It’s no secret that Disney revisits source material when adapting a work of literature, and in Mermaidthis is definitely for the best: Hans Christian Andersen The story as he wrote it is terrible as hell, possibly the most terrible source material Disney has ever worked with. They’ve removed the nasty moments from the classic 1989 cartoon and seem to have left them out of the live-action remake, slated for a May 26, 2023 release. a taste of the original story that has entertained kids - some pretty, rather confused kids - for decades.
The little mermaid and her kind don’t look like Ariel… not at all
Andersen’s 1837 story provides insight into the life of the Little Mermaid (who has no name, or at least the name given in the story) and her ilk. Ariel and her mermaids are not the carefree, music-loving Calypso fish that Disney portrays them to be. To begin with, the Mermaid Sisters play a game in which they lure sailors into the water and die, and then compose and sing songs about their ludicrous horror. Fun! Mermaids also live for about 300 years, and when they die, they turn into sea foam. The foam that forms when large amounts of decaying algae wash ashore? It could very well be the mermaid that lured your great-great-captain to his death. Mermaids don’t have a soul either (there’s a joke about Ariel’s red hair, but we’re better than that). People don’t live that long, but they have souls that live forever. Unlike the movie, the mermaids are allowed to see the world above once when they turn fifteen and then once every 365 days. To get to the surface, the mermaids are assisted by eight oysters that attach themselves to the mermaid’s tail, which is described as a terribly painful experience. Guess what happens in The Little Mermaid’s first adventure?
The little mermaid becomes human… on one condition
The little mermaid sees off the handsome prince on board the ship, who is celebrating his birthday. When a violent storm begins, the ship begins to sink, and the Little Mermaid saves the prince from drowning. Her adoration for the Prince and her knowledge that humans have eternal souls push the Little Mermaid towards the (again unnamed) sea witch in hopes of becoming human herself. The introduction of the Sea Witch in the Disney animated film, while creepy, is rather dull compared to the story. This sea witch lives in a house of human bones, the bones of sailors who tragically died at sea, most likely thanks to a mermaid. Her house stands in the middle of a forest of trees and flowers. Sounds nice, except that “polyp” flowers are “half animal, half plant; they were like snakes with a hundred heads sprouting from the ground. from root to top. However, the deal is made: The Little Mermaid gives up her voice and tongue, which is literally cut off, and gets a potion that feels like she’s being stabbed when she drinks it, which creates her legs, such legs that hurt, that every step is akin to pierced with a knife. Whatshe actually has to get married, a terrible prospect if she ever had one.
Mermaid’s choice among men is definitely bad
The little mermaid heads for the shore and meets the prince, a dashing young man even more handsome up close. Despite being in great pain, she dances for him. This intrigues him, and the prince invites her to stay with him. He even allows her to sleep at his door on a velvet pillow. Well, a velvet pillow! This is not humiliation at all! He even has affectionate nicknames for her like “my stupid baby” and “stupid foundling” and he loves her.”how he would love a small child.“But he loves her, so that must mean something, right? Wrong. He falls in love with another girl, thinking she saved him from a shipwreck, and marries her.” her. Thus, not only does the Little Mermaid not marry and will die the next day as a result, the Prince makes matters worse exponentially by telling the Little Mermaid that because of her devotion to him, she must be delighted with his happiness.
The end of the Little Mermaid is near
Luckily, her sisters trade their hair for a knife in between killing soldiers to give to the Little Mermaid. If she killed him on his marriage bed, the blood from the knife would drip onto her legs, turning them back into a tail and allowing her to return to the sea and live. She takes a knife and goes so far as to enter the prince’s room as he sleeps, ready to stab him to death. Only at the last moment does she decide that she cannot kill him, so she throws the knife into the sea. And herself. She prefers to die rather than kill the person who treated her like a pet. Now she is foam, only a happy ending - at least a happy one. The spirits of the air tell her that her selfless act has brought her a second chance. It is enough for her to become an air spirit herself, to do good deeds for people, and after 300 years she will earn the right to enter the Kingdom of God.
The Little Mermaid is one of many stories to be Disneyized.
Mermaid might be the most horrifying of all, but Disney’s other iconic family movies have some pretty dark origin stories that ended up on the cutting room floor, if they even got that far. One of Brothers Grimm adaptations that change the original story, Cinderella he has no fairy godmother, the evil stepsisters cut off parts of their own feet—one toe, the other heel—to fit a shoe, and doves peck out their eyeballs. History of 1634. Sun, Moon and Thaliathe basis sleeping Beauty, finds the sleeping body of the princess raped by the king, and gives birth to twins as a result of the encounter while still asleep. Upon waking, the princess marries the king, recently single after burning his first wife alive (to be fair, she did try to kill and serve the twins for dinner). Snow White the prince falls in love with the dead Snow White, who wakes up after a poisonous apple is knocked out of her throat. The evil queen is then forced to put on a pair of red-hot iron shoes and dance until she dies. Oh and in The beauty and the Beast, Beauty and the Beast are cousins. More Mermaid it’s whoever wins to turn the worst story into a mega-million dollar family movie. At least until the Disney remakes. Bride of Chuckyletting tiffanyJennifer Tilly) to finally become a Disney princess.
Disney live-action remake Mermaid starring Holly Bailey hits theaters May 26th. Read everything we know here at the Collider about the movie, including the official trailer, cast and crew.
Source: Collider
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