Hah. This is going to be like the ragequit of book reviews.*calm deep breaths* *inhale* *exhale* *googling pictures of fluffy kittens*WHAT THE FUCK HANS? WHAT THE FUCK! No no no no no. NO.I need to bleach this version from my SOUL. Hans, I'M TAWKING TO YOU. Rise up out of your 140 year old grave right now AND FIX THIS SHIT. I'm hunting down the original, and setting it on fire. Or at the very least writing Sebastian into your story. YOU CAN'T HAVE THE LITTLE MERMAID WITHOUT THE SASSY JAMAICAN CRAB OK. I can't even fathom how this is classed as a fairy tale. This wasn't meant for children, right? I mean, this is downright DEPRESSING. I mean, I need some chocolately snacks and counselling to get through this crap. I need a large milkshake and some cheesy fries, STAT. Rage partially subsided, I can now safely inform readers of this messy messy tragic tragic review that the next sentences will contain spoilers. So many spoilers they'll sting your eyes. In this lovely (and original, yuck) story of The Little Mermaid, she does trade her voice to the sea witch in exchange for legs, yes. However, our good pal Hans also sees to it that the sea witch actually cuts out her tongue, meaning she will never speak or sing again. She gets her legs though. But wait, what's this? Every time she takes a step it's as if she's walking on blades? OH HOW SWEET. AT LEAST SHE GETS HER LEGS THOUGH!But what about the Prince? OH that prince. The one who calls her dumb all the time, and constantly compares her to some other girl who he *thought* saved his life, when it was actually her all along. The one who drops her as soon as he sees someone who he *thinks* resembles his "rescuer". That DICK. He's an entitled prat with a punchable face and a punchable personality. Shoulda let the bitch drown.Let's see, what else? OH my favourite quotes! What's a book (good or bad) without my favourite quotes, RIGHT!? (Guys, I'm getting hysterical)The prince said she should remain with him always, and she received permission to sleep at his door, on a velvet cushion.HOW KIND. Only the best for The Little Mermaid, amiright? I mean, it's velvet. (I have such a poisonous tone to my voice right now)"If I were forced to choose a bride, I would rather choose you, my dumb foundling."*grumble*Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. Imma take this moment to throw some shade at The Little Mermaid herself. Because Hans inadvertently made me. So you willingly leave your grandmother, father and sisters, whom you love, to try and win the affections of some dude you saved one time. Not only do you agree to cut your tongue out, you also subject yourself to a life of misery because every time you take a fucking step, you're basically stepping on knives. Your feet bleed all over the place, and you just go "oh well. The Prince is a babe so la dee da." You lady, are DUMB.Internet memes are speaking to me now.Let's just stick to the Disney version. The one where Prince Eric is a babe aaaaand they live happilyeverafter THE END. *starts humming under the sea*
I've always loved mermaids. When I was little, I dreamed about being one! lol. I've always found them to be such beautiful & interesting mythical creatures. So of course, you would think that I love Han's Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, right? WRONG. And it's not just because of the Disney version. In fact, I always had some issues with Disney's version of the fairytale even before I read the original story. I never understood how the mermaid could give up her family & life under the sea for a man that she's never even spoken to. She says that she's "in love" with him but she hardly knows the guy. I've never been one to believe that you can fall in love with someone just by looking at them. That's lust- not love. For me, love is something that can happen the more you get to know someone. Maybe if Han's had bothered to develope a real relationship between the mermaid & the human then perhaps I could have understood her wanting to become human, but he didn't do that. Instead this girl (mermaid) saves the guy, sacrifices everything to be with him, suffers the whole time that she's human, and yet she still doesn't win the guy, AND she ends up dying at the end ... what the fuck? Ugh. I get that Han's was trying to show us that with humanity comes pain & sorrow, but this is just too much. Sure people suffer, we feel lots of pain and loss as we go on in life, but we also feel love and happiness at times too. There needs to be an equal amount of sadness and happiness in life. I think it's terrible to put a heroine through so much pain & suffering only to punish her even further by making her die in the end. She didn't have to win the guy to have a happy ending (there's more to life then just romance) but c'mon! This story is just ridiculous. You know what I want? I want a mermaid story with a great heroine. I want her to have a love interest that is actually worthy of her. I want her journey to be one that inspires it's readers - not one that has her suffering the whole time and ends with her dying for nothing. Is that really too much to ask? Please? /sigh
What do You think about The Little Mermaid (2004)?
I was actually introduced to this tale by Disney.Now, as a little 7 year old girl who adored Disney Movies, you'd think I would be in love with Disney's The Little Mermaid. Especially considering that despite my utter tom boyishness, I am still in love with Beauty and the Beast.But it seems I am one of the few who doesn't like the Disney retelling of The Little Mermaid.I am indeed grateful for it for kicking off the Disney Renaissance which I grew up with. I can't fault the animation, the songs are catchy and memorable (especially the Villain song!) and I do like some of the side characters.But, something about it just rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know what it is, but despite my indifference to it, I decided to give the original a chance.I was not disappointed. The tale is twisted and much darker than the version I grew up with. It has sorrow, pain and possible redemption. Of course, in true Hans Christian Andersen fashion, it is a rather sad tale. You won't find Happily Ever After or cute singing crabs here. There is the rather flat "romantic relationship" between the two which may throw people off. But not me, I just found it all the more fascinating that this mermaid would go to great lengths for a man she barely knows. Unlike the movies, though, it examines the cliche "love at first sight" and tells you the brutal truth behind it.The illustrations by Lisbeth are charming in their own way and I quite enjoyed them.No offense to Disney, but I much prefer the original version.
—Somerandom
“But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more.” I actually re-read this, i've read this once i was a kid. Basically, i grew up with Hans Christian Andersen's book and The Little Mermaid is always be my favorite. If you know the little mermaid from Disney then think the ending was happy ending and they live happily ever after, you can't found it here. The little mermaid that i know was sad story. This is about the sacrifice that Little Mermaid made for her love. She left her beautiful life and her family for the man that actually never know what's her feeling or what she has done to him. He never know that he can live because The Little Mermaid save his life. For him, The Little Mermaid will do anything. She give up her voice to be a human who can live with her love. Not only that, she must win the prince's heart otherwise she would turn into the foam of the sea.So, you won't found the happily ever after between the Little Mermaid with the Prince, because the Prince didn't love the Little Mermaid, and when the Little Mermaid have a choice between her life and Prince's life in other to get her old live, still the Little Mermaid choose to save her prince and sacrifice herself. So she die and become the foam of the sea...
—Nalia
What a melancholic story... It is my first time reading the original story. I never thought it was this splendid! I guess the little mermaid was in fact closest to human beings in her desire than all her sisters were for she was so passionate and greedy when it came to something she wanted so bad even when she knew that it was a reckless decision that would possibly hurt her and those who really love her.Was she content after being a daughter of the air in the end? I do not know if I would have been...
—Huda AbuKhoti
