#feature animation

Well!

#1 Introductions

I don’t know if this counts but I’m counting it. The first scene Eric is introduced in mirrors the first scene Ariel is introduced in. Goes like this:

The camera pans and zooms in around the sails and mast of the ship to show Prince Eric, gazing out at the sea excitedly / The camera shows the shot of the tattered sails and mast of a sunken ship and Ariel pops into view, gazing at another shipwreck, also excitedly. They’re both looking out at a world they can’t be fully part of.

Eric asks his friend (Grimsby) “isn’t this great?” about the thing he loves, which is the sea / Ariel asks her friend (Flounder) “isn’t it fantastic?” about the thing she loves, which is the sunken ship. They’re both seeing the thing they love positively.

Eric’s companion (Grimsby) responds sarcastically “oh yes, delightful” and clearly isn’t enjoying himself, throwing up over the side of the ship / Ariel’s companion (Flounder) responds sarcastically “yeah, it’s great…can we go now?” and clearly isn’t enjoying himself. They both don’t have anybody, even the people closest to them, who can share their love.

Which goes right into my second:

#2 Ariel Sees Eric

It’s important how Ariel sees Eric in the scene where she’s at the boat and it’s his birthday. I know it’s cute, the way she looks at him, smitten, and romantic, the way she saves his life. But that’s not the part I mean.

I mean they specifically, in the script, wrote it so that Eric mentions, “the right girl is out there somewhere, I just haven’t found her yet.” and THEN the shot focuses on Ariel’s face. It’s not just because the narrators are saying, “she’s the right girl, he doesn’t realize it yet!” it’s because they’re very simply reminding you that Ariel is hearing all this. She heard the conversation between Grimsby and Eric about a Dream Girl.

The point here is that she learns exactly how much Eric is like her, and exactly how much he’s different, too, and it all adds up to be the perfect introduction to humans, for Ariel.

Because she’s been wrestling with a community who doesn’t believe in the way she sees her Dream for her whole life. She believes the Surface must have good in it, and has faith in the evidence she’s seen. They believe that’s ridiculous, there’s no good from the Surface, they believe her faith is vain.

Eric also has a Dream. He’s got faith in it. Ariel gets to see that. And she gets to see that, just like her, his community doesn’t believe in it. They don’t believe in his Dream Girl. BUT. Where Ariel has to sneak around and hide evidence that she’s still believing in her Dream, where she has to shut up about it when her father yells at her, Eric is not under the same restraints. He laughs it off when Grimsby doesn’t believe in his Dream. Can you picture Ariel laughing off her father’s fury about the Surface? No.

So she gets to see that 1) He’s just like her but 2) he’s more free than her. He can be the idealized hero in her mind—the guy who isn’t giving up on his Dream, and is a champion of faith, and is in some way succeeding where she has to sneak and sob.

It’s wonderful for her to learn that a human can be like this, so like her, but so much more hopeful, plus, he’s a handsome, heroic human. Also she gets to watch him risk his life for a dog (her dad said humans were barbaric and spineless) and humbly shrug off a way-too-extravagant statue of himself (even though he’s a prince.)

It’s just perfect.

Eric is introduced to her as a guy who makes his own decisions, isn’t bossed around by his advisors or escorts, but doesn’t resent or grow bitter toward them, either. He remains easygoing, secure in who he is and what he believes, without having to trample all over the people closest to him who disagree. He’s got great heart and character.

Whereas in the Live Action they stripped him of that subtle, realistic, down-to-earth value and gave it to Ariel by having her be the only one to defy people who disagree with her. By having Eric have an overbearing mother he kowtows to, that makes him her mirror in every way, except with no strength of his own and less of an enticing example of the freedoms of a different world for her to fall in love with. They make him blander, weaker, and less important, but they do it subtly and with chest hair, scruff, drippy “I love you even with your tail” hugging (which was fine but hardly necessary or any kind of improvement because he proved that he loved her tail-and-all in the original just fine by sacrificing himself to save her) and a British accent so that everybody wouldn’t notice.

Anyway.

#3 Eric Saves Ariel

They cut this in the remake, and in my understanding, in the Broadway, too, for no apparent reason and to the great detriment of the original movie which did it right the first time, but my third-favorite scene is Eric fighting Ursula to save Ariel.

Eric immediately expresses concern when Ursula drags Ariel, just revealed to be a mermaid, over the side of the ship. Tail and all. And immediately goes to save her single-handedly, even though, again, the people around him have no interest in helping or following him or fighting for his Dream.

Which is so interesting. He’s their Prince. They’re the closest people to him, invited to his wedding, on this boat. But nobody’s following him or trying to harpoon the sea monster that just dragged his Dream Girl over the side of the boat. But does that stop him? No! And the writers specifically wrote in a moment where Grimsby calls out to him from the deck of the ship and Eric insists he’s going, alone, because he won’t lose Ariel again. He jumps in the water with a sea monster. No fins, no gills, one harpoon, because he loves her and has chosen her and he’s not spineless. And then she even tells him to get out of there, but he refuses to leave her. And even when it basically means certain death (intentionally wrecking the ship HE IS ON by driving it into a demented Kraken-woman) he keeps fighting.

And he does it, by the way, by driving a shipwreck, which is the thematic thing bridging the gap between his world and Ariel’s. He’s standing on a shipwreck when he saves her. Shipwrecks are where she finds human things, and where she learned humans might be worth loving, and a shipwreck is how the human who loves her back saves her.

It’s beautiful. It’s perfect. It’s the right choice, the storytellers initially had a version where Eric wasn’t the one saving the day but Ariel was, and they scrapped that and did this instead because it was better.

And in the Live Action of course they ruined that and made Eric the damsel in distress and made Ariel the floppy fish fighter who steers the shipwreck and saves his life. Which is so lame. Because it also undermines how Triton would’ve learned that Eric was worth loving and Ariel was right to sacrifice for him. Triton needed to see Eric saving Ariel at the cost of his own wellbeing. I’ve said it before, but if Ariel saves Eric, all it proves to Triton is that she can clean up her own mess. Whereas in the original movie, Eric saving Ariel proves Ariel was right about him being loveable despite being a human.

So it’s a good thing the REAL The Little Mermaid made that right choice, because this is an excellent scene.

#4 When Eric Carries Melody

1. This film should have been released theatrically.

On principle, sure, and in the wake of corporate cronyism and media monopolies that appear increasingly rampant, absolutely. But The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender was very clearly produced for theatrical viewing in scale, detail, production design, and action choreography. This film was not produced for viewing on a computer screen, cell phone screen, or TV screen.

2. Zuko is insanely hot.

Zuko is the film's most interesting character, from an analytical standpoint: His dialogue is the least forced (and the voice acting is excellent); his character design feels on point; and his role as a supporting cast member is effective, but not over-indulged. Very little else need be said. But after seeing the crown prince of moping from two decades ago mature into a dignified diplomat who will drop absolutely everything to heed the call of his best friends? I really want a Zuko movie now.

3. Technical superiority.

The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender is yet another reminder of the great animation filmmaking we get if network and corporate ownership just get the hell out of the way. Nickelodeon gave Konietzko, DiMartino, and the gang its own studio, and said, "Have at it." This film's technical merits are phenomenal. The character animation, atmospheric animation, background artwork, and editing are all top of the line. The film's editing in particular is worthy of lengthy analysis. No scene, no shot, no pan takes longer than it needs to.

4. The voice acting is better than the written dialogue.

I'm sure some fans were disappointed when they heard about the shakeup in the vocal cast, given the shift in socio-cultural perceptions concerning media representation. Even so, professional voice acting from professional actors always rises to the top. Eric Nam ("Aang") is excellent: highly emotive, whimsical without being needlessly sentimental, and capable of true, righteous anger. Román Zaragoza ("Sokka") is completely indistinguishable from any fan's head-voice of Sokka-as-an-adult. Jessica Matten ("Katara") is good, but her dialogue is stiff and undemanding. Katara has an essential role, for viewers, when it comes to interpreting the rhythm of the film and its conflicts, but her dialogue is entirely conventional.

5. Theme.

The film's interlocking themes on personal legacy and calls for violent reconciliation weave to form a more commanding mode of commentary on cultural conservancy and on balancing salvation of ideology with preservation of authority. The year 2026 is as good of a year as any for the protagonist to declare that true power doesn't come from bending, but from values. Good stuff.

I did a little bit of work on this.

Finally returning from hiatus for #PortfolioDay (swipe for samples): hi, I'm Allison Perry! - I have experience in art direction, vis-dev/concept art, BG paint/design, props, and characters for TV, feature, games, and tech. Currently I'm doing environment design at Flying Bark, and my past clients include Disney, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network,  Gameloft, Snap Inc., and more. You can find my portfolio link here: https://www.allisonperryart.com/ and I'll be available for new work November 2023!