The Little Mermaid Comparison Research Paper

“I lost her once, I’m not going to lose her again,” cried prince Eric as he realizes Ariel is his one true love. One of the most memorable Disney love stories originated from a fairy-tale which didn’t include the typical happily ever after ending. So how did the romantic love story of Ariel and Prince Eric come to be? Ultimately the writer and co-director, Ron Clements for Disney, was disheartened by the ending of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” These two stories differ thematically. “The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen’s is a literary fiction showing the audience to love themselves before you can love others and to always be careful what you wish for; on the other hand, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” being completely
For instance, Ursula is an archetype villain who plays a pivotal role in Ariel’s quest to marry her true love. Ursula made a potion to give Ariel legs for three days, but of course there was a catch. Unfortunately, if Ariel fails to kiss the prince before sundown on the third day she would return to being a mermaid and be the property of Ursula. Ursula then did everything in her power to assure the two didn’t kiss; by knocking them out of the boat and wearing the seashell necklace with Ariel’s voice to make Eric think she is the one, fall in love with her, and marry her rather than Ariel. On the other hand, in Andersen’s version the sea witch is a flat character, simply giving the mermaid her wish and taking her tongue as a form of payment then that was all. Above all, the most important difference in the stories is the endings. In the original version, the little mermaid is faced with the difficult challenge of killing the prince or sacrificing her life. She chose the ultimate path by sacrificing her life by throwing herself into the water and turning into a daughter of the air with the opportunity to gain an immortal soul after all. Meanwhile, after discovering Ursula was pretending to be Eric’s true love it results in the climax of the movie. Eric chased after Ariel to assure he wouldn’t lose her again, stabbing
These two stories differ thematically. “The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen’s is a literary fiction showing the audience to love themselves before you can love others and to always be careful what you wish for; on the other hand, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” being completely commercial fiction shows the audience dreams do come true as long as you are persistent and never give up on your dreams. Although Hans Christian Andersen does an outstanding job leaving the audience with an understanding of life, I will always love Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” for teaching me to always follow my