After 25 Years, Do Ariel and The Little Mermaid Suck?
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On Monday, Disney’s interpretation of The Little Mermaid turned 25 years old. Do you still have your whosits and whatsits galore? What about those thingamabobs? Here’s a better question: how does Ariel stand up in the shadow of Frozen?
After Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, the story of Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder might not seem all that feminist by today’s standards—which is interesting, considering feisty pro-equality princesses were Disney’s early ’90s bread and butter, though Ariel debuted in 1989. Remember Princess Jasmine’s declaration in 1992’s Aladdin?
But now that we have the Frozen sisters choosing each other over men, there’s a different, higher standard for feminist princesses in the Disney universe. Still, I don’t think Ariel’s character is a weakling. She’s a bright young woman, sick o’ swimmin’ ready to stand, yo.