Sorry
Divinity, I've been away too long.
You're right, Ursula had to think Eric might give Ariel the kiss of true love, perhaps making her think her idea they weren't in love was false, though it does go with my wondering if she thought it was only one-sided love, Eric didn't love Ariel, and thus it wasn't true love. I guess Kiss the Girl could have made her rethink. And yes, Ursula's dress-bursting transformation is one of the best transformations ever. It even looks a little like Cinderella's with the white dress, her arms raised above her head, and even a swirling purple magic effect.
You know Kiss the Girl kind of messes things up. Are we supposed to wonder if it would be the kiss of true love, or are we supposed to accept that Eric really truly loved this speechless girl then? I hope not!
OR what if the idea was that if they kissed, Eric would realize Ariel was the one for him
then, and it would work regardless because they are destined to be together? Kind of like Enchanted's lyrics about knowing who the one is by true love's kiss, the magical feeling you get from the kiss or whatever.
I suppose wondering whether Eric and Ariel were true loves is cool, but I thought it was obvious they were in true love when he knew she was the one. Anyway, you were the one with that article about how the statue of Eric looks like Eric under Vanessa's spell? I loved that article, it made me think these Disney artists put more depth and smarts into their films than meets the eye, more most people think. I don't think Ursula thought Eric not saving Ariel was a sign he didn't love her, though. And I don't like thinking that if someone risks their life for someone, it must be true love. A lot of good people out there will try to save any human being and even risk their safety for it.
I do like the idea of Ariel loving Eric because she loves the land, or the more metaphorical he "is" the land for her, as you said. It guarantess her happiness slightly more because she knows she loves the land, and that he is the one who makes it possible for her to be human kind of makes her know he's the one. It's a little like Cinderella. The Prince gives her the life she desired. Yes, it's also like Beauty and the Beast...but Little Mermaid and Cinderella are much closer. An old magical woman gives these girls a magical transformation to enter the life they want, then the spell ends after a time limit, but then their princes give it to them permanently.
Disney's Divinity wrote:Simply as a story though, anything the viewer might question about their "love" is somewhat implied.
Could you...expalin this a little more to me?
I don't think the makers of The Little Mermaid has sexism in mind, otherwise I would have thought they wouldn't let Ariel require her life be saved by her man. BUT then again, for Beauty and the Beast, I read it was deliberately made not to be sexist. And yet, written by a woman, once again, the heroine gives up her freedom and her life is saved by a man. I guess the heroines saving the men at other points in the story makes up for it to Disney, and a lot of fans.
I told Chernabog, story matters the most. I like that Ariel makes a bad deal with a bad sea witch for love. It makes the story very powerful. And you're right, people forget Eric didn't go to kiss Ariel until she had her voice again, saying it's a good thing for girl to have their voice and for men to love them for that. Or, that's the message one could derive out of it.
But...umm...Ursula never told Ariel she shouldn't give up her voice. How is she less sexist than the original's sea witch? Because she's made a villain for not advising Ariel to think about her voice and power? Don't know if that's what Disney was thinking. Making a female a villain isn't unsexist in the least. It can be looked at a few ways. One, a female villain is a powerful, effective female to be reckoned with. But then it's saying a female is bad and must be stopped...or destroyed.
Yay! I'm so happy I made you think of something you didn't about The Little Mermaid, something you think has some credence, or is interesting! You've made me do the same, if you couldn't tell. I've been dealing with love in my own life, and thought about settling or going for what I think true love is. And some people think so happy you can't stand it true love is just fantasy, and you need to go after what's real. I don't know. I want to keep on searching for love that satisfies me. We don't know what Eric would have done with Ariel had Vanessa not shown up. Would he have always felt like something was missing? Ever hear of the closeted gay guys who marry and have kids, and even love them (but probably more like friend or family member love, not partner love, true love), but they still feel...you know. And then they come out later.
Personally I don't see how Ariel, no matter how charming, could compete with someone who saved him and sang that song so beautifully (and soulfully? Did he he pay attention to the lyrics?) I think he acts differently when he's thinking about the mystery girl, and when he knows Ariel's her, than the way he acts with mute Ariel. I'd have to watch the film and pay close attention.
Okay...your banner, to be honest, I wasn't fond of the lighting, but the shading was done well. But still, great composition and everything.
Yay, you thought Ursula was blue, too! I don't know how I feel about accepting the restored film.
OMG You know what I was thinking about? I thought of this with Beauty and the Beast's "restoration". Well, I was thinking about how The Little Mermaid came out at the time VHS was around, so it was only like one year in between when the film came to theaters and when the film came to VHS, right? Well, wouldn't the VHS capture the colors and look of the film as it was originally, theatrically? Unlike a film like Cinderella, which came to VHS 40 or something years after it premiered, The Little Mermaid wouldn't have faded or changed at all before it came to home video. So the VHS shouldn't really look different from the DVD, except in picture quality, resolution, pixels, all that stuff. So what's with green-tailed Ariel, purple Ursula, and neon-yellow-crowned Triton...? What do you think? I should ask some expert...
The First Lady usually has no power? Hm. Hillary Clinton once said as First Lady something like she could have stayed home and baked cookies but she decided to do her job. I don't know eveything about her but I guess she did all she could as the First Lady, and now she tried to be president. I would have liked her. Would I have voted for her? Don't know, I'd have to find out more than just what I've heard.
It would be nice to think of the Disney queen consorts as doing that. I found this
link that says, "Although a Queen Consort does not officially have political power, she is often a very powerful and prominent social figure. Many Kings take advice from their Queens Consort and consider their input into the running of the nation, so although the Queen Consort is not officially the monarch, she does in some sense act as one." Well, I dunno how often that really happened or happens, but it's nice to hope.
I guess Aurora and Jasmine really are the most officially powerful rulers of their kingdoms, because they rule their own kingdoms, which they have birthrights to. Why is Jasmine different
). But, still, that he fell in love with the dream girl does make it a different case. Of course, he's not going to go with Ariel automatically, because he's still in love with the dream girl and doesn't want to betray the love he felt for that girl. In a way, I suppose he was giving up on the hope of that love, but I don't think he saw Ariel--the mute--as a lesser choice. Just a different one.
