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{{work|wppage=The Little Mermaid (1989 film)}}
[[File:The-Little-Mermaid-Poster.jpg|frame]]
{{quote|
''I don’t know how''
''But I know something’s starting right now''
''Watch and you’ll see''
''Someday I’ll be''
''Part of your world!'' }}
Entry #28 in the [[Disney Animated Canon]], from 1989.
The surprise hit of the 1989 holiday season, it won Best Song and Score Oscars, and placed Disney securely back on top of the animated film business. It spawned a CBS [[The Little Mermaid (animation)|Saturday morning prequel series]] in 1992, a [[Direct to Video]] [[Sequel]] in 2000 (''Return to the Sea''), and a DTV [[Prequel]] in 2008 (''Ariel's Beginning''). The characters also figure in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' video game series, and other tie-in merchandise and media appearances are going strong with Ariel as an official [[Disney Princess]]. A stage musical adaptation was launched in 2007, and a dark ride debuted at Disney California Adventure in 2011.
There was a [[3D Movie|Disney Digital 3-D]] re-release of this film in 2013.
''The Little Mermaid'' was named to the [[National Film Registry]] in 2022.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Accidental Public Confession]]: "Humans? Who said anything about humans?"
* [[Action Girl]]: Though Ariel is a [[
* [[Adaptational Attractiveness]]: Ursula's character design in the stage musical is less "overweight drag queen", and in the original cast, she was played by Sherie Renee Scott.
* [[Adaptational Villainy]]: In the original fairy tale by [[Hans Christian Andersen]], the Sea Witch is a [[True Neutral]] character who, while she makes the same deal with the unnamed mermaid, warns her of the consequences presented by the transformation and doesn't go back on it until asked to by the mermaid's sisters, and even then she only does so indirectly.
* [[Adapted Out]]: In the original [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s tale, the little mermaid had a grandmother. In the Disney version, Ariel and her sisters don't have any known grandparents.
* [[Adorkable]]: Ariel while exploring dry land.
* [[Alliterative Family]]: Alana, Adella, Aquata, Attina, Arista, Andrina, and Ariel.
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* [[Amazing Technicolor Wildlife]]
* [[Ambition Is Evil]]: Ursula in the original film, Morgana in ''Return to the Sea'' and Marina Del Ray in ''Ariel's Begining''.
* [[And I Must Scream]]: Ursula's "garden" is made of former merfolk, now helpless, voiceless polyps, whom she transformed after they
** {{spoiler|In the sequel, this seems to be Morgana's fate, as she is trapped in a block of ice. Her eyes can move, but her body can't.}}
* [[Animal Eye Spy]]: Ursula with her eels.
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* [[Collector of the Strange]]: Ariel, who collects many items considered mundane to humans but strange to merfolk.
* [[Compelling Voice]]: How Ursula brainwashes Eric. Special mention must be made to the fact that it isn't even ''her'' voice that brainwashes him but his love interest's, Ariel.
* [[Composite Character]]: In the original fairy tale, there's a sea witch who gives the mermaid her legs and a princess whom the prince marries; Ursula combines them both when she transforms into that princess, along with [[Adaptational Villainy]].
* [[Crystal Ball]]: Ursula has a bubble that serves as this. It's also implied that Flotsam and Jetsam's eyes act as this.
* [[Curtain Clothing]]: Ariel attempts to make a dress from a sail on a wrecked ship. The result is more comical than anything.
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* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Grimsby.
* [[Deal with the Devil]]: Ariel trades her voice to Ursula to be human. Ursula actually specializes in this kind of deal and has a "garden" full of merfolk who were turned into polyps when they weren't able to fulfill the terms of their contracts. Ironically, listen to the lines "This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl" - it seems the two examples Ursula gave [[Twice Shy|already wanted each other; what they lacked was self-confidence]]. In the musical, Ursula's contracts had all the attributes of a literal [[Deal with the Devil]]:
{{quote|
'''Ursula:''' [[Blatant Lies|Nothing drastic darling, I'm sure]]. Oh, look, small print. [[Fate Worse Than Death|Your soul is mine forever and you're doomed to spend the eternity in my watery hell-soaked lair]]. Lawyers, don't you just love 'em?! }}
* [[Depth Deception]]
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* [[Everything's Even Worse with Sharks]]: Undertow, Morgana's sidekick from ''The Little Mermaid 2''.
* [[Evil Counterpart]] / [[Evil Twin]]: Vanessa, Ursula's disguise, even without Ariel's voice, greatly resembles Ariel herself, albeit overall much darker.
* [[Evil-Detecting Dog]]: Max again. Ursula probably smells like octopus and whatever those things are that she eats.
* [[Evil Eyebrows]]: Ursula.
* [[Evil Laugh]]: Ursula does one about every five minutes.
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** The elderly preacher's [[Unfortunate Character Design|"knees"]], way more so.
* [[Fan Service]]: Ariel naked when she becomes human, and even as a mermaid, she (and her fellow merpeople) show a lot of skin: the women wear only a [[Seashell Bra]], and the men go bare-chested.
** Ursula does a LOT of shaking in the "[[Villain Song|Poor Unfortunate Souls]]" scene...there's even a close up as she shimmies, assuming that you don't find it to be Fan Disservice.
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: King Triton toward humans. When Ariel points out that he's judging Eric without knowing him, he declares "Know him?! I don't have to know him! They're all the same!"
** Exposition removed from the original movie, but added back into the musical and the prequel, reveals that Ariel's mother was killed by humans (well, ran over by a pirate ship), making Triton's paranoia about them ''somewhat'' more sympathetic.
* [[Feather Fingers]]: Notable in that the fish characters avert the "fish can walk on their tailfins" subtrope until the "Under the Sea" number, where it looks awkward. Scuttle doesn't exactly avoid the [[Trope Namer]] either.
* [[Fee Fi Faux Pas]]
* [[Fiery Redhead]]: Averted with Ariel. She doesn't lose her cool very often.
* [[Fish Out of Water]]: Ariel's a near-literal example.
* [[Flower in Her Hair]]: Ariel, moments before and during "Under The Sea".
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** As Sebastian points out, "The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake..."
* [[Happily Married]]: Ariel and Eric, from the end of the first movie and into the sequel.
* [[Harsh Life Revelation Aesop]]:
** Grimsby tells Eric that there is no such thing as a perfect romantic partner when encouraging him to settle down with a girl, a ''real'' one who is right before his eyes and not an idyllic dream. In this case, he's referring to the mute Ariel, who showed up on the beaches of Eric's palace wearing a tattered sail for clothing. Eric keeps saying that he doesn't want just anyone, he wants someone who he ''knows'' will be right for him, and thinks it's the mysterious girl who rescued him from drowning. Over the course of their courtship, Eric and Ariel each learn the other is not perfect; Ariel has [[No Social Skills]] while combing her hair with a fork, and Eric remains oblivious to the hints that Ariel is the girl who saved him, but they learn to communicate and accept each other's flaws.
** As Ursula puts it, "Life is full of tough choices, innit?" Ariel even nods reluctantly at this statement. For Ariel to get what she wants -- to be with Eric-- she would need to become human. But becoming human means no more living with her father and sisters, who she loves dearly. While she enjoys two luxurious days above the surface in Eric's palace and trying to woo him with her friend's help, Triton is organizing search parties throughout the ocean, wracked with guilt that his temper drove Ariel and Sebastian away. They end up reconciling by the end of the movie, but Triton making Ariel a human permanently is acknowledged as a [[Bittersweet Ending]] for him.
* [[Heroic Dimples]]: The human man Ariel falls in love with, Prince Eric, is a tall, dark and handsomely dimpled [[Nice Guy|nice guy]].
* [[Heroes Love Dogs]]: And will nearly die for them.
* [[Heroes Want Redheads]]
* [[Hold Your Hippogriffs]]:
** "You're not getting cold fins<ref> feet</ref> now, are you?"
** "You are such a <ref> chicken!</ref>"
** "You give them an inch, they'll swim<ref> walk</ref> all over you."
** "The seaweed<ref> grass</ref> is always greener / In somebody else's lake<ref> lawn!</ref>"
** "Someone needs to nail that girl's <ref> feet</ref> to the floor."
** "It's time Ursula took matters into her own <ref> hands!</ref>"
* [[Hollywood Kiss]]: Ariel and Eric.
* [[Hypno Trinket]]: The shell containing Ariel's voice. Inverted in that it is the Villain who is wearing it and using it to manipulate the victim, rather than the usual case of the Villain placing it on the victim.
* [[Hypocritical Singing]]: "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in a slight variation. Ursula, while trying to get Ariel to make a deal with her, sings of how she uses her powers to help people. The song's hypocritical in that she makes herself seem to come off in the very best light. While she does help people, she compares herself to a saint, but she also always has something to gain from her deals, and she goes out of her way to make sure that those under contract will fail to uphold their end of the bargain.
* [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice]]: Again, Ursula's death.
* [[Ink Suit Actor]]: Scuttle and his voice actor, the late Buddy Hackett. Hackett had his wife take photos of his face as he tried to make seagull-esque expressions in preparation for the role, and it seems the animators used those photos as reference material.
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* [[I Will Find You]]: Eric's intention when Ursula drags Ariel back to the sea.
* [[The Jimmy Hart Version]]: The finish of "Part of Your World" in [[The Little Mermaid]] is Ashman and [[Alan Menken|Menken]] Jimmy Harting one of ''their own songs'', "Somewhere That's Green", from [[Little Shop of Horrors]].
* [[Kick the Dog]]: In human form, Ursula does this literally -- and it literally comes back to bite her in the butt when Max decides to join in on the animals attacking Vanessa.
* [[Know-Nothing Know-It-All]]: Scuttle claims to be an expert on humans but thinks forks are combs called "dinglehoppers", and smoking pipes are musical instruments called "snarfblats".
* [[Large Ham]]: Ursula has a few of these moments. '''"[[Villain Song|YOU POOR, UNFORTUNATE SOOOOOOUUULLLLLLLL!!!!!]]"'''
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* [[Manipulative Bitch]]: Ursula, and how.
* [[Marry for Love]]: Eric intends to do this.
* [[Massive
* [[Meaningful Name]]:
** "Eric" is an Old Norse name that can mean "One Ruler", "Lone Ruler" or "Lone Prince", which is what he is in the beginning of the film.
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* [[Mood Whiplash]]: "''You're too late!''"
* [[Aliens Speaking English|Merfolk Speaking English]]: Without it, giving up a voice might not have been so painful. Ariel wouldn't know how to talk to the prince, and Biped!Ariel could have just learned to speak the [[Signed Language|local Deaf lingo]].
* [[Mr. Fanservice]]: Whilst not as popular as Phillip from ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'', Eric nevertheless has his fair share of fangirls, though he doesn't dress the same way Ariel does. It helps that he's the Animation Renaissance's first bona fide badass. It's not terribly surprising that Ariel falls in love with him, though it's not solely based on his looks.
* [[Ms. Fanservice]]: Ariel
* [[Musicalis Interruptus]]: Some of the best around.
* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: Triton when he blames himself for Ariel's disappearance in the first movie, given the way he acted.
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** Ursula tosses a tongue-looking thing into her cauldron (See "Visual Pun" below.) In the original story, the little mermaid's tongue was cut out before she became human.
** Attina, one of Ariel's sisters, was named after an obscure previous Alan Menken musical, ''Atina: Evil Queen of the Galaxy''.
* [[Naked on Arrival]]: When Ariel first becomes human, the lower half of her body is unclothed, though her upper half still is.
* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3voGyV1n0c The first teaser for the third movie], made entirely from scenes of the first two. Still manages to be quite haunting.
* [[Nightmare Face]]: "So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you, and if this is the only way, so be it!"
* [[Non-Human Sidekick]]: Flounder, Sebastian, Scuttle and Max for the goodies. Flotsam and Jetsam for the baddie.
* [[No Ontological Inertia]]: Ursula's prisoners are freed when she dies. They're happy about the turn of events.
* [[Not Evil, Just Misunderstood]]: Ursula claims this...but she ''really'' is evil, as Ariel finds out when she transforms her father into a polyp.
{{quote|
They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch
[[Blatant Lies|But you'll find that nowadays, I've mended all my ways...]]"'' }}
* [[Oh Crap]]: "Vanessa" does a big one as [[Zerg Rush|a big flock of birds speed towards her]].
** [[Something We Forgot|"Oh my gosh! My father's gonna kill me!"]]
* [[Old-Fashioned Rowboat Date]]: Invoked as part of the song "Kiss the Girl".
* [[One Mario Limit]]: "Ursula" wasn't a very common English name to begin with, but ''no'' reasoning parent today would name their child such, thanks to the villain of this film.
* [[One-Winged Angel]]: Ursula at the end. Vanessa changing back into Ursula also counts.
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* [[Power Hair]]: Ursula.
* [[Princesses Prefer Pink]]: Ariel's dinner dress and nightgown are both pink.
* [[Punctuated!
* [[Punctuated Pounding]]: ''"CAN YOU HEAR WHAT I'M TELLING YOU?'' The prince! Is marrying! The Sea Witch in disguise!"
* [[Purple Eyes]]: Vanessa.
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* [[Slasher Smile]]: Ursula does this quite a bit during the final battle. Vanessa, Ursula's disguise, has this when gloating about her inevitable victory (Specifically, when she throws her hairpin at a mirror with enough force to knock the mirror back upon impact.)
* [[Small Name, Big Ego]]: Scuttle, about knowledge of human life.
* [["Somewhere" Song]]: "Part of Your World"
* [[Spared by the Adaptation]]: The mermaid in Andersen's [[Fairy Tale]] died.
** Actually such was the case in the original version, but it's believed that Andersen later revised it - {{spoiler|her soul remains in what amounts to Purgatory, and for every good child she observes, she gets closer to entering Heaven, but for every bad, disobedient child, the process will take longer.}}
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** How the hell did Flounder get that statue of Eric into the grotto ''by himself'' (disregarding that none of the openings are big enough for the thing)?
*** Flounder is a freaking powerhouse. He's able to pull Ariel and the barrel fast enough to catch up with the wedding barge, too; and he pulls her all the way to the surface from the bottom of the ocean right after she transforms.
* [[Strong Family Resemblance]]: Triton has a variety of daughters...but Ariel is the one who resembles her mother the most.
* [[Teeth Flying]]: At the end of the movie, Louis the chef loses a few teeth after getting hit on the face by a mast.
* [[Tentacle Rope]]: In the sequel, Morgana grabs and holds Ariel using her tentacles.
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** [[Odd Name Out]]: Sure, Ariel's name ''starts'' with A like her sisters', but it does not ''end'' with A.
* [[They Have the Scent]]: Max tracks Ariel down by scent twice in the film, [[Big Friendly Dog|licking her face upon finding her both times]]. The second time is even how Prince Eric first meets her.
* [[Took a Level
* [[Title Drop]]: During "Vanessa's" song: "Soon I'll have that little mermaid and the ocean will be mine!"
* [[True-Blue Femininity]]: When Eric is showing Ariel around his land, she wears a dress with a blue skirt, and a large, blue hair ribbon.
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* [[Wicked Witch]]
** [[Witch with a Capital B]]
{{quote|
* [[X-Ray Sparks]]: Occurs during Ursula's death.
* [[You Are Too Late]]: Pointed out by Ursula when the heroes arrive too late to complete Ariel's contract.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Available Light Productions]]
[[Category:The Renaissance Age of Animation]]
▲[[Category:Disney Animated Canon]]
[[Category:Fairy Tale]]
[[Category:Fantasy Animated Films]]
[[Category:Pacific Rim Animation]]
[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]
▲[[Category:The Little Mermaid]]
[[Category:Disney]]
[[Category:Memetic Works]]
[[Category:National Film Registry]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Mermaid, The}}
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