Disney Princess Article: Did Ariel really not learn anything?

9

posted by rhythmicmagic

People say that Ariel never learned a lesson in The Little Mermaid and that she never really was sorry for what she did. I kind of agreed with this until I watched The Little Mermaid last night, and I realized that she does actually learn a lesson.

When people like to defend Ariel, they tend to point to this line:
Daddy, I'm sorry! I - I - I didn't mean to. I didn't know –
However, those who say Ariel doesn’t learn anything say it is only one moment, and that she was really just sorry she got caught.

The weaker scene everyone remembers

However, no one pays attention to the scene after Eric starts to go after Ariel. Look at what happens here:
Ursula: Now! Do we have a deal? (Triton signs contract.) Ha! It's done then.
(Ariel is released and Triton is withered as Ursula laughs.)
Ariel: No . . . Oh, No!
Sebastian: Oh, your majesty . . .
Ariel: Daddy? . . .
Ursula: (Picks up crown.) At last, it's mine. Ho, Ho . . .
Ariel: You - You monster!
Ursula: Don't fool with me you little brat! Contract or no- AAAAHH! (She is hit
with a harpoon thrown by Eric.)
What this leaves out is that Ariel starts fighting after she calls Ursula a monster. This part of the scene shows that she is genuinely sorry for what happens to Triton. While this may not show her taking responsibility for it, we do see her learn her lesson. Before Eric came and they were fighting Ursula to protect each other, Ariel started fighting Ursula to avenge Triton. What happened to Triton truly angered and distressed Ariel, and when you watch the scene, you can see that Ariel says “No” after she is taken out of the- seaweed vortex- before Triton is turned into seaweed. Now, would Ariel have gotten anywhere before Eric got there? Probably not. But she still was fighting Ursula out of anger for what happened to her father. She fought Ursula before Eric ever turned up.

The stronger scene everyone forgets

Now ultimately, I will say that the movie should have done a better job of showing Ariel apologize and take responsibility for her mistakes. They should have added a scene where she went to Triton and apologized or even apologized publicly for the trouble she created before she goes back to the surface and is turned into a human. That could have been a Brave-like ending that I think would have been really powerful. However, Ariel did learn from her mistakes and was sorry for them, and she had still changed in the end when she said, “I love you, Daddy.”

I love you, Daddy

wavesurf, PrueFever and 7 others like this

MaidofOrleans Great article! I've always been of the opinion that Ariel learns something from her adventures, and I'm glad to see someone else supports that. :)

Jayden-G I do see your point, but j think she is sorry for what happened, not for her going to the human world. Ther is no indication that she felt bad or was remorseful until Triton bumped into them, and Ursula showed him the contract. After he was turned into whatever that was (forgot the name of it at the moment), and Ursula put the crown on, she got mad because Ursula did this and caused all of this trouble and tricked her, not because she did anything. Nonetheless, she knew that Ursula was a sea witch and had some knowledge of what happened to her in the castle, so she obviously knew that she should not have been trusted. She did not care or seem remorseful at all until Triton showed up. I think she was sorry for what happened, but not for going to the human world behind her back and disobeyed him. We disagree on Ariel and Jasmine (and that's cool), so good article.

kristenfan10109 of course she does everyone learns from there mistakes its how we grow and I'm glad another person thinks so to great article

rhythmicmagic Thanks everyone! Jayden-G- Yeah, I get what you're saying. I don't really think Ariel was sorry for going to the surface, either, but I DO think she was sorry for making a deal with Ursula. I think that, had she gone about it another way that didn't hurt anyone, she wouldn't be sorry. But I do think she was at least sorry for the part about going to Ursula and making a deal that hurt someone else. My point was just that she was sorry for a reason other than getting caught. So I think we actually kind of agree.

CyberFive When you really think about it, technically Ariel did change (as what you've written), the line just wasn't as clear or obvious as it should have been, and technically she didn't have to. It's actually not really in your face about it, but it's Triton that needed to change his ways. Ariel's views were the correct one: not all humans are bad and by falling in love with Eric and him saving her and Triton's life during the climax, she proves that. Triton then has to understand this because it was his callous actions and stubbornness that forced her to make those foolish choices in the first place.

girlygirlspwn Cyber, ariel didnt know that for a fact though. remember what she say, "i dont see how a world that makes such wonderful things can be bad!" she was really just being naive and wishful thinking. America makes wonderful things and lots of people say we are bad! she had no proof humans are good any more then triton had they were bad. actually Triton has more proof, since humans killed his wife.

rhythmicmagic Thanks both of you! CyberFive- I agree that Ariel did change and that it should have been more obvious about her change, I kind of touched on that at the end. And I also agree that it was more about Triton changing, but I am still of the mindset that the protagonist should change or learn something or have some self-discovery or something. And I do think Ariel has some of that. girlygirlspwn- I'm not sure we can take what happens in the second sequel as reason for Triton's motivation in the first movie. I do agree Ariel was being naïve, but I also think she had closer to the right mindset that some humans are good and some are bad.

shanyuisboss Bravo! This was wonderful! You pointed out great points and Finally someone decides to make an article about this!

disneyland2013 Thank you! No I'm not the only person who thinks this!

GreatLance_30 Wow! I agree with all your points! Great article!

rhythmicmagic Thanks all of you! shanyuisboss and disneyland2013, like I said in the article, I didn't think like that until I watched the movie last night!

Newbiehere13 Someone else noticed this scene! :D But there's still a scene that still confuses me, when Ursula had her on that golden vortex, Ariel just watched as Ursula and Triton made an agreement, she didn't object to her father's decision or was she just restrained from moving, I'm not sure. Anyhow, great article as always!

rhythmicmagic Newbiehere- I'm pretty sure that she couldn't really do anything and was just sort of suspended in the golden vortex, especially because she was slowly turning into seaweed as well. Thank you!

Swanpride Yeah, but I think THAT'S the scene they should have done different. They should have given Ariel a line in which she says "Don't do it, it was my decision!" The way they did it, it looks more like Ariel is waiting for Triton to save her. The question is not really if Ariel changed or not, but how much of change was shown on screen and that wasn't particularly much.

shanyuisboss ^I actually agree, I believe Ariel was sorry, but I think they could've made her look a bit more guilty.

rhythmicmagic Swanpride- I'm not entirely sure which scene you're talking about. If you're talking about the second one, I don't think she was able to in the seaweed thing. If you're talking about after that, I guess you have a point. Thanks for sharing your insight.

maryksand Great article and I actually agree with the fact that Ariel does not particularly change to a high extent, but DOES learn a lesson nonetheless. Also, her attraction to the human world was defined by open mind and longing for knowledge versus Triton's discriminatory tendencies and judgment towards entire culture because of the actions of a few while conveniently overlooking the legitimate damage inflicted by Ursula under the sea and in his zone of responsibility seeing as she safely ran illegitimate business under his nose causing harm to his citizens he was in charge of. Ariel's actions were directed at debunking bigotry, expanding horizons and obtaining independence whereas Triton's were driven by said bigotry regardless of how strongly he made himself believe he has a right to perpetuate this mindset. I would also like to point out that Ariel doesn't fight or actively confront Ursula until the point where her father and Eric end up in danger because she is willing to face the consequences of her own decision but not willing to let her loving ones be negatively affected by them.

rhythmicmagic maryksand- I recognize a lot of your brilliant article in that comment! But yes, thanks for your two cents.

Disneyfan231 I agree. Ariel did learn from her mistakes. And her apology was geniuine and real, because she would never put anyone at risk besides herself. And we see the regret in her face during the climax of the film. Ariel learns to not give up a part of herself to follow her dreams, her dreams wouldn’t be complete unless you are. And if anything it was all Triton’s fault that this happened.

9

Why We Like Belle (Team Belle's Article!)

posted by snsdlover4ever

Hey there. For those of you that don't know me, I'm Jackie and this is the first article that I'm posting on here, so don't bash me. Now, I'd like to say something before I begin. Only about half of our team posted something for this article, which was mostly fan art, only me and doomkittycd posted a paragraph for the article, and I'm not too sure if our team leader will ever post this before the deadline. So, I decided that I should do it since the deadline is today. Hope you enjoy!

Okay, first of all, she never judged a person by their looks. The saying goes, "Don't judge a book...

11

Why Team Aurora Loves Aurora

posted by dclairmont

Icon by BraBrief

Team Aurora may have had a late start, not even having enough members to originally create a team, but we've risen from the ashes, and are now here to take over the world (mwahahhahah) Well, I hope you enjoy reading this :D

Leader of Team Aurora: me (dclairmont)
Other Members:
rhythmicmagic
BraBrief
AudreyFreak

AudreyFreak

Aurora fascinates me as a character, because while we see a lot of her personality, a lot is open to interpretation. She's pretty much everything I love in a female character: responsible, feminine, imaginative, a bit sassy, perceptive, not rebellious, proper but a bit free-spirited...

2

Disney Princesses: Worst to Best

posted by Diazdiaz95

I've already ranked their films so now I will rank the princesses individually. Share your thoughts. My opinions are always changing so this list might not always be the same in my head.
13. Aurora
I love her film but she really is the worst, most boring part of it. Sure, she's beautiful and has one of the best singing voices of any princess but she is just so bland. And I can't place a character who only appears for around 18 minutes any higher on this list. She's nice but really needed more of a personality especially since her film has such memorable characters.
12. Cinderella
I used to think...

7

Disney's Next Top Model Cycle 1: Princess Edition - The models who get a head

posted by BKG201

This stunning picture of Elsa helped her obtain her second best picture in the competition Credit to:selinmarsou

Previously on DNTM: The girls fight to win in a photo shoot challenge and the models pose in fashion dresses and needed to be elegant. Elsa, Ariel and Belle all do well while Pocahontas and Cinderella struggled. Cinderella was the model to be sent home. Only 7 princesses remain. Who will be eliminated next?

Confessionals After Elimination:
Elsa: I got best picture so I am happy but Cinderella was a friend of mine so I am sad she left.

Elsa confessional

Snow White: I am last classic princess left. I have to win this competition now for the classic princesses.
Rapunzel: Cinderella left and there...

8

Disney's Next Top Model Cycle 1: Princess Edition - The Models who fight to win

posted by BKG201

Pocahontas got best picture for this stunning photo of her as a zombie Credit:x-Tsuzurao-x

Previously on DNTM: Pocahontas is emotionally affected from the death of John Smith and the models pose as zombies. Jasmine and Elsa produce bad pictures but it was Jasmine was sent home. Who will be eliminated next?

Confessional after elimination
Pocahontas: I am really sad that Jasmine left. She helped me get through this death and I don't know what I can do now.
Ariel: I had drama originally with Jasmine but we became great friends I really wanted her to be in the competition longer.
Elsa: For the second week in a row I had a bad picture and was almost sent home. I really need to improve or...

5

Adult Mermaid Melody

added by KataraLover

Cinderella

added by PrincessFairy

Source: http://snowsomewhere.tumblr.com/post/78500425908/these-have-been-fun-to-make-i-just-really-love

2

Poca Behind The British Flag

added by zikkiforever

Source: Movie

AuroraxEric:So hypnotic

added by zikkiforever

Source: Zikkiforever

1

Merida's fasting look

added by mhs1025

Source: disneyscreencaps

12

Fanpop's Favorite 3D Disney Princesses

posted by cuteasprincie

You guys already know that I started a poll and added a question in the respective columns of the Disney Princess pot,asking for your favorite 3D Disney Princess,that are,Rapunzel,Merida,Anna and Elsa.And now,the results are out!

4.Merida (12% in poll,3 votes in answers)

Merida is the 11th official Disney Princess,who was added in the DP line up officially on 11 May,2013.She is the main female protagonist of the Disney's 2012 Animated Feature 'Brave' directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman.

Reviews by Merida Fans

kittykittykat13 said : Merida is not afraid of being herself.

RoseOfRapunzel said...

10

Disney Princess fan awards!

posted by RoseOfRapunzel

On my old account, THEDisneyFreak, I created a personality award to see which fanpopper is most like *insert Disney Princess here* so I hope no drama starts. And thank you to those who participated!

Let's get started!

Snow White

This award is presented to....
Sweetie-94!

Congratulations sweetie!
Nominations:
MalloMar
disneygirl7
dclairmont
Silverrose1991

Well....the next princess is.....duh

Cinderella

The winner is.....
MalloMar

Congratulations MalloMar!
Nominations:
Libellulebleu
Awinitarose
MaidOfOrleans
Silverrose1991
hajirah4

Aurora

This award goes to dear
Awinitarose

Congrats Awinitarose!...

3

Anna and Rapunzel

added by RoseOfRapunzel

Source: THEDisneyFreak/RoseOfRapunzel

6

Smartest DP Countdown - An objective point of view

posted by AnimaIuco

In this article, I’ll try to show you people, in the most objective way, my list of the smartest Disney Princesses. I used an objective point of view: I’ll list the most rellevant actions the princesses did during their movies, and I’ll rate them from +3 (very smart) to -3 (very stupid). After doing the calculation, I came up with this list. If you think that I forgot to list any action from any princess or made a mistake while rating any of the actions, please let me know. The idea with this article is exactly to make people discuss. Enjoy it!
PS: When there's a tie, the princess with...

7

Fanpop's Favorite Disney Princess Climaxes

posted by dclairmont

Here's the results for the countdown I did for the best DP climaxes. Overall I'd say I'm pretty content with the results, and I really like the top three! So yeahhhh, let's go! (ugh, why do I even try to do these intro things...)

11. Cinderella-Mice vs. Lucifer

This left the countdown with an overwhelming amount of votes and deservedly so in my opinion. People just said that it was bland, boring, and a bit anti-climatic. People also probably weren't as attached to it since it didn't involve the princess and villain.

"It was funny. Not breath taking." -princecatcher93

"It's just a cat and some...

6

Catchiest Disney Princess Soundtrack Countdown•Results

posted by CRaZy_rawR

This past month and a half I have done this countdown. I thank everyone who participated! Here we go!

12. Brave
It honestly doesn't surprise me Brave ended up so low. The movie isn't known for its soundtrack specifically, let alone how catchy the songs are. Many found it to be unmemorable compared to the others.

"It is not an appealing or catchy soundtrack." -ShadowintheDark

"Nooo! Brave songs are super-catchy! (IMO)" -euny

11. Cinderella
I like this soundtrack a lot, but it's definitely not the catchiest. Some found it to be their most catchy, while others had it as their least catchy....