In the Original Beauty & the Beast, the story is about sacrificial love. In the Live Action, it’s about freedom. One is fundamentally selfless, the other is not.

In the Original The Little Mermaid, Ariel is willing to sacrifice everything to go where she is understood (by Eric.) In the Live Action, Ariel is willing to sacrifice a few things to go where she can explore some more. Another “let’s change the main theme from love to freedom.”

In the Original Mulan, Mulan left her family to save her father and prove she could do things right—when all along, her father loved her regardless of how well she performed. In the Live Action, Mulan left her family to save her father—even though all along she had chi superpowers that she was dying to use anyway. Once more, the remake subtly shifts so that the main character values something within themself, taking the spotlight off of sacrificial love.

In the Original Aladdin, Jasmine teaches Aladdin trust. In the Live Action, Jasmine teaches Aladdin nothing because she’s busy wanting to be Sultan.

What I’m saying is, it used to be enough for female characters to have actual character and integrity, and their stories highlighted those aspects of their nature. Then every other character in the movie learns from or changes because of the Princess’ heart. Nowadays, her character is not powerful. It’s what she does, what she forces and fights her way into, that is focused on—usually to the detriment of all the other characters around her.

In Aladdin, the main character does not believe anyone will see him for who he really is and still choose him. He doesn’t trust anyone in Agrabah to love him the way he is. But when Jasmine first meets him, she trusts him. When she sees him again as a suitor, she trusts him again, despite knowing he lied to her. When he is faced with the reality that he, not Jasmine, has to be Sultan, that’s when he wakes up and realizes that not only does he have to trust Jasmine with the truth, but he can trust her with the truth the way she trusts him.

In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast starts out hopeless and brutal, and then gains hope. Not because Belle talks him into it with powerful-woman speeches or savage one-liners. Not because she hunts down the Enchantress and defeats her, breaking the spell. But because the Beast witnesses that Belle is the kind of woman who’s love and compassion would give up freedom. He’s betting that kind of love can break his curse, even though he started the movie with “who could ever learn to love a Beast?” And then her continued love for him teaches him how to love her, sacrificially.

In The Little Mermaid, Ariel sacrifices her tail and her safety to have a chance at being with Eric—because she knows she understands him, and he can understand her. That, in turn, reinforces Eric’s one big character trait: he believes in the idea of “the right girl” and when he learns that Ariel is a mermaid who saved his life, he sacrifices his life and safety for her, too.

I can go on and on.

My point is: If you’re a Princess in a Remake, you make decisions based on what you want, not on what you love.

Unless you’re Cinderella.

I keep thinking about their first meeting, and the impact Ariel had on this man. The film really emphasized her siren powers. Like molten metal her song filled his lungs, heart and soul. And her voice, her touch, her being would forever be sealed inside him. Locked away. Prince Eric so desperately wants to find this mystery woman, to the point of almost going mad. And here, Ariel, the woman he’s been searching the whole surface world for, sits before him. A part of him so desperately wants it to be her. When she touches him, he becomes so serious. Shocked. Jonah captures his yearning exquisitely with his expressions. Every fiber of Eric’s being lights on fire with her single small caress. Something about it so familiar. He would know. Her very being has been seared into every cell of his. Everything else in that moment ceases to matter… because for a split momentary second… he finally found her.

His muse. His siren. ❤️

For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

[AU] - Some of the greatest love stories end in tragedy. Protecting the one he loves from danger, Elijah is gravely injured. Elena rushes to his side, vowing to save his life. However, she is too late. With his last breath, Elijah tells Elena the one thing she needs to hear.

means-to-an-end:

[AU] Elena remembers the one time Elijah compelled her to forget after he opened up to her.

CONSTANCE + D’ARTAGNAN - “You shine so brightly in my eyes, it puts every woman in the shade.”

And another thing.

The original The Little Mermaid is about understanding. One of the main plot devices is that the witch takes what from Ariel, ladies and gentlemen?

Her voice.

Ariel did not leave the sea “for a boy.”

Ariel left the sea to be understood. Because for the whole first part of the movie, we’re shown hints of what her life is already like, and how she’s tried to be understood but nobody’s listening or communicating.

She’s introduced by describing a ship as amazing and wonderful, while her fish friend clearly does not understand and wants to get out of there.

Even her best friend doesn’t share her love for another world.

Her first interaction with her father, count how many times he’s speaking over her.

He has this prejudice against humans, and because she’s disobeyed him, he won’t listen to any of her evidence that they may not all be bad.

Even when she has a voice and a cavern full of proof that humans aren’t all barbarians, her father won’t listen to her, so he can’t understand.

And the truth is, she doesn’t have that much proof. She knows that humans are clever and make “wonderful things,” and that’s what she bases her belief in them on. But those beautiful objects, and her pretty ideals, are not enough to make her abandon her family and culture and world.

When she sings and talks about why she wants to be Part of That World, it’s because she wants to understand it. And, subconsciously, Ariel also hopes to be understood up there. Where they make cool devices, and maybe daughters can stand instead of being reprimanded. There’s this hope for freedom and being known associated with the surface.

But it’s not until she meets Eric that those ideals are really, actually, proven true.

Ariel sees Eric out on the sea exploring instead of staying in a palace on his birthday. He gets a gift from the closest person to him, and it’s clear that even the closest person to him doesn’t understand his tastes—he doesn’t want an over-dramatic statue of himself. He sticks to his ideals in an argument that somewhere out there, is the right girl for him. But he doesn’t have to leave the argument in frustrated tears. In the end, he risks his life to not only watch out for his friend, but nearly dies going back to a burning ship to save his dog.

Eric personifies everything Ariel has always idealized about the Human World—AND he might understand her.

In her one observation of him, she finds out that he, a human, is:

Eric is, all at once, everything Ariel always hoped a human could be, and yet still so like herself. They have twin souls.

She’d rather be exploring human ships, he’d rather be out exploring the sea. She believes the surface world is good and beautiful, he believes in the girl of his dreams, no matter what anyone says. She has nobody who gets excited about new adventures, and he has nobody who gets excited about new adventures.

When she sees him, she falls in love not just with his upstanding character, or even the human world he represents—she falls in love with the hope that he might understand her in away nobody under the sea does.

Then the ironic thing is, she’s got to make him understand who she is and what she should mean to him without a voice. And unfortunately, that’s really hard because he is suddenly associating his dream girl with a voice and a magical rescue.

As close as they may get when she finally does meet him face to face and gets herself human legs, Ariel and Eric can’t be together until he knows who she is, for real. After all, how can love be true without understanding?

And we’re not DONE with understanding. Because even after he learns what and who she is and still commits to her and saves her and loves her, Ariel’s back to having a tail. She’s back to being in a world where he can’t be.

Except now, Triton is the one who understands. He finally sees what they’ll do for each other—and that Eric, ”savage, spineless, harpooning fish eater with no regard” saved his daughter. He sees that they love each other and are each worthy of the other’s love.

It’s not until Triton understands what Ariel has known and felt all along that he gives her human legs the right way.

That’s the point of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. “True love is found in understanding and sacrificing for one another.”

Triton had the sacrificing idea down, but he didn’t have understanding. Eric had understanding, but he didn’t have the chance to sacrifice for it.

Ariel has both. She understands that Eric’s world is not only barbaric, but beautiful, and she’s willing to sacrifice her tail to be understood in that world.

That is what this movie is all about. And because they’re probably willing to sacrifice critical scenes, like the Prince saving the day (which is important because it provides Triton with a new understanding of humans) or the girl leaving the ocean to be with the boy (which is important because what she really wants is to be understood) the creators of the Live Action Little Mermaid are going to miss the point and ruin the movie.

Let's Go (Battle)(download)

He recites it looking smitten. We all know you get off on all of this, Gulcemal, there is no need to remind us again :P

Foreshadowing!!!!!

I seriously love that woman! The way he was with her this whole day (telling her about his past, taking her to his favorite place etc) was an indirect apology but she won’t settle for that.

SHE HAS GOT THE MACHOEST MACHO TO EVER MACHO APOLOGIZING UNRESERVEDLY MMMMMMM yank that leash, girl!

This is the BEST!

Gulcemal ep 1

I really really enjoyed it, even though (or because) Gulcemal is a monster and a headcase and I hope the heroine buries him. 

Here he is with his pet pit of snakes. No really.

Anyway, Gulcemal has serious issues because his mom never loved him or took care of him and then ditched him and his sister for a new man (who was a mobster who beat up their bio dad) and their dad hanged himself in shame. So Gulcemal did what any 12 year old would do on the day of his dad’s funeral - found and stabbed mom’s new man to death with a kitchen knife. His mom then put a curse on him that since he’s a monster, he will never have a woman truly love him. 

Now it’s 20+ years later and Gulcemal, psycho, mobstery and very hot, is back to wreak revenge on mommy, as any self-respecting adult man would. His grand plan is to take away everything from mommy - business, friends, her kid (half brother of Gulcemal) blah blah and make her so desperate that she ill knock on his door because she has nowhere else to go. His sister is all “and then you’d shut the door in her face, right?” to which Gulcemal explains that nope, he will take her in and treat her like a queen so she’d say she’s lucky to have him as her son. THAT IS HIS REVENGE OMG AHAHAHAH DUDE YOU ARE NUTTIER THAN A SQUIRREL’S DINNER.

To be fair, he’s still less insane than his awful mother who, on finding he’s back, cooks and sends him halvah with “welcome to hell” note hidden in it. Mommy plans to destroy sonny and with none of that “take him in after” nonsense.

Anyway, moving on. This is our heroine, Deva. Devas has the worst luck. Her quasi mom is Gulcemal’s psycho mom, her bio parents are dead and/or unknown (except for - surprise - about which later), her scumbag fiance impregnated Gulcemal’s sister when drunk and is shortly to be made to marry the woman ditching Deva at the wedding. Oh, and she’s about to meet a psycho who will fixate on her. This is their first meeting. He gets pissed she’s at his lake, she points a bow and arrow at him (I don’t blame her, he looks like he’s about to go on the best-dressed serial killer spree), he gets out a gun (that was hilarious tbh) and he’s willing to be amused until she accidentally shoots him and tho she’s horrified, he advances until she almost falls into the lake.

She’s all “don’t shove me into the water, I am scared of water” (bet her mom drowned there) and he seems to be OKish with that until she slaps him because he’s looming and he just drops her as she screams for help. But he leaves her his jacket, he’s not an animal :P

Oh, and it turns out she’s a weaving master he’s decided to lure away from mommy. Instead of offering her a nice salary or w/e, he instead threatens and looms. Oh, and she stabs him with scissors. Between that and the arrow, I am beginning to think that terrifying and psychotic as Gulcemal is, his secret fetish is hot women hurting him. Just go pay a dominatrix, dude.

A few things. She’s about to smack him again and he reminds her that he told her if she does it again, he’ll break her arm (!!!) to which she taunts him to do it (!!!), he tells her she will accept his job and will beg for it on her knees and oh, worst of all, Mommy Evilest sees this on security cameras and realizes that for Gulcemal this is all equivalent of major crush. Her genius idea? I am gonna wreck Deva’s wedding, make sure her adoptive father is in debt so Gulcemal can blackmail her by that because…drumroll…I am gonna make sure Gulcemal falls madly and truly in love and will be willing to give anything for her and then I will go ahahahahahhahahaha psych! you will now suffeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr and he wil be in heeeeelllllll. Because, as becomes clear, Deva is actually the daughter of evil mom’s mob boyfriend, the one Gulcemal killed with a bread knife as a tween. (I happen to think Deva’s mom was drowned either by her bio dad or evil mom or both, as that would be one way of enemies forever set up between the couple) Personally, I’d like to point out to mommy evilest she tried a very similar plan in Hercai (make a mentally unstable vengeance obsessed headcase suffer through enemy daugher’s love) and it didn’t really work out.

So now her dad is in the dungeon and he says he will allow her to pay off the debt by staying if she kneels.

I am not sure that he’s gonna live long enough for evil mommy to go “gotcha” because the heroine, who correctly refers to him as a “sick psycho,” is totally gonna shank him first.

The first ep was addictive, the chemistry is insane. I hate ML as a person but oh boy is he fun to watch. The whole thing is like Fei Wo Si Cun is moonlighting for Turkish tv.

Halle strong as hell!! (And Jonah.) theres no way I’m Halle and holding Jonah big ass in this make shift ocean. Fighting for my life.

And Jonah was right to say he was basically drowning cause damn that second wave would’ve been it for me 💀

AND Jonah said he was kicking her feet cause he didn’t know how to float!! Halle one strong mother *bleep*.

Couldn't resist editing these two to "Somewhere only we know". It’s such an Eric x Ariel song 🥺

Sepcial shoutout to @ayoungkiing @interracialfairytale @nessa007 @ericxariel and all the shippers

You all contributed so much to this ship that I could make an edit out of your edits and research 💙

reasons to love live action ariel/eric

HALADRIELft. Adam Levine’s DMs in / sp.

Ours was no chance meeting

Why do I imagine Eric pouting while he thinks this as Ariel is holding him close and smiling.

God this boy is so gone! ❤❤❤

I love this book!😃❤❤😄❤

it’s delightful seeing certain people get upset by critics praising the little mermaid live action and calling halle bailey the perfect ariel

Why the little mermaid is my romantic Disney movie( and just my Disney movie in general). It's like how beauty and the beast is for everyone else( except for me the little mermaid is so much better, and I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with the animated disney beauty and the beast. Probably going to get tons of hate for this. But got to be honest) it's just the little mermaid is so much more:

Ariel falls for Eric because of how he is with Max( yes she thinks he's really handsome at first. But notice how she focuses on how he is with his dog. And than Eric goes back onto his burning ship to save him. I personally fell in love with Eric for that. Just wish there was more to his character. He and Ariel are so cute together:

Ariel is the best in general because she's so adorable and loves just learning and exploring. Honestly I can relate to her feelings of not fitting in, wanting to explore and have more out of life. The yearning to learn. To collect things and ask questions. One thing I hate though is when people say she gave up everything for a guy. Ariel did not just give up everything to be with Eric, she wanted to explore the human world( to be human), Eric was just a wonderful bonus. Plus no one likes to talk about how Ursula conveniently picked a moment were she was vulnerable after her father destroyed a big part of who she is. Girl was going to run away anyway with out Ursula's deal. So don't get the hate. Ariel is the best. Plus she and Eric are partners who save each other.

Ariel has three animal companies who are the best: flounder, scuttle, and my favorite sebastion:

This movie has the best most awesome villian:

Amazing catchy songs:

Beautiful animation:

And an overall bittersweet ending that makes me cry and smile

All in all I love the little mermaid. I had it on vhs since I was toddler and it was the movie I'd watch all the time. I had the dolls, the toys, the merchandise. I even had a little tea party set with Ariel and her friends. Was so obsessed with this movie as a kid( sometimes I would even wish I was a mermaid all the time). Even now I still love it, in high school I even dyed my hair red because I loved how pretty her hair was growing up. My future plan is to get a tattoo of a mermaid like this

To honor this love I have for it and mermaids and the ocean in general. Maybe even get a tattoo of a quote from the original little mermaid fairy tale( love hans christian andersen and his fairy tales!). My love for the little mermaid is ever lasting and I don't care what anyone thinks. So if you ask me my favorite movie it will always be the little mermaid.

#VirtueMoir #XXII