The Little Mermaid Review

The Little Mermaid is another childhood favorite of mine. This movie gave every little girl the right of way to act like a mermaid in the swimming pool and brush their hair with forks. The thing I like most about this animation is the many famous, feel good songs that it includes. The top ones being Under the Sea, Part of Your World and Kiss the Girl. When I was a kid I remember singing those songs all the time and never getting tired of them. I also enjoy the characters of Flounder, Sebastian and Scuttle. These secondary characters give a comical and happy contrast to the malevolent Ursula and worried King Triton. Another aspect of this movie that I enjoy is the voice acting of Ursula's character. Pat Carroll's voice is raspy and deep which give the character of Ursula an even more villainous persona. Whenever Ursula is on the screen she is so captivating not only because of her appearance, but also because of her sound.

On the other hand there are many aspects of this movie that I do not like. For instance, I am not a fan of Ariel's values. She seems to be all wrapped up in her own world, which yes many girls her age are. That doesn't entirely mean she should be going against her fathers wishes and ignoring Sebastian/Flounder who are only trying to help her. Whenever she does something she isn't supposed to do it is not only she who gets the brunt of King Triton's anger, but Sebastian and Flounder as well. I also find myself melancholy at the end of this movie. Even though Ariel is with the Prince and has gotten the legs she has always hoped for, she is leaving her family and friends that have been so devoted to her. The last scene where she is on the boat and her sea family is waving goodbye to her makes me think of my family. I don't think (that young especially) I would leave my family entirely behind and marry a man I have only been with for three days. The thought is unsettling, especially since King Triton, Flounder and Sebastian are so cute. :)

The villain of Ursula is an extremely interesting and complex character. Her appearance alone would give me the shivers every time I watched the movie. The black tentacles, white spiked hair, purple skin, large body type, slithering eel companions and deep voice were enough to make you think, "yeah, she is definitely the bad one." Even her name, Ursula, means little bear in Latin. One thing that I hadn't remembered from watching when I was younger was that Ursula never wanted to be young again or hurt Ariel. Her actual intent was to take over the crown from King Triton. I just think that the character of Ursula has many stereotypical characteristics of a villain that contrasts well with the light heartedness of Ariels character. Ursula might be a competitor for the top villain in a Disney animation.

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