Ursula Is The Victim: This Boss Mom's Little Mermaid Hot Take Changes Everything
"The Little Mermaid" revisionism has started, and we're totally here for it. Disney's animated classic, which received a live-action remake that had X, formerly known as Twitter, in tears, has always been considered a traditional story about good vs evil. In the franchise, naive mermaid Ariel makes a deal with the "evil" sea witch Ursula to become human so she can find true love with the handsome Eric. The film paints Ursula as a villain, but a viral TikTok hot take has us second guessing if Ariel is the one who bamboozled the sea dweller.
TikTok user @otakoyakisoba recently shared a video of a mom explaining that Ursula is simply a businesswoman who explicitly laid out the terms and conditions of the titular little mermaid's transformation. She presents an empathetic view of Ursula, a woman who was just trying to get things done.
@otakoyakisoba Mama LuLu's hot take on The Little Mermaid movie. @Mama LuLu
"But Ariel signed the contract," she boldly says. "The crab warned her. [Flounder] warned her. And also the sexy father warned her," she says, making it clear that Ariel knew exactly what she was signing up for. She even points out that Ursula sings "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (a song that was updated for the 2023 live action remake) before Ariel agrees, signaling that the sea witch explicitly outlines just how bad things could get for the little mermaid. Despite Ursula's explicit and transparent warnings, Ariel still agreed to sign the contract — so it's unfair of her to cry victim after the fact, blaming Ursula for her own poor decision-making skills.
Ursula might not be as bad as we thought
Simply put, the TikTok mom is speaking facts. Ursula repeatedly warns Ariel about what's going to happen, but the Little Mermaid still agrees, and then regrets her decision. While things are obviously more complicated than that, the fact of the matter is that Ariel just simply didn't listen to instructions. Our TikTok star's hot take positions Ursula as an enterprising businesswoman who simply found a niche in helping out tortured souls (for a price). Beyond that, the mom of the viral video thinks that Ariel's whole mission was flawed and, simply put, stupid. "She did it for feet and for Eric, he's not even that cute! He looks like a toothpaste," she exclaims, critical of the lead character's pursuits.
When confronted with the fact that Ursula sabotaged Ariel, the boss mom simply says that it doesn't matter: "Ursula is a businesswoman." What about Ariel's losing her voice? Well, the boss mom claims that it's simply "interest," meaning that it was baked into the clause. This hot take totally paints Ariel as an evil, bratty, spoiled child trying to ruin an entrepreneur's livelihood.
In fact, Ursula was banished before the events of "The Little Mermaid," which suggests that King Triton wanted total control of the entire underwater economy. Ursula might be evil, but she's operating as part of the free market... so let her live!