Movies Like The Little Mermaid

Frequently asked about The Little Mermaid

Common questions people search for, with answers written by us at MoviesPack.

• Why does Ariel trade her voice to Ursula?▾

  Ariel has been obsessed with the human world long before she meets Prince Eric, collecting artifacts and dreaming of life on land. When Eric washes ashore and she falls in love, Ursula offers her legs in exchange for her voice, knowing that without speech Ariel will struggle to win Eric's heart. Ariel accepts because she believes her feelings and her appearance will be enough to make Eric fall in love within three days.

• What is Ursula's true motivation for making the deal with Ariel?▾

  Ursula is a banished sea-witch who was exiled from King Triton's kingdom and craves revenge and power over the sea. By tricking Ariel into breaking her contract, she gains a magical claim over Ariel, which she then uses as leverage to force Triton to surrender his trident. Collecting failed deal-makers as shrunken polyps in her garden is both a source of power and a demonstration of her cruelty.

• How does Ursula disguise herself as a human, and why doesn't Eric recognize her?▾

  Ursula transforms into a beautiful young woman named Vanessa using a nautilus shell that contains Ariel's stolen voice, allowing her to sing with Ariel's enchanted voice and place Eric under a hypnotic spell. Eric had fallen in love specifically with the mysterious singing voice that comforted him after the shipwreck, so hearing that voice coming from Vanessa makes him believe she is the girl he has been searching for. The enchantment suppresses his own judgment and memories of Ariel.

• Why can't Ariel simply tell Eric the truth about herself?▾

  The deal with Ursula requires Ariel to give up her voice entirely, leaving her completely mute for the three days she has to win Eric's love. She cannot write a note either, as the film treats her as illiterate in the human world's written language. This forces her to rely entirely on body language, expression, and the help of her friends Flounder and Sebastian.

• What does King Triton's destruction of Ariel's grotto symbolize, and does he regret it?▾

  Triton destroys Ariel's secret collection of human objects in a fit of rage after learning she has been consorting with humans and interacting with a human man, acting out of fear for her safety and his own strict prohibition against human contact. The act represents a controlling parent obliterating a child's identity and passions rather than listening to them. His regret becomes the emotional turning point of the film, and at the end he willingly uses the trident to turn Ariel permanently human, acknowledging that true love for his daughter means accepting who she is.