The Little Mermaid Discussion

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Disney Duster
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Disney Duster »

It sounded to me like Ursula was being sexually flirtatious with Triton. Not sibling flirtatious.

Also, I can see how Eric actually defeating Ursula is different from just Ariel and him saving each other. He ends the problem himself.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Did anyone buy this? I remember it being talked about in some thread, maybe the Diamond re-release.

I wanted to ask for those who bought it--what was the story focused on? Was it just something of Ariel exploring and collecting things? Was Ursula or Triton featured in the book at all? Thanks for any answers.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by robinhood21 »

I bought the video of this film here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0138629151 as I had seen it a couple of times on DisneyCinemagic and enjoyed it that I decided to buy it and I've done so. My top 5 favourite characters are:

1 Sebastian
2 Grimsby
3 Ursula
4 Seahorse
5 Scuttle

Sebastian is my favourite because I love his accent. Ursula may be a villain, but I like her 80%. I think the 20% I didn't like her was when we first see her watching Ariel hurry home at the start of the movie and the underwater battle after Eric shot something at her and before she turns gigantic.

And my top 5 worst are:

1 Chef Louis
2 Carlotta
3 Floatsem
4 Jetsam
5 Max the dog

My top 5 favourite scenes:

1 Ariel crying after arguing with Triton when he is annoyed with her for saving Eric and destroys the statue, though I felt sorry for her in that part
2 Ursula talking to Ariel explaining about the kiss of true love and it must be done in 3 days
3 Eric steering the ship towards Ursula sending her to her death
4 Scuttle talking to Ariel and Flounder at the beginning
5 Eric's birthday on the ship

My worst scene is Chef Louis trying to kill Sebastian in the kitchen and Carlotta is annoyed. That's why she and Louis are my least favourite characters.

My top 5 favourite quotes:

1 Ariel: He would have died.
2 Ariel: I'm 16 years old. I'm not a child.
3 Ursula: You're too late.
4 Sebastian: Keeping something?
5 Triton: What have I done?

My favourite song is Under The Sea

Nothing made me laugh or cry and I occasionally watch the TV Series of The Little Mermaid on DisneyCinemagic as well.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Sotiris »

Fun fact: A 1990 Italian commercial used altered footage from The Little Mermaid.

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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Looks sort of like they stole Sleeping Beauty's castle, too. :lol:
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Atlantica »

:lol: oh my goodness ! And for breath mints too, of all things :lol:
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Sotiris »

I just found out that there were two TV spots during the movie's original release that made it look that King Triton and Sebastian were the protagonists.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Elladorine »

Recently found this pretty cool model sheet being sold by Dave Woodman on etsy:

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Model sheets, of course, were handed out to members of the production team in order to ensure the characters were kept consistent. This is a rare case of the sheets being colored. :)

You can read a better description on the listing itself. https://www.etsy.com/listing/255387894/ ... production
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Disney's Divinity »

The Ursula model is the same one seen in the How to Draw The Little Mermaid book.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by D82 »

This isn't really about the film, but I found it curious that the screenwriter of Wonder Woman, the upcoming DC film, said that The Little Mermaid was an inspiration for his movie. Animated films are many times undervalued, so I liked he wasn't ashamed of mentioning the Disney film as an inspiration.
“The story as I see it is The Little Mermaid, specifically Disney’s incarnation,” he says. “This is a woman who has been raised in a very protective, sheltered life, she’s curious about what life is like outside and she wants to have her own experience. She wants to be where the people are.”
Source: http://ew.com/movies/2017/05/19/wonder- ... influence/
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by estefan »

Interesting. I did get a recent Disney animated film vibe in the early scenes, when it shows Diana/Wonder Woman as a kid and wanting to train along with the other warriors on her island. She's also written as an optimist in the movie, which I appreciated.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

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Is this the right place for this? I dunno, but here goes.

I went to New York City's Disney Store a few days ago and found this gem perfect for Ursula or even just Little Mermaid lovers:

The Little Mermaid Voice-Stealing Necklace

I thought it just played Ariel voice, and glowed, which was awesome (!!!), but it can also record and play-back any sounds you want! I bought it unsure of exactly what it did, other than glow gold just like when it had Ariel's voice in the movie and play Ariel singing the "Ahahahhhhh' from "Poor Unfortunate Souls", you know how it goes, also just like in the movie. It's one of the most awesome things ever as far as I'm concerned.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Disney's Divinity wrote:This reminds me: I had been reading about a new series sort of like Valentino's books that's re-telling the Disney films if a crucial plot point was reversed. The first in the series is Aladdin and was published earlier this week. Apparently, the plot's the same as the movie up until the Cave of Wonders scene, where Jafar gets the lamp (Abu doesn't steal it back) and the power-tripping at the end starts then. Apparently, several characters die or get tortured. Naturally, it's called A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale.

I'm not sure I'll buy these (generally they're not well-written), but they're interesting ideas. I'm kind of scared for when that person gets to TLM. I have a feeling Flounder and Sebastian would die pretty fast, not to mention all of Ariel's sisters... Creepy thoughts.
Reading through the past two pages of this thread, I was reminded of that Twisted Tale series of books. Apparently The Little Mermaid will join the series this year, since Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale is slated for September, going by Amazon. I can't wait to see the cover. I assume the symbol/object at the bottom of the cover will be the trident? Ursula's nautilus shell is the only other thing they would go with.

I never did buy the other books, but looks like the series has expanded a great deal since the Aladdin book was released. Just going by the synopses, the stories for B&tB, SB, and Mulan were totally different from what I'd expected (Mulan going to the underworld to retrieve Shang). The synopsis for the Little Mermaid book seems to be similar to the Aladdin one, although instead of a war, Ursula already won. It talks about Triton possibly still being alive, but all her sisters must be dead for Ariel to be the "voiceless Queen" of the ocean.... I know they're basically fanfiction, but I wonder what story reason the writer would give for Ursula wanting to rule Eric's kingdom?
Last edited by Disney's Divinity on Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Sotiris »

Disney's Divinity wrote:I can't wait to see the cover. I assume the symbol/object at the bottom of the cover will be the trident? Ursula's nautilus shell is the only other thing they would go with.
They're using the shell. I believe they didn't go with the trident because it was recently used on a Descendants novel.

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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Disney's Divinity »

I had a feeling they might use the shell because the trident would be too long to fit underneath the title without turning it side-ways. The shell is smaller and circular, just looks better on the cover, especially since there will likely be a shadow of Ursula at the top when the official cover is released. Plus, it would tie into Ariel not having a voice anymore.

So this post isn't too pointless, I'll take a card from robinhood21's post, and rank the characters.

1. Ursula
2. Ariel
3. Triton
4. Sebastian
5. Flotsam & Jetsam
6. Eric
7. Glut
8. Chef Louie
9. Carlotta
10. Grimsby
11. Scuttle
12. Flounder
13. Max

I love the top 4 characters, and think they constitute a strong cast for a Disney film. Flotsam and Jetsam have a nice creepy vibe thanks to their glowing eyes and voice performance. Eric is an alright prince, better than any of the Walt princes which isn't too hard, even if they don't give him too much flavor. There's a quiet sweetness to the character that you don't see with male leads much anymore. I think Glut is overlooked; he's just as successful as the bear in The Fox and the Hound, imo, if a little more comedic. Because the film has Ursula, who is terrifying in her own ways, most people pretty much forget about Glut.

Eric's three servants aren't memorable stand-outs, but they definitely aren't a detriment and they're frequently funny (even if they're mostly just playing straight men to Ariel's or Sebastian's antics). I like that Carlotta is there, to add a positive, older female figure somewhere in the background and Edie McClurg does quite a lot with a nothing role. Scuttle is the only character that somewhat gets on my nerves, but at least he has a personality. Flounder and Max are the typical background sidekicks/plush-toys-in-the-making.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by nachonaco »

OMG! I love the Twisted Tale series!!
Man has a dream
And that's the start
He follows his dream
With mind and heart
And when it becomes a reality
It's a dream come true
For you and me!
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Disney's Divinity »

So you've read the other books, nachonaco? How would you rank them from favorite to least favorite?

I plan to get the TLM book and if I like that one, I might consider getting the others, and it would be nice to know which books are the better ones. From the reviews, the B&tB one seemed to be pretty popular. Does Maleficent show up in the Sleeping Beauty book? The synopsis says she's been defeated already, but I thought a shadow of herself maybe appeared in Aurora's dreams/nightmares.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by nachonaco »

Disney's Divinity wrote:So you've read the other books, nachonaco? How would you rank them from favorite to least favorite?

I plan to get the TLM book and if I like that one, I might consider getting the others, and it would be nice to know which books are the better ones. From the reviews, the B&tB one seemed to be pretty popular. Does Maleficent show up in the Sleeping Beauty book? The synopsis says she's been defeated already, but I thought a shadow of herself maybe appeared in Aurora's dreams/nightmares.
I've only really read A Whole New World so far, but I have the other three. I collect books and buy them faster than I can read them hahaha. I did love it, though! It was really, really good and the imagery just POPPED!
Man has a dream
And that's the start
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by Disney's Divinity »

I get that. :) The Aladdin book's plot did sound really interesting. After that, I'd say the Mulan one sounds so unexpected. I guess it shouldn't be since the movie dealt so much with the dead ancestors.
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Re: The Little Mermaid Discussion

Post by JeanGreyForever »

Disney Duster wrote:Is this the right place for this? I dunno, but here goes.

I went to New York City's Disney Store a few days ago and found this gem perfect for Ursula or even just Little Mermaid lovers:

The Little Mermaid Voice-Stealing Necklace

I thought it just played Ariel voice, and glowed, which was awesome (!!!), but it can also record and play-back any sounds you want! I bought it unsure of exactly what it did, other than glow gold just like when it had Ariel's voice in the movie and play Ariel singing the "Ahahahhhhh' from "Poor Unfortunate Souls", you know how it goes, also just like in the movie. It's one of the most awesome things ever as far as I'm concerned.
Thanks for pointing this out! Maybe I'll pick one up for myself.
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