The Little Mermaid Gives Ariel A New Power That The Original Movie Left Out

Included in the many changes and expansions to Disney’s The Little Mermaid remake is a new power held by Ariel and the other merpeople living under the sea. The Little Mermaid is a 1989 animated film following a young mermaid named Ariel who is so curious about life on land that she trades her voice for legs. In 2023, Disney released a live-action remake of the original film starring Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy.

One aspect of The Little Mermaid that makes it stand out from other Disney films of that time was its protagonist being a mermaid. While Ariel was still a princess like other Disney heroines, she was distinctly different because of her status as a mermaid, rather than a human. Unfortunately, the original film did not expand much of Ariel’s life underwater, focusing more on her desire to be on land, however, The Little Mermaid remake did add a new, hidden detail about mermaids that makes them much more interesting.

The Little Mermaid Makes Ariel’s Singing A Special Power

While the original The Little Mermaid made Ariel a talented singer, the 2023 remake added an extra flair to Ariel’s voice. Rather than just being good at singing, Ariel, and presumably other merfolk, can use their voice as a power. Specifically, their voices can be used to manipulate humans. This can clearly be seen when Ursula comes to land pretending to be Vanessa and uses Ariel’s voice to convince Eric to marry her. In this way, Ariel’s voice is more than just beautiful, it’s hypnotic.

Related: Halle Bailey’s Ariel Blows All Other Live-Action Disney Princesses Out The Water

By adding this detail The Little Mermaid remake makes Ursula’s decision to take Ariel’s voice make even more sense. In the original, Ariel would have been able to use her voice to communicate with Eric, making it easier for them to fall in love and kiss. However, in the remake, Ariel’s vocal abilities also would have been able to convince Eric to kiss her right away, making it even more imperative that she doesn’t have a voice.

How Ariel’s Siren Song Connects To Mermaid Myths

Making Ariel’s voice have hypnotic powers actually connects to many myths about mermaids, otherwise known as sirens. Sirens first appeared in Ancient Greek literature as women who had mystical voices that could lure men to their deaths. Strangely, sirens first began as women-bird hybrids rather than mermaids. However, as time went on sirens developed into something closer to mermaids and were said to use their voices to kill sailors. Although Ariel’s power isn’t framed as darkly in The Little Mermaid remake, it still aligns with historical depictions of merpeople.

The Little Mermaid made various changes to the original film, however, made of these were beneficial. For example, giving Ariel a siren-like power made her deal with Ursula make even more sense and intensified Ursula’s power over Eric near the end of the film. Additionally, it makes Ariel more powerful and gives merpeople a more interesting background than they get in the original film. All in all, this is a good and interesting change to make that helps The Little Mermaid remake improve on the original.