What makes a villain? Grotesque features, misguided anger, or a penchant for monologuing about their evil plans? In that sense, The Little Mermaid’s Ursula certainly fits the bill. She wasn’t doe-eyed, idealistic or naive like her “target”, so it made sense that she got the villain stamp right off the bat.
As the story had it, Ariel is a curious little mermaid who yearns to see more of the world beyond her watery home. She goes as far as to make a “bargain with the devil” type deal with the sea witch, Ursula, which then ups the drama when she grows some legs. Sure, taking Ariel’s voice in the bargain kind of set her up for failure, but what was a witch supposed to do — after all, Ariel had nothing else to trade. So, was Ursula completely at fault when things went south? Not in the least bit. While Ursula was no saint in The Little Mermaid — despite what she says, tagging her as a villain is taking things a bit too far. But don’t take our word for it, the proof is in the pudding.
Ursula Wasn’t A Villain Because Ariel Knew Exactly What She Was Getting Herself Into
Let’s put sentiment aside for a second and look at the cold, hard facts here — Ariel knew exactly what she was getting herself into. Ursula was almost surgical with the details she included in the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, and there was a contract. She didn’t mince her words or lace over the fact that things could get a tad bit sticky down the road. She clearly stated “…now it’s happened once or twice, someone couldn’t pay the price, and I’m afraid I had to rake ’em ‘cross the coals.”
This wasn’t a “hidden in the fine print” moment, so it’s only fair to cop some of the blame up to some of Ariel’s worse traits — naivety and all-around idealistic expectations. So, a woman who the merpeople popularly referred to as a sea witch offered her humanity and romance in exchange for her voice, and she didn’t think twice? Of course, there’s a catch, if she flubbed the love quest, her soul would become Ursula’s permanent property. The high stakes were spelled out right from the start and Ursula made it clear that the piper would have to be paid when the time came. So at what point does Ariel take some responsibility in all this?
Now, it would be criminal to glaze over the fact that she did oversell how great she was as a whole, but which business person doesn’t? In the song she croons, “…Those poor unfortunate souls, so sad, so true. They come flocking to my cauldron crying, “Spells, Ursula, please!” And I help them? Yes, I do.” She even goes as far as to refer to herself as a saint which is agreeably a bit too much. However, she could have left out the nasty bits of the agreement. You know what they say, all is fair in love and war… and business.
Ursula Was on a Redemption Path in ‘The Little Mermaid’ – and Then Ariel Came Along
[metaslider id=181]
Before jumping in, it’s a good idea to reiterate that the sea witch isn’t entirely blameless. However, Ursula wasn’t a villain per se in The Little Mermaid. While the details weren’t quite clear, she must have done something despicable to earn her banishment. She could have skulked away and rained down havoc on the kingdom, but rather she doled out favors for a price. Once again, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” offers a goldmine of insight into Ursula’s personality as a whole. She admits that she’s been nasty in the past, but she decided that favors were more profitable than evil. In her way, she’s actually helping people make their wishes come true. While, yes, a handful of them eventually default, it’s safe to say that a few eventually got their happily ever after. So, let’s pan back to the fact that she’d probably been on some version of the straight and narrow. Then enters the idealistic little mermaid who wants a shot at life on land, and just like that — everything crumbled.
Perhaps it was because she was the daughter of the king who banished her, perhaps it was not; but once Ariel entered the scene it stopped being about business for Ursula. She personally ventured above sea level to sabotage Ariel’s progress. Even more, she was armed with a secret weapon that was bound to catch Prince Eric’s attention — Ariel’s voice. It’s safe to assume that she hardly crossed the line that often, it’d simply be bad for business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t3kQf3lWBs
The Little Mermaid (1989) is currently available to watch on Disney+.
