The new Little Mermaid changes the ending in an important way

The line that will get me each rattling time I watch the 1989 animated model of The Little Mermaid isn’t one in all the well-known ones — a lyric from “Part of Your World,” Ariel’s defiant “But Daddy, I love him,” and even one in all Sebastian’s quippy asides. It comes towards the finish of the film, when Triton lastly realizes that Ariel might be happier on land, and makes use of his magical trident to offer her legs. Afterward, he turns to Sebastian and says, “I guess there’s just one problem left — how much I’m going to miss her.”

That second has extra influence than some other line in the film, as a result of it disrupts the typical “happily ever after” narrative. Unlike different Disney fairy-tale endings, the finish of The Little Mermaid is deeply bittersweet. True love saves the day, and there’s a giant wedding ceremony. But in contrast to Cinderella escaping from her abusive stepmother or Beauty and the Beast’s Belle reuniting along with her father, Ariel leaves behind her loving household for a new life — and she will by no means return to the way issues have been.

The new 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid retains that line intact, however shifts the ending round it a bit in a way that overwrites the unique film’s sequel, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. But because it seems, that isn’t a nasty factor.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the 2023 Little Mermaid, and also for Return to the Sea.]

Image: Disney

Triton is a strict, overprotective mother or father, however like many dad and mom, he does what he does as a result of he believes he’s maintaining his daughter protected. Unlike many dad and mom, nevertheless, he realizes the error of his methods and takes the alternative to rectify them. He has to let his daughter go in order to offer her an opportunity to be joyful. But nonetheless, he’s unhappy! It’s shifting! It presents a risk that strict dads are able to development and recognizing that what they need isn’t essentially what their daughters need!

The concept that Ariel has to completely break with Triton to realize her desires is emphasised once more in the direct-to-VHS sequel, the place she makes the tough alternative to chop off all contact with the undersea world to guard her daughter from Ursula’s vengeful sister. Though The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is one in all the higher Disney direct-to-video sequels, that period isn’t essentially identified for good motion pictures. But there’s a very poignant scene in this one, the place a grown-up Ariel walks to the seashore and dips her toes in the water, wanting as much as the sky and sighing that she misses her father.

Image: Disney

While screenwriter David Magee and director Rob Marshall protect many issues from the 1989 animated film in their live-action model — together with giving the “I’m going to miss her” line to Javier Bardem as Triton, who delivers it with as a lot tenderness and unhappiness because it deserves — they make a wise option to tweak the ending so it isn’t as painful. And in the course of, they shut the door on any potential adaptation of the direct-to-VHS sequel.

Ariel and Eric nonetheless get married in the 2023 film model, however their wedding ceremony is way extra low-key. The important factor is that they head off on an extended sea journey collectively, indulging each of their needs for exploration, and hoping to increase diplomatic relations for Eric’s small island nation. As they’re on a rowboat, about to go out to their ship, Triton emerges from the water and appears gravely at Ariel and Eric. More and extra merpeople come out of the water, and Triton tells Ariel that they may at all times be right here for her.

Image: Disney

It’s a small element, nevertheless it nonetheless changes the ending significantly. Ariel doesn’t have to decide on between worlds. She feels happier and extra snug in the human world, however part of her will at all times be a mermaid. This time, although, as a substitute of a goodbye, the ending feels extra like a new chapter for Ariel and her relationship with the underwater world. Marshall and Magee sprinkle some fantasy battle between merpeople and people into this model, with out ever actually digging into it or resolving it. But that battle makes an ending the place Ariel doesn’t have to decide on between worlds really feel much more resonant.

There’s nonetheless a lot to dive into (ha) in a possible sequel. (Possible sequels for these live-action remakes preserve getting introduced.) And it wouldn’t must concentrate on giving Ariel a child, or chopping her off from the mermaid world. Ariel and Eric’s relationship represents one thing new for each people and merpeople, and their seafaring quest will definitely take them to uncharted waters, each actually and figuratively. Return to the Sea won’t occur in live-action type, however there may be a variety of ocean to discover on the market. This time, Ariel is aware of her father will at all times be there for her, now that he’s discovered to let her go.