Does 'The Little Mermaid' Deserve Being Criticized Like This?

The Little Mermaid sold poorly, which was expected.

After all, compared to the previous live-action adaptations like The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid had much lower recognition. In addition, the casting controversy further discouraged those who oppose political correctness.

And this time, the critics had a new argument: "I don't dislike her because she's black; I dislike her because she's ugly." Translated, it means, "I'm not discriminating based on race, I'm just discriminating based on appearance."

But fundamentally, there is not much difference between the two. Both are generalizations that rely on biases instead of insights. It's not really a critique; it's just labeling. Once the label is applied, the conversation cannot continue. Because the purpose of the label is to conclude and refuse to open new discussions.

Therefore, to review The Little Mermaid, we need to remove these two labels first before we can begin.

The Ocean Empire's all-encompassing hatred towards humans makes Ariel's pure and unwavering thoughts seem unrealistic.

The second change lies in enriching the details of the human world.

The animated version had limited portrayals of this, but the live-action adaptation depicts the island kingdom where Prince Eric resides as a closed empire. Its rulers refuse to look outward and view the underwater world as a potential threat. Consequently, various legends of mermaids devouring humans circulate on land, and people no longer yearn for distant places but instead retreat within their own boundaries.

These two changes give the originally fairy tale a more realistic dimension. Specifically, the new version constructs a fable for the era of great disconnection. It tells the story of two isolated and xenophobic empires that are thawed by the love between two young individuals. This turns the budding romance between merfolk into a global revival.

The prince takes the ocean princess to explore the human world, and Ariel gives the prince the courage to break free from family control.

When we look at the characters, we can see that the film portrays both protagonists as outcasts.

In the underwater world, Ariel disregards prohibitions and her father's (the king's) dissuasion. She considers the artifacts from the shipwreck as treasures and insists on interacting with humans because she believes that humans couldn't be as bad as they are portrayed.

Similarly, in the human world, while everyone remains mysterious about the ocean, only Prince Eric still yearns for it. He loves sailing and adventures and hopes that his kingdom can open up again because progress can only come through openness.

The entire film tells the story of these two outcasts falling in love with each other. Their love goes beyond physical attraction; it is based on shared values.

Ariel falls in love with the prince after witnessing him rescue a dog from a burning ship. While it may seem like a clichéd "rescue the cat" plot, for Ariel, it has a different interpretation—through the prince saving the dog, she sees his equal love for other species.

The prince falls in love with Ariel initially because of her voice, but it is ultimately confirmed when he finds her genuinely interested in listening to his tales of maritime adventures amidst a room filled with memorabilia. One can imagine that in a kingdom afraid of the ocean, these stories would have gone unheard until Ariel appeared, giving the prince a kindred spirit.

Thus, a curious princess and an enlightened heir apparent gradually develop a deep infatuation for each other, moving beyond a vague appreciation for each other's cultures to a specific love for one another.

The ending scene of the film is also different from the animated version.

In the animated version, the prince and princess sail away on the boat, and humans and merfolk bid them farewell together. The live-action version has a similar scene, but the difference is that the director deliberately juxtaposes a shot of the people on the shore with the merfolk in the sea, signifying a recognition and acceptance of the other.

It's as if to say that love sets sail, and the two nations that once despised each other now have an opportunity to rebuild their relationship.

In the previous versions, Ariel's journey of pursuing love was a symbol of personal freedom, but in The Little Mermaid, the simple process of falling in love gives this romance more human qualities.

Therefore, the new version of The Little Mermaid is actually a "call for global community in the post-globalization era".

Through an interspecies love story, it reaffirms the declaration that "we are so different, but we can still love each other."

However, this fairy tale is already highly unrealistic in today's perspective.

It is safe to say that adult fairy tales are a pseudo-concept because the difference between adults and children lies in the fact that children still believe in fairy tales, while adults have long recognized reality.

The most false aspect of the entire film is precisely these two main characters.

In the current reality and public opinion environment, they simply cannot exist, and even if they do, they would quickly face societal rejection.

In the film, Ariel's own mother, who is also the mother of a nation, is killed by humans. Instead of harboring hatred towards humans, she becomes infatuated with human civilization and even utters the "the culprit is just one person, why should we hate all humans" kind of "fish-traitor" speech. If this were posted online, even a fish would be drowned in spit.

As a crown prince, would Eric, who realizes that his country is in a dire situation, choose to open up without hesitation? Most likely not. Because common sense tells us that when the internal conflicts of a country become difficult to reconcile, the most effective method is to shift the conflicts externally, making the people believe that it is the hearts of the Ocean Empire's people that are treacherous, still harboring intentions to harm us. How could they even consider forming an alliance with the enemy when their own country is in chaos?

Right? It's simply impossible. Even if the prince and princess are willing, the people would not agree.

Therefore, if the story of The Little Mermaid, placed twenty years ago, it might have been relevant, but today it is nothing more than a pipe dream. In this era of global rightward shift and populism, this story has completely lost its contextual relevance and has become a total fantasy.

As a result, the historical background has collapsed, and that love story in the film has become an unfounded tale. Its budding and occurrence instantly lose solid reasons and become nothing more than love at first sight between two infatuated minds.

Despite the disdain for the ocean empire, the human island nation in the film exhibits a great sense of inclusiveness, with a Black queen in power and a prince who is not of royal blood but adopted - it's very American.

This is truly a kind of sadness.

The Little Mermaid, whether in terms of casting or adaptation, attempts to awaken a sense of undifferentiated community, but this effort is destined to be in vain. Because it is too detached from reality and too self-absorbed.

Throughout the entire film, there are only two scenes that feel somewhat genuine to me.

One is when Ariel wants to leave the ocean and go to the land, and the crab conductor sings "Under the Sea" in her ear. Unconsciously, Ariel is infected by the song and sings along.

That song is like the underwater version of "Happiest Place on Earth" - you dream is to go somewhere else, but that's a big mistake. Look at the world around you, there are so many wonderful things surrounding you... we are lucky, beneath this mud, beneath the sea.

The other is the sea king and the sea witch in the film. The former restricts Ariel's freedom for her safety, and the latter appears to give Ariel freedom but secretly has ulterior motives.

In the end, safety and freedom are just excuses for rulers to gain political leverage, and Ariel is nothing more than a frightened commoner and a pawn being used.

Only in fairy tales can the goodness, sincerity, and inclusiveness of a princess overcome the prejudice of an entire group.

In any case, The Little Mermaid is ultimately a failed work.

It has made a film that almost no one would believe at the wrong time and in the wrong context.

There's no way around it, the boundary between reality and fairy tales is so clear-cut. Just like the barriers between nations and between people, which are no less than the separation between humans and mermaids.

It's unfortunate that this is an era where we no longer expect fairy tales.

Although, at one time, those fairy tales did sparkle faintly above all humanity.