My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analyses
Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.
And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize
The Little Mermaid vs. Beauty and the Beast
Both were movies that launched Disney into another Renaissance of Disney animation. Both films continued the archetypal Disney legacy with fairy tales/Princess movies. And both films became instant classics and iconic in Disney history. And their iconic elements has influenced the fairy tales of the Revival era, as The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, the catastrophic huge flops Frozen and it's sequel (yes, note the sarcasm), Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon, Wish and even Pixar's own fairytale, Brave.
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| We're the Tough Girls. We're not allowed to be girly anymore, so therefore we're ought to be Tough :) |
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| This is going to be a catfight. It oughta be good ;) |
Yes, I know it. It's unfair to compare them at expense of each other. But let'sface it guys, a rivalry between them has always existed and rivalries between properties has always existed. Considering how they've always been compared at the expense of each other, I thought I should give this issue a shot and give my thoughts on this topic here. Though of course this will be an unofficial and fun debate about it, not being the clear-cut answer to which film is truly the best one.
Mermaid was not only suggested as a full-length movie, but as a part of a Hans Christian Andersen biography in 1941. While some elements from Walt's version were incorporated to the 1989 version, the tone and ending was originally intended to be more grim and in tune with Andersen's original tale. Beauty was also a subject that Walt actually was eager to do when he started to loose interest in animation, which he tried to adapt twice. 
Mermaid, although released in 1989, is seen as the part of the Renaissance and the one who started it all (pardon the intended pun). It was Disney's first fairy tale in 30 years. During it's release, it was perceived as an instant comeback by both critics and audiences alike (and Ariel's voice actress, Jodi Benson, had to face the stigma that cartoons had at the time, though her audition for Ariel was a blind one and she didn't advertise the role to her friends and family, but still cites her role as a "gift from God"). Though Mermaid's initial Box Office results wasn't as big as it's followers, at least it made more than it's predecessors from the Dark Age. 
Mermaid was praised for taking the classic Disney fairy tale components and updating them to a modern audience in a new and fresh way (and being the first fairy tale film without opening with a storybook nor having narrator). And the praise was completely deserved! It wasn't just only a homage to Walt's Princess films, but managed to create a fun and charming tone of it's own! It's been perceived as an influential film and it's easy to see why! Although The Rescuers Down Under was released after Mermaid and unfortunately suffered the fate of being neglected by the Disney executives, Beauty came along. Prior to it's release, there were much positive buzz about it, knowing that the studio were creating something really special! 
How influential exactly were those two movies? In fact, very influential. Though Mermaid of course owes a great deal to it's fairy tale predecessors, at least it gave a different kind of a kingdom for a Disney Princess. It gave it's audience a underwater kingdom (yeah, I know it's a vague example, but it's a legit statement). 
It's needless to say that both Mermaid and Beauty introduced two different Princesses, who weren't submissive, but strong and reactive (and at least their hair colors hadn't been used for a Disney Princess before, as a redhead and a brunette). But of course Mermaid introduced the stock components that would deeply shape the Disney Renaissance; Animal sidekicks, villains, a hero who's a loner and yearns for a wish, ect.
Yet no matter how these movies influenced the following films of the Renaissanceand set even the mark (since reviewers in general seemed to prefer both Mermaid and Beauty instead of the following ones), the Revival era films (as aforementioned) have also relied heavily upon the trademarks from them. The Princess and the Frog has a couple of obvious references to Mermai that it would be easy to shallowly label Ma Belle Evangeline as another version of Kiss the Girl. Tangled takes the concept even further and even has a similar boat scene (which made purists scream foul) and several people has claimed Rapunzel of being a clone of Ariel (at least personality-wise).
Yet at least for the comparisons between Tangled and Mermaid, it's remarkable that they have a touring scene of the kingdom right before the boat scene. Yet Beauty has of course shaped Tangled as well. In my blog entry for Revival films (about their renaming to the adjective titles) I've cited how Tangled has been labeled as this eras Beauty by reviewers, though Tangled's climax is of course heavily influenced by Beauty (though Frozen became The Lion King of this eras, several people has compared it to Beauty as well, though both films includes a tragic figure and both films have snow settings and a wolf chase scene).
And though Moana's link to Mermaid has been discussed, let's not forget the Disney spoof Enchanted, since it lovingly mocks Walt's fairy tale films, has a couple of obvious references to Mermaid, in fact more to than with Beauty (and yes, though Giselle may be strawberry blonde, she's close to resemble Ariel). Of course the characters from both Mermaid and Beauty have made cameos in several Disney features afterwards and even their non-canon features, as in A Goofy Movie, just to name a few.
One of the arguments by fans of why Beauty is superior is because Beauty simply is a deeper movie in both tone and subject. There's no denial about that. It not to say that Mermaid is completely absent of depth and Beauty being completely absent of fun. But Mermaid is overall a lightweight movie. It's an John Musker and Ron Clements movie, after all! Everyone who's seen their movies (including The Great Mouse Detective), knows that their movies are mostly light, pure fun and filled with adventure and action! That's really one of the duos greatest gifts, by the way! To incorporate lightness and fun to their Pictures! It's not that they don't include heart and emotion, since they do. But fun, lightness and action are their major trait which they've mostly associated with.  |
| This is how you let go, Elsa :) |
The depth in Mermaid lies mostly in Triton's (Kenneth Mars) arc. About his realization of letting his daughter grow up and be her own person. The ending is definitively a tear-jerking moment of the picture and frankly the most emotional moment in the feature. But that depth is reduced to being secondary, in my opinion, since those scenes are in minority, after all. And frankly, though Triton's arc is the moral of the story (according to the creators), it's still not presented in a heavy-handed or preachy way.
It's not a understatement to cite that Beauty is full of depth. That's probably one of the reasons why it attracted an adult audience in the first place. Uptil then, it was probably one of the deepest movies from Disney ever made. Much of the depth lies in the characterization of the Beast, who actually is a emotionally realistic character. Kudos to Howard Ashman for wanting the Beast (as opposed to the original tale), not only to overcome his exterior, but his personal flaws and temper. Which makes him one of the most dimensional and human leads Disney has ever created. Beast is often seen as the end of the curse of the "dull Disney Prince", although I personally think Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes) ended the curse. 
I'm not going to act as a crazy Prince Eric fan or defender (Ariel takes the credit for that one, hahaha). But personally I don't think Eric gets the enough credit he deserves. He's actually quite superior to Walt's Princes, even Sleeping Beauty's Prince Phillip. He may not have a definite personality, but I find him to be quite likable, nonetheless. He's kind, brave, caring and compassionate. He does helps Ariel, despite of not recognizing her at first and was quite kind to her. One avid Mermaid fan posted a couple a years ago on IMDb that his kindness could've been one of the reasons that Ariel eventually fell for Eric. Not only because of his good looks, but because he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Though of course it's just a loose fan theory. |
| Pick me! I can prove that Mermaids exist! :) |
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| No, pick me! I can give you a lot of fur for free! ;) |
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| "Trust in me, just in me". |
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| You're two decades late and on the wrong movie, Ariel! ;) |
Both Ariel and Belle were real departures from Walts era Princesses. Both of them were strong minded and strong willed Princesses, who at least then broke the mold and fit into the modern, feminist view of women. And both were praised by critics for their spunk and progressiveness, especially Ariel for actually saving the Prince. And it would be fair to cite the influential impact that Ariel has and how the following Princesses have been shaped or at least inspired by her. But they are still quite different characters, each of them.
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| And we had to do this all day long ;) |
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| That's true, Ariel, but to quote your real-life collegue Britney; You're not a girl, not yet a woman ;) |
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| Oh, I get it, Tamatoa was behind this paper and made it shiny ;) |
"The same reason Ariel gets so much grief and criticism from people on their high horses is one of the things that endears her to me. She is a flawed protagonist that makes a very bad decision to try and get what she wants. I feel too much pressure and great storytelling is sacrificed in making our heroines say the right thing all the time.
Ariel came about at a time where there wasn't so much political scrutiny hanging over Disney, so we got a more fleshed out, realistically rebellious 16 year old girl, rather than someone who had to reassure the audience that she had a strong feminist political stance that reflects her being light years ahead of her era (Merida). She was simply allowed to be her own character in her own story, regardless of what was or is a representation of the ideal female figure".
Well, criticism or not; The creators were willing to portray Ariel as a regular, contemporary and relatable teenage girl in a fairy tale world and that's exactly what she is. To give my personal view; The problem with Ariel isn't a particularly a bad character. The only time where she's somewhat callous is when she's luring Flounder into the sunken ship, but even that was a tame attempt. I will definitively claim that Ariel is self-centered and short-sighted, but still not a bad or malicious character.
And sure, it's impossible to not include King Triton into this debate (Mermaid practically invented the father/daugther dynamic which would become a stock component of the 90's). But at least they've successed to make him a quite fulfilled, realistic and complex character. Yes, Triton is oppressive, but does act (at least most of the time) out of genuine love and concern for his daughter. Though I'm not going to defend his flaws, since he does cross the line by destroying Ariel's grotto and is otherwise really oppressive and narrow-minded. But at least he goes through a more obvious arc than his daughter.
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| I told them that I suited the shadow best. The shadow of the day ;) Right, Linkin Park? :) |
Speaking of which, I've always personally preferred Ariel's characterization in the series. Because it really enhances her strengths and good qualities and actually being more mature, wiser and more loving character (ironically enough, since it's supposed to be a prequel). I know it may seem contradictory to say this since I've recently somewhat defended Ariel, but that's how I see things, anyway. This prequel series, which premiered in 1992, it's probably one of the best spinoff show adaptations from Disney. Darker than the movie at times, but still with enough heart and cuteness, enhancing the characters (funny that Prince Eric makes a cameo in a episode).
Now let's talk about Belle.
Well, as I've previously listed, Belle is more mature, sophisticated and dignified, but the thing with Belle is that her strengths are strongly executed in her movie. She's kind, caring and gentle. To use an cliche; her inner beauty shines as much as her exterior. But she's also tough and brave (in certain situations) and not afraid to stand up to people who threats those she loves. She's also an loner for being different and a rare heroine who loves books.
Ariel has been criticized for falling in love at first sight and her aggressive attempt to get Eric, while Belle gets praised (at least by some) for falling for the Beast despite his looks. But one of the reasons of Ariel's crush could actually be, as I mentioned earlier, that she's attracted to Eric's personality and not only his looks, though it's something that could be interpreted individually.
But in Belle's case, her romance really leads to the aforementioned depth of her movie. She learns to love the Beast besides his looks and learns to see that there's something more to him. Kudos for actually giving Ariel and Belle's love arcs some actual development and time, although it's more obvious in Beauty's case (considering that it's not precisely stated how exactly long Belle stays in the castle). At least Belle gets deservedly praise for not falling for Gaston despite his good looks.
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| This rose will make a huge sensation. Yeah, I'm shallow ;) |
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| I'm givin' ya some free wind without color. Don't be mad ;) |
And yes, there's been discussion that Beast and Gaston are pretty much equal jerks, which has been a very fueled debate. But at least the Beast develops genuine gentle sides, while Gaston doesn't. Nuff said!
Although I've never read them, The Three Commentears from the Disney Discussion boards mentioned some comics which developed Beast's personality as a whole and showed his gentle side. And also that the Enchantress were watching over the Prince (I'm excluding the Adam topic from now, haha) in the comics to judge his bad actions, so she had a good reason to transform him into a Beast besides the rejection in the prologue.
Although Aladdin isn't included for this debate, it's tempting to bring Princess Jasmine into this. While she does portray some spunk and independence, her characterization is reduced since she is a more supporting character than her Renaissance Princess predecessors are. Originally the creators were eager to make her a more active and braver character, but when the story evolved, Jasmine was unfortunately reduced, mainly because she began to outshine her male lead. Jasmine has also been a subject for criticism in terms of her actions, being a poor little rich girl who wants to escape her oppression for selfish reasons and has constantly to be saved, although she does make an independent decission to accept Aladdin at the very end. But that's another story for now :)
Just a note; The creators have been contradictory about who's the real protagonist in Beauty. In the Platinum Edition documentary, producer Don Hahn said that both title characters were equal leads, while in the Diamond Edition (and Charles Solomons Art of Beauty book) Beast is claimed to be the main lead. It's understandable why they think the latter, but I think this going to fuel an interesting debate. And I'm not declaring this to attack the creators of the movie, but I felt to bring up this notion. So I'm sorry if it seems like an attack.
The other aspects in this debate that are comparable, as the animation, supporting characters and music (as known, Disney decided to make Beauty a musical after the success of Mermaid) are noteworthy, but I'm going to exclude those components for now, because I find them irrelevant to this entry. Instead, i'm going to discuss the third and perhaps most crucial component; Their villains.
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| I can't help it, I was born this way! :) |
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| Yeah, I forgot to say cheese when this picture was taken :) |
Although I'm not personally a fan of neither, I do consider Urusla to be a superior villain. At least
Sure, he does portray some genuinely evil sides, but personally I think he lacks the charisma and personality which defines the best Disney villains. I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for this, but I'm sorry Gaston-fans, that's how I see things. Both Urusla and Gaston are worshiped and hated by many, but they are quite different villains.
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| I'm never spending more time with Pooh ;) |
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| I'm the Iron- and Jack-less Giant. Pun intended ;) |
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| We must be tidy after our party :) |
But back to my initial question. I know this entry won't be the definite answer to my initial question of which movie is the ultimate winner. It's a subjective question. It's the matter of personal taste. But at least I've tried to convey the main comparisons between these movies. Both movies has their strengths and weaknesses on their own terms. 
Both movies are charming and enchanting in their own rights. Although I personally preferred Mermaid growing up, I've learned to appreciate Beauty for it's strengths throughout the years. But there's no doubt that both movies will continuing to inspire and delight audiences in a time when hand drawn animation is at the time reduced to minimum (I know my last line was sappy and cliched, but I couldn't resist, haha. And of course I meant it ;)It's also notable that Beauty and the Beast has been given one of the best and most elaborate making off-documentaries in the Diamond Edition. Though it's of course something debatable, I felt Beyond Beauty was a really good documentary. It's not only a happy talk, it's a documentary with "warts and all". Though the one for the Platinum Edition of Mermaid as well was good, it never exceeded that from Beauty.
References:
Mouse Under Glass (David Koenig).
The Making of Beauty and The Beast (Bob Thomas)
Tale As Old As Time; The Art and making of Beauty and the Beast (Charles Salomon).
The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition.
Waking Sleeping Beauty DVD.
The Mouse That Roared: Disney and The End of Innocence (Henry Giroux)
From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender and Culture (Elizabeth Bell, Lynda Haas, Laura Sells).
Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment (Douglas Brode)
The Legacy Collection: The Little Mermaid.
Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition.
Beauty and the Beast Official Collector's Edition Magazine (2017).
Disney D23 Magazine Spring 2017
Nostalgia Chick; Top Ten Worst Disney Sequels (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5QshzkOzvM).
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=blackcauldron.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatmousedetective.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oliverandcompany.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=foxandthehound.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beautyandthebeast.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=aladdin.htm
http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31651&hilit=Ariel (Question to Ariel fans; Why do you like her?)
http://www.imdb.com/reviews/11/1172.html
http://www.imdb.com/reviews/11/1181.html
http://www.imdb.com/reviews/13/1316.html
http://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/beauty-and-the-beast
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/beautyandthebeastghinson_a0a71b.htm
http://www.dvdmg.com/littlemermaidplatinum.shtml
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