Honestly, not as bad as my foggy childhood memories indicated. The film has a beautiful aesthetic, the villain is captivating, and the main character is actually kind of cool. I, like many people, remembered Ariel as a woman who gave up part of herself to be with a man. But on rewatch, it feels more like legs were the thing she always wanted, and she just happened to grab a nice himbo on the way.
The film does have a lot of weaknesses, including a very boring love interest in Eric, and a lack of progression for Ariel. But it all seems intentional. Eric is an incidental reward. Ariel is the heroine. And King Triton is the flawed character who actually needs to undergo change; and he does, which is kind of sweet. (Side note: Triton has one of the best-animated oh-no-I-just-f’d-up faces I can recall).
I didn’t love the film and I’m not a fan of the musical numbers, but on reconsideration I do respect it.
Plot: 5
Characters: 6
Themes: 6
Spectacle: 8
Overall score: seven mer-siblings.
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