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The Little Mermaid Live Action Novelization
Dive into Ariel's enchanting story in this official novelization of Walt Disney Studios' live action reimagining of The Little Mermaid, coming to theaters.
Ariel is a curious mermaid who has always wanted to explore the human world! After saving a prince named Eric from a dangerous shipwreck, Ariel makes a deal with the Sea Witch, Ursula, so she can meet him and learn more about what life is like beyond her ocean home.
But Ursula is full of tricks, and it will take all of Ariel’s courage to save the human world and the ocean from the Sea Witch’s devious plans.
This fresh take on a classic story will enchant a new generation of Disney fans, immersing them in Ariel's undersea world.
Ariel is a curious mermaid who has always wanted to explore the human world! After saving a prince named Eric from a dangerous shipwreck, Ariel makes a deal with the Sea Witch, Ursula, so she can meet him and learn more about what life is like beyond her ocean home.
But Ursula is full of tricks, and it will take all of Ariel’s courage to save the human world and the ocean from the Sea Witch’s devious plans.
This fresh take on a classic story will enchant a new generation of Disney fans, immersing them in Ariel's undersea world.
256 pages, Paperback
Published April 11, 2023
26 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
April 22, 2023
this adaptation is going to be up there with cinderella (2015) TRUST
May 29, 2023
It's the novelization of the movie and I thought Faith Noelle did a great job retelling the movie while also having to add in extra details about their internal thoughts during scenes.
July 15, 2023
This isn't anything special; it's just exactly what it says it is. There were a few extra scenes that rounded out the plot a bit (and would have made the film too chunky) so I did like those. But I do love getting into the heads of characters and this movie was just too darn cute I couldn't wait for it to come out on digital before revisiting the story. I personally hold no particular fondness for the animation so the storyline changes didn't bother me, and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as... modern as I had expected. Plus the "Kiss the Girl" scene was so precious... I will definitely be watching again once it's released. :)
May 7, 2023
No me pude esperar al live action y ya me hice spoiler de toda la película JSJSJAJA
Obviamente al ser un libro adaptado no tiene la mejor calidad literaria, por eso le doy 3 estrellas. Sin embargo, como fan del clásico he de reconocer que esta vez hicieron una historia más profunda y con más matices al mismo tiempo que se conserva la historia original y eso es justo lo que pido 10/10, muero por ver la película
Obviamente al ser un libro adaptado no tiene la mejor calidad literaria, por eso le doy 3 estrellas. Sin embargo, como fan del clásico he de reconocer que esta vez hicieron una historia más profunda y con más matices al mismo tiempo que se conserva la historia original y eso es justo lo que pido 10/10, muero por ver la película
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June 22, 2023Вече бях писал за филма в коментар към ревюто ми за книгата „Да убиеш кралство“, но реших да го пусна и като самостоятелно и малко по-разширено ревю към новелизацията на Live Action версията на филма.
/Основно впечатленията ми тук са свързани с филма и ревюто ми се базира на него, тази книга също, така че двете в случая се припокриват./
Въпреки целият съпътстващ го хейт, филмът не е чак такова голямо разочарование, каквото се очакваше, поне за мен. Не ми стана абсолютен фаворит, но пък не го намирам и за категоричен epic fail. Има какво да се желае, но на 65% го одобрявам. Този път започва с цитат от класическата приказка на Андерсен, което си беше изненада.
Това е цитатът:
„Искаше ѝ се да плаче, но русалките не знаят що е сълзи и затова страдат повече.“
Част от историята пресъздава сюжета от познатия анимационен филм, но има добавени и значителни нововъведения. На първо място има вкарано голямо количество расово разнообразие, което не е ограничено само до сестрите на Ариел (и вече започнаха да валят критики към филма по това направление), лично аз точно това не го намирам за проблем, но вероятно за зрителите, които държат на… повече „традиции“, ще го отчетат като сериозен проблем.
Филмът се опитва да разшири и надгради историята от анимацията. Не го прави на 100% успешно обаче. Сега е отделено доста повече време на образа на Ерик – а образът му тук съвпада на 95% с образа на принца от вече споменатата книга „Да убиеш кралство“– и там също има принц, който се бунтува срещу статута си и отговорностите си, вместо това иска да кръстосва моретата и океаните. Докато го гледах в киното, все се сещах за същата книга и ми изглеждаше, че този път Дисни са почерпили сериозно вдъхновение от нея. Та точно това нововъведение не ме впечатли. Колкото до образа на животните, ами най-меко казано голяма част от тях ми изглеждат непривлекателно – можели са да се постараят повече.
За най-добро превъплъщение намирам това на Мелиса Маккарти, просто е разкошна като Урсула. Песните, освен познатите отпреди, са добавили и няколко нови, които не ми се понравиха съвсем, старите звучат по-добре.
Един от моментите във филма, който очаквах да видя с нетърпение беше как ще са пресъздадени сцените около „Kiss The Girl“ – защото в анимацията бяха едни от най-добрите. И съвсем не съм разочарован от видяното – в киното на 3D изглеждаше върховно – даже това ми е най-любимият момент в новия филм – а пък само как светулките се завъртяха около двамата 🥰.
/Вече песента я има налична с видео в YT и може да се види – е, да, не е 3D, не е дори и 4К, съвсем обикновено HD е – така че част от магията е позагубена, но все пак и така изглежда красиво.
🎶 Kiss the Girl (From "The Little Mermaid")/
Ариел е малко по-борбена и отстояваща се в новата версия. Филмът отново завършва с happy end, но не е точно такъв като в анимацията от 1989 – по-различен е. Но няма да издавам повече детайли от сюжета… 😊
🔗 Сходни ревюта:
Cruella Live Action Novelization
Raya and the Last Dragon: The Deluxe Junior Novelization
Disney/Pixar Luca: The Deluxe Junior Novelization
/Основно впечатленията ми тук са свързани с филма и ревюто ми се базира на него, тази книга също, така че двете в случая се припокриват./
Въпреки целият съпътстващ го хейт, филмът не е чак такова голямо разочарование, каквото се очакваше, поне за мен. Не ми стана абсолютен фаворит, но пък не го намирам и за категоричен epic fail. Има какво да се желае, но на 65% го одобрявам. Този път започва с цитат от класическата приказка на Андерсен, което си беше изненада.
Това е цитатът:
„Искаше ѝ се да плаче, но русалките не знаят що е сълзи и затова страдат повече.“
Част от историята пресъздава сюжета от познатия анимационен филм, но има добавени и значителни нововъведения. На първо място има вкарано голямо количество расово разнообразие, което не е ограничено само до сестрите на Ариел (и вече започнаха да валят критики към филма по това направление), лично аз точно това не го намирам за проблем, но вероятно за зрителите, които държат на… повече „традиции“, ще го отчетат като сериозен проблем.
Филмът се опитва да разшири и надгради историята от анимацията. Не го прави на 100% успешно обаче. Сега е отделено доста повече време на образа на Ерик – а образът му тук съвпада на 95% с образа на принца от вече споменатата книга „Да убиеш кралство“– и там също има принц, който се бунтува срещу статута си и отговорностите си, вместо това иска да кръстосва моретата и океаните. Докато го гледах в киното, все се сещах за същата книга и ми изглеждаше, че този път Дисни са почерпили сериозно вдъхновение от нея. Та точно това нововъведение не ме впечатли. Колкото до образа на животните, ами най-меко казано голяма част от тях ми изглеждат непривлекателно – можели са да се постараят повече.
За най-добро превъплъщение намирам това на Мелиса Маккарти, просто е разкошна като Урсула. Песните, освен познатите отпреди, са добавили и няколко нови, които не ми се понравиха съвсем, старите звучат по-добре.
Един от моментите във филма, който очаквах да видя с нетърпение беше как ще са пресъздадени сцените около „Kiss The Girl“ – защото в анимацията бяха едни от най-добрите. И съвсем не съм разочарован от видяното – в киното на 3D изглеждаше върховно – даже това ми е най-любимият момент в новия филм – а пък само как светулките се завъртяха около двамата 🥰.
/Вече песента я има налична с видео в YT и може да се види – е, да, не е 3D, не е дори и 4К, съвсем обикновено HD е – така че част от магията е позагубена, но все пак и така изглежда красиво.
🎶 Kiss the Girl (From "The Little Mermaid")/
Ариел е малко по-борбена и отстояваща се в новата версия. Филмът отново завършва с happy end, но не е точно такъв като в анимацията от 1989 – по-различен е. Но няма да издавам повече детайли от сюжета… 😊
🔗 Сходни ревюта:
Cruella Live Action Novelization
Raya and the Last Dragon: The Deluxe Junior Novelization
Disney/Pixar Luca: The Deluxe Junior Novelization
June 16, 2023
Cute and all but don’t let tiktok convince you as a grown adult to read a children’s book
April 20, 2023
I don't love it, but I don't entirely hate it either. I tried to think of this as a new mermaid story but there's parts of it that just literally make no sense.
Ariel is found in a fish net by an old man when she turns human. Why? Part of the fun of the story was Max discovering her and then Eric helping her. It was like a full circle moment. Instead, some old dude finds a naked girl and is like oh hey, let's take her to the castle......
Ursula sneaks a "forget about the 3 days clause" into the contract. It doesn't really matter that she did because Sebastian overheard it, so he's fighting for the 3 days. But still, did we even need to do that?
The whole Eric guesses Ariel's name by her signing for him while talking over constellations. So you couldn't point out a mermaid constellation and go tahdah? But she could point out Aries and get him to figure out Ariel? Alrighty then. Oh and she could figure out his maps and stuff but yeah, totally can't write or figure out how to tell him she's the girl who rescued him. Nope.
Ariel kills Ursula via the ship. She crawls around on the ship while in mermaid form and kills Ursula with it. No. Just no. The whole point throughout the book is that both merpeople and humans view the other as enemies. Eric killing Ursula in the original showed that humans weren't bad, and that he was willing to sacrifice himself to save Ariel. In this one, the roles are reversed. He's flailing around on the rock while Ariel does the work. Just no.
The whole, oh there she goes back into the water, yeah I'll just forget it and move on bit that Eric does. In the movie, he was hard core "I've lost her once, I'm not going to lose her again". In this, he's like eh, I'll get over it eventually, and doesn't fight to figure out how to stay with her etc. Instead, it takes Ariel literally becoming severely depressed for her to get changed back into a human to be with Eric.
No big wedding. It sounds like they might be married at the end of the book, but there's no big wedding. Just feels jipped that the big scene is kinda glossed over as she'd rather go exploring with Eric.
Like I said, it's okay but it's just...seems off. I just feel those parts weren't necessary. Eric having a mom and a bit more of a backstory is fine, but those things, just irked me that they got changed.
Ariel is found in a fish net by an old man when she turns human. Why? Part of the fun of the story was Max discovering her and then Eric helping her. It was like a full circle moment. Instead, some old dude finds a naked girl and is like oh hey, let's take her to the castle......
Ursula sneaks a "forget about the 3 days clause" into the contract. It doesn't really matter that she did because Sebastian overheard it, so he's fighting for the 3 days. But still, did we even need to do that?
The whole Eric guesses Ariel's name by her signing for him while talking over constellations. So you couldn't point out a mermaid constellation and go tahdah? But she could point out Aries and get him to figure out Ariel? Alrighty then. Oh and she could figure out his maps and stuff but yeah, totally can't write or figure out how to tell him she's the girl who rescued him. Nope.
Ariel kills Ursula via the ship. She crawls around on the ship while in mermaid form and kills Ursula with it. No. Just no. The whole point throughout the book is that both merpeople and humans view the other as enemies. Eric killing Ursula in the original showed that humans weren't bad, and that he was willing to sacrifice himself to save Ariel. In this one, the roles are reversed. He's flailing around on the rock while Ariel does the work. Just no.
The whole, oh there she goes back into the water, yeah I'll just forget it and move on bit that Eric does. In the movie, he was hard core "I've lost her once, I'm not going to lose her again". In this, he's like eh, I'll get over it eventually, and doesn't fight to figure out how to stay with her etc. Instead, it takes Ariel literally becoming severely depressed for her to get changed back into a human to be with Eric.
No big wedding. It sounds like they might be married at the end of the book, but there's no big wedding. Just feels jipped that the big scene is kinda glossed over as she'd rather go exploring with Eric.
Like I said, it's okay but it's just...seems off. I just feel those parts weren't necessary. Eric having a mom and a bit more of a backstory is fine, but those things, just irked me that they got changed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2023
I’m not sure why the changes were made to the film, but they don’t add up. The many many plot holes and new plot devices make the new Little Mermaid a hodgepodge of ideas that don’t make sense.
No beautiful Daughters of Triton song.
Ariel does not become human for Eric
Ariel gets an amnesia spell put on her by Ursula to forget that she has to kiss Eric or turn back into a mermaid. Like, for real???
Ariel and Eric slowly fall in love over time.
Ariel only becomes human because Ursula persuaded her to do it as revenge against her father for being overprotective.
The beautiful scene of Kiss the Girl where sea and land animals help Ariel and Eric along? Gone. Instead we are left with a semi Kiss the Girl only with Sebastian, scuttle, and flounder. Oh and Ariel? She does not know Sebastian is singing and Eric can’t understand them.
No chef Louie.
Eric does not get a spell put on him by Ursula when she turns into Vanessa. He almost marries her because he feels like it’s his obligation.
Ursula had a human kill Ariel’s mother, and she and Triton are siblings.
Ariel breaks Vanessa’s necklace, which is at a random engagement party, and not a wedding.
Ariel kills Ursula.
Ariel returns to the ocean and Eric is like “ I guess I wanted some fantasy that wasn’t real”.
In the novel, there is no wedding. Let’s truly hope, this isn’t the same for the film!
Ariel and Eric basically fall in love towards the very end of the film and realize they both are similar. The fall in love because of their similar personalities.
Disney, seriously. Why?
Why so many changes.
No beautiful Daughters of Triton song.
Ariel does not become human for Eric
Ariel gets an amnesia spell put on her by Ursula to forget that she has to kiss Eric or turn back into a mermaid. Like, for real???
Ariel and Eric slowly fall in love over time.
Ariel only becomes human because Ursula persuaded her to do it as revenge against her father for being overprotective.
The beautiful scene of Kiss the Girl where sea and land animals help Ariel and Eric along? Gone. Instead we are left with a semi Kiss the Girl only with Sebastian, scuttle, and flounder. Oh and Ariel? She does not know Sebastian is singing and Eric can’t understand them.
No chef Louie.
Eric does not get a spell put on him by Ursula when she turns into Vanessa. He almost marries her because he feels like it’s his obligation.
Ursula had a human kill Ariel’s mother, and she and Triton are siblings.
Ariel breaks Vanessa’s necklace, which is at a random engagement party, and not a wedding.
Ariel kills Ursula.
Ariel returns to the ocean and Eric is like “ I guess I wanted some fantasy that wasn’t real”.
In the novel, there is no wedding. Let’s truly hope, this isn’t the same for the film!
Ariel and Eric basically fall in love towards the very end of the film and realize they both are similar. The fall in love because of their similar personalities.
Disney, seriously. Why?
Why so many changes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2023
I laughed, I cried, I “hehehe ryan”ed. I loved this book. I can’t wait to see the movie!!
April 18, 2025
I'm in my little mermaid era
it was cute to see their matching pov in certain scenes
I thought they did a clever job skipping or explaining what happened during the songs portion of the movie
it was cute to see their matching pov in certain scenes
I thought they did a clever job skipping or explaining what happened during the songs portion of the movie
July 12, 2023
Funny enough to keep adults entertained.
On Scuttle always having answers:
“In truth she has no idea what it is, but Scuttle’s motto has always been ‘when in doubt, make it up.’”
🤣🤣 Very cute!
On Scuttle always having answers:
“In truth she has no idea what it is, but Scuttle’s motto has always been ‘when in doubt, make it up.’”
🤣🤣 Very cute!
July 10, 2025
This book is exactly like the live action movie. Had this book since the movie was really but only just decided to read it.
June 21, 2023
This book was just as good as the movie as I started to read, I tried to put myself in character, especially for that rich British accent that Eric has in the movie it also means what to have something bigger for yourself, but also being there for others the meaning of family is described throughout the book, which was one of the things I loved in the movie and the book.
June 5, 2023
el mejor live action😭💗😭💗
la historia de la sirenita es mi infancia y la han mejorado y perfeccionado en todos los aspectos. todo el tiempo de espera ha merecido la pena😔😔😔
ariel y eric en esta versión>>>>>> 💗✨💗✨
*llora porque quiere un eric*
halle bailey, te adoro :,)🧜🏾♀️💗🧜🏾♀️💗
la historia de la sirenita es mi infancia y la han mejorado y perfeccionado en todos los aspectos. todo el tiempo de espera ha merecido la pena😔😔😔
ariel y eric en esta versión>>>>>> 💗✨💗✨
*llora porque quiere un eric*
halle bailey, te adoro :,)🧜🏾♀️💗🧜🏾♀️💗
May 8, 2023
Per leggere la recensione in blog cliccare qui:
https://ilconfinedeilibri.blogspot.co...
https://ilconfinedeilibri.blogspot.co...
May 17, 2023
LOVE !!!! 💖
June 3, 2023
I smiled the whole time 💖
August 24, 2023
So cuteeeeee🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧
June 22, 2024
Don’t understand yet
April 21, 2023
A very faithful adaptation of the forthcoming movie which is an adaptation of the classic from 1989. Very detailed and I am so ready to see how it unfolds on screen. Without any spoilers, I am confident this will be among Disney's best remakes.
June 9, 2023
There's like a couple small changes, but otherwise it's exactly the same as the movie. Only reason it's not getting a perfect rating is the writing could be a little better in my opinion.
May 10, 2023
Can't wait for this movie it was a lovely mix of the old and new and I just need to listen to the music.
May 7, 2023
I am soooo in love!!!!!! 😭🥰
April 14, 2023
Prince Eric has a personality and now I love him even more.
October 31, 2023
I think it is common knowledge by now that the little mermaid in any rendition is my fav. I love the 2023 version for all it added, and the novelization added even more than that. I'm in love with so many parts of this book. Eric having a real and kind personality, the chemistry he had with Ariel. All the extra scenes were just perfection. At it's skeleton it's simply the 1989 version, but by the small changes they made it really changed this story. It almost feels as much of Eric's story as Ariel's, and I think they really highlights their romance and their similarities. Idc every part of this is iconic I have to stan hehe. I really don't have much to say it was too good. I saw some people complaining that this was too kidish but like it was made for kids what did you expect? Not to mention I thought it was still great, so many parts had me giggling and kicking my feet really bad. Eric and Ariel you will always be famous.
May 24, 2023
I am a huge fan of The Little Mermaid (1989), and after reading this book, I know I will also be a huge fan of The Little Mermaid (2023). This is a wonderful adaption of the original film, with both added storylines and differences, which help it to not only be respectful to the original, but creating a new version to the story as well. This book is definitely a must read, and I’m sure the movie will be a must watch too.
June 23, 2023
This stayed pretty close to the movie script, but there were some changes that didn’t seem super necessary. But overall, I loved reading it and seeing the movie in my head again. My love for this live action Little Mermaid holds no bounds.
July 18, 2023
Having the 'live-action' remake try so hard to fix things that aren't actually broken makes me sad. It’s pretty obvious that they don’t understand the original animated feature at all.
Note:
LA! = live-action
1989! = Disney’s 1989 animated film, The Little Mermaid
🧜♀️ 1989!Ariel was being too much of a damsel in distress in the animated feature.
LA!Ariel actress Halle Bailey says her Ariel has more character depth, ‘1989!Ariel threw everything away for a man’
(source: https://www.joe.co.uk/entertainment/h...)
Hahahaha. What is this delusion?
Oh yeah yeah yeah, 1989!Ariel is simping for a man. /s
The thing is, you have to be reaching here. The lyrics hidden meaning is:
![description]()
All on her own accord: 1989!Ariel saved Eric, twice: 1. From the fiery shipwreck 2. From Ursula (crashes the wedding, she and her friends broke the magic seashell necklace
Don’t forget that Ariel jumps at Ursula and got Ursula to kill Flotsam and Jetson with the trident.
1989!Ariel has been adventurous, and a rebel: sneaking around, defying 1989!Triton’s ban to the surface, collecting her souvenirs from shipwrecks…she’s always been fascinated with the world above, it just so happened that after meeting 1989!Eric during that fateful storm, she fell in love with him, saved his ass and wanted to know more about him, to really discover a different world. Didn’t help that 1989!Triton also wrecked her entire collection.
Despite being so fascinated by the world above, LA!Ariel has never been to the surface (ever!) and seeing Eric’s ship was the FIRST!EVER!TIME! she’s been to the surface, HAHAHA what? Kinda funny that NOW LA!Ariel has seen LA!Eric’s ship, it’s NOW that she wants to really explore the world above.
Also, LA!Ariel is ruler of her little section of the ocean so… she doesn’t have a keeper? She's the head-bitch in charge of the Carinae Sea. Her domain, she can totally check out the surface if she wanted to. What's stopping her? LA!Triton? They turned rule-breaker 1989!Ariel into this? Unless LA!Triton has conjured a barrier, I don't see anything preventing LA!Ariel from breaking the water surface.
After destroying LA!Ariel’s grotto, LA !Triton specifically orders Ariel to “never leave again”
So she’s done it before? BRUH.
🧜♀️ Some rando NPC fisherman found LA!Ariel and brought her to the palace, that’s how she meets LA!Eric.
The castle’s head of household, Lashana takes LA!Ariel in and has her cleaned up.
Bruh, sure thing. If I find a beached person, I’d send them over to the Prime Minister’s house first thing. I trust that the head housekeeper there would know what to do.
🧜♀️ The humans in this adaptation hates the mer-folk, justifying LA!Triton’s fears.
This also just makes me scratch my head as to then why, why would Ariel develop a fondness for the land above and the creatures who inhabit it? In this novelization, humans hunt the mer-folk for sports, so why would Ariel bother saving eric from drowning?
They’re blaming humans for being careless with their shipwrecks.
🧜♀️ They took LA!Eric's agency so LA!Ariel will have her 'girl-boss' moment:
Having swapped Eric with Ariel to kill Ursula is dumb AF. The point was that it was Eric’s turn to help Ariel. Besides, how would LA!Ariel know how to steer a ship? She’s never been to the surface like, ever, yet she can wobble on her fish tail (in Mermaid form, mind you) and shank Ursula. As opposed to Eric, who is, duh, a seafarer, has human legs and has EXP. Plus, having Eric have his moment killing Ursula proves to Triton that humans can be trusted after all. Triton would have the epiphany that ‘hmm, humans aren’t as bad and dangerous as I believed’. This weakens the characters of Triton and Eric tremendously.
Also,
LA!Eric has a mom (and he’s adopted – and why is this important? It’s because the actress for LA!Eric’s mom is black, and LA!Eric isn’t? If you’re going so far to explain that, do explain how TF LA!Triton has so many daughters of different races and creeds? Polygamy? Oh my, Disney!)
They also copy-pasted Ariel’s story onto LA!Eric. LA!Eric’s mom, the Queen is a total controlling bitch who doesn’t let LA!Eric leave the castle (parallels to LA!Ariel, much wow, very amaze! This is how the connect! GASP)
🧜♀️ LA!Ariel having amnesia. Why?
The point of 1989!Ursula being overconfident and underestimating 1989!Ariel to not be able to succeed was important. 1989!Ursula got angry, anxious and antsy when she saw 1989!Ariel winning Eric’s heart and resorted to becoming Vanessa and putting a spell on him.
And now with LA!Ariel having amnesia – Sebastian tries to remind LA!Ariel of the time limit, and her mind wanders off, forgetting her mission (getting a kiss from Eric), Vanessa serves no narrative purpose, because LA!Ursula already won. LA!Ariel ain’t getting any kisses. She’s gonna be part of LA!Ursula’s underwater cave garden. This is straight-up GG. What pains me even more is that it’s written that LA!Ariel’s entire purpose was to ‘find herself’. So, wouldn’t this mean that LA!Ariel shouldn’t be upset about LA!Eric’s wedding to LA!Ursula/Vanessa?
Yes, a fucking contract that in order to get legs, there’s an exchange for your voice, a time-limit to get a kiss from your love lest you turn into seaweed or something AND have your memory wiped because you can always increase the difficulty. But LA!Ariel couldn’t be this dumb, could she?
Nope, this is just a little hidden extra extra that Ursula snuck into the spell. IDK, Ursula is evil, sure. You wanna maker her more evil? Yeah okay let’s make her do a sneaky to make things harder for Ariel, but this might just weaken Ursula as a character in one way, this just shows that Ursula is less than confident that Ariel could pull this off and cheats. It’s a little bit of something, knowing that Ursula has woven contracts and succeeded so many times that she just knoooows Ariel won’t make it.
1989!Ursula took advantage of 1989!Ariel's impulsiveness and naivety, and convinced her through misguided ‘advice’ (Poor Unfortunate Souls) that winning Eric's affections would be easy without her voice, so that Ariel would get on-board with the idea and sign the contract.
Having this addition of the entire 'by the way, you won't remember why you're there or why you need to win his love in three days or you're fucked' is a stupid idea. Especially so when you’re still adding the ‘Kiss the Girl’ bit.
🧜♀️ The whole ‘Kiss The Girl’ debacle:
(source: https://screenrant.com/little-mermaid...)
WHAT?
LA!Ariel pulls away when LA!Eric was leaning in for a smooch. 1989!Ariel was actively trying to kiss 1989!Eric, but he evades and hesitates because he’s saving it for his shipwreck rescuer. How is this problematic? When Ariel’s mission was to make him fall in love with her and GET HIM TO KISS HER. If anything, he’s the ‘victim’.
If you’re making that stupid amnesia bullshit happening, then should it not be that LA!Ariel’s friends try to convince LA!Ariel to kiss LA!Eric? Because, I dunno, she has amnesia??? And they’re trying to help her?
But becaaaause the the song is too iconic and popular to be dropped, they need to keep it, and what do? Tweak the lyrics to befit the ‘current times’.
All this to create a ‘teachable moment about consent’.
My take-aways:
Just like the 2017 'live-action' Beauty and the Beast, they create the problems that they claim the animated counterpart has and is avoiding or ‘fixing’ it.
They’re fine and dandy killing off the motivations and personal stakes by making all these changes, all to have their version of Ariel be turned into a 'go-getter, girl-power mermaid badass boss bitch'. Very stunning. Very brave.
Note:
LA! = live-action
1989! = Disney’s 1989 animated film, The Little Mermaid
🧜♀️ 1989!Ariel was being too much of a damsel in distress in the animated feature.
LA!Ariel actress Halle Bailey says her Ariel has more character depth, ‘1989!Ariel threw everything away for a man’
(source: https://www.joe.co.uk/entertainment/h...)
Hahahaha. What is this delusion?
“I want to be where the people are, ask them my questions and get some answers, like what’s a fire, and why does it, what’s the word, burn? When’s it my turn? Wouldn’t I love, love to EXPLORE THAT WORLD ABOVE…Wandering free, wish I could BE PART OF THAT WORLD.”
Oh yeah yeah yeah, 1989!Ariel is simping for a man. /s
The thing is, you have to be reaching here. The lyrics hidden meaning is:
“I want to be where the penis is, get dicked down when feeling horny, like what’s a butt plug, and where does it go? When will I know? Wouldn’t I love, love to get laid by a dude from above…That rando is hot, please make me a thot, and part of his world…”
All on her own accord: 1989!Ariel saved Eric, twice: 1. From the fiery shipwreck 2. From Ursula (crashes the wedding, she and her friends broke the magic seashell necklace
Don’t forget that Ariel jumps at Ursula and got Ursula to kill Flotsam and Jetson with the trident.
1989!Ariel has been adventurous, and a rebel: sneaking around, defying 1989!Triton’s ban to the surface, collecting her souvenirs from shipwrecks…she’s always been fascinated with the world above, it just so happened that after meeting 1989!Eric during that fateful storm, she fell in love with him, saved his ass and wanted to know more about him, to really discover a different world. Didn’t help that 1989!Triton also wrecked her entire collection.
Despite being so fascinated by the world above, LA!Ariel has never been to the surface (ever!) and seeing Eric’s ship was the FIRST!EVER!TIME! she’s been to the surface, HAHAHA what? Kinda funny that NOW LA!Ariel has seen LA!Eric’s ship, it’s NOW that she wants to really explore the world above.
Also, LA!Ariel is ruler of her little section of the ocean so… she doesn’t have a keeper? She's the head-bitch in charge of the Carinae Sea. Her domain, she can totally check out the surface if she wanted to. What's stopping her? LA!Triton? They turned rule-breaker 1989!Ariel into this? Unless LA!Triton has conjured a barrier, I don't see anything preventing LA!Ariel from breaking the water surface.
After destroying LA!Ariel’s grotto, LA !Triton specifically orders Ariel to “never leave again”
So she’s done it before? BRUH.
🧜♀️ Some rando NPC fisherman found LA!Ariel and brought her to the palace, that’s how she meets LA!Eric.
The castle’s head of household, Lashana takes LA!Ariel in and has her cleaned up.
Bruh, sure thing. If I find a beached person, I’d send them over to the Prime Minister’s house first thing. I trust that the head housekeeper there would know what to do.
🧜♀️ The humans in this adaptation hates the mer-folk, justifying LA!Triton’s fears.
This also just makes me scratch my head as to then why, why would Ariel develop a fondness for the land above and the creatures who inhabit it? In this novelization, humans hunt the mer-folk for sports, so why would Ariel bother saving eric from drowning?
“Do these humans have any idea how much damage their shipwrecks do?” she demands
…
Caspia untangles a piece of rope from the remains of the ship’s mast, which has broken off a large section of coral. She shakes her head somberly at her youngest sister. “They’re careless, Ariel. It will take thousands of years for this coral to grow back.”
They’re blaming humans for being careless with their shipwrecks.
🧜♀️ They took LA!Eric's agency so LA!Ariel will have her 'girl-boss' moment:
Raising the trident over Eric, Ursula shatters the last of the rock that his rigging clings to. Ariel’s anger flares as she watches him fall. Finally reaching the ship’s wheel, Ariel spins it with all the force she can muster. She steers the ship directly toward the sea witch. Ursula’s eyes widen in shock as the jagged point of the broken mast pierces her heart. She doubles over, screaming…
Having swapped Eric with Ariel to kill Ursula is dumb AF. The point was that it was Eric’s turn to help Ariel. Besides, how would LA!Ariel know how to steer a ship? She’s never been to the surface like, ever, yet she can wobble on her fish tail (in Mermaid form, mind you) and shank Ursula. As opposed to Eric, who is, duh, a seafarer, has human legs and has EXP. Plus, having Eric have his moment killing Ursula proves to Triton that humans can be trusted after all. Triton would have the epiphany that ‘hmm, humans aren’t as bad and dangerous as I believed’. This weakens the characters of Triton and Eric tremendously.
Also,
LA!Eric has a mom (and he’s adopted – and why is this important? It’s because the actress for LA!Eric’s mom is black, and LA!Eric isn’t? If you’re going so far to explain that, do explain how TF LA!Triton has so many daughters of different races and creeds? Polygamy? Oh my, Disney!)
They also copy-pasted Ariel’s story onto LA!Eric. LA!Eric’s mom, the Queen is a total controlling bitch who doesn’t let LA!Eric leave the castle (parallels to LA!Ariel, much wow, very amaze! This is how the connect! GASP)
🧜♀️ LA!Ariel having amnesia. Why?
The point of 1989!Ursula being overconfident and underestimating 1989!Ariel to not be able to succeed was important. 1989!Ursula got angry, anxious and antsy when she saw 1989!Ariel winning Eric’s heart and resorted to becoming Vanessa and putting a spell on him.
And now with LA!Ariel having amnesia – Sebastian tries to remind LA!Ariel of the time limit, and her mind wanders off, forgetting her mission (getting a kiss from Eric), Vanessa serves no narrative purpose, because LA!Ursula already won. LA!Ariel ain’t getting any kisses. She’s gonna be part of LA!Ursula’s underwater cave garden. This is straight-up GG. What pains me even more is that it’s written that LA!Ariel’s entire purpose was to ‘find herself’. So, wouldn’t this mean that LA!Ariel shouldn’t be upset about LA!Eric’s wedding to LA!Ursula/Vanessa?
“I’m really excited for my version of the film because we’ve definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy,” Bailey explained. “It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants.”
Yes, a fucking contract that in order to get legs, there’s an exchange for your voice, a time-limit to get a kiss from your love lest you turn into seaweed or something AND have your memory wiped because you can always increase the difficulty. But LA!Ariel couldn’t be this dumb, could she?
Nope, this is just a little hidden extra extra that Ursula snuck into the spell. IDK, Ursula is evil, sure. You wanna maker her more evil? Yeah okay let’s make her do a sneaky to make things harder for Ariel, but this might just weaken Ursula as a character in one way, this just shows that Ursula is less than confident that Ariel could pull this off and cheats. It’s a little bit of something, knowing that Ursula has woven contracts and succeeded so many times that she just knoooows Ariel won’t make it.
1989!Ursula took advantage of 1989!Ariel's impulsiveness and naivety, and convinced her through misguided ‘advice’ (Poor Unfortunate Souls) that winning Eric's affections would be easy without her voice, so that Ariel would get on-board with the idea and sign the contract.
Having this addition of the entire 'by the way, you won't remember why you're there or why you need to win his love in three days or you're fucked' is a stupid idea. Especially so when you’re still adding the ‘Kiss the Girl’ bit.
🧜♀️ The whole ‘Kiss The Girl’ debacle:
“Kiss the Girl” remains one of the most memorable songs from The Little Mermaid, but it also treats Ariel purely as an object of desire, encouraging Prince Erik to kiss her without any consideration for whether she actually wants that. Over the past three decades, ideas regarding consent have changed, and it's important that younger, impressionable audiences watching the film for the first time aren't encouraged to behave in ways incongruous with modern societal values.
(source: https://screenrant.com/little-mermaid...)
WHAT?
LA!Ariel pulls away when LA!Eric was leaning in for a smooch. 1989!Ariel was actively trying to kiss 1989!Eric, but he evades and hesitates because he’s saving it for his shipwreck rescuer. How is this problematic? When Ariel’s mission was to make him fall in love with her and GET HIM TO KISS HER. If anything, he’s the ‘victim’.
If you’re making that stupid amnesia bullshit happening, then should it not be that LA!Ariel’s friends try to convince LA!Ariel to kiss LA!Eric? Because, I dunno, she has amnesia??? And they’re trying to help her?
But becaaaause the the song is too iconic and popular to be dropped, they need to keep it, and what do? Tweak the lyrics to befit the ‘current times’.
[Verse 2: Sebastian]
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Possible she want you too
Use your words, boy, and ask her
If the time is right and the time is tonight
Go on and kiss the girl
All this to create a ‘teachable moment about consent’.
My take-aways:
Just like the 2017 'live-action' Beauty and the Beast, they create the problems that they claim the animated counterpart has and is avoiding or ‘fixing’ it.
They’re fine and dandy killing off the motivations and personal stakes by making all these changes, all to have their version of Ariel be turned into a 'go-getter, girl-power mermaid badass boss bitch'. Very stunning. Very brave.
May 23, 2023
A mermaid wants to explore life above the sea but her father king of the sea won’t allow her so she hides the trinkets she collects in a cove safe from her father's wrath visiting shipwrecks with her fish friends. A part of her family’s responsibilities include cleaning up debris from the coral destroyed by shipwrecks fueling their prejudice towards humans only objected by the mermaid who believes her enjoyment of her trinkets found in said shipwrecks and her interest in a man she saved from a recent wreck should be taken into account though it falls on deaf ears. Following a tip-off from his advisor the king reprimands his rebellious daughter for destroying her collection forbidding her to return claiming her mother’s death as the reason humans are the enemy shocking her, so she doesn’t question the immediate offer of help from a sea witch. The sea witch takes her chance to entice the mermaid with her dream of being human for the price of her siren song after playing up her innocence the mermaid is hesitant but a reminder of her dad’s words pulls her back and she relinquishes her singing voice (unbeknownst to her the sea witch takes her whole voice). Nearly dying on the way up, she’s saved by a net and brought to the castle where she’s led by her attraction, she spends the required 3 days with him falling deeply in love with him and he her though he doesn’t remember her without her voice. In the last hours, the sea witch enacts a final step in her plan using the mermaid's voice she lures the man in just as time runs out, she believes she’s won but the mermaid fights back with help from the king, and the man they defeat her. The king finally hears what his daughter is saying and after seeing how hurt she is he gives her legs and the freedom she’s been asking for. Mermaid and man travel to spread their unity and bridge the gap between the worlds.
The adopted prince plot is a no. it goes nowhere and doesn’t affect his relationship with his mom so why do it? Trying to find an easy out for the casting of the queen not matching the casting of the prince? Oh, and he’s basically Moana literally he's shipwrecked on the land from wherever the hell he’s from and wants to travel the seas to answer questions about his identity and find adventure.
The mermaid is tired of being ignored and takes a chance on the sea witch's offer believing true love to have shown itself and it works but is incomplete without her voice. She and the man go off on adventures having gained her father's support and getting her true love.
A cute little story but it somehow feels like it's just enough yet still missing something.
The adopted prince plot is a no. it goes nowhere and doesn’t affect his relationship with his mom so why do it? Trying to find an easy out for the casting of the queen not matching the casting of the prince? Oh, and he’s basically Moana literally he's shipwrecked on the land from wherever the hell he’s from and wants to travel the seas to answer questions about his identity and find adventure.
The mermaid is tired of being ignored and takes a chance on the sea witch's offer believing true love to have shown itself and it works but is incomplete without her voice. She and the man go off on adventures having gained her father's support and getting her true love.
A cute little story but it somehow feels like it's just enough yet still missing something.
May 25, 2023
So, I'd found The Little Mermaid: Against The Tide at Walmart a couple weeks ago and read through it because I am excited for this live action remake. Was a great read, especially being a prequel to this version of the story. Well, I found this at Walmart like a week after I finished reading Against The Tide, and ended up getting it. And while it's the same story I'm gonna watch in maybe a couple weeks (I'd rather not be in as crowded a movie theater since COVID isn't completely over yet), I figured it would be a fun way to get this story before it releases. I can already say I expect it to be good.
I did enjoy this story though. Kind of sucks I couldn't get the music due to it being a book, but that was expected. And I did like the story, even as someone who hasn't seen the original movie in forever. And the story was nice. I especially liked what King Triton does near the end of the book. He was probably my least favorite character in the whole thing up until that (won't spoil it because I like to keep my reviews not hidden lol). But I really enjoyed this read. And I can't wait to see the actual movie this is a novelization of!
Also, it took me this long to read because we got a new dog recently that makes it a bit more difficult to read books as quickly because she's a little hyper. Gotta keep my eyes on her so she stays out of trouble lol
I did enjoy this story though. Kind of sucks I couldn't get the music due to it being a book, but that was expected. And I did like the story, even as someone who hasn't seen the original movie in forever. And the story was nice. I especially liked what King Triton does near the end of the book. He was probably my least favorite character in the whole thing up until that (won't spoil it because I like to keep my reviews not hidden lol). But I really enjoyed this read. And I can't wait to see the actual movie this is a novelization of!
Also, it took me this long to read because we got a new dog recently that makes it a bit more difficult to read books as quickly because she's a little hyper. Gotta keep my eyes on her so she stays out of trouble lol
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