The Shallow Litlle Mermaid

In the Greek mythology, Ulysses is able to escape from the enchanting mermaid’s singing. For doing so, he plugs his sailors’ ears with wax and asks to be bounded to the mast of his ship. Unlike Ulysses, Eric, the prince of the Disney film “The Little Mermaid,” cannot avoid being captivated by Ariel’s voice. While he is having a birthday party in his ship, a heavy storm blows up. Ariel saves him from drowning and leaves him unconscious on the beach. When he wakes up, he just remembers that a girl with a sweet voice has rescued him.  For that reason alone, he immediately falls in love with her, without even knowing her.

It is known that The Little Mermaid gave back its success to Walt Disney Pictures, after 30 years of failure. Having stunning special effects and being one of the most entertaining movies for children as well as for adults, it raised more than 200 million dollars all over the world.  It seems to be a lovely fantasy film which shows how peaceful life in the sea is and how lovely sea creatures are. However, shallowness in love is the most important aspect in the film.

Some minutes after the movie starts, we learn that Prince Eric is in love with Ariel because of her sweet voice and singing; he is determined to find her and marry her. But how can it be possible to love someone if you don’t even know her? Although it’s strange, the main characters are very superficial in this movie. Eric wants to spend the rest of his days with Ariel because he likes her voice. That’s all. His emotional shallowness is reinforced when he meets Ariel. As she cannot speak (because she has given her voice to the witch Ursula in exchange for legs) and she doesn’t behave properly according to his point of view, he is not interested in her at all. But then, Ariel gets her voice back. And guess what! His love for her is awakened and they finally marry.

            Ariel quickly falls in love with Eric, too. As soon as she sees Eric for the first time, she says ‘He's so beautiful. What would I give to live where you are?  What would I pay to stay here beside you?’ She risks it all to be beside her prince charming, who she has seen just once. She is resolved to abandon her family and her home without knowing if Eric will love her back or if she will be happy with him. Ariel is so crazy about Eric that she wants to change what she really is --she even agrees on hurting herself by giving her sweet voice, the only thing Eric likes about her, to Ursula.

This box-office earner film had a great success. But the question is-- do you think it transmits a good message? I don’t think so. The value of affection is not present at all, but shallowness is shown by the main characters throughout the whole film. Maybe, Ariel and Eric will get to know each other well with the passing of time. Maybe, Eric will stop being enchanted by Ariel’s sweet voice, and ignore her as Ulysses did. We don’t know. Shallowness triumphs in this “happily-ever-after” movie. So, are you going to let your children and yourself enjoy “The Little Mermaid” and be exposed to negative influences and wrong values?