Ariel And Eric's Romance In The New "Little Mermaid" Is, Dare I Say, Better Than The Original, So Here Are 15 Differences Between Them
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The live-action The Little Mermaid is finally here, and there are things about the new adaptation that people are loving.
Namely, everyone can't stop talking about Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King's chemistry and how they made the perfect Ariel and Prince Eric.
upcoming rom-coms need to seriously take notes from eric and ariel in the little mermaid. their chemistry was insane, and he was so attentive to her using just her mannerisms and body language. they made you believe in and root for their romance. loved it. #TheLittleMermaid pic.twitter.com/hU9DnVXi9Q
— zach 🫧 (@zachdanclark) May 28, 2023
@zachdanclark / Disney / Alamy / Via Twitter: @zachdanclark
While The Little Mermaid follows the exact same plot as the original Disney animated movie from 1989, there are some bigger changes and additions that are easy to spot. However, what a lot of people are obsessed with are the smaller changes to Ariel and Eric's love story that somehow make their connection even better.
So, here are 15 subtle changes to Ariel and Prince Eric's love story in the live-action The Little Mermaid that are just so good:
1.First, during "Kiss the Girl," Ariel figures out how to tell Eric her name by moving his lips after he points out the constellation for Aries. In the original movie, Sebastian whispers Ariel's name to Eric.
Also, the fact that Ariel's name is literally written in the stars that Eric uses to sail during his adventures, and he tells her, "Beautiful name, written in the stars." Soulmate behavior right there.
2.Ariel is the one who moves away from Eric when they almost kiss for the first time during "Kiss the Girl." In the original, Eric is the one who pulls away, and Ariel is sad over it.
The second time is when the boat tips over toward the end of the song.
3.The live-action The Little Mermaid adds an entire scene where Prince Eric and Ariel get to know each other when Ariel stumbles into Eric's study and Eric teaches her about the world. In the original, after Eric finds Ariel, their next scene is eating dinner and then the following day.
4.Prince Eric and Ariel also have more in common in the live-action remake, which just amplifies the feeling that they are soulmates. For starters: They both collect treasures from their adventures. Eric's study is filled with them, and Ariel, of course, has hers in her grotto, which are on full display during "Part of Your World."
In fact, Ariel's grotto and Eric's study are even laid out the same with Eric's having a skylight in the same place where Ariel sees the sun through the water in her grotto.
5.And, adding to this, Eric's collection is filled with trinkets he found from his various voyages at sea, while Ariel's are all items she found from the human world, aka on land. Meaning they each collect items from each other's worlds, which is a small detail that just connects the two of them even more.
6.Also, the remake makes Eric's feeling of being out of place and wanting to find his own adventure more apparent than in the animated film. In the new The Little Mermaid, Eric is adopted after a shipwreck killed his parents, and he feels out of place in the world he's grown up in, similar to Ariel.
7.The Little Mermaid live-action adds in a song for Prince Eric titled "Wild Uncharted Waters," which just really adds to Eric's longing to find the girl who saved him, aka Ariel. In fact, Ariel's siren song can be heard in "Wild Uncharted Waters," too.
8.Prince Eric and Ariel go off on a more elaborate adventure in town during the remake, which allows them to continue to get to know each other. Namely, Eric's able to see firsthand Ariel's curiosity with the world for a longer period of time.
9.When Ariel finds out that Eric and Vanessa, aka Ursula's alter ego, are engaged, the live-action adds in a heartbreaking second reprise of "Part of Your World," which didn't happen in the animated movie.
10.In the animated movie, when Vanessa tricks and seduces Eric, he's pretty much obsessed with her and doesn't think about Ariel. Also, Grimsby supports this sudden wedding. However, in the remake, Eric keeps asking where Ariel is, even while being under Vanessa's curse, and Grimsby is basically the captain of the Ariel and Prince Eric ship and doubts this sudden relationship.
11.In the live-action The Little Mermaid, when Ariel turns back into a mermaid, Eric runs to Ariel and holds on to her even tighter. Unlike in the animated movie, where Eric lets go of Ariel and, kind of, just stands there stunned.
12.Also, in this same scene, in the original, Ariel is immediately swept up by Ursula and taken back to the ocean, while Eric just, well, stands there. In the live-action film, Eric tries to put himself between Ursula and Ariel, and is ready to fight to keep Ariel safe.
13.In the animated movie, when King Triton gives Ariel back her human form, she walks right into Eric's arms. But, for the new version, Eric can be seen missing Ariel at the palace while playing with Max, and she sneaks up on him. It's such a small change, but really shows how much Eric loves Ariel as he hugs her.
It also implies there was some time between Eric washing up on shore after fighting Ursula and Ariel returning to him.
14.In the animated movie, Ariel's fascination, and ultimately love, for Prince Eric hinges a lot on his looks. For the live-action, Ariel falls in love with Eric more so after hearing him talk to Grimsby about the world, caring for other people, and more.
15.And finally, The Little Mermaid movie ends with Ariel and Prince Eric getting married, but also setting out on their own adventure and traveling the world, which isn't shown in the animated movie. This added little detail perfectly connects to how they fell in love with each other's passion for exploration.
