Disney’s The Little Mermaid is the newest in line of Disney live-action remakes, and is very different from its animated counterpart. The Little Mermaid re-imagines the original 1989 animated film with several modern twists. The Little Mermaid incorporates some of today’s sensibilities into these timeless characters. With Halle Bailey in the titular role and Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda joining the team to write some new songs for the film with The Little Mermaid’s original composer Alan Menken, the hype for The Little Mermaid remake has been well deserved.
Even with the hype from Disney fans, there was some backlash regarding some of the movie’s changes, such as casting a woman of color as Ariel, since she does not have pale skin and bright red hair like the animated mermaid. Others have criticized the realistic design of Flounder and Scuttle, as well as the dark color palette of the trailer. Ultimately, however, the changes made to The Little Mermaid serve the story being told, which doesn’t differ drastically from Disney’s 1989 animated story.
20 The Movie Opens With A Quote Honoring Hans Christian Andersen
The original story of The Little Mermaid was written by Hans Christian Andersen and the tale is much more tragic than the one that Disney tells in its animated movie. Despite the two being drastically different, The Little Mermaid live-action remake honors Andersen by placing a quote from his original story at the movie’s opening:
“But a mermaid has no tears… therefore she suffers so much more.”
The quote highlights one of the themes of the movie, the differences between mermaids and humans. Mermaids are seen as something “other,” a creature that doesn’t have the same feelings as human beings. Likewise, the mermaids initially see the humans as “other,” violent beings who would come after them if given the chance. By seeing one another as something outside the norm, both groups of people lack connection. That’s where Ariel and Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) are different in the movie because the two are compassionate and see the good in both humans and mermaids, bringing them together.
19 Scuttle, Sebastian, and Flounder Have Design Changes
In the original animated film, Scuttle is a seagull who assists Ariel in finding items for her collection. He gives her the wrong information about the items, but his heart is in the right place. However, for The Little Mermaid remake, Scuttle is a female northern gannet (voiced by Awkwafina), which is a large white seabird. Changing the gender of the character as well as the species may seem strange, but the creators wanted to feature a bird who could be in underwater scenes. While a seagull is an iconic beach bird, for practical reasons, it makes much more sense for Scuttle to be a seabird.
Flounder (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) and Sebastian (Daveed Diggs) also undergo design changes in the new movie. Flounder looks like a more realistic fish instead of a cartoon fish in keeping with the design of all the underwater creatures. Sebastian is modeled after a tropical ghost crab. While that crab doesn’t survive in the water in reality, the design makes sense for the film since it allows for a more expressive face than other crabs would have.
18 A Two-Hour Runtime Means The Little Mermaid Is More Detailed
1989’s The Little Mermaid’s runtime is an hour and 23 minutes, which is notably shorter than The Little Mermaid remake’s runtime of 2 hours and 15 minutes. While this isn’t unique to this particular live-action adaptation – Beauty & The Beast was 2 hours and 19 minutes – it does leave more time to develop other characters. While an hour and 23 minutes is a good running time for children’s movies, extra time certainly allows for extra character development and expansion of moments that otherwise could need to be cut.
Since the other live-action remakes’ running times haven’t deterred any fans from enjoying it thus far, The Little Mermaid was also free to extend the running time of the original. Additionally, there also needs to be room for the three brand-new songs. Those extra minutes allow Ariel and Eric to spend more time getting to know one another, for Eric’s mother to be highlighted in the movie, and for new characters to help flesh out the personalities of the characters in the original movie.
17 Ariel’s Voice Is Called A Siren Song
Music has been a large part of Disney’s animated movies since the very first one: Snow White And The Seven Dwarves. The music hasn’t, however, been part of the story in the animated movies in that the song is caused by a curse, or is, itself, magic. That’s not the case here. One of The Little Mermaid changes made is that the characters are very much aware of Ariel’s songs, not just her voice because she has the mermaid gift of “Siren Song.”
Ariel’s song is distinctive enough that the movie names it and has Eric searching for her voice specifically after she saves his life. It also appears to be her song that revives him after he nearly drowns in the storm early in the movie. A big deal is made out of Ariel giving the “gift” of her Siren Song to Eric by both Sebastian and her father, indicating that it isn’t something all that common among the merpeople either.
16 Eric Is Adopted (& His Mother Is Still Alive)
In 1989’s The Little Mermaid, there isn’t much known about Prince Eric. He is a Prince who loves the sea and adventure, but that’s about the extent of his personality in the original. To make Eric and Ariel’s romance feel natural, the filmmakers decided to include a backstory for Eric and feature his mother, in order to help build his character. Prince Eric’s mother is a new character in the story, but she is important to understand Eric’s longing for adventure. Like King Triton (Javier Bardem), she wants to do everything to keep her child safe, and Eric rebels against her wishes.
Noma Dumezweni plays Prince Eric’s mother, Queen Selina. Dumezweni is known for her roles in Mary Poppins Returns as Miss Penny Farthing and Theodora Birch in The Watcher.
15 Ariel’s Dead Mother Plays A Bigger Part In The Plot
Disney is known for having only one parent, or even no parents, in its Princess movies. The original Disney animated version of The Little Mermaid only features Ariel’s father King Triton and never goes into detail about her mother. The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid changes this to make it clear that Ariel’s mother is dead.
In fact, the death of Ariel’s mother is a big reason Triton treats Ariel the way he does. He doesn’t want her going outside of her designated kingdom, and he definitely doesn’t want her going to the surface. His fear of something happening to Ariel is a result of her mother’s death. She was killed by a human, and though the audience doesn’t learn much more than that, it’s clear that her death motivates Triton’s decisions. He wants to keep the kingdom safe so that no one suffers the same fate as she did.
14 Prince Eric Gets His Own “I Want” Song
Disney Princess musicals nearly all feature the main character detailing their woes in an “I want” song. For Ariel, that song is the famous “Part Of Your World.” Eric doesn’t have an “I want” song in the original movie. He likes to sail, plays music, and has a dog, but that’s all the audience really gets to know of him in the animated movie.
In the 2023 The Little Mermaid changes are made to allow the audience to get to know Eric better. One of those changes is giving him his own “I want” song. His is “Wild Uncharted Waters.” The song makes it clear that he has the same curiosity and adventurous spirit that Ariel does. He also is just as interested in her as she is in him. He wants her to come find him, and he wants to learn more about her the same way he longs to know more about the sea and the places that exist in those “uncharted waters.”
13 Ursula Is Triton’s Sister
The Little Mermaid also picks up a dropped bit of backstory from the original movie. While Ursula is simply the sea witch that Triton has banished in the original movie, 2023’s The Little Mermaid changes their relationship beyond them being enemies. They’re also family.
Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) is Triton’s sister in The Little Mermaid. The same bit of backstory has been used in books inspired by the animated movie and in the Broadway show. Ursula wants the power that Triton commands in his trident and Triton doesn’t trust his sister. Exactly what soured their relationship in the movie isn’t specified, nor is whether they had other siblings at one point, but what’s made clear is that Ursula wants her brother’s power, his crown, and she wants him to suffer just like she has.
12 There’s No Poor Unfortunate Soul In Ursula’s Lair
One of the most surprising The Little Mermaid changes is to Ursula’s lair. In the animated movie, and even in the children’s books and comics that were developed after, she had the titular “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from her song transformed into small aquatic creatures that she held prisoner in her lair. These creatures were merpeople who had gone back on their deals with her.
Instead of those creatures in her lair, there is evidence of her still being violent toward other merpeople outside of her lair. When Ariel first swims in, she finds the bones of merpeople at the entrance. Ursula also has several skulls in her lair, indicating that several merpeople have perished by her hand over the years. Even without the “poor unfortunate souls” trapped under spells in her lair, it’s still made very clear that Ursula is dangerous.
11 Ariel Can’t Remember The Spell Or The Need To Kiss Eric
When Ariel makes her deal with Ursula, she trades her voice for legs. The terms of the spell that Ursula places on her are that she has three days to get Eric to kiss her, and for it to be true love, or she forfeits her legs and belongs to Ursula. In the original movie, Ariel remembers the spell and her deadline, and she has Sebastian around to help her.
Disney’s new live-action The Little Mermaid changes the effects of Ursula’s spell on her. While Ariel still trades her voice for legs, she doesn’t remember her deal with Ursula at all. Ariel doesn’t remember the deadline or the need to kiss Eric. Even when Sebastian tries to talk to her about it, Ariel’s mind goes completely blank. It adds a layer of conflict to the movie as Sebastian tries to help Ariel without her knowledge.
10 Ariel Gets A Song In Her Head When Entering The Human World
One of the biggest changes The Little Mermaid makes is actually giving the audience a window into Ariel’s thoughts once she’s on land. While the animated movie sees the audience relying on the exaggerated expressions given to a hand-drawn Ariel, the live-action movie doesn’t do that in order for the audience to understand how she’s feeling.
When Ariel arrives on land, her fears, confusion, curiosity, and excitement are all demonstrated through a new song in The Little Mermaid even though her voice has been taken from her. That’s because Halle Bailey recorded a song that is all in Ariel’s head while she’s on land. The soundtrack combines with Bailey’s performance to perfectly demonstrate how Ariel is feeling and the whirlwind of emotions she’s going through.
9 Why & How Ariel Ends Up In The Castle Is More Detailed
In the animated The Little Mermaid, Ariel simply ends up at the castle without a ton of explanation for just why it’s decided a woman found on shore should stay with the prince. The live-action movie has a better explanation.
The island is in an area that experiences a lot of shipwrecks, which should be evident from Ariel visiting the graveyard of ships in the ocean. It’s also not uncommon for survivors of those shipwrecks to be taken in by people on the island. Even Prince Eric was adopted by the royal family as a child who survived a shipwreck. Since it’s not the first time someone washed up on shore or picked up by a boat has ended up at the castle, it makes sense. Ariel’s journey to get there with a well-meaning fisherman also gives the audience a lot more detail about what it takes to end up in the castle.
8 Eric Is A Hoarder Of Undersea Trinkets Just Like Ariel
While much of Prince Eric’s living space is left to the imagination of the audience in the 1989 movie, that’s not the case in the 2023 movie. The Little Mermaid changes just how much the audience gets to know about Eric. One of the things they learn is that Eric and Ariel have a lot in common when it comes to their fascination with objects from other cultures.
While Ariel hoards treasures she finds from the world above in an underwater cavern, Eric hoards his treasures from the sea in a study. Some of Eric’s objects are ones from trading with faraway cultures, but he also has tons of maps of different coastlines, and items he’s picked up from the water itself. Their respective storage spaces even both have a direct line of sight to the sky. Ariel, so far below the surface, can’t quite see the stars from underwater, but Eric has a telescope to help him study the night sky.
7 Kiss The Girl’s Lyrics Are Changed
In addition to adding new songs and removing old songs, some of the lyrics of The Little Mermaid’s classic soundtrack have been updated to match today’s times. For example, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” had some lyrics that reflect the preference for young woman to stay silent. In an interview with Variety, Menken says the lines were removed because they “might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.”
According to Menken, the other song that has significant lyric changes is “Kiss the Girl.” In his Variety interview, Menken also added “people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel].” This change reflects society’s current view on consent and romantic relationships, and ensures that Prince Eric’s actions are clearly that of someone in love with Ariel, and not someone trying to take advantage of her or not gain her consent.
6 There’s No Chef Scene
With the addition of three new songs, The Little Mermaid remake takes out two songs from the original animated classic. These songs were scrapped because the filmmakers believed the songs didn’t move the plot along or add much to the story. The famous “Les Poissons” song that Chef Louis sings while preparing fish will be missing. Indeed Chef Louis is not in the film at all. While the song might be a fun memory for fans who grew up watching the animated version, it only serves as a scene that ignores the larger story of the movie to focus on Sebastian in danger.
The other song missing from The Little Mermaid remake is “Daughters of Triton” which is performed by Ariel’s sisters in the opening of the original animated film. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Alan Menken explains that they wanted the film to open on the ocean and Ariel to build anticipation to “Part of Your World.” Ariel’s sisters are featured in The Little Mermaid remake, and each of them are in charge of separate areas of the ocean. They meet on the “coral moon” as a family to discuss news from each of the different ocean kingdoms, making it clear that Ariel’s sisters don’t just hang around the palace, but have real responsibilities to the underwater world. They’re even shown cleaning up damage to reefs from shipwrecks.
5 Scuttle Gets A Song
Scuttle the Seagull didn’t get involved in the musical numbers of the original movie. Scuttle the gannet, however, gets to be involved in multiple musical numbers. Not only do Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder team up for “Kiss The Girl,” but Scuttle even gets her own song.
“The Scuttlebutt” is a new addition to the movie with lyrics by Lin Manuel-Miranda. The rap is a play on Scuttle’s name, but also on the inspiration for Scuttle’s name. “Scuttlebutt” is a synonym for gossip. Awkwafina doesn’t do all the vocals on the song alone though. Daveed Diggs as Sebastian also contributes to the song. It might not be the most-loved of the three new songs for the movie, but it certainly fits Scuttle’s character perfectly.
4 Vanessa And Eric Only Plan To Announce Their Engagement In One Day
Disney Princess movies are known for their relationships moving very quickly. True love’s kiss between two characters means they are suddenly ready to get married. In the original The Little Mermaid, Eric even plans to marry Ursula the day he meets her. That’s one thing the new The Little Mermaid changes for the better.
Though Eric spends a lot of time looking for the voice of the woman that rescues him, he also clearly enjoys spending time with Ariel, and there’s no indication from his character that he intends on proposing marriage on the spot to the person that rescued him. Once he meets Vanessa (Jessica Alexander) that changes because Ursula’s magic bewitches him, but he still is ready to propose, not marry, on the same day. He even says he’s not sure what he’s doing at one point during the party that’s meant to announce their engagement.
3 Ariel Kills Ursula, Not Eric
During the 1989 animated movie, the big battle against Ursula happens in the middle of the ocean because Eric’s wedding to Vanessa is actually happening on a ship at sea. Ursula takes Ariel back to the ocean when they both transform and Eric follows them. The 2023 The Little Mermaid changes a few aspects of that – like an engagement party on land instead of at sea – but much of the conflict remains the same.
Once Ariel, Eric, and Ursula are in the middle of the ocean, however, Ursula is just as equally focused on killing both Ariel and Eric, unlike the animated movie. Since she isn’t distracted by Ariel, it’s not Eric who uses a shipwreck to kill her. Ariel is the one who makes her way to the wheel of a sunken ship brought to the surface by Ursula’s whirlpool and uses the ship to stab Ursula. She is no longer a damsel in distress who has to be rescued in this version.
2 Ariel & Eric Leave To Explore The Uncharted Regions’
The previous animated version of the movie sees Ariel and Eric marry and sail off together in the end, and while the live-action version discusses them marrying, it isn’t made explicit whether they’re married yet or not in the final moments of the film. They still sail off together in a boat though.
Now, their sense of adventure is highlighted as well, not just their love for one another. The two leave the kingdom to explore the uncharted waters from Eric’s maps, giving them both a new journey.
1 Merpeople & Humans Reconcile
While the animated The Little Mermaid never explains the divide between humans and merpeople, the live-action one does. Their conflict is due to the two cultures not understanding one another. Human kill mermpeople because they think they’re dangerous, and merpeople allow them to drown in shipwrecks for the same reason – at least that is what’s implied from conversations with Triton and his daughters. None of that is discussed in the animated movie.
The live-action The Little Mermaid ending allows the two cultures to reconcile their differences and live peacefully. Merpeople, including some of Ariel’s sisters and young children, come to the surface to see her off alongside members of Eric’s household when the two embark on their journey at the end of the movie. The changes made to The Little Mermaid in 2023 like this one are for the betterment of the story.