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Happiness in The Little Mermaid

 The Little Mermaid is a different film from others like Snow White, but in some ways it stays the same, depicting the story of a girl who longs for true love. With respect to aspect of happiness, however, I argue that this film contrasts greatly with that of the traditional true love happy ending that we see in other Disney movies. Though there is a depiction of happiness when Ariel finally gets to marry the prince in the end, other characters in the movie that are not represented as villains are not so happy, so there is no true universal definition of happiness between all of the characters represented in the movie. This is a significant contrast between other movies when everyone (that is good) in the movie defines true love as the ultimate point of true happiness and happily ever after. 

Ariel longs to marry the prince throughout the movie, so when she finally gets to in the end it may seem like happiness is achieved. However, this happiness comes at the price of living with her father, Flounder, Sebastian, and her sisters "under the sea." Normally, happiness is defined by the true loves kiss and marriage, and it is in this sense and normally this comes at the expense of a villain's demise. This is represented in The Little Mermaid, because Ursula is ultimately killed and she does not get to marry the prince like she almost got away with. In this way, this follows the theme of the other movies. However, Triton, Flounder, and Sebastian have to let Ariel go to live in the human world in order for her to achieve her goal of love with the prince. This invokes a sort of sadness among them because they lose part of their family/a friend. 

Triton Saying Goodbye to Ariel

The good characters are not all happy in the end. Though Triton is happy enough for Ariel to let her chase her dreams, it is not ideal for him to let her go, and he would like for her to stay with him as a mermaid forever. Ariel is the one that ultimately gets to be happy with the cliche end goal of marrying her true love. It is clear that true love is apparently more important than sticking with family and friends... Classic Disney!

Do you agree that this movie is a little different than the traditional 'happily ever after' ending? Do you think anyone else achieved true happiness in the end besides Ariel? 

Comments

  1. Barbara CivitellaMarch 16, 2021 at 12:23 PM

    I love the point you make about Triton. I think this goodbye was vital and something we miss in a lot of the movies. You sort of see Snow White run off with the prince but how will you know if she ever sees her old friends again. Really interesting!!

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  2. Alison ZhangMarch 23, 2021 at 12:06 PM

    I also think Ariel was the only one who got happiness in the end. Triton was always against mermaid interaction with the human world. He made it super clear that he thought of humans as savages and barbarians. So while he accepted Ariel marrying Eric because she was happy, it definitely wasn't ideal for him. Ariel kind of got to create her own definition of what happiness is to her, even if her family doesn't agree.

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  3. Lisa AndresMarch 28, 2021 at 1:57 PM

    What strikes me about the ending of this movie is that Ariel and Triton actually have a relationship. Like, they may not always get along (which I think is 100% accurate) but there's love there. It's not like Snow White where her father was...dead? absent? busy ruling the kingdom and unaware that his new wife had a secret dungeon potions lab? Who knows? But the point is, Snow White leaving with the prince, or even running away, wasn't that sad. We, as the audience, *wanted* her to leave.
    But Ariel leaving Triton? That lands a little differently. Yes, she's doing it to be with Eric, but is there any value in showing that departure? Maybe not the wedding part, but just Ariel leaving Triton and her family? Does that transfer to the real world at all?

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