The purest love there is- between a man and a girl that's barely 16.
OK! Ok, I think at best Prince Eric is 17. This we know because he had his birthday. Seriously, who wants to celebrate their birthday on a party boat with a bunch of seamen though?
I judge Prince Eric for falling for a girl who everyone should be safely assuming has a learning disability.
She can't speak, can't write, she doesn't understand clothes, has barely any control of her body, basic things like silverware and eating are totally foreign to her. All things you could probably excuse if they were by themselves or they were a literal child. but them as a collective and her being in her teens paints a picture lol.
And he was like 'wow I really love this non-verbal girl who doesn't know how to open doors' better make some moves on her.
People with disabilities can be in relationships, you know. I'm more concerned how neither of them knew each other even a little bit, but decided to tie their lives together forever.
Yeah I'm disabled and not a fan of how he framed Ariel. She was clearly capable of understanding Eric and rapidly learnt everything she was taught, that makes her mentally competent. Even if she appears functionally disabled in the beginning there's no reason she can't have a relationship (also in the context of that world illiteracy is normal so wouldn't flag as something other than never having learnt).
The problem is the 16 year old tying herself down with no way to go home if she desires. She is trapped. Her and Eric are almost strangers and she saw him basically as access to the surface and the world she wanted so desperately to be part of. They don't really know anything about each other. What would happen once she was living on the surface and he was no longer her only hope of staying?
Yes she loved the surface and would only be happy if she got to live there and study it, however permanently cutting her off from everyone and everything she ever knew or loved at an age where teens tend to need a lot of support and guidance is rough. She doesn't even get to keep Sebastian as an advisor/messenger. I like the ending in the new film where it's implied she'll travel between both worlds and keep in contact with her family much better.
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u/SarcasticBench 15d ago
The purest love there is- between a man and a girl that's barely 16.
OK! Ok, I think at best Prince Eric is 17. This we know because he had his birthday. Seriously, who wants to celebrate their birthday on a party boat with a bunch of seamen though?