Written By: Sarai Elora
Thirty years after making Sleeping Beauty, Disney came out with The Little Mermaid—the movie responsible for inspiring the mermaid obsession in countless young girls everywhere. Bright, excitable, and fiery, Ariel swam onto the scene and stole our hearts. Ariel was the beginning of the new generation of Disney princesses—and certainly the first mermaid. It’s pretty easy to see why Ariel is the favorite of many, with her spunky personality and the fact that she took control of her fate with hope and independence. She was also a mermaid, which is pretty magical and exciting, especially to all of us land folk. There’s a lot to love about our favorite little mermaid, so let’s dive in for a closer look.
Curious
It’s impossible to forget the look of excitement on Ariel’s face when she gazes into the sunken ship at all the potential new treasures to collect. She wants to understand absolutely everything, and will even face the unknown dangers of the underwater ship to find something new to speculate about. Her friend Scuttle gives her names and purposes for the objects she finds, and then she takes them back home to keep in her little cave. And it’s this curiosity that leads her to meet her prince. She needed to look, and no warnings from her father were going to squash her natural curiosity. If she had ignored her desires she would never have been able to be there to save Eric. Curiosity was also what helped her overcome the prejudices of the rest of her society.
Open-mindedness
Right from the beginning we see the fear inherent in the rest of the merfolk. They’ve been living happy, peaceful lives down into the deepest parts of the ocean, but they refuse to break the surface and explore the world of humans, due to their understanding that humans are dangerous. Ariel has been told this her whole life, but her natural curiosity leads her to break with tradition and assume the best about the world above. The line right before Part of Your World says, “I just don’t see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad”, which showcases the fact that Ariel can see beyond the stories she has been told about the very real potential danger to the also very real potential beauty in the world above her. She refuses to believe the worst, and instead sees that despite all of the fear that she could have, it is more important to be open-minded and believe in beauty.
Bold
Along with Ariel’s curiosity comes her boldness. She is willing to go out into the unknown world to achieve her hopes and dreams. She’s brave, gutsy, and determined. Although her boldness can sometimes put her in some tricky situations, such as making a deal with an evil sea witch, it is again her boldness that continues to save her. Even after she loses her tail in favor of legs, she bravely jumps into the sea to climb aboard the ship and stop the wedding of the love of her life to the evil Vanessa. She keeps fighting, unwilling to let Eric fall prey to Ursula’s plan. And in what might be her boldest move, she left home in the first place in search of her dreams. That can’t be easy—leaving behind the ones you love, even if you don’t always see eye to eye. But for the sake of the life she wants she boldly declares her independence and finds her own place in the world.
It’s incredibly inspiring and exciting to watch Ariel make her journey to independence and happiness. Starting out as a curious mermaid, she grows, understands her own mistakes, and still boldly makes her own future. She has a continual thirst for excitement and knowledge, and everything she does is motivated by the need to experience as much of the world as possible. Ariel is an excellent role model in many ways, but most importantly in her ability to look at a new world with excited and hopeful eyes.
Invite The Little Mermaid to Your Utah Princess Party!
If you’re hosting a mermaid or princess party this year, invite The Little Mermaid! She will be the perfect addition to you Utah princess party, making everyone’s dreams come true! If you’re looking for a princess near me, look no further than Character Booking!