Tear Jerker / The Little Mermaid (1989)

"Poor child", indeed.

• "Part of your World". Especially at that Last Chorus Slow-Down towards the end.
• Ariel sobbing after Triton destroys the grotto and everything in it. And then Flotsam and Jetsam show up...
  • Made even worse when, as an adult, you realize that outside of a Disney universe, what Triton did qualifies as straight-up emotional abuse. Destroying your child's property, even in anger, has the potential to scar them for life. It doesn't help that it easily allowed Flotsam and Jetsam to take advantage of her either.
  • Sebastian's grief over the whole thing, as he indirectly caused the incident when he accidentally blurted out Ariel's secret. After Triton's rampage, he tries to apologize:
    Sebastian: Ariel, I-
    Ariel: Just go away.
  • Later followed by this line. Sebastian tries to stop Ariel from going to Ursula's, but Ariel coldly brushes him off. Just from the sheer heartbroken bitterness in her voice, you can tell that after his mistake, Ariel has lost absolutely all respect for her former friend.
    Ariel: (coldly) Why don't you go and tell my father? You're good at that!
  • Even Triton seems to have realized what he has done was too far as he witnessed her sobbing. His face after seeing what he's done and broken her heart is awful.
  • One from the sequel that technically fits here; in the sequel, Ariel sings in her Grotto. This means that Triton either fixed everything he smashed... or went up to the human world willingly and obtained them. Either way, he's restored the pride and joy of his teenage daughter!
  • Even before he destroys everything, the argument between father and daughter. Ariel is basically being yelled at for saving someone's life. Her father — a man she clearly loves, adores and respects — is telling her she should have let an innocent boy drown just because he was a human.
  • And after Ariel blurts out "Daddy, I love him!", she has a look of horror on her face and hides behind the statue of Eric. She obviously didn't mean to say that, she's sensed that she's going to be punished and she's terrified.
    Triton: (quietly enraged) So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way... so be it.
• Triton's worry over Ariel and Sebastian's disappearance has "My God, What Have I Done?" written all over it. He even sobs the words to himself when he's alone, confirming he has realized he went way too far and that it's all his fault that Ariel ran away.
• It's hard not to feel bad for the polyps in Ursula's garden, who were all normal merfolk before they made the mistake of dealing with Ursula and were cursed to become grotesque worm-like creatures when they inevitably failed to fulfil their deals with her. When Ariel comes by, they can only try to scare her away in a bid to stop her from throwing her life away like they did.
• When Ursula wages a deal with Triton to hand the kingdom over to her to get Ariel back. Seeing how his own actions caused this chain of events, he sadly hangs his head down and willingly signs the contract.
  • It's a bittersweet moment because it proves that despite being the king of the oceans, Triton is willing to throw all that away so that his daughter wouldn't be a minion of Ursula. He's fully aware of the consequences but would rather be the one to go through it rather than Ariel.
  • Then Ariel being forced to watch her father turned into another of Ursula's shrivelled minions as a repercussion of her hasty actions. From that point she snaps upon realizing she had been manipulated into delivering the trident into Ursula's hands.
  • Sebastian's reaction to seeing his king - and best friend - get turned into a polyp is a saddened "Your majesty..."
• Ariel excitedly running down stairs, only to see Eric being romantic with "Vanessa".
  • The later scene where Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder watch the wedding sail off. This scene counts as a Moment of Awesome for the writers, animators, and for Jodi Benson; the heartbreak Ariel felt was conveyed perfectly with only a few voiceless sobs and the tears in her eyes.
  • The fact that Ariel's sobs are just barely-audible breaths makes it even sadder: she can't even properly cry, because she has no voice. It's a heartbreaking reminder of all that she's sacrificed, seemingly for nothing.
• Ursula mourning the loss of Flotsam and Jetsam after she accidentally kills them with the trident's power — when Ariel intervenes as she's trying to kill Eric, throwing off her aim — and the Mama Bear-fueled rampage she commits afterward. Goes to show that even despotic tyrants can have loved ones.
  Ursula: (distraught) BABIES! My poor little poopsies...!
• The entirety of the ending. Yes, all of it. Though, in this case, it's more of a case of happy tears. It's the one moment that you realise that Disney, despite a few films that we do not mention, can do tearjerking scenes!
  • Ursula's reign of terror has been cut short, but Ariel's dream of joining the human world appears to have been shattered beyond a second chance. Suddenly Triton finally realises that Ariel does love Eric and changes her into a human, no deals made and no strings attached, so that she can be free and happy, no matter how much it hurts him while bells toll victoriously in the background. The look on Ariel's face is one of sheer and utter joy and Triton smiles sadly, yet happily for his daughter. And Sebastian - he's so happy!
    Triton: Then, I guess there's just one problem left.
    Sebastian: And what's dat, Your Majesty?
    Triton: (sadly) How much I'm going to miss her. (changes Ariel into a human)
  • Max licking Ariel's face after she and Eric are married; this time, there's no fear from her - and he's utterly and completely thrilled to be correct - he knew Ariel was the one who saved Eric and he's done it, they're together!
  • Carlotta bawling her eyes out with joy into Grimsby's tie.
  • Every single merperson and many aquatic creatures that knows Ariel, along with all her sisters, waving goodbye; one of them actually looks to Triton and shares a smile.
  • Flounder's sad face and Scuttle's wink as the two return to the sea after Ariel kisses the former and ruffles the hair of the latter. Flounder's expression in particular reminds us that even though this ending is happier than Andersen's original, it's still a Bittersweet Ending in its own way: Ariel gets her wish to be human and marry Eric, but she still has to leave her family and undersea friends behind.
  • Sebastian, holding the bride and groom figurine on the wedding cake, with tears in his eyes. Then Chef Louie appears and starts chasing him.
  • Triton rises from the water to embrace his daughter - hesitating a moment to look at her, knowing she's leaving for good - and then, Ariel says the one line that - if you heart already wasn't broken - breaks your heart:
    "I love you, Daddy."
  • The look on Triton's face after he and Ariel separate and, a Triumphant Reprise of "Part of Your World" blasts at us. Then, Eric bows to Triton and the Sea King bows back with Ariel smiling happily. Yes, he bows to a human - a member of the same species that killed off his wife, showing just how much Triton has changed. Then, he cups his daughter's face gently and lowers himself back to the sea... while his daughter blows a kiss.
    "Now we can walk, now we can run, now we can stay all day in the suuuuunn, just you and me, and I can be, part of your woooorrrrrlllllllddddddd"
  • Even more so in the international dubs that feature Ariel's voice singing the end reprise along with the choir.
  • Finally, as the boat leaves and the happy couple waves, Triton fills the air with a rainbow and Ariel and Eric end the film with true love's kiss.
• At the ending of "Kiss The Girl", after some intense buildup in a very romantic environment when Ariel is literally like a centimeter away from getting her kiss, Ursula's eels flip the boat and completely ruin the moment. All of that buildup for what could've been the perfect first kiss all for nothing. It must have felt awful for Ariel to be that close just to have it snatched away from her.
• By the time "Under the Sea" won the Academy Award at the 1989 Oscars, lyricist Howard Ashman knew he was dying from AIDS. After the ceremony, he sat down with his writing partner, composer Alan Menken, and broke the news to him, saying, "I'm so glad we won on Sunday night. Now I know you're taken care of." Ashman died less than a year later, but Menken's career with Disney is still thriving. To this day, Menken cannot talk about Ashman without tearing up.
• The original lyrics for the Part of Your World reprise:

  "I'd give my life, I'd sell my soul cause I can feel I'll never be whole. But I can see, I'll never be, Part of your world."

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