From: quetzal@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au (Quetzal)
Subject: Observations regarding TLM
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 01:29:10 GMT

In <1993Jan4.030729.1@devl.fnal.gov> reyna@devl.fnal.gov writes:

>    I have an interesting question that has been keeping me up nights:
>Concerning The Little Mermaid.  It seems that Ariel and the mer-people are not
>too fond of eating fish and other sea creatures (the Sea King despises humans
>for this bad habit).  So anyway, my question is this: After Ariel marries
>Prince Eric, will their meals ever include fish ?  It seems that Eric's
>kingdom is by the sea, so that the folks in general will eat plenty of fish
>there.  What does Ariel think of this?  And how will she handle the idea of her
>fish friends being eaten by the kingdom folk?
>    I know that this is a silly question, but has anyone else stayed up nights
>wondering about this very thing?

I for one do.  In fact, here is a list of all the questions I can think
of that remain unanswered by the film.

1.  The seafood question above.  Decide for yourself.

2.  Watch the thimble on Sebastian's foot when he is threatening to tell
Triton about the grotto.  Where does it *go?*

3.  Just how many feathers does Scuttle lose in the entire film?  And
howcome he can still fly even minus these feathers?  Or is this somthing
like the bumblebee which isn't supposed to be able to fly either?

4.  If Ariel *did* manage to get Eric to kiss her and she stayed human
forever, would Ursula get to keep the voice?  I thought so.  Kinda makes
the contract seem a whole lot less friendly, I'd say.

5.  In "Les Poissons" there are a few frames where you see a silhouette
of Louis doing nasty things to fish.  This seems to be a send-up of some
famous thriller/horror.  Which one?

6.  What *is* it that Grismby says to Eric just before Eric says "A girl
rescued me"?

7.  For that matter, what is it that Sebastian says between "He'd say
he's gonna kill himself a crab, that's what her father'd say!  I'm gonna
march myself straight . . . . . "  and " . . . . and don't you shake
your head at me, young lady . . ."?  

8.  During the Storm sequence, you see the ship's wheel twice, once
being held by a sailor and then by Eric.  Is it just me or does the
wheel look different each time?

9.  In "Bedtime," you see Ariel combing her hair with a dinglehopper
while Sebastian explains how embarrassing his day was.  She puts the
fork down right next to a hair brush.  No response needed; I just
thought it was cute.

10. I know that there are a few voices that aren't put against a
character, such as the voices for Ariel's six sisters (in all
likelihood, done by less than six people), the washerwomen in the
Palace, the "Judy" cry in the Tour of the Kingdom, Max, the priest that
was marrying Eric to Vanessa, effects for dolphins and seals, backing vocals
in Sebastian's two songs, and various cheers and screams, but surely
these can't add up to the more than fifty "Additional Voices" listed in
the credits. . .

11. On that same note, the first few names in the "Additional Voices"
are listed out of alphabetical order.  Presumably, they are the voices
of characters not quite important enough to be listed in the starring
credits.  Which characters' voices do they do?

12. Notice how Ursula has eight limbs overall?  So she *is*
octopus-related.

13. Is there just the one "T" in "Snarfblat?"

14. Which one is Flotsam and Which one is Jetsam?  According to my
theory, Flotsam is the one that starts talking to Ariel, saying "Poor
Child", after which they alternate.  However, my theory is basically a
coin and the phrase "Heads or Tails".

15. The painting in Ariel's grotto.  Any ideas?  (I.e., whose style it
is, assuming it's not something famous, which it shouldn't be since it's
sitting on the ocean floor. . .)

16. Why does everyone persist in this idea that mermaids are *fish?*
There is quite a lot of evidence to suggest that they are mammals:
firstly, the word "mammal" - it's derived from a word that has quite a
lot to do with a certain pair of seashells that appear to be a
particularly popular topic in another discussion currently on the group.
In short, only mammals have, or *need*, breasts.  Secondly, the tail.
*All* species of mermaid I have seen, including the TLM variety, the
Peter Pan variety, the Splash variety, etc., have *horizontal* tails.
Now, dolphins and whales (mammals, note) have horizontal tails; fish
have vertical tails.  Thirdly, the belly button.  Mermaids certainly
have navels, which suggests to me that not only are they mammals, but
*placental* mammals (i.e., that rules out marsupials and monotremes).
That'll do for the moment.  Questions about mermaid anatomy that extend
to the presence or location of other major body parts that are not
covered under a "G" rating will cheerfully be ignored.

17. When Ursula destroys Jetsam and Flotsam (really doesn't sound as
good that way, does it?) there is a single frame with just two black
blobs and the most surprised eyes you have ever seen.  It's worth
pausing the film to see it.

18. When Ursula sings "It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man",
watch what she is holding herself at that instant.  Look vaguely
tongue-shaped to you?  So her "man" I take it, is Triton.  This is as
far as I go with "double meaning" discussions.

19. Did Scuttle *really* not notice Ariel's newly-acquired legs, or was
it just a show?  I think not.

20. Who noticed that Scuttle pokes Flounder in the eye when he
says,"This calls for a little vocal romantic stimulation"?  I only saw
this the twentieth time I watched the film. . .

21. MILDRED????

22. Did Vanessa/Ursula really need to "hypnotise" Eric after he threw
the recorder into the sea?  Or was this just a little bit of insurance?
After all, Vanessa was just what he had been looking for. . . .

23. Doesn't *anyone* who works at Disney know which way around the
colours in a rainbow go?

24. Where did that dress Ariel wears as she walks out of the shallows
into Eric's arms at the end come from?

25. Does anyone else find it strange that it took Ariel not only less
than a day to learn how to walk, but only one additional day to learn
how to dance?

I think that'll do for the moment, but I'm sure there were other
questions that I meant to ask.  (When you watch it every day for a week,
these things tend to pop up . . .)

Tim Pickett

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