Fact From Fiction Vol.1: The little mermaid
When people hear ‘The little Mermaid’ their thoughts turn to Disneys 1989 hit film about a mermaid princess named Ariel but what most people do not know is that this story is loosely based on a danish fairytale. Hans Christian Anderson wrote the little mermaid, originally titled ‘Den Lille Havfrue’ in 1837 as part of a fairytale collection for children. The original story is only about 12 pages in length & differs from the tale told in the film. The little mermaid in Hans story doesn’t a name and is simply referred to as ‘the little mermaid’ and whereas people see the princess in the film as a selfish 16 year old who causes trouble for a world she knows nothing about, the character in original story is a princess whose desires are similar but who proves to be more selfless than the girl in the film.
But don’t let me tell you, you can read it for yourself in the link below.