History YMMV / TheLittleMermaid1989

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* {{Squick}}: Ursula. All the time. Especially when talking to Ariel and performing a lot of giggling like a Burlesque entertainer.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: The audience is supposed to see Triton as a flawed, but ultimately well-meaning father who sees the error of his ways after making the horrible mistake of destroying Ariel's grotto. Granted, his prejudice against humans isn't depicted positively, but some find it very difficult to sympathize with him after destroying the grotto, considering that this is tantamount to destroying a child's possessions.

** Ariel chooses to leave her current life behind after an incredibly traumatic experience at her father's hands. More than that, she chooses to accept the clearly shady Ursula's help in doing so, partly because there's hardly anywhere else for her to go (and Ursula is also preying on her vulnerability). This all has too much a striking resemblance to a classical depiction of a runaway child who turns to obviously shady illegal figures to help them run away from home because they seemingly have no one else to turn to and ends up in the hands of a person who specifically preys on traumatized runaway teenagers.

* SacredCow: Ariel is this for many people. Criticise her or call her anti-feminist, and one will be met with a lot of backlash.

** While Ariel can come off as naive, irrational, and (unintentionally) selfish, she is for the most part, a kind, adventurous, and well-meaning teenager who tries to stay true to what she believes in and give everyone, even humans, a fair chance. Her detractors, on the other hand, overlook the fact that she's also a sheltered teenager who, simply doesn't feel she fits in where she is and wants a life of her own. As for the deal with Ursula, she didn't exactly jump right into it. She was manipulated and pressured into taking it at a time when Triton's violent actions had left her hurt and vulnerable. She, too immediately regrets the consequence of her own mistake. [[spoiler:That is to say, Triton nearly suffering the same fate as Ursula's other victims.]]

* EvilIsCool: Ursula is one of the favourite Renaissance villains precisely because of how effective she is. A ManipulativeBastard who waits until a victim is emotionally vulnerable - and then offers them a deal they take in the heat of the moment. And she pretty much ''succeeds'' by [[NearVillainVictory the end of the film]].

*** Ariel's live-action reference model was Sherri Stoner, best known as a writer on 'WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' (for the latter also being the voice of regular character Slappy Squirrel).

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Ariel somehow forgetting the concert was that day was (unintentionally) inconsiderate but a little believable and understandable. What raises eyebrows, on the other hand, is that none of the other concert personnel seem to have reminded her at all. Or that her sisters - who are visibly shocked that Ariel isn't there - didn't at least check to make sure she was in her position on the stage. Sebastian really should have seen the embarrassment coming for allowing such a mistake to happen.
** For some viewers, Ariel accepting Ursula's deal is this period. ''Yes'', Ariel was devastated by [[KickTheDog her father destroying her treasures]], and thus wasn't thinking clearly. ''Yes'', Ursula is a ManipulativeBitch who deliberately waited until Ariel was at her most vulnerable to strike. ''And '''yes''''', Ariel is an impulsive teenager. And no, it's not portrayed by the film as "a good thing." However, for many viewers, Ursula's status as an ObviouslyEvil DevilInPlainSight offering an almost literal DealWithTheDevil, coupled with the [[ImpossibleTask nearly impossible terms of her contract]] and [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty harsh penalty for failing]], makes ''any'' deal with her come off as this. (It's even lampshaded in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXaeH0R0Rzg&t=279s deleted scene]].)

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The line in Les Poisone "And I stuff you with bread, It don't hurt 'cause you're dead" became one on May 24th 2021, after the death of Sebastian's voice actor Samuel E. Wright.

** Red hair, obsessed with Muggles... Ariel must be a [[Franchise/HarryPotter Weasley]]".

** In Triton's entrance, there's a cameo of Mickey, Donald and Goofy years before [[Franchise/KingdomHearts the latter two go there themselves]].
** [[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit the Frog]] can be seen in the opening when Triton makes his entrance. The franchise would be bought by Disney in 2004.
** Vanessa strangles Scuttle while yelling "Why you little—!", in a surprisingly similar manner to a RunningGag from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Even better, ''The Simpsons'' is now owned by Disney, and the shot announcing it had a similar scene which lampshades the resemblance.
** Ariel was modelled after actress Creator/AlyssaMilano. Years later, Milano's character on ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'' would be turned into a mermaid - in a plot that heavily references this film. To make it even more hilarious, Milano is ''terrified'' of water (and shooting the underwater scenes were very tricky for her).

** It's possible to view Triton's change of heart as being a little more nuanced than just wanting his daughter to be happy. He was turned into a polyp and nearly doomed the entire ocean to Ursula's rule (and who knows what kind of queen she'd be ''after'' she was done destroying everything). But it was a human - ''the'' human Ariel loves - who killed her and effectively fixed the mess Triton himself made. So him giving the couple his blessing could partly be an IfItsYouItsOkay situation. This interpretation is validated by the storyboarded alternate ending, where Triton says "That human saved my life" whilst watching Ariel with Eric at the end.

** Jodi Benson has said that she's met a lot of autistic children who related to Ariel having her voice taken from her and being unable to communicate her true feelings.

* PopularityPolynomial: Not the movie itself, which has always remained quite popular, but Ariel's character. She was considered among the best and most beloved Disney heroines when her film first came out. Around the time of the 2000s when the general public were growing sick of Disney, criticisms towards her character started to emerge, and there was a huge FandomRivalry between her and Belle over who was the 'better' role model. Then in TheNewTens, more defenders of Ariel emerged, holding her up as an example of a flawed and relatable heroine who still has lots of virtues (as well as acknowledging that some of the criticisms had uncomfortable elements of SlutShaming and UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming).

* ValuesResonance: Triton, regardless of his intentions, is an [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] who has to learn to better himself despite not wanting to hurt Ariel and never physically harming Ariel. The writers clearly meant for the audience to sympathize with Ariel, a teenage girl trying to escape her abusive father. Even Triton recognizes this when Ariel runs away, going MyGodWhatHaveIDone. For 1989, this is a very nuanced, subtle take on emotional abuse, especially due to the fact that Ariel only forgives her father when he saves her life and recognizes her maturity and intelligence by giving her legs.

** For many viewers Ariel accepting Ursula's deal is this. ''Yes'', Ariel was devastated by [[KickTheDog her father destroying her treasures]], and thus wasn't thinking clearly. ''Yes'', Ursula is a ManipulativeBitch who deliberately waited until Ariel was at her most vulnerable to strike. ''And '''yes''''', Ariel is an impulsive teenager. And no, it's not portrayed by the film as "a good thing." However, for many viewers, Ursula's status as an ObviouslyEvil DevilInPlainSight offering an almost literal DealWithTheDevil, coupled with the [[ImpossibleTask nearly impossible terms of her contract]] and [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty harsh penalty for failing]], makes ''any'' deal with her come off as this. (It's even lampshaded in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXaeH0R0Rzg&t=279s deleted scene]].)

** Falling into the JerkassWoobie category is Triton. Yes, he holds some pretty [[FantasticRacism racist]] views in regards to humans and goes way too far in punishing Ariel by destroying her collection. However, when he finally realizes what a terrible mistake he's made, Ariel is already gone and there's no sign of her.

** Invoked with Ursula's plankton creatures. She casually reveals they were formerly merfolk that couldn't "pay the price" of her deals and that she [[BlatantLies unfortunately]] had to punish them. It doesn't help that all they can do is writhe around as green blobs, unable to speak or warn Ariel. Ariel being half-transformed into one is super-creepy with how she's trapped and ForcedToWatch her father bargain with Ursula for her freedom.

* WhatMeasureIsANonBadass: Being a non-action girl whose main motivation is becoming human to be with her prince, many people love to yell, "Ariel is a stupid bitch and a bad role model for little girls who THROWS HER LIFE AWAY FOR A GUY!" without stopping to realize that she already wanted to see the human world, Eric was mostly the final push she needed to make the decision to go there, and Ursula was doing some pushing of her own in a particularly vulnerable moment for Ariel, etc. Apparently a woman isn't allowed to fall in romantic love ''ever''; nor is romantic love allowed to be a partial motivation to do something she wanted to do anyway. She also gets a lot of flak for needing to be rescued by Eric at the end, even though she had saved him twice before that.

** For many viewers Ariel accepting Ursula's deal is this. ''Yes'', Ariel was devastated by [[KickTheDog her father destroying her treasures]], and thus wasn't thinking clearly. ''Yes'', Ursula is a ManipulativeBitch who deliberately waited until Ariel was at her most vulnerable to strike. ''And '''yes''''', Ariel is an impulsive teenager. And no, it's not portrayed by the film as "a good thing." However, for many viewers Ursula's status as an ObviouslyEvil DevilInPlainSight offering an almost literal DealWithTheDevil, coupled with the [[ImpossibleTask nearly impossible terms of her contract]] and [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty harsh penalty for failing]], makes ''any'' deal with her come off as this. (It's even lampshaded in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXaeH0R0Rzg&t=279s deleted scene]].)

** Courtesy of the "Mickey's Philharmagic" show in Disneyland, Ariel/Donald Duck after she tickles his chin and he falls absolutely head-over-heels for her.

* CommonKnowledge: Ariel eagerly abandoned her perfect, loving family and changed everything about herself so she could pursue a guy she barely knew, right? Not really. For starters, "Part Of Your World" shows that she had taken an interest in the human world for years before she knew Eric existed, trying to study their culture and their history in wonder, and she longed for a chance to go on land and see everything the surface world had to offer - have the adventure of a lifetime. Ariel's home life also was less than ideal; her personal beliefs clashed with those of her father's quite often, and both Triton and Sebastian frequently pressured her to change the core of who she was for their own benefit. Eric played an important role in Ariel's character's arc - developing a crush on him and seeing how much of a good person he was gave her hope and convinced her not to give up on her dreams of being a human woman - but even then, he wasn't the final catalyst for her trying to make her dreams a reality, because she initially only planned to sneak out and have secret rendezvouses with him at night. The final thing that prompted Ariel to leave the sea was ironically King Triton himself. After Triton blew her hopes and dreams to smithereens in front of her, sending her a very clear and abusive message about how her heart's desire would ''never'' happen so long as she was living under his ocean, Ariel turned to Ursula so she could cut her father loose, venture on land to pursue her interests (her crush on Eric included) and hopefully find acceptance there. There's also the fact that [[spoiler: Ariel becoming human for real at the end happened with the blessing of her family, with the implication that they'll be remaining in touch]].