Summary

  • The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid fixed a plot hole from the original movie by changing Ariel's deal with Ursula.
  • In the original movie, Ariel's inability to communicate with Prince Eric due to losing her voice created a plot hole that confused viewers.
  • The live-action remake solved this issue by omitting the contract and having Ariel give Ursula a scale instead, making the whole process more personal and allowing Ursula more control over Ariel.

Disney brought Ariel and company to life in its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, and one change subtly fixed a major plot hole left by the original animated movie. Disney continues riding the wave of the live-action trend, and its most recent release is The Little Mermaid, a remake of the 1989 animated classic. Directed by Rob Marshall, The Little Mermaid stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and though it wasn’t a big box office success, it’s becoming a hit on Disney+.

The Little Mermaid took the premise of the animated movie but made a couple of changes to adapt it to the live-action format and fix a couple of issues about the original that have come to light. The Little Mermaid, then, sees mermaid Ariel, who is fascinated by the human world, making a deal with sea witch Ursula to become human and be with Prince Eric. Among the changes the Little Mermaid remake made is the deal between Ursula and Ariel, and through this, it fixed a plot hole from the original movie.

Little Mermaid Remake Gave Ariel No Chance To Communicate With Eric

the little mermaid ariel eric

In the animated version of The Little Mermaid, Ariel literally signed the deal with Ursula, as the sea witch gave her a contract. Thanks to that, Ariel voluntarily gave her voice to Ursula in exchange for legs, leaving her completely mute. Once among humans and meeting Prince Eric, Ariel struggled to let him know her name, and it was thanks to Sebastian during the “Kiss the Girl” musical number that Eric learned her name, as Sebastian whispered it to him. This made way for a plot hole that has been a topic of debate among Disney fans: why didn’t Ariel write her name to Eric, if she was shown g her name on Ursula’s contract?

Viewers have come up with possible explanations for why Ariel didn’t write her name to Eric, with some of them suggesting she was unaware she could also write outside the water or that there was a loophole in Ursula’s deal that prevented Ariel from communicating in written form. Others have argued that Ariel writing to Eric, even if it just was her name, would have gone against the contract, as she had to get a “true love” kiss from the Prince.

The Little Mermaid remake skipped this problem by omitting the contract and instead having Ariel pull a scale from her tail for Ursula to use in her spell. This makes the whole process a lot more personal and dangerous, as Ursula is a witch, and by adding something that comes directly from the person (or mermaid), like a scale, Ursula had a lot more control over Ariel, as seen in one key change she made to the deal.

How The Little Mermaid Remake Changed Ursula & Ariel’s Deal

the little mermaid ursula ariel and prince eric

The of the deal between Ursula and Ariel are the same in the animated version and the live-action remake: Ariel will be human for three days, and if she wants to remain human, she has to get Eric to give her a kiss, but it has to be true love. However, in the animated movie Ariel ed the deadline and what she needed to do, but in the live-action remake, Ursula added one final detail to the spell, which made Ariel not the deadline nor that she had to be kissed by Eric. Sebastian learned this when he mentioned the kiss to Ariel and her mind went completely blank, making it harder for Sebastian to get Ariel and Eric to fall in love and kiss before the third day.

Of course, this made it easier for Ursula to mess with Ariel and enchant Eric while posing as a human named Vanessa, but she wasn’t counting on Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder figuring her plan out and letting Ariel know. The Little Mermaid live-action remake made the deal and spell more complex and dangerous, but it subtly fixed a decades-long plot hole.