Ocean Folklore & Fairy Tales

Film Study: Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” “Ponyo,” and “Song of the Sea”

What are Fairy tales and Folklore?Fairy tales: stories featuring magic and magic creatures.

Folklore: stories passed around from person-to-person, long before being written down.

Many fairy tales start out as folklore.

The original versions of many fairy tales were much scarier than the modern versions altered for children.

The Little Mermaid’s AuthorAuthor: Hans Christian Andersen

Born: Denmark 1805 Died: 1875

Specialized in: Fairy Tales

Famous works:

The Little Mermaid

The Emperor’s New Clothes

The Ugly Duckling

The Snow Queen

Famous StatueDenmark’s statue of The Little Mermaid is famous for being the most photographed statue in Denmark. People take over 5 million photos of it per year.

Film TermsAdaptation: a movie, television drama, or stage play that has been adapted from a written work, typically a novel.

Faithful Adaptation: an adaptation that captures the essence of the original source. Ex: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Loose Adaptation: an adaptation in which only a superficial resemblance exists to the original source. Ex: Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Interpretation: A work that took inspiration from another work, but has been reinvented to the point of being distinctly different. Ex: Ponyo

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”Premiered in 1989. Kicked off the Disney Renaissance, a period of rebirth of the Disney musical.

Won an Academy Award for “Best Music, Original Score”

Controversy:

● Changing of source material (it’s a loose adaptation)

● Racial Stereotypes (Sebastian the Crab, the fluke fish, and the black fish)

Studio Ghibli’s “Ponyo”Studio Ghibli: a Japanese animation film studio.

Ponyo premiered in 2008.

Originally in Japanese.

An interpretation of The Little Mermaid.

Won “Anime of the Year” in 2009 and 4 other awards at the Tokyo Anime Awards.

Cartoon Saloon’s “Song of the Sea”Cartoon Saloon: An Irish animation studio

“Song of the Sea” premiered in 2014.

Won “Best Animated Feature” at the European Film Awards

Interpretation of selkie folklore.

Selkie: A magical creature who is a human on land and a seal in the sea.