History YMMV / TheLittleMermaid1989

* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Ursula is [[FatBastard fat]], and the fact that she thinks of herself as [[BigBeautifulWoman attractive]] (and laments that she's actually "wasted away" from her former weight) is PlayedForLaughs. However, this actually made her popular with many FatAndProud Disney fans, to the point that there was an outcry when the official Disney Villains merchandise gave her a slimmer physique.

-->'''Sebastian''': "What would her father say? I'll tell you what her father'd say. He'd say he's going to kill that ''darn'' crab, that's what her father'd say!"

* 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.
** A lot of "feminist" Ariel-bashing can also cross into straightforward SlutShaming, a la [[http://www.nerve.com/entertainment/ranked/ranked-disney-princesses-from-least-to-most-feminist because apparently "you aren't empowered enough if you wear a seashell bikini"]].
** Although this is [[http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2010/06/18/not-a-fish-not-yet-a-human/ not a universal view]] among feminists.
** In a meta sense, Ariel is often thrown in with other "girly" [[Franchise/DisneyPrincess Disney Princesses]], like Snow White and Cinderella, as an example of being a poor role model to little girls; often unfairly compared to the more "badass" {{Tomboy Princess}}es like Mulan and Merida. Because RealWomenDontWearDresses!

** Does Ursula intend to give Ariel's voice back if she fulfills the terms of the contract? While Ursula says that Ariel's voice is payment, the exact terms of the contract are not disclosed to the viewer. Furthermore, Sebastian seems to view the payment as collateral, as during the "Kiss the Girl" number, he sings, "And she won't say a word, until you kiss the girl!"

* AwardSnub: Heavily downplayed by "Under the Sea" winning Best Original Song, with an additional nomination for "Kiss the Girl", but the iconic "Part of Your World" was not nominated. The omission is rather noticeable since Disney's ballads usually come out on top over their showstoppers.

** Sebastian is one as well. He clearly regrets accidentally revealing Ariel's fondness for humans to King Triton, has to watch Ariel sign a contract with Ursula, which he is completely responsible for, is almost killed by Louis for food several times in the film and is terrified over being killed.

* ValuesResonance: Triton, regardless of his intentions, comes off a bit like [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] who has to learn to better himself, despite not wanting to hurt Ariel and never physically harming Ariel. As such, Ariel wanting to get away from her father can give off certain vibes, and Triton recognizes that he went too far 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.

** Many fans who learn the WhatCouldHaveBeen {{Fanon}} are confused about how Triton (a merman) and Ursula (a Cecaelias) could be brother-and-sister. Those familiar with Myth/GreekMythology, and the ''fruitful'' spawn of Poseidon (Triton's father), will know that children of the Greek Gods were ''frequently'' different species of each other.
** Ariel is named after the air spirit from Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/TheTempest''. This is most likely a reference to the original ending, in which the un-named mermaid [[spoiler: dies and turns into an air spirit]].

** Ariel left her family and her ocean life behind for the human world that she knew little about and went to a clearly shady figure for help all to chase after the man of her dreams that she had only just met. While that last part has some truth, Ariel's cavern of wonders being full of human artifacts clearly shows that she had an interest in the human world for years, and only went to Ursula after going through a ''very'' traumatic experience at the hands of her father, which more than that was something that Ursula preyed on when making the deal with the young Ariel. This also applies to her goal: while she wants to become a human, the point wasn't about Eric, but about being part of his world, the human world, as Ariel sings about it ''' before''' the scene where she meets him.

* CommonKnowledge: Ariel left her family and her ocean life behind for the human world that she knew little about and went to a clearly shady figure for help all to chase after the man of her dreams that she had only just met. While that last part has some truth, Ariel's cavern of wonders being full of human artifacts clearly shows that she had an interest in the human world for years, and only went to Ursula after going through a ''very'' traumatic experience at the hands of her father, which more than that was something that Ursula preyed on when making the deal with the young Ariel. This also applies to her goal: while she wants to become a human, the point wasn't about Eric, but about being part of his world, the human world, as Ariel sings about it ''' before''' the scene where she meets him.

** 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 a non-romantic IfItsYouItsOkay situation toward Eric. 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.

** Given how easily Ursula is able to get Ariel to agree to huge life changing deals when she is an in extremely emotional situation, an alternate lesson could be to never agree to anything in the heat of the moment - especially something that will affect your life or those around you.

-->''Darling, it's better down where it's wetter''.

** It's possible that Sebastian gets tasked with watching Ariel not just because he suggested it, but Triton felt it was a fitting punishment for his part in the concert being ruined (the show wouldn't have started if whoever was in charge had noticed Ariel wasn't there).

** Does Ariel in fact realise that she's gotten herself into trouble once Ursula proposes the deal, and agrees to it partly because she doesn't think Ursula will let her leave if she refuses? She winces and closes her eyes as she signs the contract - suggesting she's somewhat aware of what may go wrong because of it.
** Triton destroying Ariel's collection of human artifacts, when viewed in a real world context of a parent destroying a child's possessions as punishment, could be viewed as dangerously ignorant at best and abusive at worst. With this in mind, Ariel accepting Ursula's deal so readily could be her desperate attempt to escape an environment she now sees as unsafe.
** Was it always Ursula's plan to trade Ariel for Triton? She never mentioned it specifically, but her goal has always been to take out Triton. Was it a plan in the making? Was it her eventual plan, but Triton showing up merely accelerate it? Or did she just want a valuable trophy and came up with the idea on the fly?

*** She prefers a MagicalContract form of spellcasting, but as shown when she transforms into Vanessa, she doesn't need to do it. Is it just personal flair? Or is it the only way she can turn the merfolk into polyps? Can she only use her magic on others via contract or other agreement?
*** The merfolk who failed and became polyps: Did they fail because they simply weren't up to snuff? Or did Ursula sabotage them? And if Ursula sabotaged them, why? Out of sadistic cruelty? Or is she practicing on no-stakes targets so she and her minions can be experts for when a really valuable target like Ariel comes along.
* AmericansHateTingle: Despite being well liked elsewhere, the Disney adaptation is not well liked by Danish folk (Denmark is where the Little Mermaid story originated), mainly because of it abandoning the moral of the original story.

** Like the original story, this version can also be viewed as queer allegory. Ariel's love is forbidden by her society, and like all too many, she's forced to leave her prejudiced family behind and risk her very life (the threat of Ursula serving as a stand-in for prejudice or AIDS) in order to truly be herself and love who she wants to love. She also faces the risk of Eric not returning her feelings, or returning them but choosing a more "conventional" partner like "Vanessa" instead. Even though the happy ending is a straight relationship, it can be seen to represent LGBTQ equality, with Ariel attaining the secure love, joy and acceptance that Andersen (bisexual) and lyricist Howard Ashman (gay and eventually died of AIDS) both undoubtedly longed for. The fact that it culminates in Triton making a ''rainbow'' appear over the newlyweds only enhances this vibe.
** It's also been argued that Ariel's becoming human can be seen as a metaphor for a transgender woman transitioning. She always wanted to join the human world (metaphor for transitioning), as she sings "Part of Your World" before she meets Eric. Then when she meets Eric, she decides to transition then so she can be with him - she always wanted to eventually, the prospect of getting a boyfriend just gave her the final push, as is the case with some transgender women. So Ariel gets legs and, one can assume, what goes between them. Also there is the rejection by and later reconciliation with her father, as a coming-out story might have. Check out some more info [[https://www.mommyish.com/do-transgender-little-girls-have-a-fascination-with-mermaids/ here]].
** 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. In addition to that, she has a specific hobby/interest she's very devoted to that the people around her can't understand her fascination with. While on land, she embarrasses herself a couple of times by doing the 'wrong' social cue (thinking a fork is to brush her hair, and a pipe is to make music). What's more is that her friends are all animals and she doesn't appear to have any friends her own species (although the TV series would show her befriending other merpeople).

*** 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.

** Is Ariel a good character/role model or a terrible one? Those who dislike her point to her being selfish and reckless and whose sense of rebelliousness and occasional irresponsibility often causes problems. Her making a deal with [[BigBad Ursula]], who she knows to not be trustworthy and who curses those who can't fulfill their end of a deal was a pretty big mistake, especially since it's for the sake of a man she barely knows. They also note that she doesn't appear to learn anything from the ordeal. Fans of her praise her bravery and decisive attitude, feeling that she's good as a flawed protagonist rather than being too unrealistically perfect. They also make the arguments that she has every right to want a life where she can find happiness, that she'd long been fascinated by the surface world and not just Eric, that after the deal she ''does'' spend a good deal of time getting to know Eric, that the film doesn't portray the deal as a good thing, but an understandable mistake in an extremely vulnerable moment and that she has to [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn her happy ending]], ''big time''.
** King Triton. A well-meaning father who only wants what's best for Ariel and who she should have listened to? Or an idiotic and possibly racist {{Jerkass}} father who brought the events of the movie's second act upon himself because he didn't handle Ariel's fascination with humans tactfully? And then there's the question of whether the second interpretation is the intent, but also, y'know, the whole ''point'' and he's ''supposed'' to be infuriating and realize he was wrong in the end – which of course further irritates people who agreed with him to begin with.

** Who is the oldest sibling: Aquata or Attina? Aquata was originally the heir, however the third movie puts Attina as the oldest. Fans differ on which they prefer.
** In Finland, as in many European countries, the movie was dubbed twice. Fans can get quite intense about which dub is better, especially the two voices for Ariel: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrAuWSYb0Go Johanna Nurmimaa, the first Ariel]] has a more mature, operatic voice that's completely different from Jodi Benson's, while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9_pnXLclDU the second Ariel, Nina Tapio]], has a light, contemporary sound, closer to Jodi's. Other countries were there is a huge debate over the two dubs are Greece, Germany and France.

* CommonKnowledge: Ariel left her family and her ocean life behind for the human world that she knew little about and went to a clearly shady figure for help all to chase after the man of her dreams that she had only just met. While that last part has some truth, Ariel's cavern of wonders being full of human artifacts clearly shows that she had an interest in the human world for years, and only went to Ursula after going through a ''very'' traumatic experience at the hands of her father, which more than that was something that Ursula preyed on when making the deal with the young Ariel. This also applies to her goal: while she wants to become a human, the point wasn't about Eric, but about being part of his world, the human world, as Ariel sings about it '''before''' the scene where she meets him.

** For some bizarre reason, whenever Disney pops up on Imageboards [[YuriGenre /u/]], they ship Ariel with Meg from ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' (something we need to thank to [[http://batlesbo.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=ariel batlesbo]] and [[http://x-arielle.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=ariel X-Arielle]]).

** In most websites, Youtube especially, many fans of the movie speak so well about Ursula and justify her behavior by saying that she explained the fine print to Ariel, and how Ariel was gullible for signing the contract. This is ignoring the fact that Ariel was just an UnwittingPawn for Ursula to get close to the latter’s goal to rule the land and sea. It also doesn't help that it is never explained in the original movie why exactly Ursula was banished from Triton's kingdom (later adaptations like the stage musical based on the Disney version reveal that [[spoiler:Ursula was behind the death of Ariel's mother]]).
** Another reason Ursula gets this is because EvilIsSexy. Then there's some (mistakenly) see her as an [[https://reelclub.wordpress.com/2014/06/08/part-of-that-world-alpha-females-patriarchy-and-punishment-in-the-little-mermaid/ unfairly villified feminist icon]] because she's confident, intelligent, happily single, and powerful. Some even go so far as claim that she's just a victim of Triton's tyranny. Naturally these interpretations completely ignore that Ursula is a cruel, power-hungry, manipulative sadist like most villains.

** Despite their very limited screentime, all 6 of Ariel's sisters have their share of fans, and would be popular enough to have slightly bigger roles in the prequel TV series and third film.

* EvilIsCool: Ursula is one of the favourite Renaissance villains precisely because of how effective she is. A ManipulativeBitch 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]].

* FairForItsDay: Today some take issue with the movie as its heroine is a girl who leaves behind her family and her undersea home to live out her dream of adventures and discovery on land and pursue a guy she just met. At the time though, Ariel was written by Disney to be a proactive girl, following after the more passive and demure Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora. She also was the first Disney princess to set out and win the heart of the guy she loved, rather than have him show up and carry her off. (And she was also the first Disney Princess to save the life of her prince, twice. She ''is'' a DamselInDistress in the climax, but that is merely Eric returning the favour).
* FandomRivalry: Ariel is often compared (sometimes unfavourably) to the Disney protagonists that came after her. Belle from ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' is the most common, Belle usually being held up as a better feminist role model. If a debate about whether Ariel is feminist or not comes up, she's usually compared to Belle in some way. This has gone the other way in recent years, as Belle has gotten a backlash from some fans who feel she is too perfect - the Blog/UnshavedMouse in particular preferring Ariel because she was flawed. It's also been pointed out that {{WesternAnimation/Pocahontas}} gets compared to [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Simba]] for the reverse reasons that Belle and Ariel are compared; Pocahontas being too perfect and Simba being flawed. [[DoubleStandard Simba is praised for his flaws, while Ariel is criticised for hers]].

** Many fans who learn the WhatCouldHaveBeen {{Fanon}} are confused on how Triton (a merman) and Ursula (a Cecaelias) could be brother-and-sister. Those familiar with Myth/GreekMythology, and the ''fruitful'' spawn of Poseidon (Triton's father), will know that children of the Greek Gods were ''frequently'' different species of each other.

* HarsherInHindsight: During "Part of Your World", Ariel, being a sea dweller, says that one of her questions she'd like to ask the people of the surface is what a fire is, and why exactly it burns. Later on, she gets this question answered front and center, as Triton is destroying her entire grotto through the use of fire magic.

** [[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit the Frog]] can be seen in the opening when Triton makes his entrance, back then when Jim Henson was in talks to sell the Muppets to Disney. To celebrate this, Disney then started to incorporating little Muppet-themed {{Easter Egg}}s in their films, unfortunately the deal fell through... until Disney bought over the franchise in 2004. In short, Disney's pretty much celebrating over something that didn't actually happen for another 15 years.
** 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.

** A musical one happens in "Part of Your World" where in one lyric Ariel sings how they [[WhatTheHellHero don't reprimand their daughters]] on the surface. Come the sequel where she's doing that to her own daughter.
* LoveToHate: Those who don't apply DracoInLeatherPants to Ursula love her because she's just so shamelessly evil and badass. She's considered one of Disney's most iconic villains. Creator/LindsayEllis in her days as WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick made a video including Ursula as one of her favourite villainesses - even stating she hates the movie but loves Ursula.

** With "nbd" becoming common acronym slang in text messages, fans of the film latched onto Ariel's lyric of "But who cares/No big deal" and have churned out numerous fan-made shirts with an Ariel macro captioned "But who cares/[=NBD=]"

* MoralEventHorizon: Ursula starts well over the line and really crosses when she interferes with her own deal with Ariel and hypnotizes Eric into falling in love with her in disguise. It gets worse when she attempts to blast Ariel with the [[DeathRay trident]], after turning into a [[OneWingedAngel giant version of herself]]. Also in the TV series, she attempts to murder an alleged bad-luck creature despite it being completely harmless to begin with.

** For some fans, the added seconds of animation in the DVD release of the film, such as having the camera show the shark's face at the beginning before it crashes through the window, or give more focus on Ursula's giant form and her attempting to zap Ariel with the trident comes off as this, due to those extra sequences clearly having a lower quality in the animation and reducing the frightening tone of those scenes. For instance, the shark's face looks like it came out of a more juvenile cartoon, and Ursula's extra seconds with a hammy laugh added comes off as more silly than scary.

** During the fairly intense climax, Ariel swims over to Eric and cries "Eric, you have to get away from here!" in warning, to which he replies "No, I won't leave you!". This exchange ordinarily wouldn't be funny, were it not for the animation error where neither of their lips are moving.

* CommonKnowledge: Ariel left her family and her ocean life behind for the human world that she knew little about and went to a clearly shady figure for help all to chase after the man of her dreams that she had only just met. While that last part has some truth, Ariel's cavern of wonders being full of human artifacts clearly shows that she had an interest in the human world for years, and only went to Ursula after going through a ''very'' traumatic experience at the hands of her father, which more than that was something that Ursula preyed on when making the deal with the young Ariel.

** In most websites, Youtube especially, many fans of the movie speak so well about Ursula and justify her behavior by saying that she explained the fine print to Ariel, and how Ariel was gullible for signing the contract. This is ignoring the fact that Ariel was just an UnwittingPawn for Ursula to get close to the latter’s goal to rule the land and sea. It also doesn't help that it is never explained in the original movie why exactly Ursula was banished from Triton's kingdom (Later adaptations like the stage musical based on the Disney version reveal that [[spoiler:Ursula was behind the death of Ariel's mother.]])

** Music/MariahCarey's lip sync gaffe at the 2016 New Years celebration has led to people joking that Ursula stole her voice.

** Chef Louis is René Auberjonois, years before becoming well-known as [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Constable Odo]] (though some viewers might remember him as [[Series/{{Benson}} Clayton Endicott III]], [[WesternAnimation/SuperFriends Desaad]] or [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas Mr. House]].)

* CrossesTheLineTwice: "Les Poisons", Chef Louie's song that features him singing about filleting and taking apart dead fish, while a horrified Sebastian watches. It’s disturbing and catchy at the same time.

* AwardSnub: Heavily downplayed by "Under the Sea" winning Best Original Song, with an additional nomination for "Kiss the Girl", but the iconic "Part of Your World" was not nominated. The omission is rather noticeable since Disney's ballads usually coming out on top over their showstoppers.

* UncannyValley:
** 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 to bargain with Ursula for her freedom.
** The CGI goldfish in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U02f4LL1R9o opening of the film's 1998 VHS release]] featuring Jodi Benson. To say the least, their animation has ''not'' aged well.
** Ursula's disguise, Vanessa. While conventionally attractive, there's a subtle off-factor with how she glares without saying a word, like a monster hiding behind a mask. This gets further expanded upon when her face distorts to exaggerated degrees or her pupils become smaller either for comedic effect when the animals attack her to get the conch shell containing Ariel's voice or nightmarish just before she returns to her previous form. Additionally, Vanessa's voice gets this effect- either through Ariel's voice being a harsher tone than her sweeter original owner or when Ursula's voice comes out of her still conventionally attractive form, leading to an extreme juxtaposition.

** In Finland, as in many European countries, the movie was dubbed twice. Fans can get quite intense about which dub is better, especially the two voices for Ariel: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrAuWSYb0Go Johanna Nurmimaa, the first Ariel]] has a more mature, operatic voice that's completely different from Jodi Benson's, while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrAuWSYb0Go the second Ariel, Nina Tapio]], has a light, contemporary sound, closer to Jodi's. Other countries were there is a huge debate over the two dubs are Greece, Germany and France.

* AccidentalAesop: Given how easily Ursula is able to get Ariel to agree to huge life changing deals when she is an in extremely emotional situation, an alternate lesson could be to never agree to anything in the heat of the moment - especially something that will affect your life or those around you.