This is the third animated adaptation of The Little Mermaid to portray her as a redhead. The first was the 1974 Reader's Digest adaptation, followed by Disney's 1989 version, and now the 2026 adaptation by Kinema Citrus.
Despite its flaws, one detail I really like about The Little Mermaid II is how Morgana initially embodies the classic Disney fairy godmother archetype: someone who is solemnly there to help, expecting nothing in return, and, most importantly, causing no pain whatsoever.
Melody's transformation from human to mermaid happens without her feeling any pain at all, but the moment Morgana reveals her true colors and intentions, the transformation back into a human comes now with the pain.
I usually consider only the first film to be 100% canon, but I really like how they managed to tell this story of Aurora wearing armor and competing while still staying true to her characterization from the original film. It never feels out of character or makes you think, "She would never do that."
One interesting thing that animated Snow White and Ariel have in common is the process of deciding their hair colors.
Both characters went through the same three hair colors: BLACK, BLONDE, and RED.
For Ariel, the progression was: BLACK (during the first try to make The Little Mermaid in the 30's), then BLONDE, and finally RED, which became her iconic final design.
For Snow White, the progression was the opposite: BLONDE, then RED, and finally BLACK, which became her final design.
I'm not trying to sound like a know-it-all, but it's concerning how many people seem to miss the storytelling and subtext in Disney princess movies unless everything is explicitly explained, especially in the older films.
Let's Take Ariel, for example. From her very first scene, the movie shows she's fascinated by the human world. She risks her safety to collect human artifacts, gets attacked by a shark, goes to the surface to ask about human stuff to a seagull, forgets about an important royal performance (her priority it's clearly about humans and their world), and has spent years filling an entire grotto with those treasures. Then she literally sings about wanting legs, dancing, laying on warm sand, and living in the human world, then later on her father destroys that one place where she feels connected to THAT world, So... a heartbroken, impulsive teenager turns to Ursula. Yet people still reduce her motivation to "she gave everything up for a guy." Eric is more like the 'last push' for her to go, but her love for the human world, it was always there.... there's scenes about that, she sings about that. IT'S THERE.
The same goes for Cinderella. She wants to go to the ball because she wants one night of happiness and freedom. She gets there. She doesn't even try to draw attention to herself, she just looking around fascinated. Once the ball is over, she's simply grateful. She returns to her old life, believing it was nothing more than one magical night, and that would be the end of it. She doesn't even know the man she dances with is the prince until afterward. How do you watch this movie and come away with the conclusion that its message is "waiting around for a rich guy to rescue her"???
Soon they will have to do like The Emperor's New Groove, where the character breaks the fourth wall to explain what's happening, their thoughts, and their motivation, because apparently subtle storytelling and visual cues aren't enough anymore. Not even SINGING it's not enough anymore.
"What happened to them?"
"They're just not having a good day, it happens to everyone, you'll have to cut them some slack today."
They don't play around when it's about their fathers.
Disney by November : Maybe we should’ve just kept the character male, now they’re going back and revisiting all the female protagonists and that same repeated face structure we keep using, and on top of that they’re even using drawn examples.
Sure, they have a point and they're right, but did anyone really expect anything different? I think Disney has already made it clear that this particular facial style has basically become their trademark.
credits to pomogalaxy
It’s not like nobody saw this coming 💀
It's remarkable how public interest declined between the first teaser and the final trailer. By the end, people weren't even bothering to watch, dislike or leave negative comments, they simply didn't care anymore.
I saw people in another thread discussing how Snow White, despite being a landmark in animation and the film that essentially launched Disney, is now a movie that divides opinions. And while the character remains popular within the Disney fan community, that may not necessarily be reflected in popularity rankings among the Disney Princesses.
But the reality is that, if we stop to analyze it (at least using Rotten Tomatoes as a reference), Snow White is a story that faces a great deal of resistance, both from audiences and, quite often, from critics. Among its adaptations, only TWO have received approval from both critics and audiences: the original 1930s animated film and the 2012 spanish black and white version that incorporates bullfighting as part of its setting/background.
And that princess is Eilonwy from The Chronicles of Prydain / The Black Cauldron.
I have a soft spot for the 1985 animated film, but after reading the books, I discovered an Eilonwy who is much sassier, has a stronger personality, and possesses impressive skills such as archery, sword fighting, and even casting spells (not many, but she can do it).
Disney reacquired the rights to the series in 2016, and that was basically it. To this day, the story remains in limbo and largely forgotten.
The marketing is somehow even worse than it was for The Little Mermaid and Snow White, which is especially baffling considering that Moana is consistently one of the most-watched titles on Disney+ and the sequel made over a billion dollars worldwide
Happy 3rd anniversary to The Little Mermaid (2023)