She never think before act and too easy for believe to other people.

i never understood how can someone change themselves completely for their dreams

^ Well, that hasn't happened for you...but it's actually happening for me.

^i meant as your true-self. Completely changing your environment can be understood

^Ariel's true-self did not change. She was always going to be "a human" mentally. She just wanted to make her exterior fit her mental self-image. Lots of people have issues making their "exteriors" meet their mental self-image.

the problem is there was nothing wrong in being a mermaid, she had a fairly good time under water, had loving sisters and friends, finally there was music too and her father wasn't as strict. She was just fascinated with "other world" and "its benefits" and that's not a good excuse for me to leave my home and family, change myself just to fulfill a more fanciful life. Or even if you want to, coz honestly, its everyone's individual choice what kind of life to lead - fanciful or not, she never appreciated being a mermaid. She was always saying she was limited, "not that much fun" down under, never appreciated all the fun their friends tried to make around her, she was too indulged in her own wish.

^I can draw and so can my brother and sister. But my brother and sister both LOVE video games, and they aren't very interesting to me at all. I know a bit about them, and I can "try to feed off of" their enthusiasm, but if I am perfectly honest...I don't relate to them there at all.

That's how it is with Ariel. Everyone who "loves" being a mermaid is happy enough to include her in their fun, and make her part of their activities. But Ariel could only try "to feed off of" their enthusiasm. She wasn't enthusiastic about life under the sea, herself. Contentment is in the eye of the beholder. Besides, Triton was a very strict parent, and he didn't like or allow any of Ariel's hobbies ( where her true enthusiasm was). So Ariel was under a lot of "stress." She was trying to be as cheerful and respectful as much as she could, but by being unable to "enjoy" things others enjoyed, she was a social pariah. Plus, from what I saw, Triton and Sebastian were all about using "her voice" to prop up "their reputations" as "being father of the best singer under the sea" and "court composer designing the best symphonies to really show off this mermaid's voice." That all sounds terribly exploitative to me, especially if you all but cut off ANYTHING the mermaid herself wants to do...

So, basically, Ariel was a human, and it took forever for her family and friends to "accept it" and stop forcing "expectations" on her that didn't fit who she was.

I don't like this in anyone.

I like if people are rebellious for good reason and let's face it, most teens are at least somewhat rebellious at some point, without rebels history would be a lot worse and tyrants would always have their way, our Founding Fathers were rebels and so many others so a rebellious nature is not "bad" in my opinion depending on the situation and I just see Ariel as an average teenager so I don't dislike her rebelliousness, I prefer that too characters that are too proper and obedient to the point where they just follow other people's will without speaking up, I don't like that in anyone. I do think she is a bit reckless and impulsive, not that being impulsive is always bad, but I also feel that she is too trusting, but so is Snow White and I love her so....

Also Rebellious

This is the only one I don't really like. She agrees to this deal that has more cons than pros to it.
She has a short time limit to make Eric fall in love with her, she has to to it without a voice, AND if she fails, she becomes a slave to the sea witch. I definitely still like her. I just would never agree to that.

This is the only one I fully agree with. I don't think she is "unappreciative of her true identity" and I don't even know what that means. Her true identity is the Ariel with legs, who she's always wanted to be and finally got to achieve. She embraced her true identity so this option makes no sense whatsoever to me. I don't think she's "rebellious" for rebellious sake, I think she is just more impulsive and flighty which comes off rebellious. I don't believe she's "foolishly romantic" at all, she made it happen so she's no "fool". Again, fail to see how "day-dreamer" is a negative.

@ wavesurf and @laylastepford:
she WANTED to be human, she wasn't BORN human. She was born mermaid, her home was under the sea, atlantica city. And she wanted to be human for exactly the same reason - she thought of it as a better world than hers. That's downright unappreciative of what you've been given. I don't say that she shouldn't have dreamed or wished for better/different world, I'm saying while she did that she complained about how life isn't as good down under. Not being enthusiastic about something which has no problem at all is called unappreciative/inconsiderate. She was well provided for, given enough freedom to roam about the sea (just don't go to surface), wasn't being forced into marriage/princess duties/honor to family.
The song part of your world strongly hints at both her being tired of living under sea and wanting more - "you'd think, She's a girl who has everything but who cares, no big deal, i want more." "Fins don't get you too far, feet are required for jumping and dancing" "bright young women, sick of swimming, ready to stand" - she doesn't see that she's already jumping and dancing with her fins. I want more too in life, mostly many people does, but i don't undervalue what has been given and provided to me.

anukriti2409: I know she WANTED to be human because that's who she was inside. Her exterior doesn't define her interior. The symbolism in this film is about people being racist and prejudice and not open to experiencing new cultures. Triton had one horrible traumatic experience with the human race so prejudged all of them and became a bigot about it, not open to communicating about the subject at all. I cant believe you would blame Ariel for not being racist and prejudiced. Do you believe that Indians should only marry other Indians? Do you believe that Africans should only marry other Africans? Do you believe that Italians should only marry other Italians? Do you believe Indonesians should only marry other Indonesians? I don't and if someone of one race wanted to explore a new country or marry someone of another race, I would not tell them that they are being "unappreciative of their true identity". I don't agree with that even 1%. It's not unappreciative to not want to be racist and closed-minded, sorry I don't agree with you at all.

I wasn't talking symbolism at all here, first. Even if it is. I was saying, even if Indians want to marry Italians, Indians should not undervalue being an Indian in the first place. I never once said, she shouldn't be open about other races/culture, i'm saying she should not be closed about her own race/culture. Sure, get married, live their, do a job in new country, have kids, do whatever in whichever place BUT don't de-value your origins. How can she be assume that "bright young women" will be "sick of swimming" and only "wanted to stand". Her own daughter showed that she herself had become closed off and become bigot after one incident, just like her dad. And that's exactly why Melody didn't want to stay on land as much as she wanted to be mermaid.

anukriti2409: Well the movie and her character are symbolic so I thought we were talking relative to that since it would be most accurate that way. I don't know if you realize this or not but different cultures treat women different ways and have different preferences so it makes perfectly reasonable and logical sense for her to believe that a different culture might treat women differently and have different activities. She never assumed that people only "wanted to stand", she thought they liked "jumping", "dancing" and "walking" etc. I'm not getting into sequels here sorry. I haven't seen all sequels and the ones I have seen, I have seen once and a long time ago. Whatever happened in the sequel is irrelevant to the argument here because we are talking about the original film and character.

^And how is she unappreciative of her true identity? Her true identity is not so narrow that it is defined solely by her race. Being a mermaid is not her true identity just like being mixed races, an American or a female is not my true identity.

How is being a daydreamer a bad thing?

She specifically says, " sick of swimming " using word like READY " to stand", means she undervalue swimming to standing. I know different culture treats woman differently. Thats i dont feel any problem in her marrying into a different culture. My problem, i'll say it again, is not appreciting the culture she was born into.
Being female and an american is a part of tour identity even if you were to move to Britain tomorrow. Or if you've been married into a different culture. That doesnt make u less of American. Thats how she is unappreciative of her true identity.

@scarletunicorn: have explained in one of the series under this poll how day dreaming is bad trait

For the movie, it's fine. But for real life, it's totally exasperating!

anukriti2409: I don't see how "sick of swimming" is undervaluing it. She's done it and she is ready for new experiences, how is that undervaluing the ones she's had? I don't believe that being ready for new experiences automatically means undervaluing the previous experiences, I think it's just progressing and moving forward. I don't see how she doesn't appreciate the culture she was born into. She just appreciates the human culture more and that is her choice and preference. I'm surprised you wouldn't call it her "right"?

Actually it's really funny that you would say that about moving because honestly if I were to move to Britain tomorrow I would lose all American identity as I appreciate British culture highly and dream of moving there one day. If I moved to a new country and embraced a new culture, it would make me less American because I wouldn't be of American culture anymore. I agree that being a female is part of my true identity but not being American. American is a culture not an identity. It can be a part of identity but not "true identity" the way it's being used here. I don't see at all how Ariel is unappreciative of her true identity as I think she embraces her true identity by becoming a human since that's what was true in her heart. Also not to get weird but mermaid is half human and half fish which means maybe she was pulled to the human world genetically because of the fact that she is part human and maybe all the merpeople are the ones who are unappreciative of their true identity since they hate half of themselves, the human half.

assuming that every "bright young women" would be "sick of swimming" is unappreciative/inconsiderate of someone else's opinions. She was sick of it, agreed, but why does all women have to be sick about , i dont get it at all. I think her father and sisters were perfectly happy being under water.
She also said "fins dont get you too far" - how? It does took her to the surface time and again. She thought she could only dance and jump with her feet - wasn't she dancing and swirling during this song with fins only? So how come feet are required in specific to dancing. She also strolled in ocean valleys with her fins only, hows it different than strolling the streets, i fail to understand completely.
I never said being ready for new experiences "automatically" undervalues previous experiences. It's a choice one makes with previous experience that determines whether they value it or undervalue it.
I'll repeat myself again: I never said that she shouldn't choose to be human. But alongside being human, she could also choose to still value under water life culture.
Then, i think i was wrong in presuming that you'd take your culture along to Britain. My mistake. I should have given a more personal view point on this. I love Irish culture - so if i were to move there tomorrow, I'd take along a lot of Indian values with me and i'd value it equally as i would learn about new Irish values. I would not totally forget about being Indian.
So, for Ariel, i thought how could she wanted to give up being mermaid so easily and so completely over being human. Like its not there in her body at all. that's why the term "true" coz its very much there as her part.

^ I don't know how accurate that perception is of what Ariel was saying. Since the full lines are "Betcha' on land, they'd understand Bet they don't reprimand their daughters Bright young women, sick of swimming Ready to stand" I did not take it like she was saying that "bright young women are sick of swimming" at all. I took it like she said that she thinks on land, parents "don't reprimand their daughters" because they see them as "bright young women". I think she then went on to a new thought of herself being "sick of swimming" and "ready to stand".

Just because her father and sisters were perfectly happy in their narrow-minded environment doesn't mean Ariel should stoop to fit her surroundings. She was above and beyond them much like Pocahontas for her tribe. Why should she have to settle for less than what she knows she wants and is worth? I don't get the "gang mentality" of "you live here so you have to like it and stay forever". Let me tell you something about America, we have many subcultures that are polar opposites of each other. In San Francisco we have a culture of openly gay people and couples who are the majority of the population and they have their own culture and perceptions. In Alabama we have a culture of not accepting gay people or accepting them but not wanting to know they exist. Would you tell a gay person from Alabama that they should just accept their "true identity" by staying somewhere that they cant be themselves even though it's not hurting anyone or would you encourage them to move to San Francisco where they can do all of the things they want to do to their hearts content? It seems harsh to deny someone their dream simply based on where they were born and it also seems very harsh to box someone into a certain role just because of things they were born with and cannot choose.

She said "flippin your fins you don't get too far, legs are required for jumping, dancing, strolling along down the (what's that word again? Oh..) street." This isn't undervaluing it, she's fairly valuing it. All she can do is swim with fins and she can't do all of the other things she wants to do. That's not undervaluing swimming or fins, it's being accurate and honest about it in comparison to having legs and the plethora of activities that come from having legs. The "dancing" she did as a mermaid was not the same as dancing as a human. Someone who dreams of flying isn't undervaluing walking, they're just dreaming of doing something new. Are you at all against new ideas?

I think your use of the word "undervalue" is incredibly extreme. Someone choosing a new activity over an old activity is not "undervaluing" the old activity at all. Some people are just more dynamic than others. Weren't you complaining Pocahontas was singular (though I disagree 100%)? Ariel is not singular, she doesn't want to just do the one same thing of swimming all the time.

You are projecting that she didn't value under water life culture but you have no proof that she didn't value it. She just values land culture more and that is her choice and nothing wrong with that. If we're supposed to be coming a globalized nation than how can you fault someone for not wanting to limit themselves to their culture only? All of the mermaids were limiting themselves to only their culture and Ariel was the only one who was open-minded enough to want to experience new cultures. She should be hailed for that, not faulted in my opinion.

Since I do live in America, I'd like to bring up a very relative example with moving and culture. America was founded on "dropping one's past culture and adopting a new one". That is how America became the #1 place for immigrants to seek out. America was not limited to one culture but an amalgam of many cultures. If everyone who came to America refused to put American culture over their own culture then we would have many inner-wars that would destroy the country from within since no one would be willing to compromise. If people saw their old culture as their "true identity" instead of the aspired culture of America as their "true identity" then we would be full of people who are not willing to compromise for a better society overall. That is why I completely disagree with you 100% that Ariel was denying/rejecting her true identity and I believe the opposite, she was fully embracing her true identity.

Obviously you value Indian and Irish culture equally which is fine for you but that doesn't mean Ariel has to value Human culture equally to Mermaid culture. I am mixed of many sub-groups of Caucasian, Asian, Native American, and Polynesian/Pacific Islander and I don't value all of those cultures completely equally. There are some things I like more in some cultures over others and I don't think it's right that anyone would try to make me feel obligated to like all cultures equally. All of these cultures would treat women differently and I am a woman so why should I be forced to value the culture that thinks I'm less of a person because I am a woman as equally as I value the culture that thinks my being a woman does not make me a lesser person? That honestly seems insane to me.

"True" is long-lasting and eternal to me in phrases like "true love" or "true identity". She is not truly a mermaid, she is truly an open-minded person.

i am reckless to, but i hate being that way myself and that ariel is reckless

Also unrelatable, quite boring and I dislike her design.

And foolishly romantic.