In my last game of what do they want, I did Bruce the Shark from Jaws. Let’s stick under the sea with this next round with Ariel from Disney’s 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid.
Ariel loves saving and collecting things from the surface world, saying, “I just don’t see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad!”
Ariel is so focused on saving that it makes up the first three verses of her “I want” song, Part of Your World.
Look at this stuff
Isn’t it neat?
Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete?
Wouldn’t you think I’m the girl
The girl who has everything?
Look at this trove
Treasures untold
How many wonders can one cavern hold?
Looking around here you’d think
Sure, she’s got everything
I’ve got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty
I’ve got whozits and whatzits galore
You want thingamabobs?
I’ve got twenty!
But who cares?
No big deal
I want more!
Ariel is a legendary collector. Besides the items she sings about here, Ariel also has a dinglehopper and a snarfblatt. I don’t know if she has many collecting rivals in the Disney animated universe. In the Marvel universe, they have someone called ‘The Collector,’ but if Ariel’s story took her past her teenage years, she might give him a run for his money. It is safe to say saving is one of her primary motivators.
Ariel is also fiercely curious. She studies humans constantly, learning what they do, how they behave, and thinks about them non-stop. Ariel is not correct in her assumptions, as a seagull is the best informant she has about how humans live. But she wants to live with humans and learn their language to ask questions and explore.
And ready to know what the people know
Ask ’em my questions and get some answers
What’s a fire and why does it, what’s the word?
Burn?
When’s it my turn?
Wouldn’t I love, love to explore that shore up above?
When she makes it to the surface, she learns to walk, run, and how to follow human customs. She dances and rides horses, all in the three days she has to woo Prince Eric.
This brings us to her next desire, Romance. Ariel’s goal in the film is courting. She must make Eric fall in love with her in three days, or she will turn back into a mermaid owned by Ursula. Fortunately, Eric is already in love with her voice after she saves him from drowning in a storm.
While most Disney princesses can sing, it is Ariel’s prized ability and gift. She is the best singer in the undersea kingdom of Atlantica. That is why Ursula wants her voice. It is Ariel’s most prized possession, and how Eric would recognize and fall in love with her.
I thought maybe acceptance was part of Ariel’s motivations, but curiosity covers most of those situations. As Triton’s baby girl, she has plenty of acceptance already in the kingdom. But she is fine being an oddball as long as she gets to explore. She worries about not seeing her family again when she deals with Ursula, but honor and nurturing do not seem to fit either. I think saving, curiosity, and romance describe Ariel’s motivations.
So how do we sort these desires? I think saving has to go first because Ariel does not seek Ursula until her father destroys her collection of treasures. Ariel’s innate talents in romance are the most obvious. She is a beautiful girl, with a fantastic singing voice. But for her motivations, I think romance is in third place. She falls in love with Prince Eric, but that is because of her curiosity and collecting human artifacts. People fall in love no matter what their desires are. Ariel is talented in beauty, art, and attraction, but I think it motivates her less than saving and curiosity.
So here is my guess for Ariel’s top three desires using Steven Reiss’ 16 desires.
- Saving (Collecting, Preserving, Valuing)
- Curiosity (Explore, Analyze, Discuss)
- Romance (Beauty, Art, Attraction)
And now a funny side note Ariel shares two desires with me, and I did not realize it until I walked through her character arc. I am embarrassed! It seems obvious now, but you have to dig a bit and weigh the desires to test what makes people tick. I guessed Ariel was going to be into acceptance and independence. What a mistake!
I thought I could spot someone who shared desires with me, but moments like this make me enjoy this game. Our desires are complex. Sixteen options may not seem like that many, but how they interact and manifest keeps surprising me.
Daniel N. Blair 