have you read Hans Christons Andersons little mermaid

[Terter]

I just finished it today. I knew it would be different then Disney. But some stuff just was odd. He never really described what the little mermaid looked like just long hair,dark blue eyes and pale skin.

Did some stuff get lost in translation? I whole time I was reading it I seen that really old anime one playing in my head.

so what did you guys think about it?

and any one found any cool illustrations of the original Little Mermaid?

[Cordy_Biddle]

The original Hans Christian Andersen story would never have made it into the Disney version--although there have been some great movie/TV adaptations that stayed more faithful to the flavour of the Andersen text.

Firstly, the Faerie Tale Theatre version, which stars Pam Dawber (from "Mork and Mindy") as the mermaid. Karen Black is the Sea Witch, who actually tries to talk Pearl (the mermaid) out of her desire to become human!

Then there's an absolutely haunting 1970s Japanese animated version; any kid who saw it on video in the 1980s (like me) has never been able to forget it. Marina (the mermaid) swims without a seashell bra (gasp!) and the entire tone of the tale (bookended with live-action footage of Denmark and the Little Mermaid statue) is quite sombre.

In a 1960 episode of The Shirley Temple Show, we see the mermaid's grandmother (played by the wonderful Cathleen Nesbitt) exchange 50 years of her remaining life to ensure that the mermaid (Shirley Temple in a hideous blonde wig) will be able to return to her family under the ocean--once it becomes apparent that the Prince will never be able to marry her.

Disney originally wanted to do "Little Mermaid" as an animated short subject--possibly as part of the Silly Symphonies--and the darker tone of the Andersen story would have been more suited to that approach. But I can totally understand why filmmakers made the story more "upbeat" in their 1989 treatment. We wouldn't have it any other way.

[Dragonlion]

For those who haven't read the original tale, beware of spoilers.

I liked most of it and thought it was pretty good. The only thing I hated was the ending not because of the Disney version, but because I thought it wasn't very satisfying. You root and root for the mermaid to get the prince, but in the end she dies. WTF. Also, I felt that the mermaid's want for a human soul seemed more important than anything and it almost seemed like the mermaid was just after the prince for his soul. the actual versions I've read don't really seem to be lost in translation (although I never actually read the original version). BTW, the really weird version was that old anime (from 1984, right?). That version has always creeped me out.

[Cordy_Biddle]

SPOILERS!

Technically, the mermaid's ultimate sacrifice leads to a gift even greater than she could have ever hoped for - an immortal soul. Many have said that the story of "The Little Mermaid" mirrored Andersen's own life and class struggles, perhaps the biggest reason why he always maintained that it was the personal favourite of all his stories.

[PrincePhillipFan]

This reminds me of a quote my girlfriend is fond of saying. "If you ever wish to scar a child emotionally, have them watch Disney's Little Mermaid and then read them the original Anderson tale afterward."

[Disney Duster]

Dragonlion, if I didn't have a soul and my only chance was marrying someone else, you freakin' bet I would do everything just to get a soul. We all would. Sorry to say it but living with a soul is even above having a lover. And besides, I believe she had to really love the prince to get the soul, and she did. That's why she sacrificed herself for him. If she killed him she would get to live as a mermaid for many, many more years, but of not, she would die much sooner as a human. She took her own life instead of taking his.

Didn't they say Hans Christian Anderson was struggling with his own religious beliefs, hence the mermaid who has no soul, but wants one.

Though from Wikipedia, it seems this is true: Apparently some people and scholars say that the tale pointed to a more tragic ending with the mermaid simply dying, and thus no after-life. Ha, if anything the most wonderful thing about the tale is that it sounds so tragic...and then, perhaps a surprise, but what is a story without unpredictable surprises, there is the greatest hope. It makes sense to me, the mermaid decided not to kill the prince, and is rewarded.

Also apparently, Anderson ended the story with the mermaid's death, but added her redemption with joining the "daughters of the air" in earning a soul through many years work of good deeds as he originally intended, and had considered the "Daughters of the Air" as a working title for the story. That makes sense to me as daughters of the air match the idea of daughters of the sea, our heroine was souless under the water but will gain a soul high above in the air. But apparently after adding that, he later added that children affect the daughters of the air by taking a year off what they need to earn a soul by being good or adding an extra year on by being bad.

At first I agreed that it was pretty bad for Anderson to do that, but I also kind of like the idea that children can help these spirits. I think it worked that if they saw a kid be good or bad, that kid affected them. It is only if a child makes them cry with their bad deeds that they lose a year. But the tale would probably be better without the children helping/hurting them.

[Terter]

Cordy_Biddle I seen the live action your talking about! She has black hair and a blue tail right? And the old anime one is unforgetable! Did that ever come out on dvd legally?

and Dragonlion I agree it seems like she was more after a soul . I mean she loved the you knew she loved the prince but wanted that more. I liked the ending and how she scraficed herself. But I also liked how she regretted doing what she had done.

I really wish he would have gave us more details as to what every one looked like.

[Cordy_Biddle]

Yes. Here are some pics.

Pam Dawber in Faerie Tale Theatre's "Little Mermaid":


Shirley Temple (The Shirley Temple Show, 1960):


The 1973 anime version:

[Terter]

Yes. Here are some pics.

Pam Dawber in Faerie Tale Theatre's "Little Mermaid":


Shirley Temple (The Shirley Temple Show, 1960):


The 1973 anime version:

yup those are the two I was talking about. I seen the anime one on ebay but is it a bootleg? or did it really get released legally?

[Cordy_Biddle]

It got legally released on VHS back in the "day", but has never been legitimately available on DVD as far as my understanding of the situation goes.

Presumably the rights are held up somewhere along the line. I haven't had this title since I foolishly sold the VHS many, many years ago, so I'll be looking forward to a legit DVD to come forth one day...

[Terter]

and that kinda goes the same for Saban's Adventures Of The Little Mermaid to. But it came out on dvd in the UK and France. But not the whole series dubed:( I had a Marina doll back when.

[Dragonlion]

Dragonlion, if I didn't have a soul and my only chance was marrying someone else, you freakin' bet I would do everything just to get a soul. We all would. Sorry to say it but living with a soul is even above having a lover. And besides, I believe she had to really love the prince to get the soul, and she did. That's why she sacrificed herself for him. If she killed him she would get to live as a mermaid for many, many more years, but of not, she would die much sooner as a human. She took her own life instead of taking his.

Well, of course I know that, but that's just what came to mind when I read it. Story wise though, the whole soul plot line is neglected in the two versions I've seen (1975 anime & Disney versions) possibly because it doesn't really seem as, for lack of a better word, significant as the prince plot line. Now for a change in topic; there's also this odd version I've seen on Youtube. The mermaid had had red hair and the design looked it was drawn in someone's notebook. There's also a Russian version as well, which is very beautiful and stylized.

[Super Aurora]

I still can't grasp the concept that the mermaid race have no souls. How the hell was the mermaid even able to fall in love with the prince if she had no soul? Makes no sense to me.

I think Anderson just want make human look like perfect god imaging beings where everything else is soulless but a human. BS. That's why I like Wall-E

[Disney's Divinity]

I agree, Dragonlion. Whenever I read the story, the mermaid's desire for a soul sticks out because it makes it seem as if the prince is just a tool. Anyway, I never really understood how the mermaids could know they don't have souls--or why souls are so important when they're the same as humans? (And why, really, would God--seeing as the story relies on Christian ideas apparently--not give them souls?). I suppose Disney Duster's symbolic explanation makes the most sense. From a superficial perspective though, the ending has always been a bit stupid to me. First, she wasn't given a soul. Then she had to silence herself just to get a chance at one, only to be killed by watching a man she grew to love marry someone else. And the ultimate resolution? She has to work several thousand years for something she deserved in the first place (which she nevertheless earned in the second), on the whims of little children. Yes. WTF.

Anyway, the fairy tale theater version is a bit unbearable. The only part I enjoyed was the sea witch's scene. I've also seen many other versions of the story that, while more faithful to the tone of the original, tack on a happy marriage ending. Personally, I enjoy the fact that Disney made their own story instead of just changing the ending.

Has anyone seen that Happily Ever After HBO show? It usually takes on stories in a more diverse approach (with different ethnicities, etc.); there are several really good episodes. I recently saw 'The Little Mermaid' one and--wow. I didn't know anything could be that bad. The mermaid sounded like Sandra Bullock, had an 80s-ish theme song, and was followed around by a starfish (reminiscent of Sebastian pre-Callypso) that would never shut up. And the sea witch was a crab.

[Wonderlicious]

I still can't grasp the concept that the mermaid race have no souls. How the hell was the mermaid even able to fall in love with the prince if she had no soul? Makes no sense to me.

I think Anderson just want make human look like perfect god imaging beings where everything else is soulless but a human. BS.

The idea of a supernatural (or indeed a non-human being) being not having a soul is a traditional Christian view. I think that it is mentioned to generally tie into the general idea of wanting to advance to another level. Remember that Hans Christian Andersen was a provincial cobbler's son who rose up through his writing into the upper classes of Copenhagen, and that most of Andersen's tales are semi-autobiographic. The idea that the mermaid doesn't have a soul is, in all fairness, a way of Andersen venting his rage.

And yes, I have read the original story. Andersen's fairy-tales are some of the best stories ever written, and I'd recommend anybody interested in reading them to get a decent translation, as they are full of clever writing in their original Danish - and many of the older translations (such as the multitude of the public domain texts online) are ridiculously bad, often actually translations from bad German renderings. I have the Penguin Classics edition (here we go!), which is very good, as is the Oxford Classics edition (ta da!), which I have read tales from in my university library.

[Super Aurora]

The idea of a supernatural (or indeed a non-human being) being not having a soul is a traditional Christian view. I think that it is mentioned to generally tie into the general idea of wanting to advance to another level. Remember that Hans Christian Andersen was a provincial cobbler's son who rose up through his writing into the upper classes of Copenhagen, and that most of Andersen's tales are semi-autobiographic. The idea that the mermaid doesn't have a soul is, in all fairness, a way of Andersen venting his rage.

This also support my distaste to Christianity ideology and thought process.

But I get what you're saying. Basically Anderson using it as a symbolic message. But even symbolically, it should make sense to avoid inconsistency.

[my chicken is infected]

The anime version of TLM WAS legally released on DVD by UAV Corporation, although looking at the cover, you wouldn't know it was that version. They cut out all the "nipple" shots though.

[Terter]

my chicken is infected how many nipple shots did they have? And your right,you wouldn't know by the cover!

[Siren]

I love the original story. The Little Mermaid wanted two things in life...love and a soul. Where as the Disney version just focuses on the love part. But the story in essence is about love and sacrifice. Her sister's sacrifice their hair so their little sister can return to the sea, but she chooses to die instead of killing the man she loves, even though he doesn't share her love.

I did a video using some of the elements of the original story using Disney's version.

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Grimm's Fairy Tales, a horror graphic novel/comic book series, also recently adapted TLM. Some of the fairytales they have covered are far more true to the original than most other adaptations. Fairytales were often pretty damn scary. Though Beauty and the Beast was my favorite one they did. Also, the comic is not for the easily offended or frightened. They are pretty brutal in the comics. Blood, guts, sex, etc.

Their adaptation of TLM did seem to borrow heavily in some design aspects of the Disney version. Most notably, giving the little mermaid a green tail, like Ariel and the sea witch was purple/black and had tentacles, but a far more sexy feminine body. Also she had moray eels as pets.
Variant covers...

[Siren]

The idea of a supernatural (or indeed a non-human being) being not having a soul is a traditional Christian view. I think that it is mentioned to generally tie into the general idea of wanting to advance to another level. Remember that Hans Christian Andersen was a provincial cobbler's son who rose up through his writing into the upper classes of Copenhagen, and that most of Andersen's tales are semi-autobiographic. The idea that the mermaid doesn't have a soul is, in all fairness, a way of Andersen venting his rage.

This also support my distaste to Christianity ideology and thought process.

But I get what you're saying. Basically Anderson using it as a symbolic message. But even symbolically, it should make sense to avoid inconsistency.

Anderson wasn't the only one to write that soulless beings could fall in love. Joss Whedon's vampires fall in love. Spike and Dru are amazingly devoted to each other. And Spike eventually falls in love with Buffy.