Disney has dominated the film industry, but it hasn't had much luck in the realm of video games. Plenty of Disney characters have been thrown into video games, but outside the Kingdom Hearts series, few of them have found mainstream success. However, Disney still has a chance to penetrate the market, and the time may be just right for The Little Mermaid to be reintroduced to the gaming scene.
The classic story was brought to the big screen by Disney in 1989, telling the tale of a mermaid named Ariel who is very curious. When she falls in love with a prince who lives on land, she disobeys her father and seeks help from a sinister sea witch named Ursula who transforms Ariel into a human. However, Ursula has ulterior motives, taking advantage of Ariel's trusting nature. With a new The Little Mermaid live-action movie on the way, it may be the perfect opportunity for a AAA game about Ariel.
Water in Gaming Has Come a Long Way
One of the earliest The Little Mermaid games was released in 1991 for the NES and the Game Boy, based on the 1989 animated film, and a more recent offering was The Little Mermaid Pinball on PC in 2005. It has been over a decade since the last The Little Mermaid game, and one could argue part of this comes from The Little Mermaid's underwater setting being difficult to translate into a game. Animating water is difficult enough, but crafting water that interacts believably with the environment is an even more of a daunting task, making the development of a The Little Mermaid game unattractive.
Water rendering has come a long way since 2005, as seen in recent games that feature plenty of underwater levels. In Horizon Forbidden West for instance, Aloy can dive underwater to pluck vegetation, catch fish, and search for valuable resources. The underwater environments are large, and exploring them can be as captivating as exploring the world above water. Similarly, in The Last of Us 2 Ellie travels to Seattle, where it rains so hard that the streets are flooded and she must use a boat to travel. When Ellie ducks underwater to avoid her foes, the movement feels natural.
The Little Mermaid Tells a Timeless Tale
The Little Mermaid is a fairy tale originally written by Hans Anderson. In 1985, when Disney was still working on The Great Mouse Detective, the idea to adapt The Little Mermaid into a film was put forward. At first, Disney’s Jeffrey Katzenberg was hesitant to go ahead with the idea, believing the film appealed primarily to women and would consequently not rake in large profits. Secondly, he was concerned that it was too similar to the 1984 movie Splash. Nevertheless, Disney gave the film the green light, and the film brought in over $235 million in profits - now considered to be the start of the Disney renaissance.
The Little Mermaid resonated with audiences around the world, attributed to how well the story deals with universal themes. Ariel is likable, and her desire to break free of her father’s control and see more of the world is a feeling that many can relate to. Conversely, the instinct to protect one’s children from danger the way that Triton protects Ariel is also relatable to many parents. Within The Little Mermaid, Ariel learns independence and self-confidence, but she also learns that the world is a dangerous place, and she must be on the lookout for folks like Ursula who just appear friendly at first.
The Little Mermaid connected with the public when Anderson published the story in 1837, and it resonated with audiences once again when Disney adapted it to film. With yet another movie set to release in 2023, the story will likely resonate with a new audience, and a video game would have the opportunity to shine.
The Era of Video Game Heroines
For much of gaming’s history, the medium has been dominated by males and appealed to male power fantasies. While there is nothing inherently wrong with having male protagonists, recent years have seen an influx of heroines powerful enough to stand alongside their counterparts. These heroines have managed to thrive, break records, and leave an impact. This can be seen with female protagonists such as Aloy, who has become a gaming icon through the Horizon series, and Nadine Ross of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, who proves that a woman can be just as good of a treasure hunter as Nathan Drake. Not to mention classic characters like Lara Croft, who will soon reappear in a new Tomb Raider game.
The focus on heroines can also be spotted in the realm of superheroes, as Insomniac has announced a Wonder Woman game is in development. The time seems right for The Little Mermaid’s Ariel to take center stage in her very own game, especially considering of all the Disney princesses, Ariel tends to receive less attention. She is still a wildly popular character, and her story is timeless. Ariel’s franchise has lain dormant for a while, but with a film coming soon and a gaming scene that embraces heroines more than ever, there may be a great opportunity for a new The Little Mermaid game to take gamers under the sea.