An assassin, a spoiled teenager and a poet's dream: 10 mermaids from films and TV series (11 photos)

Beautiful and terrible, sweet-voiced and bloodthirsty - each in its own way describes the legendary water spirits.





Disney seems determined to remake all of its hits live-action. Now it’s the turn of “The Little Mermaid” in 1989. The new film will be released in May, and yesterday a new teaser for the remake appeared on the Internet. Film adaptations of Disney animated classics often disappoint audiences and critics, but children and nostalgic adults continue to look forward to new creations

"Princess of the Underwater Kingdom" (1975)



The Japanese cartoon repeats the tragic story of Andersen. The youngest daughter of the sea king is interested in the human world and inevitably falls in love with its representative. In this version, the father's strictness is softened by the grandmother's democracy, who, instead of punishing her for staying on the surface, rewards the princess with a party. However, changes in the educational style do not change anything: the little mermaid still ends up with the evil witch, who is truly frightening in this adaptation.

"The Little Mermaid" (1989)





One of the main cartoons of the era called the “Disney Renaissance” turned a sad fairy tale into a happy one. The ending of The Little Mermaid seems a little boring, especially compared to The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and others, but this is more than compensated for by the unique main character. Attitudes to her vary surprisingly: as an icon of the trans movement, as a spoiled teenager, as an independent woman, as a voter for a man, as an image of neurodivergent people.

"The Little Mermaid" (1976)



Atmospheric and surprisingly consistent in style and mood, the Soviet film rewarded a simple children's fairy tale with several plot details. Firstly, the story introduces the wandering poet Sulpitius, who is imbued with the heroine’s purity and sacrifices himself for her. Secondly, the witch played by Galina Volchek becomes a complex character, and not just a villain. She sings about how she would like to fall in love like the Little Mermaid, expresses regrets about her fate and even helps.

"H2O: Just Add Water" (2006–2010)



The Australian teen series has found fans all over the planet. It features not one, but three little mermaids with completely different characters: gentle and modest Cleo, smart and ambitious Emma, ​​uncompromising and brave Rikki.

There was also a place for love stories in the series, but not as tragic as in the original. The main plot point is the girls' desire to keep their unexpected ability to turn into mermaids a secret from society.

"The Little Mermaid" (1968)



The script for the cartoon was written by the poet Alexander Galich. In it, as in the Japanese version, music plays a huge role; you can hear, for example, a piece by Bach. In this serious adaptation, the Little Mermaid lost her sea best friend, but her sisters showed concern. They gave the witch their crowns, jewelry and hair to save their sister from turning into sea foam. The main villain of the story seems to be a narrow-minded and forgetful prince.

"The Shape of Water" (2017)



The Best Picture Oscar winner doesn't feature a beautiful girl with a ponytail singing about a prince, but it is truer to Andersen's original story in spirit and meaning than most. The main character Eliza is voiceless and obsessively dreams not of land, but of the sea. Her chosen one is an amphibian man caught in the Amazon. Just like most mermaids, Eliza feels out of place in her home world and is drawn to the water element and the mysterious alien from there.

"Sadko" (1952)



The beautiful Soviet film has plenty of charming heroines: Lydia Vertinskaya played the Phoenix Bird, Alla Larionova played Sadko’s earthly chosen one Lyubava. However, Ninel Myshkova in the role of the sea princess stands out among them. As in Andersen's original fairy tale, the daughter of the sea king helps the person she likes, the main character. Later, when he ends up in the underwater kingdom, she saves him, paying a high price, despite the fact that Sadko admits that he loves someone else.

"Splash" (1984)



The film proved that a classic rom-com could be made about the little mermaid. A child who cannot swim is saved by an underwater heroine of the same age. 20 years later, the situation repeats itself, and the little mermaid, who calls herself Madison, follows an unsuspecting man, played by Tom Hanks, to New York.

Daryl Hannah, who played the role of the little mermaid, did an excellent job of swimming underwater with a tail, because as a child she adored this fairy tale and swam with her legs crossed, imagining herself as the heroine.

"Ponyo on the Cliff" (2008)



The story, created by Hayao Miyazaki, is very similar to the one Disney made in 1989. A sea dweller living with her father develops feelings for the earthly boy Sosuke and dreams of moving to land. Only the heroes of this cartoon are much younger: they are five years old, there are no obvious villains, and Ponyo herself has the ability to turn into a human. The character of the heroine is also similar to Ariel: the same indomitable curiosity and systematic impulsiveness.

"Mermaid" (2016)



The film became a hit in its native China and beyond, grossing a record $553 million at the box office. In it, the company of the young and handsome Liu Xuan inadvertently destroys the mermaid society. They send the charming and skillful Shen to seduce and kill him. As you might guess, feelings flare up between the two, which becomes a problem. "The Mermaid" is a thrilling action movie at times, and is also visually large and attractive.