The Ariel Discussion Thread

[WickedElphie]

A general thread to discuss our beloved adventerious mermaid. If one topic starts to dominate we can split it up later.

[DanTheMan]

Hmmmm.........Ariel is the best Disney Princess! ;D

Agree?

[fridamoonbeam]

LOL! Of course!

I related to her most of all of them. I'll spare an essay for the time being on that But I'm sure I'll post one soon!

What I love is that Ariel was never made out to be perfect. You saw her make mistakes and do things she should'nt have. But you knew her heart was pure. Sometimes little girls don't need someone to look up to so much as relate too.

I love Belle too, but I feel like BatB takes away from Belle's character by never aknowledging her flaws. She had them, and would have given her more depth, or human qualities if they would not made her to be a total saint. Again LOVE Belle, but that personally annoyed me.

But this isn't a Belle thread. LOL

[DanTheMan]

Whether I liked her or not (I do, but that's common sense lol..), I would have to say she was the best, simply because she's not generic, like most of the other Princesses.

[Coral]

That's it, Dan! She's not generic. There is no other princess in Disney history like her. She's a fully rounded, fully developed real character. She has goals, motivations, flaws, and a shining moment where she overcomes those flaws. She's also not afraid to go after what she wants. I think girls need that.

I also think Ariel tells girls that it's perfectly fine to want something that society says isn't what a girl should want. I've never had any desire to go to college or down the career path, and that's pretty rare these days. A lot of society--certainly not all--tells girls that just wanting to get married and have kids isn't enough. They need to want more. I think Ariel is in contrast to that and tells girls it's ok to just want a husband and live in the world you create with him.

[Zavi]

Love the addition of an Ariel thread! I'm sure everyone can offer their two (or ten) cents.

Like everyone has said, Ariel's the princess almost everyone can relate to. She's not there just to fall in love with the prince; she wanted to join a world where she belonged. That, and she wasn't afraid to chase that dream and risk everything for it.

TLM, in my mind, created a lot of good firsts for Disney. The first Golden Age in years, the first non-air-headed prince, and the first powerful female lead. She got off her butt and followed her heart. It may have made her an outcast and created hordes of naysayers, but she knew what was right for herself and persevered. She sends a powerful message that often escapes girls over the age of ten.

Lesson learned: to live a happy life, listen to Ariel!

[WickedElphie]

Except about the whole "selling your soul to an evil witch" thing. That wasn't such a good idea.

But yeah, what I love about Ariel is that she stands up for what she thinks is right even if nobody else is on her side.

[DanTheMan]

I don't know, I mean, it would depend on what it was. I would probably give up my voice (not my soul, but then Ariel didn't either), but it would greatly depend on the offer.

But then again, Ariel was desperate, I wouldn't be, so it's different lol..

[fathomsbelow]

Ariel's awesome. She was really the first princess that wasn't just: "Oh here comes my prince, let's go live happily ever after." She actually went out to find her prince( and quite a dashing prince I may add XD ) for herself. And she gave up everything to be with him: being with her family, her tail, basically her life as she knew it. I don't think the whole trading her voice was a good thing either, but that's what makes her different--she's not perfect. She's just a normal teenager and not a Mary Sue, that everyone can relate to at some point. That's why she's my favorite

[DanTheMan]

Translation: What Dan said! lol... j/k

[fridamoonbeam]

Yeah, she's just awesome. People don't like to give her more credit, but she paved the way of; Mulan. Meg, Esmeralda, Jazzy, Belle. Sadly she's kind of made out to be an ungrateful air-head, when she's more of a misunderstood dreamer.

And THANK you Rachel, I love that you pointed out that she wanted something that wasn't considered normal. She wanted to be human before she met Eric, and didn't really seem to be interested in romance before then. Which seems like they'd HAVE a richer relationship since she wasn't swimming around singing about her dream guy. But when she found love she knew it, and that's respectable. LOL. If anything Eric was the one who was "dreaming of true love's kiss"

[DanTheMan]

Who doesn't give Ariel any credit

[fathomsbelow]

Way too many people .

[DanTheMan]

**Pulls sword out** Where are these people? I just want to talk to them.

[Zavi]

Pandora radio must know what threads I'm looking at when it switches songs. "Ready to Run" by the Dixie Chicks...

Heh, don't forget the mer-population who ostracized her for being just a little different. Hmm, it might not go as far as "ostracized", but from he series we know she was an outcast. Of course, Ariel didn't care as long as she had the company of Flounder, Sebastian, or Eric.

I think the Ariel-naysayers are so numerous because Ariel's flaws are so connected to her strengths. You can look at any of her traits and label it as either one. Ariel follows her heart, but she's so focused that she can lose sight on other things She's both determined and stubborn. She has complete faith in everyone, which makes her naïve/too trusting.

Because of this, her flaws tend to be situational--they become fatal in certain circumstances. There has to be a day where following her heart leads her in the wrong direction, where she trusts some villain, or when her plans fail. There's going to be a day where she can't do or save something.

However, I think it takes more than a few disasters to crush her faith. It's just a matter of finding her breaking point, and even then, she'll get back up in time. That's part of what I love about her.

Anyway, I digress...

Ariel is by no means stupid, she just follows Disney logic and can get caught up in what she wants. If it had been, say, a novel, more weight could have been given to conflicts with her family and such. The character couldn't really be fleshed out in 90 minutes of Disney film.

[Coral]

That's very true. Even with those limitations she was the most fleshed out female character to date. Only Belle and Jasmine rival her in that regard. But if Ariel hadn't been such a huge success, Belle and Jasmine never would have happened.

There is most definitely enough of Ariel in the movie that fans and writers can run with her and turn her into a real 3-D character without sacrificing any of the things that made us love her so much to begin with.

[DanTheMan]

A movie that is just about Ariel will do well, because of her expanding limitless character lol..

[fathomsbelow]

Here's an example of some Ariel hatred from another forum I visit( I'll leave the poster anonymous, for their safety from Dan XD ):

"I fail to see the Ariel appeal. I'm sorry, but to me she is a selfish, intolerable idiot. I don't like the movie to begin with, but her self-centered immaturity drives me insane. I just don't see how anyone could possibly like her, let alone it be a majority."

I know at first glance she can be seen as foolish, but she didn't know that Ursula was going to use her as bait to get to Triton. And she's not selfish, she gave up her voice just to meet Eric. Then she gives up life as she knew it to be with him. That's pretty selfless to me.

[fridamoonbeam]

It bugs me since people are NOT trying to see a bigger picture or listen to those who have a different view of her, or of other characters in the movie

[fathomsbelow]

Yeah I know. But this person hates most of the Renaissance movies to begin with, so I guess you can't win them all
If Ariel were human and living in the present time, what do you think her hobbies would be?
I think she'd like urban exploring, swimming, and ( of course! ) singing.