History Awesome / TheLittleMermaid1989

* The scene where Ariel is naked from the seashells down after her transformation is about as awesome as it gets. Bonus meta points for the team being able to sneak that in.
** The ending of this transformation sequence where Ariel flips her hair out of the water and gasps for breath is so awesome that it's become one of the movie's [[SignatureScene most famous moments]] [[MoneyMakingShot and it's almost always played at the beginning or climax of most of the film's trailers]]. This moment [[TropeCodifier DEFINED]] the MermaidArcEmergence and launched it into fame, and is not just synonomous with Princess Ariel, but ''mermaids in general.'' This is such an iconic visual that it was recreated in ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'' in an equally awesome moment.

* Doubling as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}, decades later, at a Q&A with Jodi Benson, one of the fans asked her if she could still sing Ariel's aria from when Ursula is using her voice. Cue Jodi doing just that on the spot, and it sounding just as beautiful as it did in 1989.

* Pat Carroll clearly had an absolute blast as Ursula - especially in "Poor Unfortunate Souls", managing to sound absolutely insane. No wonder this woman loves to come back and portray Ursula.

* Pat Carroll clearly had '''an absolute blast''' as Ursula - especially in "Poor Unfortunate Souls". Hell, she was falling well and truly '''off the deep end of all sanity'''. Don't forget... she had '''''nothing but a microphone in front of her''''' and managed to sound absolutely '''insane''';. No wonder this woman '''''loves''''' to come back and portray Ursula. Even to this day we're not sure if Pat Carroll was on something at the time or whether she actually is just that insane. If she ''was'' on something we want whatever that something was; if she ''was''/''is'' insane, we are ''not'' getting her help as it's perfect.

* Ursula's transformation from the beautiful Vanessa to the monstrous sea-witch. Ariel is finally about to kiss Eric, when the sun sets, and she becomes a mermaid again. Ursula cries "YOU'RE TOO LATE!" in a powerful, triumphant tone. She raises her arms and brings lightning down (from an ominous red sky) as she grows back into her true form, bursting through the wedding dress as her tentacles spill out in a combination of {{Squick}} and pure awesome, all while giving yet another impressive EvilLaugh. The wedding guests are understandably ''terrified''. And this is all set to an epic, marchlike DarkReprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls." It's brief, but truly amazing. [[https://youtu.be/SHHH3K-FhS8?t=211 See for yourself]].

** In that same scene, Eric's dog Max gets a Moment of Awesome (and some well deserved revenge, since Vanessa kicked him earlier) by saving Scuttle from being strangled by Vanessa/Ursula by biting her ''in the butt,'' causing her to lose her grip on Scuttle and break the shell.

** Driven home by Ursula's little remark after the "Kiss The Girl" song. Maybe "[[GettingCrapPastTheRadar little tramp]]" [[MyGirlIsNotASlut isn't quite the appropriate term]], but can we all agree Ariel's having Eric ready to give her true love's kiss after ''two whole days'' was '''awesome'''?

* Doubling as a SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoment, decades later, at a Q&A with Jodi Benson, one of the fans asked her if she could still sing Ariel's aria from when Ursula is using her voice. Cue Jodi doing just that on the spot, and it sounding just as beautiful as it did in 1989.

* Decades later, at a Q&A with Jodi Benson, one of the fans asked her if she could still sing Ariel's aria from when Ursula is using her voice. Cue Jodi doing just that on the spot, and it sounding just as beautiful as it did in 1989.

** ** The ending of this transformation sequence where Ariel flips her hair out of the water and gasps for breath is so awesome that it's become one of the movie's [[SignatureScene most famous moments]] [[MoneyMakingShot and it's almost always played at the beginning or climax of most of the film's trailers]],this moment [[TropeCodifier DEFINED]] the MermaidArcEmergence and launched it into fame, and is not just synonomous with Princess Ariel, but ''mermaids in general.'' This is such an iconic visual that it was recreated in WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet in an equally awesome moment.

* Pat Carroll clearly had '''an absolute blast''' as Ursula - especially in "Poor Unfortunate Souls". Hell, she was falling well and truly '''off the deep end of all sanity'''. Don't forget... she had '''''nothing but a microphone in front of her''''' and managed to sound absolutely '''insane'';. No wonder this woman '''''loves''''' to come back and portray Ursula. Even to this day we're not sure if Pat Carroll was on something at the time or whether she actually is just that insane. If she ''was'' on something we want whatever that something was; if she ''was''/''is'' insane, we are ''not'' getting her help as it's perfect.

** Human Ariel is no pushover when it comes to impressive athletic feats as well. While she ''is'' flailing around and drowning when she first becomes human]] because she doesn't how to swim with legs, as soon as Sebastian grabs her arm and points her in the right direction and Flounder swims under her armpit giving her something large and buoyant to hold on to, Ariel starts instinctively kicking her legs so fast that she swims from Ursula's lair, which is in a ''volcanic deep sea trench'' to ''the surface of the ocean'' in about nine seconds. [[PunctuatedforEmphasis Nine. Seconds.]] When you look at the expression of focus and sheer terror [[https://lightroom.adobe.com/v2c/catalogs/60ab693c49aa4545a8a9c8111e557624/assets/700b96954dad0ab90cbce7317625941b/revisions/7a9fdf6296e64d50c9f4cfc58f2e3b86/renditions/5204d418d3b3b3e89c2d278a3f1ccfea on Ariel's face as she's almost at the surface]], that tells you that even in the most shocking and panic filled life or death scenario, [[{{Determinator}} Ariel's physical strength and resolve will do what it takes to make sure she does not fail]].

** Human Ariel is no pushover when it comes to impressive athletic feats as well. While ''she'' is [[https://holly.paheal.net/_images/8520da03845b32e251eee614995cc3c3/1313141%20-%20Ariel%20Frixos%20The_Little_Mermaid%20animated.gif flailing around and drowning when she first becomes human]] because she doesn't how to swim with legs, as soon as Sebastian grabs her arm and points her in the right direction and [[https://img.xbooru.com//images/557/d7f190d8a6bdd3c635e0670ac1dc7d4f.gif?608478 Flounder swims under her armpit giving her something large and buoyant to hold on to]], Ariel starts instinctively kicking her legs so fast that she swims from Ursula's lair, which is in a ''volcanic deep sea trench'' to ''the surface of the ocean'' in about nine seconds. [[PunctuatedforEmphasis Nine. Seconds.]] When you look at the expression of focus and sheer terror [[https://lightroom.adobe.com/v2c/catalogs/60ab693c49aa4545a8a9c8111e557624/assets/700b96954dad0ab90cbce7317625941b/revisions/7a9fdf6296e64d50c9f4cfc58f2e3b86/renditions/5204d418d3b3b3e89c2d278a3f1ccfea on Ariel's face as she's almost at the surface]], that tells you that even in the most shocking and panic filled life or death scenario, [[{{Determinator}} Ariel's physical strength and resolve will do what it takes to make sure she does not fail]].

** Human Ariel is no pushover when it comes to impressive athletic feats as well. While she ''is'' flailing around and drowning when she first becomes human because she doesn't how to swim with legs, as soon as Sebastian grabs her arm and points her in the right direction and [[https://lightroom.adobe.com/v2c/catalogs/60ab693c49aa4545a8a9c8111e557624/assets/d36eb2e9a2a972f872ccc12f964fb281/revisions/c4fb582e1fbb9ecc06169ddf77866c76/renditions/e1e396a2df53cf5eb85a3735ee50207a Flounder swims under her armpit giving her something large and buoyant to hold on to]], Ariel starts instinctively kicking her legs so fast that she swims from Ursula's lair, which is in a ''volcanic deep sea trench'' to ''the surface of the ocean'' in about nine seconds. [[PunctuatedforEmphasis Nine. Seconds.]] When you look at the expression of focus and sheer terror [[https://lightroom.adobe.com/v2c/catalogs/60ab693c49aa4545a8a9c8111e557624/assets/700b96954dad0ab90cbce7317625941b/revisions/7a9fdf6296e64d50c9f4cfc58f2e3b86/renditions/5204d418d3b3b3e89c2d278a3f1ccfea on Ariel's face as she's almost at the surface]], that tells you that even in the most shocking and panic filled life or death scenario, [[{{Determinator}} Ariel's physical strength and resolve will do what it takes to make sure she does not fail]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_20201013_2043292.jpg]] [[caption-width-right:350:"''[[IronicEcho Bright young women]]... [[PinocchioSyndrome Sick of swimmin']]... [[MermaidArcEmergence Ready to stand]].''"]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_20201013_200825.jpg]] [[caption-width-right:350:"''[[IronicEcho Bright young women]]... [[PinocchioSyndrome Sick of swimmin']]... [[MermaidArcEmergence Ready to stand]].''"]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lme0nnw1_d__video_ts_20201003_013802832.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/walt_disney_book_images_prince_eric_ursula_walt_disney_characters_37982533_1024_640.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Literature/MobyDick From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!]]]]

** Human Ariel is no pushover when it comes to impressive athletic feats as well. While she ''is'' flailing around and drowning when she first becomes human because she doesn't how to swim with legs, as soon as Sebastian grabs her arm and points her in the right direction and Flounder swims under her armpit giving her something large and buoyant to hold on to, Ariel starts instinctively kicking her legs so fast that she swims from Ursula's lair, which is in a ''volcanic deep sea trench'' to ''the surface of the ocean'' in about nine seconds. [[PunctuatedforEmphasis NINE. SECONDS.]] When you look at the expression of focus and sheer terror [[https://lightroom.adobe.com/v2c/catalogs/60ab693c49aa4545a8a9c8111e557624/assets/72b7bbe26608f71056c1b592b1177881/revisions/c4abd77bae7c5efb77eda647c715be78/renditions/3d4d8f7bd65efd55b9520396ab554f46 on Ariel's face as she's almost at the surface]], that tells you that even in the most shocking and panic filled life or death scenario, [[{{Determinator}} Ariel's physical strength and resolve will do what it takes to make sure she does not fail]].

** Human Ariel is no pushover when it comes to impressive athletic feats as well. While she ''is'' flailing around and drowning when she first becomes human because she doesn't how to swim with legs, as soon as Sebastian grabs her arm and points her in the right direction and Flounder swims under her armpit giving her something large and buoyant to hold on to, Ariel starts instinctively kicking her legs so fast that she swims from Ursula's lair, which is in a ''volcanic deep sea trench'' to ''the surface of the ocean'' in about nine seconds. [[PunctuatedforEmphasis NINE. SECONDS.]] When you look at the expression of focus and sheer terror on [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4k_littlemermaid_animationscreencapscom_75122.jpg Ariel's face as she's almost at the surface]], that tells you that even in the most shocking and panic filled life or death scenario, [[{{Determinator}} Ariel's physical strength and resolve will do what it takes to make sure she does not fail]].

** It's shown later that Ariel ultimately DOES end up becoming an excellent swimmer with her legs. Compare this bit from the first Little Mermaid: https://gifrun.com/programs/temp/968e5561216e44d8bc83d4a4b7cd2ca4.gif , where she can barely move and starts struggling and drowning instantly and needs Flounder to save her, to this bit from the sequel: https://gifrun.com/programs/temp/194db08c03ff4bf0906473e3ef4112a6.gif , where she can just casually float and swim with relative ease and is clearly super COMFORTABLE. You could put some of the blame on her almost drowning in the gif from the movie on the fact that she was wearing a long dress with poofy sleeves and a corset, which probably restricted movement and got weighed down by water, so that fact that years later she's learned to swim so well ''in that exact same dress'' shows that Ariel has really come a long way since the human woman who almost drowned twice. It's really inspiring that she learned how to swim so well with her new legs.

* Scuttle, after being little more than the comic relief for the entire movie, is the first one to discover that Vanessa is actually Ursula; he lets Sebastian knows and is told to stop the wedding between Vanessa and Eric. Let's just say -- it does '''''not''''' end well for Ursula in the slightest as Scuttle recruits ''the entirety of the ocean'' to rescue Ariel. It works.

* Scuttle, after being little more than the comic relief for the entire movie, is the first one to discover that Vanessa is actually Ursula and is told and quickly attempts to stop the wedding between Vanessa and Eric. Let's just say -- it does '''''not''''' end well for Ursula in the slightest as Scuttle recruits ''the entirety of the ocean'' to rescue Ariel. It works.

** Human Ariel is no pushover when it comes to impressive athletic feats as well. While she ''is'' flailing around and drowning when she first becomes human because she doesn't how to swim with legs, as soon as Sebastian grabs her arm and points her in the right direction and Flounder swims under her armpit giving her something large and buoyant to hold on to, Ariel starts instinctively kicking her legs so fast that she swims from Ursula's lair, which is in a ''volcanic deep sea trench'' to ''the surface of the ocean'' in about nine seconds. [[PunctuatedforEmphasis NINE. SECONDS.]] When you look at the expression of focus and sheer terror on Ariel's face as she's almost at the surface, that tells you that even in the most shocking and panic filled life or death scenario, [[{{Determinator}} Ariel's physical strength and resolve will do what it takes to make sure she does not fail]].

** ** The ending of this transformation sequence where Ariel flips her hair out of the water and gasps for breath is so awesome that it's become one of the movie's [[SignatureScene most famous moments]] [[MoneyMakingShot and it's almost always played at the beginning or climax of most of the film's trailers]],this moment [[TropeCodifier DEFINED]] the MermaidArcEmergence and launched it into fame, and is not just synonomous with Princess Ariel, but ''mermaids in general.'' This is such an iconic visual that it was recreated in Disney/RalphBreaksTheInternet in an equally awesome moment.

* According to the commentary of ''Disney/Fantasia2000'', the people at Disney were worried about how the people of Denmark would receive the changed ending, even warning Queen Margrethe II about it beforehand. Her response to the new ending was along the lines of "[[Creator/HansChristianAndersen He]] never knew how to write an ending anyways."

* Eric does a ''LOT'' of stuff that no reasonable person would do, and comes off as a major badass because of it.

** Hell, Eric has a ton of them over the course of the movie. He's basically a prototype version of Aladdin.