Response to "Disney's Sub/version of Andersen's The Little Mermaid"

          In "Disney's Sub/version of Andersen's The Little Mermaid," Roberta Trites examines Disney's changes to Andersen's original story, which in turn, made The Little Mermaid (1989) more sexist.
          To start, in Andersen's original version, Ariel wants to turn into a human to gain a soul. Disney flipped that entirely around in making Ariel want to be human to win over a boy. On top of that, Disney's Ariel has never officially spoken to him, so she is merely admiring him as an object. This goes along with Trites's argument that Ariel's motivation for becoming a human is entirely materialistic. Adding to that, Andersen's Ariel realizes that she cannot win over the prince's love based off of looks alone. Instead, she only redeems herself in the end, when she sacrifices herself. Disney's Ariel is, one again, the opposite. Disney's Ariel finds love even though she has no way to communicate with Prince Eric, which shows that she believes in love based off of looks.
          Not only is Disney's Ariel materialistic, but she cannot solve her own problems. Throughout the movie, she is entirely dependent on men to solve her issues. Trites's points out that Ariel runs from the protection of her father to the protection of her husband, Eric (who, in the end, kills Urusula, not Ariel). This is just a reiteration of the sexist belief that women need a man's protection.
         These sexist ideas are not the kind that should be sent out to children. While Andersen's The Little Mermaid is very dark and gloomy, it holds more substance than Disney's The Little Mermaid ever will.