Stage II English

Comparative Analysis

How does The Little Mermaid by Hans

Christian Anderson differ when
compared to the Disney adaption?

A fundamental element of any childhood is watching a classic Disney movie on the couch and
singing along to the catchy musical numbers while simultaneously falling in love with the
characters. What many people do not know, is that most Disney movies are adaptations of
classic fairy tales. One of Disneys most famous movies, The Little Mermaid, is an adaptation of
a fairy tale written by Dutch writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1876, Den Lille havfrue. While the
two texts share a title, they differ in multiple key elements throughout the story.

Originally, the purpose of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales was to articulate his life
experiences unlike like modern Disney adaptations that focus on the entertainment value.
Andersen used his fairy tales as a creative outlet when his career as an opera singer and
composer began to fail. The Little Mermaid is arguably one of his most famous fairy tales of all
time and was allegedly inspired by his struggle with depression. It was never Andersens
intention to create what would be the inspiration for a renown children's movie that would be
passed through the generations. When Walt Disney, the founder of Disney, passed away the
company hit a wall while trying to appoint a new CEO. Every film that was produced ended in
failure and the future of the company was not bright. Towards the end of the 1980s Disney
decided to look into the vault of Walts waitlisted ideas, which is where they found the outline for
an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersons fairy tale The Little Mermaid. Walt Disney originally
wanted to produce the movie after the success of Snow White, but it was ultimately put on the
back burner and forgotten. The movie adaption was a huge success, saving the company and
continuing the legacy of Walt Disney. A similarity between the two texts is that they both were
saving graces for the writer or producer. However, the two texts also have many differences. An
example of this is the plot differences in the fairy tale and the film. Another difference is the
ideas and perspectives that are displayed in the two texts, which is very dependent on the
audience and the context in which it was written or produced for.

When The Little Mermaid was initially written there was not a specific audience in mind,
whereas the of recent adaptations are geared towards children. As technology improved, these
tales were written down by various people all over the world. Often, writers such as Andersen
would use the folklore and fairy tales they heard as children and twist them into something
slightly more original. However, he did this in a subtle way, so that children who read them
would not pick up on the dark underlying subplot. An example of this is when Ariel decides to
end her life, which can be seen in this quote, She cast one more lingering, half-fainting glance
at the prince, and then threw herself from the ship into the sea, and thought her body was
dissolving into foam. A child wouldnt necessarily pick up on this detail, due to the wording, but
an adult could understand the darker meaning to the ending. When Walt Disney decided he
wanted to make an adaptation of Andersens fairy tale, he removed the dark content to make
the film child friendly. An example of this is can be seen when Disney adapted a section of the
plot, instead of Ursula cutting Ariels tongue out, she uses magic to remove and store it in a
seashell pendant. The purpose of Disney was to provide entertainment for children across the
globe, including his own, which is why he was so determined to take the twisted tale and
reshape it into something magical. Similarly to Andersen, Disney wanted to add his own twist
onto the fairytale, which is why he altered the ideas and perspectives in the adaptation.
However, Disneys insistence to create a film for children hindered the extent he could expand
on the original fairy tale. For example, he was required to create a happy ending, there couldnt
be violence and he couldn't have the eerie details that Andersen used to entrance the reader.
Despite these restrictions, Disney was able to create what is now considered one of their classic
films.

Andersens fairy tales often reflected significant aspects of his life, which can be seen in the
subtle religious references included in The Little Mermaid. He was raised in Denmark, which at
the time was in the midst of a country wide religious conversion to Christianity. This was
solidified when the Church of Copenhagen was officially converted to Evangelical Lutheran in
1848. Andersen was always curious about Christianity, as it was not fully integrated into
Denmark until his early forties. If The Little Mermaid is closely examined, it is easy to find
references to religion on the ideas and perspectives in the text. Anderson refers to When Disney
decided to begin writing an adaptation of the fairy tale, there is no evidence to support the idea
that he intentionally included any religious components to the film. Due to the fact that The Little
Mermaid was produced fifty years after it was originally scaffolded, there are no apparent
political or religious references in the film. While there are not many contextual similarities that
exist between the two texts, there are notable differences. The subtle references religion that is
intertwined in Hans Christian Andersons work is not present in the Disney adaptation. As
mentioned before, Andersen used events and people in his life to inspire his written work, which
explains why he included these subtle references. Throughout his life he was attempting to
understand Christianity and whether he was a believer in the new culture. He did this through
his writing, exploring the different aspect of the religion in each fairy tale. Flashing forward to the
production of the film adaptation, Christianity had already cemented itself in America, therefore
there was no need to explore it in the plot.
The ideas and perspectives shown in both versions of The Little Mermaid were influenced by
the context and intended audience of the separate texts, resulting in major differences in the
plot. One of the prominent ideas in Andersens fairy tale was the importance of family. In the
beginning of the text, he goes into detail about Ariels early life and the bond she has with her
sisters and grandmother, who essentially raised her. Ariels family also were the ones to save
her soul, as it was their sacrifice that which saved her from withering away to sea foam. Ariels
soul is another important detail in Andersons text. Not only does Ariel want to find love with the
prince, she also wants to have an eternal soul, similar to that of humans when the ascend to
heaven. This can be seen in the quote, I would give gladly all the hundreds of years that I have
to live, to be a human being only for one day, and to have the hope of knowing the happiness of
that glorious world above the stars. When watching the Disney adaptation, love is one key idea
that is present in the majority of the film. Ariels main motivation to become human is so she can
marry the prince, who she has fallen in love with from afar. While this is present in Andersens
version, it is not as predominant. There is a brief cameo of the sister in the beginning of the film,
however, there is no mention of the grandmother. Overall, family is not an important idea in the
film. There is also no reference to eternal souls, or any afterlife, which also showcases the lack
of the religious element in the film. There are other details that are censored in the Disney
adaptation, such as the removal of Ariels tongue being cut off and she does not feel like she is
walking on shards of glass.

The form of both The Little Mermaid adaptations were dependent on the technology available in
the time period that it was created. The original tale of The Little Mermaid was written in 1837,
which was not yet the age of innovation. That year, the telegraph machine was invented, which
was revolutionary for the military forces. However, there was no more development of useful
technology that the public could access. In terms of entertainment, stories were mostly verbal
and passed down through generations. It was actually revolutionary for people such as Hans
Christian Andersen to begin writing these stories down and publishing collections of them in a
book form. This way, the fairy tales could be distributed across the country for all of the Dutch
population to enjoy. Andersen eventually published three books containing various fairy tales,
each of them becoming an essential house item in Denmark. When the Disney adaptation was
made, the company was at the forefront of animation and filmmaking. Disney was the first
company to make a successful coloured animation, the first pair that animation with sound, and
were always innovating the animation field. In terms of The Little Mermaid, Disney once again
innovated the current animation techniques and created the first animation that was set
underwater. The form that Disney chose to use spoke to both the audience and the technology
of the time. Televisions were becoming more popular, existing in almost every American
household. Similarly to Andersen, Disney capitalised off the current trends by making an
animation that could be played on these devices, creating household necessities. The main
differences between the two texts were the form, one is a book and one an animation, and also
the technology used to create them.
The language and stylistic features used in the two tales of The Little Mermaid varied due to the
different forms that are used. Hans Christian Andersens written version uses very descriptive
language, which provides extensive imagery to his fairy tale. He uses phrases such as as blue
as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal to describe the ocean at the beginning of the
story. This quote is both an example of imagery and the use of a simile, two literary techniques
that are used frequently throughout the tale. This provided an enthralling effect on the reader,
helping them visualise the tale. Also, some of the words Andersen chose to use were relevant
for the time period, but also adds an aspect of eeriness to the tale, enhancing the dark aspects
of the tale. In terms of the Disney adaptation, The Little Mermaid was the first animation to be
set underwater, as mentioned before. The inspiration for Ariels renown flowing locks came from
footage of a female astronaut in space. Disney took the footage and mimicked it for the
underwater scenes.They also watch documentary footage of ocean scenes to get inspiration for
the setting animation. This way, whatever they chose to animate, such as coral or seaweed
would look slightly more realistic. Another technique that Disney used was the inclusion of
musical numbers. Many of Disneys films used songs to entice the target audience, which was
children. This technique was highly successful and is still being used in modern era Disney
films. Similarities between the language and stylistic techniques include the motive, which was
to entice and enthral the reader or view, whether this was done in a written, visual or audio.
However, the differences between the two texts are significant. Andersens version uses
imagery and descriptive language to tell the story, whereas Disney uses visual effects and
musical numbers.

In conclusion, while both of these texts share a title, they have many differences. While they
were both created for entertainment purposes, the context, audience, and techniques used to
create the texts varied, therefore, causing differences between the two. Nonetheless, they both
of these texts are considered classics across the world, providing joy people of all ages
throughout multiple centuries.

References
Hans Christian Andersen Biography.com. (2014). Retrieved from
https://www.biography.com/people/hans-christian-andersen-9184146.

Crow, D. (2017). The Disney Renaissance: The Rise & Fall of a Generational Touchstone. Retrieved
from http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/disney/51171/the-disney-renaissance-the-rise-fall-of-a-
generational-touchstone

Denmark's Christian Heritage. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cai.org/bible-studies/denmarks-

christian-heritage.

Disneys Little Mermaid - from concept to animation. (2013). Retrieved from

https://www.lulemee.com/2013/07/18/disney-s-little-mermaid-from-concept-to-animation/.