History Heartwarming / TheLittleMermaid1989

** Triton then uses the power of the trident to turn Ariel back into a human -- gently, joyously, and without any of the pain and horror of what Ursula did to her. He even makes sure she has something pretty to wear.

* Despite the discovery that Eric's new lover is the sea witch, Ursula, TheDreaded to all sea creatures, Scuttle still manages to willingly induct practically every living ocean creature to stop her wedding going through and save Ariel. Extra points for Scuttle making a beeline for the conch with Ariel's voice, while Ursula is ''strangling him'' no less.

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!!Meta
* When [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks New Fantasyland]] opened, Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRfZF9qmpXQ got a special tour of the area]] in a video produced for the movie's 2013 special edition DVD. About two minutes in, [[http://disn3yw0rld.tumblr.com/post/62831788686/theprincessofarendelle-jodi-benson-voice-of she gets a hug from the costumed Ariel.]]
* There is a story that when the film came out, Ron Clements received a letter from a New Jersey State Trooper saying that, after seeing the movie and being driven to tears by it, called his daughter to reconcile their own relationship, just as Ariel and Triton did.
* Master animator Creator/GlenKeane, who was the lead artist for Ariel, once told a story that he wasn't really proud of having animated her reaching up to the surface towards the camera on the last chorus of "Part Of Your World," feeling it was a little too cheesy, but he left it in to meet the deadline. Ten years later, a young woman told him that, as a little girl, she'd always wanted to reach forward, take Ariel's arm and help her out of the water during that scene. He's been deeply proud of it ever since.
* To celebrate the movie's 30th anniversary, the Disney Princess official [=YouTube=] channel released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDgfHEMK-jU this video]], showing how much the movie has been loved, inspired and continues to warm hearts within different generations, genders and races of all ages. Special mention goes to the boy in one of the scenes in the video having the same Ariel outfit as a girl next to him and another boy reading out one of the movie's books to his little sister, who loves the room he and his mother decorated for her.

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'''Sebastian:''' Mm-hm. Well, It's like I always say, Your Majesty "Children got to be free to lead their own lives".\\

* There is one thing about Ursula: while she is a ManipulativeBitch who hides behind ExactWords and was willing to use a naive teenager-- her niece in the Broadway version-- for her ulterior motives, she was very honest in the deal that she's offering to Ariel, and when Ariel points out she won't see her father or sisters again if she accepts the deal, [[VillainHasAPoint Ursula agrees that Ariel will have to make a tough choice as life itself is all about making tough choices]]. She could have easily lied that Ariel would find a way around it, but decided not to. Ironically, in the end following Ursula's death, Ariel does find a way around it.

[[caption-width-right:350:"I love you, daddy."]]

* Sebastian tries to figure out how to keep this secret from Triton. While part of it is protecting his own crab shell, he ''knows'' that it won't go well for Ariel or Flounder either. Flounder even nods frantically when Sebastian says they're not telling anyone.

* There is one thing about Ursula: while she is a ManipulativeBitch who hides behind ExactWords and was willing to use a naive teenager-- her niece in the Broadway version-- for her ulterior motives, she was very honest in the deal that she's offering to Ariel, and when Ariel points out she won't see her father or sisters again if she accepts the deal, [[VillainHasAPoint Ursula assures to Ariel that she will have to make a tough choice as life itself is all about making tough choices]]. She could have easily lied that Ariel would find a way around it, but decided not to. Ironically, in the end following Ursula's death, Ariel does find a way around it.

* During her time on land, Eric is never once interested in trying to change who Ariel is: largely because he's a bit of a misfit himself, a prince who likes to spend his days traveling the seas with sailors. When he invites her into his home, he quickly finds that she has some rather odd tendencies, but he's still charmed by her and grows to admire the spunk she has. During the "Kiss The Girl" scene, he's clearly hesitant to make a move with her because he doesn't want to intrude upon her boundaries, until he knows for sure she's interested in him too. And even after he discovers she's a mermaid, he makes it clear that he still loves her and he still wants to pursue a relationship with her. The film repeatedly emphasizes the fact that Eric not only likes Ariel, he also respects her. Considering that a recurring problem Ariel faces in this movie is people trying to force her to be something that she's not (to the point where her own father briefly becomes emotionally abusive towards her), the genuinely healthy and accepting bond that she goes on to form with Eric in the latter half of the film is something that's very heartwarming to see.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/little_mermaid_1080p_disneyscreencapscom_9203.jpg]]

* A weird example, but Ursula's soft (if somewhat redeemable) trait is her general treatment of her eel henchmen--she genuinely seems to love them as if they were her own sons, and they in turn treat her with [[UndyingLoyalty loyalty and respect]], carrying out her evil deeds with gusto. Indeed, what kickstarts Ursula's final showdown against the heroes is when Ariel's quick thinking leads to Ursula accidentally killing the two slimy little buggers. Even Ursula herself lampshades this as she shows extreme remorse for what just happened to her eels with this quote:

* A weird example, but Ursula's soft (if somewhat redeemable) trait is her general treatment of her eel henchmen--she genuinely seems to love them as if they were her own sons, and they in turn treat her with [[UndyingLoyalty loyalty and respect]], carrying out her evil deeds with gusto. Indeed, what kickstarts Ursula's final showdown against the heroes is when Ariel's quick thinking leads to Ursula accidentally killing the two slimy little buggers.

* A weird example, but Ursula's general treatment of her eel henchmen--she genuinely seems to love them as if they were her own sons, and they in turn treat her with [[UndyingLoyalty loyalty and respect]], carrying out her evil deeds with gusto. Indeed, what kickstarts Ursula's final showdown against the heroes is when Ariel's quick thinking leads to Ursula accidentally killing the two slimy little buggers.

* Ursula doesn't leave Ariel to drown. As soon as Ariel gives up her voice, Ursula shouts at her to swim as fast as she can. It's not until Ariel nears the surface that she starts to transform.

* Grimsby gives Eric a tacky birthday present: a statue of him. While Eric looks dubious and Max growls, he thanks Grimsby for the gesture and says "it's something".

* After incinerating Eric's statue, Triton looks [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone visibly remorseful]] about what he had just done the moment he sees Ariel cry. This hits him even harder when his searching parties fail to come up with even a trace of Ariel or Sebastian. Note that Triton injured Sebastian by literally squeezing him for information, the crab he considers his best friend. Both his favorite daughter and friend are gone, and it's his fault.
-->'''Triton:''' Oh, what have I done? What have I done!?

* There is one thing about Ursula: while she is a ManipulativeBitch who hides behind ExactWords and was willing to use a naive teenager-- her niece in the Broadway version-- for her ulterior motives, she was very honest when Ariel points out she won't see her father or sisters again as a human, [[VillainHasAPoint replying out that Ariel will have to make a tough choice and that life is all about making tough choices]]. She could have easily lied that Ariel would find a way around it, but decided not to. Ironically, in the end following Ursula's death, Ariel does find a way around it.

* While soured a bit by being based on a misunderstanding that soon turns tragic, Triton is far from the OverprotectiveDad you’d expect, absolutely delighted to hear that Ariel is in love and wondering who the lucky boy could be.

* There is one thing about Ursula; she is a ManipulativeBitch who hides behind ExactWords and was willing to use a naive teenager-- her niece in the Broadway version-- for her ulterior motives. She's also honest when Ariel points out she won't see her father or sisters again as a human, replying out that Ariel will have to make a tough choice. She could have easily lied that Ariel would find a way, which Ariel does in the end.

-->'''Ariel:''' I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know something’s starting right now! Watch and you’ll see, someday I’ll be... part of your ''WORLD!''

* After Triton destroys her grotto, Ariel tells Ursula that she will never see him or her sisters again if she becomes a human. With all the disruption between them up to this point, Ariel cannot bring herself to fully disown her father.