Last night there was nothing on TV, so I went through some DVDs and decided to watch The Little Mermaid. You've seen it, right? Here's the jist...
Ariel, youngest daughter of Triton, the Sea King, falls in love with a human prince named Eric. So she does what any lovesick mermaid would do. She goes to a sea witch (Ursula) and trades her voice for a pair of legs. The deal is, she has to get Eric to fall in love with her before the sun sets on the third day, or else she reverts to mermaid status and becomes some kind of anthropomorphic seaweed slave of Ursula.
Of course she doesn't make it in time, 'cause where would you find the climactic conflict at the end? But eventually, they all live happily ever after. But I have a problem with this whole thing.
Ariel is 16 years old. She's a minor. What's she doing signing contracts with a sea witch? At the end, Triton tries to destroy the contract, but Ursula claims that it is legal and binding. That's a load of crap. Once again, she's 16! Any contract she signs before she's of legal age is null and void. Come on Disney! Step it up!
I was always disturbed by Ariel's age. It kinda skeeved me out, actually.
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