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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.
For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.
I LOVED LOVED LOVE THIS. This retelling was more in line with the original story but still with some lovely twists. The singing was also beautiful. The twist at the end was very well executed. Leigh-Anne should definitely narrate more audiobooks. I recommend!
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
like an even 3 stars, maybe 2.75. i think this audible original interpretation was a cute way to blend the like fairytale everyone is happy at the end of the story with like the real original fairytale (which i haven't read). it felt like a good opportunity to dip your toes in (no pun intended) to the world of the little mermaid and catch like the core story and it was well dramatized and well read. i do think that some of the modernity elements were kind of annoying, like the "reader in your headphones" tease but that wasn't a huge problem. overall a fine quick read! 2.75 stars
As a kid I had 2 videos of the little mermaid - the Disney one (with the happy ending) and one that was like this - the original story. I always preferred the original.
spoilers! be warned… here’s an overview of the original short story that inspired disney’s iconic movie.
•
just like in the movie, there’s a whole magical world beneath the sea, full of mer-folk and underwater castles. in anderson’s short story, it was the little mermaid’s sisters who collected ruins from ships, not her. she only cared for her pretty floral garden and this statue of a human man she found long ago. but she did love to hear stories about life above sea. on each mermaid’s 15th birthday, they could rise to the surface and see the wonders of above for themselves. the little mermaid waited as each of her other sister’s became of age, until finally she too could rise— and, of course, she loved it.
•
the main struggle of the short story is that mermaids do not have immortal souls like humans. they live for 300 years and dissolve into the foam of the sea when they die, becoming one with the ocean. (a plot, daresay, kinda heavy for disney).
•
the little mermaid basically has an existential crisis in learning this, and when she discovers that she can gain eternal life if a human falls truly in love with and declares devotion to her through marriage, she’s even more determined to get on land. like the movie, she saves a prince from drowning after a ship wreck, and becomes infatuated with the idea of their life together.
•
so the little mermaid goes to the sea witch, who cuts off her tongue in exchange for her beautiful voice, making her a ‘dumb’ mute forever. the witch gives the mermaid a potion to give her permanent legs, but warns that each step for the rest of her life will feel like treading on tiny daggers, although she’ll always walk with a graceful sway (a sure way to win the prince!).
•
once on land, the prince finds her all washed up, but ‘love(s) her as one would love a little child.’ he affectionately calls her his ‘dumb foundling,’ and ends up falling for the woman who found him washed up after his ship wreck (not knowing that the little mermaid really save him). this is bad news for our mermaid, as the sea witch told her that the next morning after he wed another, she would turn to sea foam and forever cease to exist in mind and spirit.
•
well as you might have guessed, in the short story, the mermaid does not get her prince charming. after his seaboard wedding, the little mermaid waits till sunset and throws herself overboard to dissolve into the ocean, only to find beautiful, floating creatures called ‘the daughters of the air.’ they fly to warm countries and cool the air, and one of them, she can procure an immortal soul after 300 years of service.
•
it looks like the little mermaid will get what she wants after all by performing good deeds—and through patience and devotion to a cause. most importantly, she’ll get a soul on her own, without needing a prince to save her. i wish disney had kept this important ending… how would it have shaped child differently to see their beloved ariel forge her own destiny?
•
the books contains no traces of ariel’s friendly companions, sebastian and flounder. the sea king, triton, who played a major role in the movie, had just a couple mentions in the book, while her six sisters played much larger roles— cutting off their hair and selling it to the sea witch to try and save ariel from death in the end. they ended up acquiring an enchanted knife. if the little mermaid stabbed it in the prince’s heart, his blood could drip on her and transform her back into a mermaid. obviously, the little mermaid loved the prince, and she refused to kill him and go back to her life at sea.
•
definitely worth reading this 30-page story yourself to see how anderson paints the picture of this stunning underwater tale!
•
just like in the movie, there’s a whole magical world beneath the sea, full of mer-folk and underwater castles. in anderson’s short story, it was the little mermaid’s sisters who collected ruins from ships, not her. she only cared for her pretty floral garden and this statue of a human man she found long ago. but she did love to hear stories about life above sea. on each mermaid’s 15th birthday, they could rise to the surface and see the wonders of above for themselves. the little mermaid waited as each of her other sister’s became of age, until finally she too could rise— and, of course, she loved it.
•
the main struggle of the short story is that mermaids do not have immortal souls like humans. they live for 300 years and dissolve into the foam of the sea when they die, becoming one with the ocean. (a plot, daresay, kinda heavy for disney).
•
the little mermaid basically has an existential crisis in learning this, and when she discovers that she can gain eternal life if a human falls truly in love with and declares devotion to her through marriage, she’s even more determined to get on land. like the movie, she saves a prince from drowning after a ship wreck, and becomes infatuated with the idea of their life together.
•
so the little mermaid goes to the sea witch, who cuts off her tongue in exchange for her beautiful voice, making her a ‘dumb’ mute forever. the witch gives the mermaid a potion to give her permanent legs, but warns that each step for the rest of her life will feel like treading on tiny daggers, although she’ll always walk with a graceful sway (a sure way to win the prince!).
•
once on land, the prince finds her all washed up, but ‘love(s) her as one would love a little child.’ he affectionately calls her his ‘dumb foundling,’ and ends up falling for the woman who found him washed up after his ship wreck (not knowing that the little mermaid really save him). this is bad news for our mermaid, as the sea witch told her that the next morning after he wed another, she would turn to sea foam and forever cease to exist in mind and spirit.
•
well as you might have guessed, in the short story, the mermaid does not get her prince charming. after his seaboard wedding, the little mermaid waits till sunset and throws herself overboard to dissolve into the ocean, only to find beautiful, floating creatures called ‘the daughters of the air.’ they fly to warm countries and cool the air, and one of them, she can procure an immortal soul after 300 years of service.
•
it looks like the little mermaid will get what she wants after all by performing good deeds—and through patience and devotion to a cause. most importantly, she’ll get a soul on her own, without needing a prince to save her. i wish disney had kept this important ending… how would it have shaped child differently to see their beloved ariel forge her own destiny?
•
the books contains no traces of ariel’s friendly companions, sebastian and flounder. the sea king, triton, who played a major role in the movie, had just a couple mentions in the book, while her six sisters played much larger roles— cutting off their hair and selling it to the sea witch to try and save ariel from death in the end. they ended up acquiring an enchanted knife. if the little mermaid stabbed it in the prince’s heart, his blood could drip on her and transform her back into a mermaid. obviously, the little mermaid loved the prince, and she refused to kill him and go back to her life at sea.
•
definitely worth reading this 30-page story yourself to see how anderson paints the picture of this stunning underwater tale!
First good HCA I’ve read lol - however did not expect that wild twist at the end