For some reason there seems to be a little bit of prejudice toward Ariel in feminist circles. Something about her changing who she was for a man, yada, yada. Allow me to explain you a thing.

1. Ariel’s entire character revolves around the fact that she wants to learn more about the world around her, including the “forbidden” human world. It’s obvious that the world exists and that there are many things to discover about it but it’s forbidden to her because her father fears humans. (Understandable once you see the third movie, which explains what happened to Ariel’s mom.) Ariel is an archaeologist of sorts, she finds relics and tries to identify them with the help of her, tragically misinformed, seagull friend Scuttle. She’s attempting to understand the world and she gets obsessed with it.

2. Okay, she’s sixteen. Okay, she’s headstrong. Okay, she’s disobedient. But guess what, that’s what sixteen year olds do. They’re trying to demonstrate their independence and it goes against everything that their parents have ever wanted for them. If you really pay attention to the lyrics and the circumstances surrounding “Part of That World” (the title Howard and Alan retroactively wanted for the epic “I want” portion of the song) it’s all about seeing that there is more to the world and wanting to explore it. Specifically there is a lyric set that sums Ariel up entirely:

Betcha on land they understand

Bet they don’t reprimand their daughters

Bright young women, sick of swimming

Ready to stand

And ready to know what the people know

Ask them my questions and get some answers

Anyone who hears that and thinks she’s just a whiny teenager who’s giving up her life for a guy clearly isn’t paying attention. How many of us wanted to travel to different countries, go to the moon, see if the face on Mars was naturally occuring or made by living things? How many of us were told by our parents to “grow up” and “be realistic”? How many of us had the spirit of exploration and felt that our parents were crushing our curiosity and creativity? How many of us felt that our parents didn’t believe in us or that we were being oppressed?

I’m willing to bet that it’s almost all of us.

3. Eric. Ariel is sixteen and she becomes infatuated with the first human she meets. How many of us haven’t made mistakes? Yeah, I thought so. She didn’t actually change herself for Eric, he was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Ariel has wanted to see more from the start, but he’s the catalyst that pushes her over the edge.

I could keep going, but I hope that these three points really make people think a little harder before dismissing Ariel as a whiny teenager who is shallow and changes herself for a man.

Yes, Ariel works as a perfect metaphor for everyone who is “different” and whose simple wish is to just be accepted by society as a normal human being. People don’t usually tend to think of Ariel this way as she is a gorgeous princess. But that’s the exact point Ariel makes in “Part of Your World”- “Wouldn’t you think I’m the girl who’s got everything?” Her materialistic possessions mean nothing as feels trapped in the dark underwater. Which is why we have that iconic shot of her breaking surface for the first time after she gets legs- finally that’s her freedom from the darkness and a life of hiding, and now she is ready to step out into the shining new world.

I don’t really get what you mean about Ariel being lame, she was way more adventurous than the early princesses.

Totally agree, i have always tried to defend Ariel in this respect.

My previous comment was a reply to disqus’s post! Sorry!

I always get goosebumps at the “What would I give if I could live out of these waters?” part of “Part of Your World”. That line speaks volumes. And man, that reprise is just heartwrenching! It was like Howard Ashman poured his heart and soul into the lyrics, Jodi Benson sang her heart out, Glen Keane did a marvelous job in the sequence with Ariel’s face close to an unconscious Eric’s face and then the music keeps swelling like the crisp waves in the animation. The “Part of Your World” reprise is easily my favorite animated Disney sequence! All the elements coming together to create numbing perfection!