Following the deaths of Walt and Roy Disney, the great animation studio's reputation suffered. Critical failures like The Black Cauldron and The Fox and the Hound defined Disney cartoons for a while, until the release of The Little Mermaid in 1989. Beautifully animated, with songs by Broadway veterans Ashman and Menken, the vibrant film established the formula for Disney musicals for decades to come
The Little Mermaid introduced audiences to memorable characters and a joyful reimagining of Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale that shares its name. It's rightfully beloved, but that doesn't mean its plot and characters always make sense.
10 Flounder Gets Stuck In The Porthole, While Ariel Slips Through
Early in the film, Ariel and her blue and yellow fish friend Flounder explore a shipwreck, combing it for human artifacts. Both getting into the ship, and when fleeing a pursuing shark, Flounder's round little body gets stuck in the porthole, while Ariel is able to slide nimbly through the opening.
Even accounting for Ariel's svelte figure and Flounder's relative corpulence, this makes no sense. The little guy is bigger than Ariel's head, but not by much. If Ariel can slip through that opening, how does he always get stuck?
9 How Is Scuttle An Authority On Anything?
Scuttle the seagull is on the bottom rung of Ariel's animal sidekick ladder. While a seabird makes sense as Ariel's authority on land-based activities, Scuttle is immediately revealed as goofily ignorant. It's played for laughs, of course, and the film does mine some good moments out of the basic premise that Ariel believes the nonsense her friend tells her about forks and tobacco pipes.
The problem is that Scuttle clearly has no idea what he is talking about. He's obviously grasping for inspiration every time he describes a human artifact. Ariel is naive, but she's not dumb. Why does she act on Scuttle's rants like they're reliable?
8 Why Is Sebastian Ariel's Babysitter?
Sebastian the crab is one of this film's most popular characters. King Triton enlists him to keep Ariel away from the ocean's surface, and while he starts off as a minor antagonist, Sebastian's soft heart converts him into her staunch ally. But what possessed Triton to assign this professional musician to babysit his teenager?
Sebastian is tiny. He can't even keep up with Ariel if she decides to swim away from him, much less stand in his way. He also is Triton's court composer, so this is nowhere in his job description. Unless Triton's "kingdom" consists only of a few dozen fish and merfolk, there had to be a better choice for this job.
7 Where Does That Hurricane Come From?
The event that kicks off the film's story is when Ariel saves Prince Eric from a hurricane that sinks his ship. It's a vital plot point, but where does that storm come from?
Moments earlier, Ariel was drawn to the ship by its launching fireworks celebrating the Prince's birthday. All eyes were on the sky, on a flat sea with miles of visibility in every direction. How did this mammoth storm sneak up on a ship filled with experienced sailors? Of course, Triton could have conjured the storm with his trident, but he seemed to have no idea about what his daughter was up to. Plus, in spite of Triton's enmity toward humanity, habitual murder feels way too dark for his curmudgeonly character.
6 Why Is Triton So Much Older Than His Daughter?
This is a problem for all of the films in the Disney Renaissance. Ariel, Belle, and Jasmine all boast fathers who are at least 50 years their senior. Mathematically this is possible, but in this case, it feels particularly egregious. 16-year-old Ariel is the youngest of seven daughters, all of whom seem to be in their 20s.
Triton might have decided to become a father later in life than average. Or does Ariel have a scad of still older siblings who've moved out of the palace as well?
5 Is Ursula Trying To Scare Off Her Customers?
Ursula the Sea Witch is an iconic Disney villain. Sinister, clever, and charismatic, she steals almost every scene she touches. Her creepy aesthetic makes perfect sense for her thematically. But she's not stupid, so why is she living inside of some sort of sea dragon corpse?
Ursula's plans rely on her victims trusting her enough to sign her contracts. From the fact that her messengers are moray eels with mismatched eyes to the way she flaunts her garden of doomed souls in front of Ariel, she seems to be trying to warn Ariel away. She has the power to disguise things and even transforms herself into a beautiful woman near the end of the film. Is she secretly tired of stealing souls?
4 Where Did Ariel Learn To Dance?
It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but during Ariel's romantic montage with Eric, the two enjoy a very credible dance sequence. She's clearly following her prince's lead, but she manages to keep up with him quite handily. How?
Ariel has had legs for a matter of hours. She could barely stand when she first acquired her new appendages, and couldn't remember the word for 'feet.' Now she's dancing with royalty? It's a small point, but it contradicts her "so clumsy it's cute" schtick that dominates her romance with Eric
3 Why Does Ursula Almost Drown Ariel?
Ursula's a malevolent Sea Witch, but Ariel is the key to her intricate plan to steal Triton's mystic powers. If she doesn't own the mermaid's soul in 3 days' time, then she's no richer than she started. She goes to tremendous lengths to make this happen, foiling Ariel's and Eric's romance at every turn.
When she transforms Ariel into a human on the seafloor she almost ruins her own plans. Flounder and Sebastian help the former mermaid to the surface, but Ursula and her eels just laugh. Is she just so caught up in the moment's cruelty that she forgets the bigger picture? It feels like the biggest threat to Ursula's scheme in this film is Ursula.
2 Why Doesn't Anyone Ask Ariel If She Can Write?
In addition to stealing her fishtail, Ursula confiscates Ariel's voice, putting the newly-minted human at a serious disadvantage. Ariel can't sing or speak to Eric, and as a result, he can't learn that she saved his life or loves him. The entire plot turns on this point. So why did no one ever check to see if Ariel was literate?
Given her study of human artifacts, it's even possible that Ariel could read and write Eric's language, especially since there's no spoken language barrier between the two. However, Eric and his court never think to even ask if the voiceless girl discovered on their beach knows how to write, much less use sign language. It's like the prince and company had no interest in what Ariel had to say.
1 How Did Eric Find Ariel Underwater?
As the film reaches its climax, Ursula turns Triton's trident on his daughter, threatening to incinerate her. Her blast misses, though, thanks to a scratch from a harpoon hurled by Eric. Not for the last time, the prince saves the day! But... how?
When Ursula steals Ariel off the deck of Eric's wedding ship, the prince immediately gives chase in a lifeboat. However, the witch and her prey disappear hundreds of feet beneath the waves in a blink. Yes, he is able to see the glow of Ursula's powers from the surface but how is he able to locate them so quickly? Also, how is he able to throw a harpoon with such accuracy while underwater?