First of all ignorant Ariel haters are advised not to read this because I am being brutally honest and not holding back. For those who say I'm being harsh they show no respect for Ariel's fans and treat her like she's some kind of heartless monster so I don't owe them one bit of respect and will not show them any because they don't deserve it. Also I will not be doing the cliche of comparing Ariel to Merida, I've already done that in my Ariel vs Merida article. Besides, people do that enough already and I can't stand this war between them, it's really annoying. However I will be comparing her to the other princesses, minus Merida, only because I want it to help emphasis for one how she is unique and sets herself a part from the other Disney Princesses, second reason is that I want to point out some double standards.

First of all yeah, I get it, a lot of people just love Ariel because she's a mermaid but most of those people are little kids and the others are trolls so that argument people have that it's the only reason people love Ariel is irrelevant. Secondly she has an amazing personality. She's smart, curious, brave, strong, heroic, adventurous, rebellious, determined, ambitious, gorgeous, relate-able, and realistic. Everyone can relate to her in someway, those who deny it I've always found a way that they relate to her. Those who still say they don't well you're being stubborn about it so yeah, you're like her by denying it. I GOT YOU THERE HAHA! Anyway, people do complain that she's just a whiny and bratty teenager but actually she's just a regular everyday teenager. I mean, she never says she hates her father or that he's ruining her life so she doesn't really act bratty, just like a regular teenage girl. Besides, she started an era of girl power and unlike the princesses that came before her, she actually did make stuff happen. She didn't wait around for her prince or for anyone to make her happy ending happen, she went out and made it happen. Now I do think Cinderella and Snow White are good role models and deserved their happy ending but Ariel deserved her happy ending more.

She was actually the most heroic Disney heroine until Mulan came along, and for good reason. I mean, Eric does save the day but she saves his life not just once but TWICE. Plus, she kills the evil minions. It's not as good as actually killing the villain but considering all the Disney heroines that came before her it was a BIG step! I mean before her a Disney heroine never killed anyone, it was usually the hero that did that. Also, minus Princess Eilonwy, before Ariel no other Disney heroine saved their love interest's life, especially not twice. Without Ariel we wouldn't have Mulan or any of the other incredibly heroic Disney women. So what if Ariel was a mermaid that saved Eric from drowning? All Belle did to save Beast was say she loved him. Now what do you think is more impressive, someone saving another from drowning or someone just saying they love someone? If anyone ever tried to say they love someone to save their life it wouldn't work. Action speaks louder than words and Ariel is more action.


Plus in the sequels she's constantly saving people and being just as bada** as she was in the original. Plus in the TV series she's always saving people, makes mistakes but fixes them, and is incredible clever. She's always coming up with ideas to save the day and it always works. She's also really clever in the first movie. I mean, with the shark attack she was thinking quickly on her feet.. or fins... It actually takes a lot of intelligence to be that quick thinking. I mean she thinks quick by pushing things in front of the shark to slow it down, that's very clever. I love how, even though she's far from Flounder when he's about to be eaten she goes as fast as she can to save her friend. She even traps the shark by using herself and Flounder as bait, now that's clever. Plus, the fact that she learns to walk in less than 10 minutes is impressive. I mean she's like a baby that's just learning how to walk, it takes a baby at least a year to learn how to walk and it takes her less than 10 minutes. If that's not smart I don't know what is. Also the way she can adapt to a whole new world in just less than a day is impressive, it takes some level of intelligence to be able to adapt that fast. It takes people months just to adapt to a new culture and Ariel can adapt to not only a new culture but a whole new species way of life in less than a day. She's really smart and doesn't deserve her title of being one of the least smart Disney Princesses just because of one mistake she makes. How come Belle isn't considered stupid for going where she was told not to go and then runs away into the dangerous woods? In my opinion that's just as stupid as what Ariel did. Plus when she can't talk to Eric she decides to use sign language to get him to understand her instead, that's pretty clever. She is far from being one of the dumbest Disney Princesses.

Speaking of Ariel's mistake that's all it is, a mistake! I mean we all make mistakes, does that make us stupid? NO, that makes us human! We all are going to make mistakes and that's just part of life, it's inevitable, it doesn't make someone stupid. I mean can you honestly tell me you have never done something that was really stupid in your life? I sure can't! But that doesn't make someone stupid, in fact if someone says they've never done something stupid you can tell that they're obviously lying. Ariel's not stupid, her mistake was. Plus her mistake is part of life because we all have to make sacrifices and take risks to make our dreams come true. Part of what makes Ariel such a good role model because she shows not only that you should follow your dreams and do what ever it takes to make them come true but also that in life you can make a mistake and even though it does have consequences that you'll have to deal with it doesn't mean that it's the end of the world. Sure, Ursula took over the ocean but the problem was resolved and it shows that no matter how big the mistake and the consequence it's not too big to be solved. I think Ariel would get more credit here if she defeated Ursula, since it was her mistake but she does learn from it, which I will explain soon. However, nonetheless Ariel represents mistakes being made and that it's not the end of the world or unsolvable. This is part of why I think she's an amazing role model.

Despite what many people say, Ariel really does change and learn from her mistakes. I mean the girl was turned into a plant, is turned back but then her father takes her place, and sees absolute chaos happen! How does someone not realize and learn from their mistakes after something like that? I hate to sound rude but are you people who think she doesn't after that weak in the upper story? While Merida's redemption is more developed, sorry I won't talk about Merida anymore, Ariel's is more in emotion rather than words. There's a saying in writing called "show, don't tell" and they show us her regret with her facial expressions. The way she sees her father turning into a plant and the way she says "daddy..." and when she's watching all the chaos she's just thinking "What have I done? This is is all my fault". I also think that she really did mean it when she told her father she's sorry, it wasn't just getting caught because Ursula told her she was using her to get to her father. She was telling the truth when she said she didn't mean to and didn't know because she thought she was only putting herself at risk, not anyone else. She would never put anyone else at risk besides herself. I'd also like to point out in the alternative battle/ending scene she tells her father those exact same words after the battle. It could have been placed better but it's still sincere. Plus her telling her father that she loves him is a symbolic way of showing she's changed, realized what she's done, that her father loves her, and appreciates what she has. It doesn't have to always take big acts to fix relationships. Me and my dad aren't close but sometimes he does small things that make me think that maybe he's not so bad after all. Plus, Ariel and Triton's relationship actually fixed a relationship between a man and his daughter after the movie came out, he even mailed a letter to Disney telling them about it.

Ariel does care about her friends and family. I mean when Ursula asks if they have a deal she takes into consideration that she'll never see her father or sisters again. Even after what her father did with destroying her collection she still finds it hard to leave him because she loves him. If she didn't care about her friends or family she wouldn't have invited them to her wedding but she did invite them. She truly cares about people and isn't the monstrous villain that her haters take her for.

People say she doesn't change but she really does, not just for the reasons I named above but she matures a little. She realizes that she is naive to the world above and changes her perspective. She thought it would be one thing but it's not and she becomes more mature, while still being her fun-loving and bubbly self. She realizes that not only did her father need to understand her but that she needed to understand him. It's not because he was right about humans, at least not all of them, but that he only does what he does because he loves her. She realized her father really cares about her and because they both made sacrifices their relationship was able to be fixed and they developed as characters.

Now let's talk about her relationship with Eric, which apparently gets a lot of back lash. People say it was based off looks and voice but when you think about it so are most Disney relationships like the classic princesses movies, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and so on. It's the chemistry that they give them that makes them work. While Ariel just falls in love with him just by looking at him there was more to him than just his looks. She saw from his playing around with Max that he was playful and fun, from his flute playing that he loved music, from his expression for his birthday that he wasn't vain or arrogant, the way he was polite about the gift that he is of course polite, from hearing his story about princesses he's met that he doesn't just want a pretty face but someone who's unique, and from the way he risked his life to save max and almost died in the process that he was brave and selfless. Speaking of selfless, if Ariel was as selfish as people make her out to be she would've been all like "I'll just let him die, if I can't have him no one can" but she doesn't. She knows it's not possible for her to be with him, has absolutely nothing to gain, and it goes again all she'd been taught but she saves him anyway. She's just so selfless in this scene. I do think Ariel is selfish but no more than any other person because we're all a little selfish.

So she actually knows some things about Eric, unlike the classic Disney Princesses, so it wasn't just his looks she fell for. Plus she can tell him who she is so she has to work at it and it's believable. He falls for her kindness, her quirkiness, how odd she is, and funny she is. She managed to get him to smile and according to Carlotta it was the first time he smiled in weeks. He doesn't mind how weird or insane she acts during the tour of the kingdom and actually finds her charming. Any other guy would just think the girl was insane and run for the hills. But he just loved every minute of it, she wasn't like the other girls he met because she was what he was looking for. A unique and exciting girl that would make sure he would never be bored. Plus, while he does try to deny his feelings for her for a while, she soon decides to forget this mystery girl and that he really likes this unique and exciting girl he met that is everything he's been looking for. The two of them keep on doing all they can to help the other and are the first Disney Princess couple where they're an equal team, which is why Ariel should have helped with defeating Ursula. These two are amazing and have a beautiful little girl that is a symbol of their love and were simply meant to be.




I have to talk about what a strong woman she is because she was the first Disney heroine to actually be fighting for a cause. She was trying to show that humans aren't as bad as her people claim they are. She was a woman ahead of her time that questioned if maybe there not all humans are bad. She refused to believe this racism and was determined to prove herself right. She wasn't just fighting for a different race like Pocahontas but for a different species from a completely different world that she knew nothing about. She was an activist of her time and wanted to show that just because something is different that it doesn't mean they're all dangerous. The sea is dangerous, it has a sea witch, and she believes the same about the world on land. This is probably the main reason I think she's one of the strongest of the Disney Princess because this is deep. It's not just because it's something she doesn't have but because she sees them as living creatures in the world that deserve not to have only one thought that they're all evil. I know people say Melody is the one who brings the two worlds together by breaking down the wall but she wouldn't be there to have the two worlds unite if it wasn't for Ariel. It was her work and love for both worlds and Eric that brought the two worlds together. I mean both worlds were there at the wedding and for the christening of Melody for crying out load! She's the one the brought the two worlds together, Melody just broke down the wall.

I also want to point out that Ariel didn't just leave her life because of Eric, she wanted to be human WAY before she met Eric. She sung a freaking amazing song about wanting to be human before meeting Eric! Eric is just what helped push it. But even then she considers what she's doing when making the deal with Ursula and just ultimately make the decision to make her dream come true. I also love that unlike Belle, Ariel makes the best of what she has instead of just whining about it. She knows it's forbidden but she goes on dangerous adventure, especially involving human things, to help satisfy her desire for adventure, while Belle never does. Now that's not to say Belle isn't an amazing character as well because she is and it's not to say Ariel doesn't whine too, heck her song is kind of whiny. But what I'm getting at is she makes the most out of her life that she's not satisfied with and actually let's herself have friends. I don't think Belle has friends in the village, maybe the bookshop keeper. Ariel wants more, to be able to explore and have an adventure beyond the sea and discover new places. She wants to find love but who could blame her? A lot of people want love but at least she wants more than just love.

I also have gotta say that I love her to DEATH and find her hilarious when she can't speak! People should adore that Ariel! I mean it gets rid of people's complaining that she whines and acts bratty. But more so she's enjoying this fantastic new world she's always dreamed of exploring. It brings out her adventurous and fun-loving personality that I LOVE! If Wall-E and Eve from Wall-E had personality like her when she's silent I might like the movie more because then they'd have actual personalities. Even when she's silent she shows her incredible personality.

Lastly I just wanna say that the war between Merida and Ariel NEEDS to end! While both have their faults they also develop, change, and realize what they've done is wrong. Ariel is smarter with her deal with the witch because she's more skeptical and not as rash about it and not bratty like Merida was at the beginning. However, Merida also develops and is my second favorite Disney Princess. Both are amazing characters that don't deserve hate.