Olivia Reed

Research Paper
Ms. Burgoon
19 January 2015
The Little Mermaid Research Paper
Disney princesses are regularly perceived as the epitome of physical beauty. The lives of
these beautiful princesses are envied by children and seen as ideal even though many of the
characters circumstances are not obtainable or reasonable. Beloved characters, such as Ariel,
have undiagnosed neuroses that are concealed by their seemingly perfect lives. Ariels dysphoria
and compulsive hoarding can be divulged through careful examination of the films diction,
imagery, and descriptive details.
The film is based on the Danish fairy tale The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian
Anderson. It is the twenty eighth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and its release
is considered the start of the Disney Renaissance. The Disney Renaissance, lasting from 19891999, allowed for the triumph of Walt Disney Feature Animation over surrounding studios. Many
studios became aware of Disneys success and tried to replicate Walt Disneys unique style. After
his death in 1966, the film production was left in the hands of other animators. Disneys viewers
were unimpressed by the lackluster films made by the new animators, and it wasnt until the
release of The Little Mermaid that the audience once again became intrigued with the companys
productions. The film The Little Mermaid contains themes such as good versus evil and deciding
what is important in life and what is not which provokes interest from the viewers.
In the film, the youngest daughter of King Triton, Ariel, is unhappy with her life under
the sea. She has a great desire to live with the humans on land and shares a converse view on life

with her father. King Triton sees the humans as barbaric fish-eaters and forbids Ariel to ever go
on land. She continues to collect human artifacts and store them in her secret grotto, but despite
her plethora of treasures, she longs to see the world above land for herself. One night, Ariel and
her friends, Flounder and Sebastian, travel to the surface and Ariel saves a young man, Eric, from
drowning. She instantaneously falls in love with him but knows she must return to her life in the
ocean. Once she returns, King Triton notices that his daughters behavior is different and begins
to interrogate Sebastian. Sebastian informs King Triton about how Ariel had gone up the the
surface and Triton was furious that his daughter would blatantly disobey him. Out of anger, he
enters his daughters secret grotto, and destroys all of her prized possessions. Ariel is emotionally
destroyed and extremely vulnerable after losing all her treasures. She then is approached by two
eels who suggest to her that she should visit Ursula, the sea witch, who could make her greatest
desires become a reality. Ursula grants Ariel three days as a human to receive a kiss from Eric,
but if she can not get a kiss from Eric within the three days, Ariel becomes a mermaid again and
she will belong to Ursula. Ariel also must sacrifice her voice in return for Ursula granting her
three days on land. She takes the deal and begins her three days on land. She faces many troubles
while on land and a majority of them are caused by Ursula. Ursula tries to her best ability to
sabotage Ariel, but despite her efforts to prevent Ariel and Erics love, she ultimately fails. With
the help of King Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder, Ariel eventually marries Eric and is officially a
human. (The Little Mermaid)
Ariel is in a state of unease or generalized dissatisfaction with life which allows
her to be classified as having dysphoria (Websters Dictionary). In the song Part of your World,
there are several lines that clearly portray Ariels yearning to live on the surface. Ariel sings, I
wanna be where the people are wish I could be part of that world which conveys her

aspiration to be a human (The Little Mermaid) . Glimpses of Ariels dysphoria can be revealed
through her words and the innermost desires of her mind. Ariels word choice and language
divulges her dejection and her craving for a life out of the ocean.
Ariels discontent with her life is not her only mental illness present in the film. Her
emotional attachment to random, worthless items is the behavior of a compulsive hoarder. Many
hoarders try to keep their compulsion secret because their obsession tends to interfere with their
personal relationships and daily obligations. Hoarders find sentimentality in their items and do
not brag or boast about what they have because they fear they will be judged (Mackay 31). Ariel
has a secret grotto that contains hundreds of items that she possesses no knowledge of what
they are for. Ariels reaction to her father destroying her grotto is consistent with the reaction of a
hoarder when their possessions are thrown out. Certain words appeal to viewers senses and
allow them to imagine what Ariels grotto looks like. In Part of your World, Ariel says Look
at this trove, treasures untold. How many treasures can one cavern hold? Looking around here
youd think, sure, shes got everything (The Little Mermaid). This lyric appeals to ones
imagination and allows them to conceptualize Ariels treasure filled trove.
Ariels dysphoria and compulsive hoarding can both be analyzed through the inspection
of the films descriptive details. Ariel describes what her grotto is composed of by proclaiming,
Ive got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty, Ive got whozits and whatzits galore. You want
thingamabobs? Ive got twenty! (The Little Mermaid) She is outlining the characteristics of
what items are in her grotto and trying to create an element of self worth using details. She also
uses descriptive details to explain her desire to be human. Ariel states I wanna see, wanna see
them dancing up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun
which is a phrase that use details to explain what it is that humans do every day and what she is

looking for in life on land (The Little Mermaid). Ariel describes normal activities that humans
do, such as walking, running, and dancing, because they are not ordinary things for her.
Disney Animations does an exceptional job at creating films that incorporate elements of
daily life. The films possess strong themes such as good vs evil, the significance of love, and the
difficulty of distinguishing between what is important in life and what is not. In numerous
scenes, Ariel is called upon to make a choice and she makes her choice without fully
comprehending the consequences. Specifically when Ursula offers her the opportunity to become
a human, Ariel acts impulsively and makes a decision in the heat of the moment. In addition to
themes, some would say The Little Mermaid contains religious accounts. On many occasions,
people have referred to Ursula as the devil. In similar fashion, Ursula provides Ariel with a
proposition just like the devil does with Adam and Eve.
Many viewers of The Little Mermaid have failed to notice Ariels psychological issues
and still view her as the beautiful mermaid who lived happily ever after. They are not aware of
the deeper messages and themes that can be found by utilizing rhetoric devices. Ariels dysphoria
and compulsive hoarding disorder was revealed through attentive analysis of the films diction,
imagery, and descriptive details.
Works Cited
"6 Beloved Characters That Had Undiagnosed Mental Illnesses." Cracked.com. N.p., n.d.
Web. 01 Feb. 2015.
"Dysphoria." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.
MacKay, Jenny. Hoarding. Detroit: Lucent, 2012. Web.

"The Doctor Is In: Waiting Room Diagnoses for Disney Princesses."

Https://www.themedicalbag.com/article/the-doctor-is-in-waiting-room-diagnoses-for-disneyprincesses.
The Little Mermaid. Walt Disney Animations Studio, 1989.N.p., 17 July 2014. Web. 01
Feb. 2015.
"Top 10 Mental Disorders Of Cartoon Characters - Toptenz.net." Toptenz.net. N.p., n.d.
Web. 01 Feb. 2015.