Disney 's The Little Mermaid

Storytelling has been changing rapidly in recent years. Stories have been told orally, through books, and most recently movies. These stories provide an escape from reality for children and adults alike. Many fairy tales were originally thought to be enchanting and were meant to please a child’s endless imaginations and presents different teachings and morals (Moore 175). In the society seen today, many aspects of life are changing and fairytales have not been adapting consistently to these changes. The biggest contributor to fairy tales today, is Disney. Disney utilizes their popularity by shaping and dominating the world and creating notions of happiness and utopia (Zipes 17). While children find joy in these tales, Disney inserts their

After seeing the prince once and saving his life, the little mermaid developed an obsession with the prince. She would go up to sea level everyday to see if the prince was there and once she figured out he was not there, she would be sorrowful and distraught. The little mermaid’s happiness depended on the prince which is very degrading. This is teaching girls that they can only be happy if they have a man. When the little mermaid asks if she could live on land, the old woman responds with "unless a man should love you so much that you were

The effects of the portrayal of the princesses can be positive or negative. Young girls have become more imaginative by watching Disney films. According to Stephanie Hanes (n.p.), “’For 75 years, millions of little girls and their parents around the world have adored and embraced the diverse characters and rich stories featuring our Disney princesses.... [L]ittle girls experience the fantasy and imagination provided by these stories as a normal part of their childhood development’.” Also, children are encouraged to believe and hope. In most Disney movies, the characters convey the message that we can believe in true love (10 DISNEY MOMENTS THAT PROVE LOVE IS ALIVE AND WELL

Disney directly exposes the idea that young girls should make their main goal in life to find their prince charming, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after. Making young girls’ aspiration in life revolve around finding a man of their dreams “transfix[es the] audience and divert[s] their potential utopian dreams and hopes through the false promises of the images [Disney] cast[s] upon the screen” (22). Disney tells the audience that women need a man to be happy. Disney presents the idea that women are dependent on me. Just like in The Little Mermaid, Ariel goes as far as surrendering her voice, to a witch named Ursula, and abandoning her family in order to be with her prince. Ariel also trades in her life as a mermaid, drastically changes her body, and sacrifices her greatest talent all in order to win her prince. Disney sends the message that girls need to give up their talents and lives in order to be with a man. Disney suggests that a woman’s main priority is her lover, no one or nothing else. Disney effectively portrays women in a negative way, depicting them as weak and needy. No attempt to break the stereotypical gender roles of women are evident however, these stereotypes are growing as Disney instills this image of women in the minds of viewers.

Fairy tales are an entertaining and memorable way to teach valuable lessons to children. However, things have not always been this way with fairy tales. In the past, fairy tales could serve as an outlet for unpopular ideas and thoughts, or a way for people with little value in society to express themselves. Fairy tales were often tightly related to their author’s culture, possibly because it made the story more familiar. In Hans Christian Andersen’s “Den Lille Havfrue”, better known as “The Little Mermaid”, Andersen uses prominent mythological and cultural ties to display the struggles of a young girl who wants to see what the world offers, as opposed to staying at the bottom of the ocean and living a mermaid’s long, but soulless and definite life.

Love stories have been around for centuries, as ever changing as they have been one thing stays constant, a happily ever after ending. Each story might be perceived differently but each story has the unique ability to capture all that seek to find their own happy ending. The famous Cinderella story shows the perfect example of how the princess culture can be seen in children everywhere. Children are attracted to Cinderella and stories like it because they believe if you are morally good there has to be a happily ever after for them. The film “The Princess Bride” offers the inherent hope that happily ever after’s are attainable for all who persevere.

From the moment the world introduced us to television, we have been bombarded with images of fantasy and “happily ever after’s.” Perhaps the most well known corrupter of reality lies within the Disney franchise. Disney’s, The Little Mermaid, follows a typical fairy tale format in which all goals and dreams are achieved. Its counterpart, however, moves to the beat of a different drum. Hans Christian Andersen’s, The Little Mermaid, portrays a more serious plot much different from Disney’s loveable adaptation. One may conclude that the most these two stories have in common is their titles, but a deeper theme runs throughout both of these fictional plots. Despite these two stories’ conflicting agendas and the

When Dave Crosby heard his three year-old daughter singing, he knew that he had to record it. Dave's daughter, Claire, is a big fan of Disney movies. Her favorite Disney movie is "The Little Mermaid". Her dad recently recorded her singing "Part Of Your World" from the movie. The little girl's performance was impressive. She managed to memorize and sing all of the words. She was also able to deliver every note with emotion and accuracy.

Each and every child grows up viewing Disney movies, wearing princess gowns, and buzz lightyear suits. The parents of these children are the individuals purchasing these Disney costumes, toys, candy, and other related items for their children. Our society today accepts Disney and their culture of entertainment as a part of a child’s childhood experience without second thought. Elements of the fairytale of Cinderella has adapted over time to please the culture in which it is told; yet in today’s culture, adaptation to these elements is taken to where it has never been. In “The Princess Paradox,” James Poniewozik says, “You can have the girly dream of glass slippers and true love, these films say, as well as the womanly ideal of self-determination and independence and any contradictions between them are no match for the movies’ magic” (Poniewozik 324). Peggy Orenstein compliments Poniewozik’s article because she states, “The first Princess items, released with no marketing plan, no focus groups, no advertising, sold as if blessed by a fairy godmother” (Orenstein 327). Poniewozik is trying to argue that films have altered the story of Cinderella in the 21st century cinema realm due to the addition of the concept of feminism, women 's separation from men, and the traditional magic implemented within them. Orenstein marries these articles together indirectly by pointing out that Disney legitimately had no marketing plan, yet they continue to rake in money. The reason Disney

But what society and Disney does not show us is that true love embodies some

The Deeper Tale of the Mighty Mermaid When people think of Disney fairytales, most immediately associate with fun, happy endings, imagination, and dreams come true. While this is not inherently wrong, it seems they can take it too far. Historically speaking, fairy tales were intended to impart life lessons, values, and morals. However, when Disney sets out to create fairy tale films, ultimately, they tend to alter the original story line so much that the original context tends to disappear. The Little Mermaid is an example of this, and after further examination the contrast of the original intent of Andersen will be established.

This solo to me was moving. Performed by Rebecca Seitz it showed how one person could be trapped in a prison of her own doing. The costume was magnificent, it was a long flowy skirt that wrapped around the dancer and was pulled by someone behind the seen. She used the skirt as an extension of her self to me it represented something that meant a lot to her, more so a burden and rather than accepting it and learning to move on. I felt like she continued to dwell on the past or in this case the tail of the skirt. However at the same time it reminded me of The Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid was the story of a younf mermaid who was willing to give up her life in the sea to gain a human soul. Just like in Undertow Seitzs long skirt represented

Cramped in a small Los Angeles office, Walt Disney drew a few larger than life cartoons. After Disney’s big hit Alice Comedies and cartoons of Mickey and the gang, he moved his office to Burbank, California. There, Walt and his brother, Roy, came up with their most famous movies such as Cinderella, Snow White, and Alice in Wonderland. Now with two American amusement parks, three international parks, multiple cruise lines, multiple resorts, over five hundred films, and over thirty academy award, it’s hard to not heard of Disney. Every boy or girl has at least seen or heard of Disney movies. It’s such a big part of society today that it becomes influential in a kid’s childhood. This project will look at the underlying effect of the Disney princess phenomenon and how it shapes a young girls’ perspective of herself and how she’s “supposed” to be.

When I first started watching television as a little girl, I was exposed to Disney movies growing up. My favorites included The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Cinderella. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of finding my prince charming and falling in love. I would sometimes ask my mother, “Will I ever be in love?”, or “Will I find my prince charming one day?” I was in love with the idea of love – but little did I understand that these movies were just simply fairytales. I became a victim of what I expected love to be – instead of what love really is. Aside from the running theme for a Disney princess throwing herself at Prince Charming, they never show the hardships and sacrifices that entail to be in a

“So to spend a life of endless bliss; Just find who you love through true love 's kiss…” For nearly eight decades, Disney films have been selling their definition of true love, a term that is constantly changing under influence of development of feminism and therefore reflecting our culture’s shifting values. Throughout waves of feminism movements, following the changing definition of true love, we can see that woman characters in these films gradually grow from empty pictures dependent on men in the early years to lively figures with individuality and strong minds. These women characters provide a historical view of how women stand out to break their formulaic roles and identify themselves against the stereotypical gender schema.