The live-action “The Little Mermaid” film, which hit theaters on May 26, stayed virtually totally trustworthy to the unique animation that got here out in 1989. Still, it did make small modifications. Apart from the 4 new songs added to the movie, some notable tweaks to Prince Eric’s story made his and Ariel’s love story all of the extra significant.
Read on to get a breakdown of how the creators behind the brand new live-action Little Mermaid introduced Prince Eric’s character into the twenty first century.
Prince Eric’s Backstory within the Original “The Little Mermaid”
In the unique “The Little Mermaid,” Prince Eric’s backstory is fairly one-note. He’s a good-looking, adventurous prince looking for a spouse when he is saved from drowning by Ariel amid a shipwreck. When he awakes to Ariel singing to him, he instantly turns into enamored together with her and her voice, however his story (and thus, the characters’ connection) basically begins and ends there.
While their love story is beloved, it is arguably shallow, and the brand new live-action movie treatments that.
Prince Eric’s Backstory within the Live-Action “The Little Mermaid”
In Disney’s 2023 retelling of “The Little Mermaid,” Prince Eric (now performed by Jonah Hauer-King) and Princess Ariel have way more in widespread from the get-go, due to some much-needed growth in Eric’s backstory.
It’s revealed early on within the movie that Prince Eric was not born a prince. Instead, it seems, he was rescued from a shipwreck (the one which killed his delivery mother and father) and adopted by the island’s Queen (performed by Noma Dumezweni). While he is lived a contented life along with his mom as a royal, he, like Ariel, looks like one other world calls to him: the ocean.
Prince Eric and the Queen always butt heads over Eric’s need to discover at sea, very similar to Ariel’s battle with King Triton over her love for the land of people. So Eric and Ariel bond by way of their data of land and sea. In a brand new scene added to the movie, Eric excitedly teaches Ariel concerning the varied lands he is visited on his adventures, whereas Ariel teaches Eric concerning the completely different sea life he is collected over time.
While these modifications are minimal, they nonetheless add way more shade to Eric and Ariel’s love story, which can make you like the Disney Princess film couple much more.