It’s one of Disney’s most critically acclaimed films and as big a part of many kid’s childhood
as a movie can be…
The Little Mermaid is a magically fun film about love, undersea adventures and mermaids…
But the internet is a dark, dark place.
And thanks to the creativity of so many fans, we’ve learned of some of the darkest theories
about The Little Mermaid.
Did you think the darkest part was the evil Sea Witch?
Well, these theories may change that,
I'm Kyle with WickedBinge.
And these are Dark Theories about The Little Mermaid that will shock you more than the
lightning that struck Ursula.
Let’s get started.
Ariel's Voice Is Enchanted
It's a pretty common theme in the mermaid folklore that the mermaids start singing to
lure in sailor which, well, ultimately leads them to drown to death.
While it's never explicitly shown in the movie, Reddit user Unleashtheducks thinks Ariel has
that power as well.
According to the fan theory, this is the reason why Ursula is so determined to take her voice
before she goes up on the land.
Ursula understands Ariel won't be able to attract Prince Eric without her voice.
She had used this enchanted voice before, at least unconsciously, when she rescued him.
This totally explains why Eric was so mesmerized by her song to the point where he was actually
willing to marry Ursula as soon as he heard her using Ariel's voice.
In the movie, Ariel never realizes she's enchanting Eric and just assumes it’s natural attraction.
And since the script never addressed the issue, people don't find anything wrong with Eric
falling in love with Ariel.
But when you think about it, there's nothing natural about this.
Just the dark manipulation tactic of the ancient siren song!
Man, that kind of kills that classic Disney romanticism.
Bummer.
Triton Sunk Eric's Ship
Remember that before the end of the first movie, King Triton basically says that humans
are always evil creatures.
He doesn't put any value on human lives and it’s pretty clear that he wouldn't think
twice about killing people that could be a threat to Atlantica.
Additionally, the sailors associate good weather with Triton being in a nice mood.
This suggests that they have at least partially understood the reality of how Triton tends
to wreck their ships…
Folk lore or not.
That's why it's so plausible that Triton conjured the storm that sunk Eric's ship.
His ship was close to Atlantica, and it came very close to Ariel's grotto, which definitely
raised the risk of being spotted by Triton.
That's another reason why Triton was so angry at Ariel for saving Eric.
She spoiled his plans!
And if you think about it, this reinforces the theme of Triton's oppressive tactics driving
Ariel closer to the surface world.
Their relationship started when Ariel rescued Eric.
She also gathers human relics from all of the shipwrecks.
Of course, this meant no good in Triton’s eyes.
This theory explains something else as well.
The graveyard of ships that Ursula summons at the climax.
These are just the physical remains of Triton's past victims that have all submerged around
Atlantica.
Seriously, this guy is sinking ships like it’s World War 2.
But when Eric kills Ursula, the king realizes he's been murdering innocent people all along.
Now he owes his life to one of the humans he once tried to kill.
Turning Ariel into a human is his attempt at personal sacrifice and a clear message
that he feels awful about trying to kill Eric before.
Ya know, “No hard feelings, here’s my daughter”.
Vanessa Was Ursula's Original Form
Wow, this is quite an elaborate theory.
But it does change your perception about the whole story, so let's jump straight in and
see where we end up.
According to some sources, Ursula was Triton's sister.
According to early conceptions and also various literary versions on The Little Mermaid story.
Okay, fair enough, but how could she be half octopus instead of a regular character like
her brother?
Easy.
It's the dark magic that corrupted her.
Before she had eight legs, she had only a fin.
Just like Triton and others.
But she wanted a lot of power in order to rule the whole ocean.
There was just one thing standing in her way.
Triton was on the throne.
Since Triton had more power than her, she had to find darker ways to become the ruler
of the ocean.
Soon enough, she understood that the best way was to turn the merfolk into those slugs.
Every deal she made gave her some additional power.
In the end, she did get magic and the potential to overthrow Triton and all the dark power
corrupted her.
So, over time, she turned into an octopod.
Triton wasn't stupid, though.
He caught on quickly and banished her.
She was isolated for at least twenty years, so she had enough time to collect new victims.
So, by the time of the movie, Ursula gathered enough power to overthrow Triton.
Ursula was just waiting for the right moment.
But this theory doesn't just state that Ursula was Triton's sister and her use of dark magic
corrupted her, turning her into an octopod.It also suggests that Vanessa was the original
form of Ursula!
Now, just look at Vanessa's appearance.
She may not look a lot like Ariel, but she does look similar to some of Ariel's sisters.
Her face shape reminds people of Aquata and Andrina.
And her hair is more similar to Attina and Arista.
Aunts should be at least in some ways similar to their nieces, right?
I don’t know…
Do you see a family resemblance?
Ariel's Sisters Have Different Moms
Have you ever wondered why Ariel's sisters look so different?
This bizarre theory explores the fun topic of... mermaid reproduction.
Yeah, you heard it right.
Someone took the time to apply some rigorous biological scientific thinking just to understand
the genetic makeup of Disney's animated mermaids.
But that's okay, it's just another day in the amazing world of Internet fan theories.
Anyway, it all starts with the obvious: the merfolk have the human parts on top and the
fishy parts on the bottom.
So.
It follows that their reproductive organs are among the fishy parts below their waist.
And if these organs are fishy parts, they must reproduce like fish.
Indeed, that sounds like some hardcore 19th-century scientific breakthrough thinking, but this
still doesn't explain Ariel's sisters looks.
Now, fish reproduce by spawning, once a year.
The males fertilize the eggs that have been laid by the females.
And soon enough, the little baby fish will hatch.
And merfolk are biologically no different.
Females spawn.
Males fertilize the eggs.
Easy enough, right?
Pay attention, there’s a test later.
Well, this doesn't factor in that merfolk are half human, meaning they are a highly
social species.
And the merfolk society has a patriarch.
It's King Trident, of course.
Since he's on the top of the hierarchy, Trident has a harem of highly desirable females ready
for reproduction.
According to the theory, the females go to a private, royal spawning ground to lay their
eggs.
There, the king can fertilize these eggs without any competition.
And now you can probably see where this goes.
Because a single male fertilizes eggs of different females, all the daughters have different
features.
Yup, Ariel's sisters have different mothers.
All of them.
The Little Mermaid Endorses Classism
Dark political theories on The Little Mermaid, anyone?
We got one.
Reddit user thelastgrasshopper claims the concept of the sea in The Little Mermaid represents
upper-class ideas.
The song Under The Sea paints the landers as poor slaves that try to steal all the riches
in the sea.
And even the poor people under the sea aren't actually that poor.
They are still part of the upper class.
For example, servants, not commoners.
The song Part Of Your World shows how Ariel knows absolutely nothing about the surface.
Apparently, the only stuff she knows comes from a crazy seagull.
Similarly, some rich people think they know how life works for the middle class and poor
people.
But in reality, they haven't got a clue.
Because they don't have any shared experiences with them.
And remember when she gets her voice taken by the witch to get on the land.
This represents how someone wealthy wants to blend into poor surroundings, or just chooses
to pretend to be poor, but they actually aren't able to properly do it.
They over-exaggerate as they don't have any experience of being poor and what it's all
like.
But, at the same time, just look at Ursula.
She flaunts her sea credentials with what's basically a siren song to show that the poor
land dwellers are nothing more than simple gold diggers.
In the same fashion, the end of the movie shows Ariel renouncing all her wealth to live
with the poor.
The Little Mermaid Destroyed A Kingdom's Economy
While we already got a dark political theory down, let's throw an economic one into this
bucket of grim ideas too.
Reddit user stuffiesears realized that when Ariel became human and married Prince Eric,
there's no way she would allow the people to continue any of the fishing activities.
I mean, her best friends were a crab and a fish after all.
She just couldn't risk the chance of catching anyone from her family, or some friends from
the sea.
You can clearly see that the people were fishermen, for example, in the kitchen when Louie prepares
the dinner.
There's crab and fish and seafood everywhere!
This theory uses an argument that goes beyond the first movie.
Basically, in the straight-to-video sequel, they build a wall around the kingdom that
blocks the ocean to protect Ariel's daughter Melody . This creates a situation where not
only can the fishermen stop fishing, but the traders aren't able to preserve the important
connections with other kingdoms all over the sea.
In that movie, the kids say they don't like Melody because she's weird and all.
Actually, the part of their reaction might come from the fact that so many people lost
their jobs because of Ariel and Melody.
There must have been some resentment towards them.
I mean, for all we know, Ariel could have caused a famine, economic recession or depression.
Yikes.
But what do you think?
Do you have any dark theories about The Little Mermaid?
Let us know in the comment section below.
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But most importantly, stay wicked.