She’s Dishing On The Dark History Behind The Little Mermaid That You Might Not Know About
When The Little Mermaid was released in 1989, Ariel became every girl’s favorite Disney princess. The mermaid movie has become so popular that even now, it continues to get multiple film and television adaptations.
However, if you’ve only heard of the Disney version of this mermaid tale, you may be surprised to learn that the real story is much darker and a lot more frightening.
It also doesn’t actually have the happy ending that Disney movies often portray.
MacKenzie Barmen (@mackenziebarmen) has a three-part series on TikTok explaining the tragedies that really occurred. So let’s explore the dark history of The Little Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 story. In the original story, there were six mermaid sisters varying in age, and their father was the king.
When the mermaids turned fifteen, they were given the opportunity to go above water and see the shore.
The youngest mermaid, who Ariel was based on, had five more years to go before she could emerge from the sea, and she could hardly wait.
When she finally turned 15 and was allowed to swim to the shore, she spotted a huge ship and a 16-year-old prince (this would be Prince Eric in the Disney version).
TikTok; pictured above is MacKenzie in her video
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Suddenly, there was a storm, and the ship started going down. The mermaid saved the prince from drowning, but she couldn’t stay with him long, for she had to return to the ocean.
The mermaid was still yearning for the prince and life above water, so she went to the sea witch (Ursula) to strike a deal, but her wish would come at a terrible price. In exchange for legs, the sea witch cut the young mermaid’s tongue, so she couldn’t sing/talk.
Furthermore, every step she took would feel like sharp knives were stabbing her. She also needed to get the prince to fall in love with her and marry her, or else she would turn into sea foam.
Unfortunately, unlike in the Disney animation, the mermaid fails her mission, and the prince ends up marrying someone else. The night of the wedding, she looks out into the ocean and sees the five bald heads of her sisters.
Her sisters bargained with the witch – their hair, for a knife she could use to murder the prince. If she committed the murder, she could return to the ocean. The mermaid couldn’t bring herself to kill the prince, so she chose to die instead. Tossing herself onto the waves, she dissolved into the air as sea foam.
It’s no wonder that Disney made some major modifications after looking into this gruesome tale.
You can watch MacKenzie’s original video on TikTok here.
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