The Little Mermaid is a beloved Disney film. For some people, it’s the first Disney movie they ever saw. It inspired many children and adults to wish they were mermaids (and maybe it still inspires us). But, while this movie makes for great entertainment, it left us with far too many unanswered questions.
1. What happened to Ariel’s mother?
If you watched the 2008 film, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginnings, then you know what happened to her (she was crushed by a ship after pirates attacked), but why wasn’t this fairly huge question answered in the original film?
2. Why can’t Max the dog talk?
If Scuttle the bird can talk and give Ariel all this terrible information on human inventions, why doesn’t Max ever speak to any of the fish-y folk?
3. Why didn’t Ariel just write Prince Eric a note?
Couldn’t the whole issue of not being able to speak have been quickly resolved if she wrote him this note: “Lost my voice, I’m the girl who rescued you, with the beautiful voice. Kiss me and I can prove it!” We know that she can write, as proved above.
4. Why isn’t Flounder a flounder?
This is what a real flounder looks like. Disney portrayed Flounder as a tropical fish.
5. Why is Eric interested in a woman who can’t even speak?
Ariel is mysterious and charming as the girl with no voice, but shouldn’t Prince Eric be interested in more than that?
6. Alternatively, why is Ariel so interested in a man who doesn’t care if she can speak or not?
Doesn’t Ariel want a boyfriend/husband that can appreciate all the quirky things she has to say? How can she know that Eric will like that about her, if she can’t even talk to him? We get the importance of “body language” but still, you should probably talk to a person before falling in love.
7. When did Ursula live in the palace?
In her monologue, she says she used to live in the palace, but we find out she was banished. It’s never brought up why she was banished and we can’t help but theorize.
8. Why was she “banished” but allowed to live so close to the kingdom?
If King Triton found her to be such a threat, why wouldn’t he have made sure her banishment extended to much farther than within the reach of his kingdom?
9. Why do Ariel and her sisters all have different eye and hair colors?
We can understand some different eye/hair colors, but their hair ranges from blonde, to brown, to red, to black. Don’t get us started on their eyes, why does one sister have lavender eyes while another has brown eyes?
10. And why doesn’t Ariel’s seashell bra match her tail?
It’s obvious, from the film title, that Ariel is supposed to be the most important of the mermaid daughters, we didn’t need her special seashell bra to prove that point.
Which The Little Mermaid “plot hole” do you think is the most concerning? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
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