickey had began the show as everyone from their respective worlds had applauded throughout Christmas Eve. "Well everybody, that's our show. Thanks for spending Christmas Eve at the House of Mouse! Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe trip ho-ho-home." Mickey said giving everyone a farewell.

"What a great show." Mickey said going backstage to Minnie and Pluto. "Oh Mickey, it was just wonderful. And now we can spend our own Christmas at home." Minnie smiled. "But we can't go home!" Goofy shouted to Mickey's confusion.

"We're snowed in." Daisy stated. "Well, this is a fine predicament." Donald frowned. "It can't be that bad." Mickey said as he walks to the entrance. "Uh, Your Majesty?" I asked getting Mickey's attention as I was standing next to Sora. Mickey then takes a look along with the others. "Oh no." Mickey spoke seeing that they ARE snowed in.

[disneydarlin]

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, Ariel —Aesthetic

Ariel's Character & Personality

Ariel is the seventh princess as the youngest daughter of King Triton and Queen Athena. She's fifteen years old in the prequel. Ariel represents the Red Sea due to her hair. She enjoys music, singing and dancing. As such, Ariel enjoys all kinds of music. Her favorite instrument is the piano. Despite this, Ariel is curious, especially about human things. Thus, her favorite hobby is collecting human gadgets and gizmos. Ariel is easily distracted and will sometimes forget about her responsibilities. Thanks to this, her sisters say she's unpredictable. However, Ariel prefers to think of herself as adventurous. Her favorite food is something she found from the surface, but she doesn't know what it's called (strawberries). Ariel's favorite color is emerald green.

[creative-soul-22]

I CAME UP WITH AN IDEA!

What if baby Ariel got left behind in the sea because Triton didn't want to have a seventh daughter and Ursula found baby Ariel and took care of her? Imagine Ursula cradling baby Ariel in her arms and tentacles! 🥹🥺

#i need to write that

[fuzzychildchopshop]

Ariel, The Seventh Daughter of King Triton by Sereio666

[timeguardians]

“I’m not scared” for mermaid crutchie to ariel

An intrepid smile ventures across Ariel's parted lips as she casts her keen gaze over her friend. Charlie's expressed sentiment is treated like an invitation as her fins carry her buoyantly around the towering haul of a recently SUNK ship. "Good! I wouldn't want to think of you as a cowering guppy." She teasingly remarks.

Flounder, however, did NOT see the commentary as humorously as intended. He skitters his form about more warily. Somehow still adhering as close to Ariel's side as possible.

She KNOWS simply being here is FORBIDDEN. If her FATHER caught word of this, there would be HELL to pay. And YET, not even that is a valid deterrent to the unbridled curiosity that flows through her veins.

"Here, Charlie..." The Seventh of Triton's daughters beckons with a waving of her hand. She's discovered an entrance. It is a void, big enough to fit one form at a time. "Do you think we'll find any treasures for our collections?"

[iheartthelittlemermaid]

Happily Ever After - My Ariel Fanfic <3

Yaay!! I'm putting my fanfiction of how I wanted the Live Action Little Mermaid to end. My version has more sisterly interaction, more sweet moments between Ariel and King Triton, more Flounder, and other moments I wished they put in the film!

Here is Chapter One: After the Ocean is Calm

𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𓇼𓈒ㅤׂㅤ⭒ Ariel 𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𓇼𓈒ㅤׂㅤ⭒

The battle is over.

    The dark clouds of a wild storm spread apart to show the night sky and the stars sparkle over a calming sea.

    Down, down, down Ursula sinks into the darkest depths within the ocean.

    The sea witch is dead.

    Exhausted, Ariel sees her father's trident. Her arms in pain and fin too tired to go any further, she lets the current takes her to the sandy floor beside the trident. The golden glow keeps her eyes open, but her body cannot move after crawling to take control of the ship that pierced through her octopus aunt's heart.

    "Ariel?" comes above her. It is a voice she knows, a voice she has heard her entire life.

    "P... Perla?" Ariel whispers, widening her tired eyes to see around her in the dark ocean.

    She sees not only the pink of Perla's mermaid tail, but the orange of Mala's fin and the gold of Tamika's crown under her black hair. Caspia's salmon-pink mane and Karina's ashy gray ponytail curl join in, a contrast to the stark black of Indrina's locks.

    Six of King Triton's daughters sink close to the youngest, the seventh princess of the sea.

Perla sits and holds Ariel's head upon her lap. "Oh, our dear Ariel."

    Tamika holds her little sister's hand. "We came as soon as we could once Sebastian and Flounder told us that the sea witch had captured you and Father. With that trident, she was too powerful for us. We had to watch you fight for your prince, too."

    "A handsome prince at that," Caspia cannot help but add with a smirk.

    Her words make Ariel smile, despite the pain tingling everywhere in her body, her fin.

    "He fought for you, too," Karina says. "All my life, I have seen humans destroy our home. Never would I have thought that a human would do whatever it takes to save one of us."

    "He did it for love," Perla smiles.

    "True love," Mala adds.

    Indrina swims to the glowing trident, grasping it in her hands to yank out of the sand. With it, she swims to where they helplessly watched their father get electrocuted by eels. She stabs the trident into the floor and gold particles float from the three spears. Before their eyes, the King of the Seven Seas becomes whole once again.

    "Thank you," he tells Indrina and pulls her in for a tight embrace. Then, he goes with her to where the sisters reside.

    The Sea King grips his trident, the sight of his daughters a joy to behold. "My daughters," he says, his voice loud and deep. "We must take Ariel home. She must rest."

    "But...." Ariel says, voice straining, "Eric. I have to see him."

    Her father takes her hand gently. "Home, Ariel. That is where we must go." He gives the trident to Perla before scooping Ariel up into his arms. He carries her back to the palace, and his daughters dutifully follow.

ㅤׂㅤ𓇼𓈒ㅤׂㅤ⭒ Eric 𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𓇼𓈒ㅤׂㅤ⭒

The waves push him upon the shore. His body rolls before he goes onto his stomach to crawl to the dry sand of the beach. He coughs out the seawater from his lungs and flips onto his back to star up at the starry sky, no clouds in sight.

    His heart is wild in his chest.

    He found his true love—he found the woman who rescued him, and she did it once more by defeating a monster to save his life.

    With all the energy he could muster, he sits up on the beach.

    The rocks and the hill tell him that he has been here before—with her.

It is where she saved him and brought him back with her voice with the sun shining behind her.

Yet now, he knows who she is: a mermaid whom he loves more than words can describe or explain.

"Ariel?" He calls out to the dark. "Ariel!"

    The waves crash against the shore.

    No one calls back for him.

    Except for a bark. An excited bark from his furry friend Max with Grimsby and Queen Selina in tow.

    "Sire!" Grimsby gasps, holding tight to a lantern.

    The Queen does, too, breathing hard when she crashes into her son with a tight embrace.

    "We thought we lost you!" she cries. "We saw the storm and that dastardly witch who grew as great as the waves!"

    Eric hugs close to his mother.

    "You nearly died for this woman," says Grimsby. "This mermaid. Incredible! She had legs to see you after she saved your life."

    The Queen wipes the wetness from her son's cheeks. "Because she loves him. As Eric loves her."

    Eric looks to the ocean. "After the sea witch was defeated, I found a plank of wood to keep me steady over the water. I saw Ariel, and she saw me. She looked so tired. But, something glowing caught her attention, and she dived for it. I made my way back here, back to the shore. But she is not here."

    "So she lives?" asks Grimsby.

    "Yes," Eric whispers. "But shall we see each other again? Once the day is new?"

    "My dear son," smiles the Queen. "Love will always find a way. Despite all odds, she found a path to you. There is no doubt that she will again."

    Max barks, as if agreeing to what the Queen says.

    Eric ruffles the dog's head and takes the lantern from his mother's hand. He slides his arm around the Queen's shoulders, and the two of them follow Grimsby toward the path up the hill to the castle, with Max wagging his tail as he keeps close behind them.

𓈒𓏸🌊˖°𓇼⋆🐋🐚 𓈒𓏸

[muses-of-the-memory]

Happy 35th Anniversary, The Little Mermaid

Today is the 35th anniversary of

Disney's The Little Mermaid!

It had been 35 years since we seen this film in action in 1989. Without it, we never got to hear Ariel's beautiful voice in our lives.

[friendlyheartless]

"Actually, the world we'll be going to is a little different than the rest where we'll meet them." Cryst spoke to Lucas as the corridor of darkness showed Wreck-It Ralph's world of the Internet showing "Oh My Disney!"

"Here is where Vanellope Von Schweetz, princess of Sugar Rush to meet them all." Clayr Voiant spoke. "From Snow White to Merida from "Brave". Let's hope Asha got included." Bubbles stated. "Just remember some of them may not wanna be ridden on at the moment since they're busy." Zoey said to Lucas as she hopped into the portal.

The Fortuneteller Sisters, Penelope and Bubbles went in and got to a room where the princesses were gathered. "Hi, everybody?" Bubbles spoke nervously as they began to defend themselves.

"Whoa, hold it, ladies! The Rebels are with me!" Vanellope said to the group.

( @the-world-hopper )

"Hey girls," Lucas waved to the Fortuneteller sisters, Penelope and Zoey, while riding on Bubbles' shoulders.

The two Fortuneteller Sisters, Cryst and Clayr Voiant, along with Penelope the Parasol Beauty and Zoey the Winterhorn had heard Lucas coming from the Second District, and they saw Bubbles the Bouncywild carrying him.

"Hello Lucas." Cryst greeted. "Welcome back." Clayr Voiant smiled under her headdress veil. "It had been a while." Penelope stated. "What have you been up to?" Zoey asked.

( @the-world-hopper )

[alaykeii]

Creative non-fiction 2

Ariel (Little Mermaid) vs Elsa (Frozen)

Ariel

Ariel is the seventh child of King Triton and Queen Athena of Atlantica, an underwater realm of merfolk. She is adventurous and inquisitive, especially when it comes to human issues. She also enjoys music and singing, although she tends to lose focus of her responsibilities. She's also prone to becoming easily distracted. She was the first to become a human, and after marrying Eric, she became Melody's mother. She is Disney's fourth official Princess. Elsa, the Snow Queen, on the other hand, is the deuteragonist in Disney's animated feature film Frozen from 2

Elsa

Elsa is the firstborn daughter of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, the older sister of Queen Anna, and the former queen of Arendelle. She was born with the power of ice and snow. Elsa was convinced that her abilities were monstrous for the majority of her childhood. As a result, she cut herself off from the rest of society in order to safeguard her family and country.

They've had power since they were born. Ariel can interact with aquatic/marine species because she is a mermaid. Even in her human form, she still has this power. Elsa, on the other hand, is born with the ability to control and generate ice and snow.

However, they aren't the same, in my opinion. There is, above all, the matter of love. Naturally, everyone is familiar with Elsa's well-known quote from the film Frozen: "You can't marry a man you just met," implying that she doesn't think that love can be felt at first sight. Because she knows the value of love and that it cannot exist if a person is not fully known to you, she is sometimes referred to as "Queen" rather than just a princess.Ariel is one of the Disney princesses who, as we all know, only gets to spend a brief time with their princes.Throughout the entire movie, Ariel maintains her belief in the concept of love at first sight.

[evermore-grimoire]

The Evermore Grimoire: Princesses

Ariel is an independent, headstrong, and determined mermaid as well the seventh and youngest daughter of King Triton and Queen Athena, rulers of the undersea kingdom of Atlantica. She spends most of her time outside the palace walls singing, daydreaming, and adventuring with her best friend, Flounder the guppy fish, and sometimes Sebastian the crab, who is also the royal adviser to Ariel's father. At the age of 16, Ariel unexpectedly becomes deeply infatuated with a young and handsome human prince named Eric and sacrifices all things dear to her for the chance of being with her one true love.

artwork by Dim Draws

[disneydarlin]

1989 Disney’s the Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Mermaid Princess —Aesthetic

Mermaid Princess Ariel

This aesthetic was inspired by Ariel’s life under the sea as a mermaid princess. Although Ariel isn’t adorned in anything, which would set her apart from her subjects as a common mermaid, Ariel is still the seventh daughter of King Triton. When the mermaid traded her fin for a pair of legs, Disney thought Ariel’s mermaid color palette was more appealing than her pink gown. Due to this, the princess franchise redesigned her official human princess attire into a seafoam green gown with purple seashell jewelry.

[daringtosing]

"All about myself? Well that's not something I hear often, back home, everyone knows me!"

Though she was more than willing to oblige. Perhaps a flaw, but she trusted easily. Believed in the good of people and merpeople alike. Her father could say cruel things about humans all he wanted, she'd never believe they existed solely for the sake of hunting fish.

"Well, my formal title is--" And she put on an accented, proper voice. "Ariel Triton, Seventh Daughter of the Atlantic Ocean. Youngest Princess of Atlantica."

She couldn't hold the voice for long before laughing, along with a grin that rivaled the sun.

"But you can just call me Ariel! I don't care about the whole princess thing."

There's a moment of thought, before she leaned in, head tilting.

"Oh! I i wish I had brought something to write with! I've never used a human object for it before, they don't seem to work at all underwater. We use special, magical ink for our texts, books, and scrolls!"

►    —     ❛     Yes    !    Yes    ,    we    can    be    friends    !    ❜     He's    got    lots    of    questions    and    research    to    be done    now    !    This    is    exciting    ! After    a    few    weeks    of    nothing    groundbreaking    ── being    the    first    person    to    discover    a    real mermaid    is    exactly    the    inspiration    he's    needed    ! ►    —     ❛    My    name    is    Dexter    ...    boy    genius    ! Ariel    ,    you    must    tell    me    all    about    yourself    !     ❜ What    kinda    kid    takes    a    notebook    to    the    beach    ? Him    ,    obviously.    He's    already    got    the    pencil    in position    ──    ready    to    take    all    the    notes    !    

[hunty627]

Oh, we are the daughters of Triton

Great father who loves us and named us well:

Aquata

Andrina

Arista

Attina

Adella

Alana

And then there is the youngest in her musical debut

A seventh little sister, we're presenting her to you

To sing a song Sebastian wrote, her voice is like a bell

She's our sister Ariel!

[disneyat34]

The Little Mermaid at 34

A review by Adam D. Jaspering

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Disney Animation Studios was the weak link of the Disney empire. In 1985, Michael Eisner moved the animation department offsite. Animators were relocated five miles away to nearby Glendale, no longer operating on Disney property. The vacant Disney Animation Building was repurposed to office space.

Financially troubled and burdensome, the prestige of working for Disney was gone. Their new studio was a complex of warehouses and trailers. The filmmakers were now working in squalor. If they were to wither and die, they would do so out of sight. If they were to survive, they would have to earn it.

Sometimes, things go right. Sometimes, everything goes right, all together, at once.

The modest successes of The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company provided funds and confidence. The development of a computer graphics division prompted new frontiers in technologic development. Touchstone Pictures’ recent release, Splash, focus-tested and primed the public’s interest in mermaids. The success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit fostered a nostalgic affection for Disney animation. Circumstances could not have been better for The Little Mermaid’s release.

The Little Mermaid is based on a fairy tale by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. The film features Ariel, a teenage mermaid who falls in love with a human. Ariel's loyalty is split between her underwater life and a magical opportunity to pursue love and live as a human.

Making an entire animated movie set underwater is a daunting and intimidating task. The standard rules of animation must be discarded. Light behaves different underwater. Gravity is different underwater. Hair moves different underwater, as do plants, sand, debris, and stone. Animating underwater scenes requires learning how to draw all over again.

Everyone on staff embraced the challenge. Characters don’t behave as if they’re on dry land, nor do they move as though they’re flying. You can feel the weight and resistance of the water as they move. Underwater scenes look murky and shadowed, using soft light effects. The subaquatic world appears pleasantly alien, but never unpleasant. It contrasts perfectly with scenes set on dry land. There is no shortage of spectacle in any one scene. 

Some poor animator was tasked with drawing thousands upon thousands of bubbles. Simple transparent circles of no account. And yet, their mere existence is a garnish that elevates the final product considerably. A thankless job, but one who has not gone unnoticed.

The titular little mermaid is Ariel, the seventh and youngest daughter of the sea king, Triton. Ariel is sixteen, and harbors a secret obsession with people and the surface world. She spends her free time salvaging shipwrecks, compiling a menagerie of human artifacts. She doesn’t understand humans or their lives, but loves them with jealous passion. It consumes her to the point where it affects her daily life and relations.

The mermaid world lives in secrecy, a form of self-imposed isolationism. Contact, interference, and involvement with humanity is forbidden. Ariel violating this rule as princess of the kingdom is especially egregious. Triton spends the movie growing increasingly furious at his daughter’s transgressions. Regardless, Ariel’s infatuation grows only stronger.

A major theme of the movie is the conflict between generations. Triton, being the parent, believes in obedience, tradition, and wisdom. Ariel, being the child, believes in freedom, exploration, and experiences. 

The purpose of this conflict in storytelling is, there’s no real right or wrong stance. Both the wizened adult and the uncorrupted child are supposed to make equally credible cases. They each have information available only to them from their own perspectives.

For example, Triton’s insistence on isolationism is based on ritual and fear. Whatever caused the mermaid populace to go into hiding is forgotten. The inciting factor is either ancient history or a fabricated myth. Triton was told one day to remain hidden from sight, and has since accepted it as truth. He's been conditioned to be xenophobically bigoted. When Ariel questions him on this, he has no answer. Rather than seeking truth or turning introspective, he gets offended. He’s upset he could possibly be propagating a lie he doesn’t even believe. 

Humans have no malice towards his kingdom. Humans don’t even believe in mermaids. Their knowledge of mermaids exists only in storied myth. The cause for isolationism is unfounded and unnecessary. Ariel is the only mermaid in generations to notice this. If Triton would trust his uncorrupted daughter, Ariel could easily be the human-merfolk ambassador so badly needed.

Meanwhile, Ariel’s level of infatuation is based only on a surface-level examination. She has no idea what humans actually are, only her own conjecture. She lusts after a prince she’s only seen from a distance the same way any teenage girl lusts after celebrities in magazines. The difference being, most teenage girls’ crushes are the same species as the teenage girl. 

If not her father, Ariel should be consulting somebody about her feelings. One can’t make life-changing decisions alone, inexperienced, based on a singular source of information. Ariel knows next to nothing about humanity, and what she does know, she’s been misinformed of. Her passion is nothing but her own invented narrative. Dedicating one's life towards an ideal one wishes to be true is an incredibly foolhardy gamble. Luckily, everything works out in Ariel's favor because of plot convenience.

From an observer’s standpoint, both Triton and Ariel both make good points, and both are blind in specific areas. They should be on equal grounds. However, The Little Mermaid is a princess movie, so the movie leans heavily in Ariel’s favor. She’s painted as a tragic figure and Triton as wrong.

Miscommunication is gumming up the works. The father-daughter pairing can’t continue on. Something absolutely has to change. But Triton, being older, more powerful, and magically inclined, ends the conversation premature. In a fiery demonstration of tough love, he annihilates Ariel’s treasure trove. He believes it will curb his daughter’s fantasies. Instead, it backfires. It demonstrates his instability and ignorance. Ariel is now convinced she must get away at any cost.

Ariel's obsessive nature is painted as admirable and sympathetic instead of destructive. She's so desperate to be part of the human world, she abandons her home and family. She rebels based on prolonged miscommunication and spite. She'll sacrifice anything just to feel wanted and accepted and understood. That's not a romantic fairy tale. That’s how people get abducted into cults.

The movie is unwaveringly sympathetic to Ariel’s wants and expectations. It paints obsession and infatuation as legitimate forms of love. Triton is turned into a secondary villain by daring to oppose her. The way Disney presents the story, Ariel has done nothing wrong and some mean adult is standing in her way.

Ariel could have demonstrated the innocence of humans. Ariel could have found and exposed the root cause of her father’s prejudice. Ariel could have gotten an intermediary to fix the communication breakdown between her and her father. Ariel has six sisters sitting around with literally nothing else to do. Any one of them could have helped. They contribute nothing else to the story.

Triton assigns someone in his court to “advise” Ariel. In actuality, they’re chaperoning her, deftly nudging her from her interest in humans. He chooses Sebastian the crab for the duty. Sebastian is the royal orchestra conductor. He's chosen mostly because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sebastian is an overworked, unappreciated figure in Triton’s court. He wants nothing more to compose music, but is now subjected to being a glorified babysitter. Ariel doesn’t see him as an authority figure, and he can’t do much beyond offer advice that falls on deaf ears.

Unable to influence Ariel, Sebastian follows the wayward girl in the hopes she doesn’t get into too much trouble. Being a tiny crab in both a mermaid and a human-sized world leads to a number of problems. It’s hilarious schadenfreude as his tiny crustacean body is subjected to physical calamities. Thankfully, Sebastian does retain some dignity leading two of the best musical numbers of the film.

Ariel’s only source of knowledge of the surface world is a scatterbrained seagull named Scuttle. His mind clearly baked by the sun, Scuttle embodies the term “Birdbrain.” Scuttle acts as Ariel’s go-to expert for her scavenged artifacts. He makes up both names and uses for common objects. A fork is called a “Dinglehopper” and conflated for a comb. A tobacco pipe is called a “Snarfblat” and mistaken for a musical instrument.

Ariel’s best friend is Flounder, a fish of confusing origin. He shirks at danger, shies away from threats, but is somehow very fond of Ariel. What these two could possibly have in common is unknown and undemonstrated.

Flounder’s voice is childish and stuffy. He second-guesses Ariel’s decisions. He tries to be a voice of reason, but more often comes across as cowardly and dull. He is very close to being an annoying character, but never quite crosses the line. That said, his saving grace is likely because he disappears for large stretches of the movie.

Ariel has very odd taste in friends. Maybe her obsession with humans and humanity has made her an outcast. She doesn't fit in with the rest of mermaid-kind. Maybe she’s forced to accept the loyalty and companionship of other outcasts and weirdos.

Here's another likely theory. Ariel becomes human at the halfway point. Her first task is covering up her naked body (this scene's intricate framing and editing is perfect. The animators knew exactly what they were doing.) With the help of her friends, Ariel fashions a makeshift toga from some discarded rigging and a canvas sail. Not just a garment to cover herself, Ariel seems outright proud of the goofy dress. It’s at this point all the pieces fit into place. Ariel’s friends with a bunch of idiots because Ariel is herself a giant bubbleheaded ditz.

Ariel is the end result of a group of adults designing a teenager in the valley girl era. Either deliberately or subconsciously, Ariel embodies many shallow traits of a 16 year-old girl in 1989. She’s obstinate, boy-crazy, doesn't think things through, and is obsessed with her physical appearance. It's amazing Prince Eric wasn't named Prince Corey.

This is made even more apparent as Ariel ambles around the human world. A series of comical misunderstandings is expected. Ariel is exploring a new world and new experiences. She's guaranteed to see and experience things never seen before. After all, she is literally a fish out of water.

But the way Ariel carries herself, she doesn’t seem concerned with blending in or learning about humanity. She acts like a magpie who found something shiny. She jumps in headfirst, embarrassing herself in her excitement. She's so deliriously happy, she doesn't care if she appears childish or flighty.

Ariel’s transformation from fish-person to person-person is the result of Ursula the Sea Witch. An octopus-person with a penchant for transformation magic, Ursula was scorned by Triton and the kingdom for... some reason. Ursula was apparently on good terms with the king once, even living in the palace. Then she was banished. It’s not revealed why. It’s an amazing feat of writing to both overexplain and underexplain at the same time.

Ursula lives reclusively, on the outskirts of the kingdom. She petulantly seeks revenge on the empire one citizen at a time. She offers magical bargains to the desperately vain and envious. She can transmute their body into anything they desire.

In true Faustian nature, the fleeting moments of glory are undercut by the contract’s fine print. Ursula's fee for these transformations is steep. So steep, no one can afford to pay. In turn, Ursula curses her reneging customers, leaving them withered and decrepit on the floor of her lair. It’s a fate worse than death, and Ursula is fully aware of that.

What does Ursula want with these doomed individuals? Does she find their shriveled remains aesthetically pleasing? Does she sadistically enjoy seeing the damned wallowing in agony? Or is she forced to keep them where no one else will find them? One imagines it hard to find new customers when there's abundant evidence of the hazards.

The manipulation and double-talk on display is truly staggering in its corruption. Ursula never forces Ariel to do anything. She doesn’t blackmail, trick, or deceive her in any way. She lays out her evil scheme, plain as day. She convinces the poor girl that the rewards far compensate for the associated risks. It’s the same type of lawfully evil predatory practices used by loan sharks and pyramid schemes.

Ursula is unique in that she has no real qualms with Ariel (at least no more than any other mermaid). Her grudge is with Triton. Ursula exploits the growing, unrepairable rift between father and daughter to get revenge on the king.

Ursula becomes heavily invested in the affairs of Ariel and her prince. She sets up arbitrary boundaries Ariel must cross to fulfill her contract. Ariel must kiss Eric within three days, and she must do so without speaking. Ursula takes Ariel’s voice partially as collateral, partially as a back-up plan.

When Ariel nearly overcomes these obstacles, Ursula interferes even further. She brainwashes Prince Eric, disguises herself as a beautiful woman, and uses Ariel's stolen voice as a final insult. Ursula exploits the contract to her advantage.

It’s a valuable lesson: just because someone offers a contract, it’s not a guaranteed form of legitimacy. The corrupt will always enforce contracts when it helps them, but promptly violate them once they’re inconvenient.

Many individual facets made The Little Mermaid an unmitigated success. The single element that deserves the most credit is the soundtrack. The Little Mermaid’s score and songs were written by two men, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

Howard Ashman had a career in musical theater before turning to film. His greatest accomplishment was the 1982 off-Broadway musical adaptation of the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors. 

After his next stage musical was a discouraging flop, Ashman turned to film. Disney hired him to write lyrics for the opening number of Oliver & Company. For his efforts, Ashman was given full reign on The Little Mermaid.

Ashman brought on his writing partner, Alan Menken. The pair operated beautifully, far exceeding original expectations. The duo contributed a lush score that emboldens the mystic sights of an underwater landscape. The songs are powerful, dynamic, and influence the story itself. Other Disney films had music, but this was Disney Animation's first true musical.

Music became so integral to The Little Mermaid, Ashman and Menken were practically directing the film. Story elements and scenes were changed to fit their music instead of the other way around. For example, Ashman was inspired by the oceanic setting to create a calypso-influenced number. In order for this song, “Under the Sea,” to make sense, he needed a Caribbean sounding character to provide vocals. Ashman convinced the production team to redesign Sebastian so that he’d be Jamaican.

“Under the Sea” later won the Academy Award for Best Original Song; one of three songs from The Little Mermaid nominated for the award.

The soundtrack of The Little Mermaid is nothing short of remarkable. Seven songs were written for the film, all of them varying in style, mood, and purpose. Menken and Ashman’s background in musical theater is apparent throughout. The music is bombastic, passionate, demonstrates character and drives the story. Each song works in context, but also stands independently when separated from the film.

The animation is astounding in its scale and and execution. Backgrounds are deep and engaging. Color and effects are vibrant and electrifying. The characters move with natural grace and rhythm. It’s an astounding demonstration of quality and effort.

At times, the animation is almost too good to the film’s detriment. Characters are drawn so well, they sometimes clash with their cartoon environments. Other times, the silly looking fish contrast with the realistic backdrops. Flounder’s bulbous body and bright stripes stick out like a sore thumb. He looks like he belongs in a different movie. 

Ariel is stylized so much, her face is inconsistent. Sometimes she looks like a teenager, other times an overgrown child. Sometimes her eyes look glassy and her stare vacant. Sometimes her smile is too big. Sometimes her eyes are too small. Sometimes she emotes and smiles in an uncanny valley way.  She moves too much like a human for a cartoon, but she’s still too cartoony to ever be realistic. Not to mention, it’s anybody’s guess where her hair begins and her forehead stops.

The Little Mermaid is a fascinating display of what can happen when the right people are in the right place at the right time. Through passion, talent, and good timing, The Little Mermaid saved Disney Animation Studios. Talented filmmakers made a film whose impact changed animation for a full decade. It's a visual and auditory delight which jump-started the Disney Renaissance. Unfortunately, it also features a story with questionable morals and motivations. Maybe it wasn’t by mistake The Little Mermaid insists surface-level attraction is a virtue.

Fantasia Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cinderella Alice in Wonderland Sleeping Beauty The Little Mermaid The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Pinocchio The Jungle Book Robin Hood The Sword in the Stone Bambi The Great Mouse Detective 101 Dalmatians The Three Caballeros Lady and the Tramp The Fox and the Hound Peter Pan Dumbo The Black Cauldron Melody Time Oliver & Company The Rescuers Saludos Amigos The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad The Aristocats Fun and Fancy Free Make Mine Music

[spcllbovnd]

{ madelaine petsch, cis woman, she/her } have you heard that ariel from disney appeared in town? i know, i can’t believe it either. she is twenty-four years old and are an archivist. i’ve heard that she has a tendency to be compassionate & curious and rebellious & headstrong, and they have some of their old memories.

BASICS

name: ariel

age: twenty-four

height: 5′6″ ( as a human )

hair color: bright red

eye color: aqua blue

birthplace: atlantica

species: mermaid

gender: cis woman

orientation: heterosexual

occupation: archivist

BACKGROUND

ariel is the seventh and youngest daughter of king triton and queen athena, rulers of the undersea kingdom of atlantica. she had always had a burning obsession with the human world and collected objects from that world for her secret grotto.

one day she spotted a ship and fell immediately in love with the handsome prince onboard, eric. when their ship sank during a terrible storm, ariel saved eric. desperate to be part of his world, she made a deal with the sea witch, ursula  — she gave away her voice in return for a pair of legs...

IVYWOOD

ariel’s canon is taken directly after she makes the deal with ursula. currently she is unable to speak, but uses text to speech or writing on paper to communicate with others. she is determined to earn eric’s love so she can remain a human forever. due to her talent for collecting things for her grotto and her fascination with human objects, ariel works as an archivist for a small local museum.