The Little Mermaid

Factual error: At the end of the film, when Ursula has Triton's powers, she creates an enormous whirlpool that pulls wrecked ships off the ocean's floor. Prince Eric boards one of the ships that is being swept along with the whirlpool's currents, then turns the rudder hard to steer the ship into Ursula. Not possible - in order for the rudder to change the course of a ship the vessel must be moving faster than the current.

Factual error: After Ariel is changed into a human, she swims frantically to the surface for air, and when she comes up she does the magnificent throwing her head back and splashing water everywhere - we've all seen it. But this would mean she would have to actually tilt her head further down in the water before breaking the surface, so she could then throw it back- something that makes no sense for a person who's about to drown, and wants air as soon as possible. Can't have been a "hair in face" problem - her hair was streaming out behind her underwater, so wouldn't have been in the way if she'd broken the surface face first.

The Little Mermaid mistake picture

Factual error: When Louis the cook chases Sebastian in the kitchen, Sebastian hides in a cabinet full with plates and bowls which reflect the rabid cook's image. However, in both real and mirror-reversed image, his actual right arm (with the mallet) is raised up high. (00:54:15)

Factual error: When Louis the chef starts to sing he mentions typical French things like "Maurice Chevalier", a french actor who became very famous as of the 1920's. Though the movie is timeless, the clothes and lifestyle (pirates, ships, horse carriages) set it long before the 20th and even the 19th century.

Sacha

The Little Mermaid mistake picture

Continuity mistake: At the start, when King Triton makes his appearance he's holding dolphin reins, and at first it's shown as two separate straps in Triton's hand as he tells Sebastian he's looking forward to the performance, but when Sebastian replies that it will be the finest concert he's ever conducted, Triton lets go of the rein and it's a single continuous strap. (00:04:15)

Super Grover

More mistakes in The Little Mermaid

Sebastian: Somebody's got to nail that girl's fins to the floor.

More quotes from The Little Mermaid

Trivia: The two minute storm took 10 special effects artists over a year to finish.

Disney-Freak

More trivia for The Little Mermaid

Question: I once heard that there's a shell somewhere in the movie that has a profanity written on it. Is this true?

Answer: Yet another Disney urban legend.

Jazetopher

More questions & answers from The Little Mermaid

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