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A Comparison Of Two Versions Of The Little Mermaid

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In both versions of “The Little Mermaid”, the role of the mermaid is depicted as a strong willed character who faces the problems of being a rebellious teenager and struggles to procure what she desires most in life. In my personal opinion, Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid has a greater plot. Because of its theme good vs evil, Disney’s The Little Mermaid has an expanded storyline and extra characters, including Ursula, a villain which Hans Christian Andersen’s story lacks.
Anderson’s version of “The Little Mermaid” is mostly to the point. He has no added accounts or extended plot. The little mermaid dreams of going to the surface, but must wait until she has come of age. Her sisters tell her all about what they have seen in their journey’s …show more content…

The sea witch in this story is not particularly evil, seeing as how she has no ulterior motive. True, she does take the little mermaids tongue as payment, but the sea witch gets nothing out of whether or not the prince falls in love with the young mermaid. On the other hand, in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, there is clearly a villain, without whom there would be no theme of good vs evil. Ursula is clever and uses magic to take the Little Mermaid’s voice, so that if things go awry she can take matters into her own hands, which she does. Her ultimate goal is to rule the ocean and she knows Triton wouldn’t hesitate to hand over his power if it means saving his youngest daughter, who is clearly his favorite. On the wedding ship we see her in her disguised form singing into the mirror, “Things are working out according to my ultimate design. Soon I’ll have that little mermaid, and the ocean will be mine!” Without Ursula, the movie lacks the climax that it needs. She definitely adds a commercial aspect to the movie. Not only is she a villain for children to root against, but she adds some amusement for adults as well. If we pay close enough attention, we notice that she adds a little bit of adult humor. Not only that, but she is a villain in other ways than just what the kids will see. She tells Ariel “boys aren’t that impressed with conversation” and continues to explain how they would much rather prefer to look at her pretty face and figure. In other words, she is encouraging Ariel to use her body to get what she wants, which isn’t exactly advice we want our children following, one day. Nonetheless, good always triumphs over evil and Eric falls in love with Ariel for who she is and realizes that it was her all along who saved him and who he wanted to be

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