Aside from the characteristics at the beginning of the blog, Ariel proves to be a very headstrong young lady (and when I say young, I mean she is only 16). I can't really blame her for wanting to experience a new world outside an awesome ocean without apparently having any gills. I kind of feel the same way every time I think about living in Florida and being in Disney World away from Nashville, but I digress.
In reality of the film, Ariel really stands for a character that has a dream and does everything she can to make that wish come true. She gives up her family, fins, and voice to chase after the man she loves and doesn't look back after sacrificing so much. She proves that she is fearless multiple times and that you can also get married when you meet a hunky prince. Like most other Disney characters, she achieves this goal, but at a price.
Personally, I love Ariel, but her character comes with quite a price that I find it hard to see it as a character that many young girls can see as a role model.
Being the princess who normally wears the least amount of clothing, I can't help to think that Ariel could possibly be quite an exhibitionist (just kidding....but really, I'd rather be in a killer ball gown any day over a seashell bra, even if the seashell bra is as fantastic as it is). Anyone could argue that her figure is giving young girls a bad body image, but the way America is shaping up right now, we could all take a tip from Ariel and slim down a bit and get a little more fit. I'm not saying we need to be as pencil thin as Yzma is from The Emperor's New Groove, but I think its a poor excuse to blame Ariel for poor body imaging.
Outside of just her stunning appearance, Ariel does seem to have the victim complex as she is always needing to be rescued by King Triton, Prince Eric, Sebastian, and even Scuttle and Flounder. Now teamwork is a great thing to use when you have as many seaside friends as Ariel, but it does seem a bit pitiful that even though she caused all the trouble, Prince Eric had to stab Ursula with a ship to end all crazy problems Ariel created. I guess it wouldn't be a movie without a scene (or a good quarter of the movie) without a damsel in distress, though. Bless her heart.
Damsel in Distress
The other crazy fact about Ariel is that she gets married at quite a young age. Really though, I guess every young kid could dream of getting married when they are 16 and can actually legally tie the knot with parental consent (in most states in America, that is and in the Netherlands, all you need is the Queen's permission!).I could dig a little deeper into Ariel's character but I think that by just grazing the top of her inner and outer being, that you will probably end up reflecting on her character next time you pop in The Little Mermaid to watch before bed. I'm not saying that Ariel is the worst female lead character in all of Disney (although some may argue that she is), but a character cannot come without any flaws, and Ariels' flaws do seem a bit of a stretch for the year the movie debuted in 1989. I'm sure Disney wanted to stick somewhat close to Hans Christian Anderson's version minus the depressing ending, but some characteristics of the storyline just weren't quite relevant for the time period nor for the future.
What do you think about Princess Ariel? Oh, and here is a great sexy piece of artwork that I found online some time ago. Enjoy!
Grimm Fairytales Comics
Eric Of Disney
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