Little Mermaid question

[joeybiltmore1]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:36pm

i have not seen The Little Mermaid and perhaps my question is answered in the script somewhere. Having only the CD to go by one thing strikes me (besides the fabulous voices and fun arrangements throughout).

Sherie Scott is one of the finest singers in the business (as is the divine Ms Blickenstaff, whom I hope to see) and she sings Ursula's material thrillingly. But that's my problem. Isn't the whole POINT of the story that Ursula steals Ariel's pretty voice because her own voice is so scratchy and haggy? Seems like she's trading DOWN - or at least evenly - if you ask me.

Class?

[abominableerror]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:21pm

I've always seen it as Ursula taking Ariel's voice her putting a handicap on Ariel's ability to charm the Prince, because without it she'd have a very hard time 'woo'ing him within the three day time limit. The deal was that if she couldn't get him to kiss her, then she gives her soul to Ursula, who would then use it as a bargaining chip for the Trident. After all, Ursula was bitter about being out of power, not about having a bad voice.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:37pm

If you're thinking it's like the movie, where Ursula turns herself into a young woman using Ariel's voice as her own to woo the prince...it's not.
The general plot is very similar to the film; but there are differences which make it work for the stage.

[joeybiltmore1]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:38pm

Ah.

Good points! Thanks!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 10:59pm

Also, in the movie even when she does that (transform herself into the other girl) she's already sung "Poor Unfortunate Souls" has she not? And in relatively good voice then too if I remember correctly.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 11:09pm

Yeah, it's a lot more clear in the film when you still had the "Vanessa" bit.

[Chip12]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 11:29pm

I think we can suspend our disbelief (like my English teacher always says...). I mean, she's a Disney princess, the story doesn't have to make total sense!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 11:49pm

Chip12 ~ TECHNICALLY she's a character from a story by Hans Christian Andersen.

If we're being specific.

Updated On: 2/13/09 at 11:49 PM

[ashley0139]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 11:52pm

I'm pretty sure all the characters in every Disney movie have been Disney-fied. Disney didn't come up with the stories themselves, but they're definitely not the characters from the original stories. They're Disney characters.

Geez, picky.

Updated On: 2/13/09 at 11:52 PM

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 12:23am

I'm well aware of Disney-fication. However, chip12's post imho implied that she is the sole creation of Disney. Too many kids (and yes, from the post chip12 started, she IS a kid) don't realize that there are actual stories behind the Disney movies. (Yes, I have experienced this when attempting to read the original fairy tales to children and even using them in youth group stuff.) Just trying to broaden some horizons. :)

Updated On: 2/14/09 at 12:23 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 12:25am

But she is marketed and sold as a member of the Disney Princess merchandise line, along with Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, and Jasmine.

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 12:57am

I think it's pretty obvious, that Ursula only took Ariel's voice because she knew that not only would it stop Ariel from telling him how she felt, it was also the only thing he remembered about "the girl who rescued him." It was a manipulative means to an end.

Even though in the original fairy tale, the witch was unclear as to why that was her "price" as she seemed to have little to no interest in what the mermaid's outcome would be, I think Disney used it cleverly to help turn the witch into more of a plot driven villainess.

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 2:01am

I just saw the show tonight. The image I got was that Ariel has a very similar voice to that of her late mother. When Ursula takes her voice, it makes King Triton even THAT much more enraged (because she gave up her voice, which reminds him of her mothers voice). I don't know lol. That's what I got from it.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 7:38am

I will only reiterate what has been said and add my own 2 cents.

Ursula is a clever witch, or at least she she usually is. She isn't the type of person to make a deal unless she is sure that she will in, and if she has a doubt, she will rig the game to guarantee her win.

Between her own abilities and the use of her two minions, she can have a pretty good idea of anything going on within the realm. It's obvious why Ariel wants legs, of course, and Ursula also knows that Eric remembers Ariel only by the sound her her voice, which is also her greatest gift. Without her voice, Ariel can't tell Eric a thing and her won't remember who she is. Past that, she knows almost nothing of human culture. Yes, some things are universal, but look at what happens.. Scuttle has so grossly misinformed Ariel of the human world that she can't entirely communicate until she learns their ways.. and that usually takes more than 3 days! In Ursula's mind, it's a guranteed win against Ariel, and what makes it all the juicier is that no matter which way it works out (even if Ariel were to win), Triton loses his daughter, giving Ursula her revenge against him as well!

In the original film, the Vanessa plot was Ursula's trump card. Not only would she beat Ariel, but SHE would take Prince Eric and do it with what made him fall for Ariel in the first place.. a double knife in Ariel making, what Ursula believes will be, Ariels's final days of freedom all the more torturous.