The article contains some mild spoilers from the live-action The Little Mermaid.The Little Mermaid viewers are falling in love with the live-action depiction of the romance between Ariel (Halle Bailey) and Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). With Ariel’s connection to the surface world hinging on her relationship with Eric, that romance has always been at the heart of the very concept of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. While the remake changes Ariel’s motivation when she urges freedom to explore the surface world, her romance with Eric also changed by adding a more charming friendship element to make their love story far more organic.
A major consensus on social media agrees that the live-action The Little Mermaid improved Ariel’s relationship with Eric by adding depth to their dynamic. Even some Twitter users have called for an immediate sequel so that they can continue to see how their romance progresses beyond the remake. Check out some of the reactions below:
Why The Ariel And Eric Love Story Is So Different
The Little Mermaid features many changes from the original 1989 version, but it’s the changes that make Eric and Ariel’s romance so much better. Ariel is given more agency, which allows her to feel like an equal part of the relationship with Eric. It helps that her reasons for coming to the surface were more fleshed out as was her relationship with the undersea world.
The live-action The Little Mermaid is 52 minutes longer than its predecessor, leaving more room to explore who Eric and Ariel are and showing how the characters are very alike in their ambitions. In addition, the movie has the space to offer touching scenes where Ariel can explain her name to Eric. This scene is different from the animated film where Sebastion revealed her name to Eric in the “Kiss the Girl” song. As a result of this change, the romance between Eric and Ariel felt more charming, not rushed, and realistic compared to the animated version.
Furthermore, both actors have strong chemistry, as many of The Little Mermaid‘s viewers have highlighted. Even when dialogue isn’t being spoken since Ariel doesn’t have her voice, the characters seem like lifelong friends longing for adventure. The classic version does a great job of establishing the two characters, but the live-action connection between Ariel and Eric sets 2023’s The Little Mermaid apart.
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