Looking at the picture below, you wouldn't immediately think that Ariel the Little Mermaid was a 16 year-old would you? In fact on learning this information, you'd probably be a little concerned about the men responsible for drawing her, because in Disney at this time, the drawings of both heroes and heroines were all done by men. She's a pubescent female, but there's something distinctly sexy and almost nymphette about her. The sea-shell bra and doe-eyed beauty do nothing to quash the angry feminists who actually complained to Disney about the character.
As with all his women, Disney has given Ariel only one desire: to fall in love. Since the film was inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale, it is interesting to note that in his version, the mermaid only looked for a human to give her an immortal soul, whereas Ariel sees a husband as the be-all and end-all of her life.
Ariel's trade with the sea witch Ursula (interesting to note that evil is shown by an older woman) is simple, she gives up her voice in exchange for human legs with which to entice Eric. Surely this is sending out a controversial message for young female viewers:
"Shut up, look beautiful, and you'll get a man to fall in love with you".
Even the ending of this film shows Ariel leaving behind her father and sisters to live out her days with the Prince Eric, who is quite literally part of a whole other 'world'. As Kathy puts it, she is "a woman without a social support system, investing her entire life in a romance".
We can identify that Ariel would eventually end up as the 'wife' character, so typical of Disney films. Their only purpose to find love and then take care of their man. How independent of them. |
