The Little But Alluring Mermaid
It is far too common to watch suppressed female characters in film. Disney’s The Little Mermaid tells the beloved story of a mermaid, Princess Ariel, and her quest for love with a handsome, human prince. Released in 1989, the musical enchants audiences with its retelling of the original story written by Hans Christian Anderson. The film version lacks Anderson’s violence but keeps the intriguing storyline of the beautiful mermaid longing to be human. Although The Little Mermaid is child friendly with its bright cartoons and charming songs, its lessons are not something that young girls should internalize. Princess Ariel wins over Prince Eric’s heart by adapting to his lifestyle and not staying a word.
Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid is a story about the youngest of six beautiful mermaid sisters who live in the deepest part of the ocean. The mermaids long to travel to the water’s edge and each get their opportunity on their 15th birthday. The older sisters get their chance and when the youngest finally gets hers, she falls in love with a handsome prince. She saves him from drowning and from that point on, she becomes obsessed. The little mermaid even states that the prince is, “the one I love more than my father or my mother, the one who is always in my thoughts and in whose hands I would gladly place my happiness” (Anderson). This heartfelt yet chilling remark emphasizes the depletion the princess feels without her prince. In desperation, the mermaid makes a deal with the Sea Witch. She will trade her lovely voice for a pair of legs but the Sea Witch mentions that “every step you take will make you feel as if you were treading on a sharp knife, enough to make you bleed” (Anderson). The mermaid accepts these terms all for the man she has yet to meet. In the end, the prince marries another woman and the mermaid becomes one of the air. The mermaid did not even get her prince despite the many things she sacrificed to be with him, including her voice, her family, her general health, and her life.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid is a much more charming tale. It also tells the story of a youngest daughter dreaming of becoming a human. She too makes a deal with the Sea Witch and just likes Anderson’s story, trades her voice for a pair of legs. When questioning how she will get the prince to fall in love with her without being able to speak to him, the Sea Witch replies with her song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” stating that, “you’ll have your looks, your pretty face and don’t underestimate the importance of body language.” This simple but questionable remark is held true throughout the entire movie. It is almost as if directors Ron Clements and John Musker intended to make Princess Ariel a subject of sexualization.
Ariel is described as the epitome of beauty. Her character has long, glistening hair and her wardrobe is no more than a few shells. Her body is the focal point of the film as this cartoon mermaid continuously twirls around showing her unrealistic figure. As an idol for young girls, they are taught that in order to be considered beautiful, they must obtain a body as perfect as Princess Ariel’s but it seems biologically impossible (not only because she has a tail). Furthermore, the strategic use of the color red is difficult to not pay attention to. Red is often aligned with love, lust, and sexualization. By giving the cartoon, strikingly red hair, she is further seen as a figure of objectification. Princess Ariel continues to be depicted in this way when she washed up on the beach completely naked. Her shell bra remains intact but in this scene, Ariel walks around frantically exposing the rest of her body. Now is this something we expect to see in a children’s movie? Why is Ariel basically naked? There seems to be no reasonable explanation for depicting Ariel in this way except alluding to the female body as being an object. The way Ariel is portrayed throughout the film is the gaze of two male directors. The film seems to imply that the female body is something to be exploited. Lastly, the prince falls in love with Ariel completely based on her looks. With the Sea Witch’s spell to take her voice, Ariel does not speak to the prince on their three days of knowing each other. Lastly, Ariel adapted her entire lifestyle for Prince Eric. She becomes a human for him. She loses her voice for him. Is is impossible for Prince Eric to love Ariel as a mermaid? It is the female character that needed to suppress herself in order to fit into a man’s standards. The movie preaches that beauty is the most important part of a girl and sacrifices must be made to marry a prince.
With these points in mind, it is clear that Ariel is sexualized throughout the entire film. She is targeted as an object of desire and her beauty is emphasized as the most important aspect of herself. Furthermore, the female body depicted as an object seems to be a pattern. She is not once acknowledged for her intellect but instead is constantly given compliments about her appearance. Her face and body is what was accentuated throughout the film. This repetition further highlights the idea that beauty is essential and female characters tend to be hyper sexualized in film.
