Tonight, as a family, we finally did it: we watched The Little Mermaid for the first time. Since her birth, many, many people have asked me if we named Ariel "after Princess Ariel in the movie?" Or, the other typical response is, "Oh, my daughter will love her! That is her favourite princess!" I am happy her name elicits such a positive response, however...
Admittedly, no, we did not consciously think, "I want my daughter to be named after a Disney princess!"; it was simply a rare name that happened to, at the time, meet all of my criteria: 'r' and 'l' sound, shorter name, not too popular, not ambiguous or gender neutral, and Dan likes it. And, all of Dan's criteria: no names that are 'things', especially no flowers, months or seasons; nothing foreign sounding (whatever that means); no ambiguous or gender neutral names; not too popular; and Adelle likes it. When we both actually agreed we liked the name Ariel, it really stuck and that settled it. Ironically, Dan and I did come across the name Elyse in a movie, The Adjustment Bureau; it is the female protagonist's name. I was pregnant with Ariel at the time, and so we decided to hold onto the name in case we were graced with another girl.
I can't remember exactly where now, but the name Ariel first came about because I saw it written in cursive on the cover of a diary in an advertisement, and I thought the name looked and sounded so pretty. I remember the dot over the 'i' was in the shape of a heart, and some part of my childhood-self longed to dot that 'i' with a little heart.
So what did our Ariel think of hearing her name over and over again in a movie - not much. She was completely engrossed in the film from start to finish, but she did not seem to register the coincidence of the heroine sharing her name.
So what did I think of The Little Mermaid?
The Little Mermaid: A fantastical romance or a fishy tale?
Let's get one thing straight, nobody messes with The Little Mermaid. The story is a timeless classic, adapted from one of Hans Christian Anderson's tales, and truly one of my childhood favourites. I believe the movie has always appealed to me because I am a hopeless romantic, and The Little Mermaid is a love story above all else. Also, it really does have a musical theatre quality to it, which I love, and the sound track is phenomenal.
As a little girl, I remember seeing The Little Mermaid for the first time at the movie theatre with my mom, and then watching it over and over again with my brother at home on VHS. My neighbourhood friends and I used to have singing competitions to decide who had the best voice, which determined who got to play Ariel when we were pretending to be princesses. Ariel was always the favourite. I used to listen to The Little Mermaid sound track as I went to sleep, and later, of course, The Lion King, but don't get me started on that.
I hadn't watched The Little Mermaid in many, many years, and now, with the fresh analytical eyes of a parent, I saw things anew.
I still cheered for Ariel and her dreams for a different world above the sea, where the people are; but I recoiled at her direct rebellion and disobedience towards her father, which ultimately almost ended up costing him his Kingdom and freedom. I wanted her father to understand her better, and for her to make better decisions.
As a child, it never struck me as odd that Ariel only ever saw Eric once and from that moment on decided she was in love with him and would do anything for him, like give up her whole life. And, not to be too judgemental, but she is only 16! I cringe to think of my Ariel giving up her whole life for love at the age of 16 in today's day and age. Comparing what I know now to what I knew then: there is something to be said for experience, and making informed decisions.
Another warning flag my young self neglected to fish out was the fact that Ursula, the dark witchy octopus, strikes a horribly unfair deal with Ariel. She takes away her voice and tells her she only has three days - THREE DAYS - to seal the deal with Eric through true love's kiss. It's not that I do not believe in love at first sight - I want to, but true love and a good relationship take time to build. Three days' time is just not enough, though in the end everything works out for the best (so maybe love at first sight is possible!) Sigh, I have learned nothing. I can only be reasoned with through emotion.
In terms of the quality of the film itself, the sound has since been redone, but the animation is simply not as vibrant and seamless as it once seemed. Animation that I once found incredible and riveting as a child, now seems dull and cartoonish in comparison to today's pixelated technology. You can't hold that against The Little Mermaid though! I'm sure Ariel and Elyse will be saying the same thing about Tangled or Finding Nemo in a decade (or less!)
Dan told me I was going to blog about The Little Mermaid today, but I didn't believe him.
Further contributions by Ariel to today's blog:
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The End - Good night!
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