Disney's Little Mermaid, like other films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan, were not original creations of Disney. While Disney modified characters, story, plot and added an animated twist, these folktales existed previously. Hans Christian Andersen was the original creator of Little Mermaid. In Bendix's piece regarding Little Mermaid, there is something that she says in the opening of her article, "Once folktales are set into print, music, or paint, they lose the fluidity and adaptability of orality, they are fixated in time and space (280)
I don't know if I completely agree with that statement. I look to the classic tale of Peter Pan. Peter Pan was a folktale that was adapted by Disney into the animated film Peter Pan in 1953. According to Bendix's statement there is no room for adaptability anymore and the images portrayed in this film make sure viewers exclude all other imagination (Bendix 2). This is not the case as the tale of Peter Pan has been adapted in more than films. For example the movie, Hook (1991), introduced a new theme for Peter Pan as well as adding a few new members to the story. In this film adaptation, Peter Pan is no longer a young boy, but a grown man and returns to Neverland to save his children. Pan had always been portrayed as a child but this movie decided to make a change in its new adaptation.
This is why I have a hard time agreeing with Bendix as I've shown on at least one occasion there were other films created after the iconic Disney version with altered stories or adaptations.
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