Unanswered Questions From The Little Mermaid

I remember being a little kid and loving Disney movies. I mean I loved them. Like every other little girl my age, I loved singing along with the songs and pretending I was a princess myself. Jasmine was always my favorite because she was the only one that looked like me; there weren’t many ethnic princesses when I was growing up. But, I digress.

Anyway, it should go without saying that I couldn’t be happier that my little girls are loving Disney’s princesses now, too. We went through a Cinderella phase and Frozen phase, of course (and I was so happy to let that one go… see what I did there?). Now, we’re onto The Little Mermaid. Ariel’s story has been on repeat in my home; we have a dance party every time “Under the Sea” comes on. But unlike the other Disney movies, The Little Mermaid leaves me with so many questions – ones I never thought of as a kid. I’m seeing it through an adult’s eyes now and I just can’t help but wonder…

  • Where’s Ariel’s mom?
  • Why didn’t anyone notice Ariel was missing before her debut performance started?
  • Why doesn’t she have any mer-friends?
  • How did they get a stone statue on board the ship?
  • Why is she more fascinated by her new legs than by her newly-formed lady parts?
  • What did she do the first time she had to go to the bathroom (especially #2)?
  • Why does her hair look so good under water?
  • What does Ursula feed her eels to make them so big?
  • Why didn’t the chef get fired after destroying the kitchen?
  • Isn’t Ariel concerned about getting her wedding dress wet when she hugs King Triton?
  • What does Ariel do the first time she gets her monthly “gift?”
  • Will her babies be born with fins? Or, half a fin? (Because genetics)

I mean, don’t get me wrong – I realize this is a cartoon and mermaids aren’t exactly “realistic,” but I feel like Disney has left me hanging in so many areas on this one. I may never be the same again.

Thanks a lot, Disney. Thanks a lot.

1 COMMENT

  1. I had A LOT of the same questions about Ariel.. especially about her new, um, parts, and the stone statue on the boat that seemed, otherwise, really fragile.

    I just read an article the other day about some of the gaps in Beauty and the Beast that are finally being addressed in the new movie… like, where’s Belle’s Mom, does every inanimate object in the castle come to life when it becomes enchanted, and just HOWold is the Beast? Because that timeline from the animated movie does not add up.

    Why, Disney, why?

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