Ariel’s has a Shakespearean origin. After high school, various adults who return to “The Little Mermaid” will be struck by the heroine’s many literary influences. In “The Tempest,” Ariel was a character. Prospero, the banished Duke of Milan, uses his esoteric knowledge to get retribution on those who deceived him in William Shakespeare’s drama. His two supernatural minions, the monstrous Caliban and the mischievous Ariel come to his aid on the island where he washed ashore after his exile. Most productions show Ariel as a spirit of the air, despite his mastery over the water. Looking at Hans Christian Andersen’s original short storey, it makes more sense. If the nameless literary mermaid fails to capture the prince’s affection, she turns into sea foam. Children of the air, such as Shakespeare’s Ariel, rescue the mermaid and give her a second chance at life.
In the backdrop, familiar people may be seen. Thousands of mermaids, mermen, and other sea creatures populate King Triton’s magnificent musical display. Though, some of the characters appear to be out of place, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Disney was in the middle of discussions to buy out Jim Henson’s company at the time, and Kermit the Frog may have been featured as a nod to the talks. There is another cameo that is simpler to spot but difficult to distinguish later on in the film. “Under the Sea” closes with Ariel’s fins being held out by a ring of fish, who then realises she’s gone. The only person in the crowd with spectacles and exaggerated lips is a small blue boy. Who is that person? “The Andy Griffith Show’s” Don Knotts was transformed into an animated fish in the 1964 musical “The Incredible Limpet.”
In Ariel’s home hangs the work of an old master. Although Ariel’s land-based artefacts are primarily random garbage, she has acquired genuine artwork. She looks at a portrait of a woman while she performs “Under the Sea.” “Magdalene with the Smoking Flame” by Georges de la Tour is an actual painting. His dramatic images, like this one, were often lighted by a single candle. “The Little Mermaid” is significantly more moodily illuminated than later Disney pictures, and according to the DVD commentary, the realism of the underwater location needed sophisticated lighting and animation techniques.
