Sooo... How DID Ariel survive the fall?

[pokeria1]

In case you're wondering what this thread is about, in the final battle with Ursula, shortly After Eric is knocked back by a ship, Ursula turns to Ariel and blasts the rock she was on into smitherines, and Ariel falls down several hundred feet into the whirlpool (Through the "eye" BTW), and she survives despite it being over several hundred feet tall (not to mention the fact that rocks fell down with her).

That particular scene annoyed me to great insanity, since I kinda feel that they should be consistant with falls (I mean, people purport that Gaston died in the ravine, among other things.).

So... Any theories as to how she survived?

Personally, I think the reason why she survived is because she has some form of superhuman strength (the writers hinted at this when they first introduced to us Ariel's Grotto in the movie, since she moved away the boulder acting as a door to the grotto as if it were nothing, and considering how a boulder on land is heavy enough, and it being very deep underwater seems to maximize it's mass (or at least, it's heaviness, since if something with doors is deep underwater, it can't open up, and things get "heavier" underwater due to water pressure), it would take a great deal of strength to accomplish. I mean, most people with superstrength seem to survive those kinds of falls (Shadow the Hedgehog, Goku, Vegeta, Superman, etc, etc.). However, some other characters (like Gaston, for example) showed similar feats of strength, and yet it's unknown if they survived or not.

BTW, just to make it clear, Please don't answer with something like "she's the heroine, and thus she survives", since, even IF I believed that, I want something BESIDES that.

ALSO, I didn't make it as a Gaston dead or not thread, it's purely about Ariel, and I only mentioned Gaston as an example.

Anyways, discuss.

[ameliafish]

I would assume it's something like the DC superhero Aquaman. Because he lives deep down in the ocean his body has to be stronger to deal with the immense pressure. Of course that means it would only make her stronger in shallower water or on land....so I guess that throws out that theory.
So I guess my answer would have to be " "she's the heroine, and thus she survives" "

or maybe it's "the power of looooove" - (done in a sing song Celine Dion voice)

[pokeria1]

Well... Ok.

I don't quite get the whole "Love" thing causing her to survive a fall. I mean, I'm pretty sure someone doing something that gets them killed out of love for someone else would be killed as a result. I also think the whole Kiss thing in stuff like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White is impossible since, true love or not, they won't awake from that slumber, especially if they were dead.

As for your explaination in regards to Ariel, Actually, that might work, since Ariel was technically on land when she fell into the whirlpool (as, when a whirlpool is formed, a secton of dry land is exposed.). and, technically, if a Mermaid/Merman "falls" down something deep underwater, it wouldn't harm them since the sinking slows them down.

I won't comment on the "heroine" excuse, even though I kinda did say that that shouldn't be used. I'm only letting it slip by since you at least gave an explaination besides that (the whole "Aquaman" thing.)

BTW, I think that Ariel might also utilize electric powers and possibly climb up walls (though only because of "13th year")

[WickedElphie]

Well if you watch the film she doesn't fall straight down. She kinda spins on the air current, which i guess cushioned her fall enough to keep her from being severely injured.

[pokeria1]

Sept 24, 2008 19:59:07 GMT -5 WickedElphie said:

Well if you watch the film she doesn't fall straight down. She kinda spins on the air current, which i guess cushioned her fall enough to keep her from being severely injured.

I wouldn't call that "spinning on the air current". It would need to be a wider range for it to be that (you know, like how Team Rocket was spinning around the edges of Pidgeotto's gust attack in the Pokemon episode "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village"). She seemed to be falling straight down as far as I can see (as she was falling in a roughly straight line.) Besides, Darth Maul and Mace Windu fell down while spinning about, and they were STILL killed despite that.

Besides, it would still severely injure her, if not kill her. I mean, that whirlpool was about the size of a Skyscraper, if not higher, and someone who falls off of that, regardless if they spin around, will die instantly.

[WickedElphie]

There's definitely some spinning going on when she's blasted of the rock.

Screenshots.

Here: www.geocities.com/kimmymarienew11/ursulablastsrockoutfromunderariel.jpg

and here: www.geocities.com/kimmymarienew11/arielfallsintovortex.jpg

And FYI starting off a post with "err, no offense" comes off as incredibly condescending and disrespectful. Please don't do it again.

[fridamoonbeam]

Well, what Gaston had was a straight drop off the tower, so unless the Enchantress was at the bottom ready to save him..... I doubt he would have made it. lolz

And Ariel as Elphie pointed out, had done a lot of spinning, from the wind of the hurricane that Ursula had made. So it was more so "falling with style" XD

[pokeria1]

Well, even still, considering the height of the whirlpool, I still doubt she would have survived even WITH the spinning.

I mean, if I backflipped off of, oh, say, the Empire state building, for example, and did some spinning in the air, then, despite my spinning in the air, I'd still break almost every bone in my body, if not get killed. It's the same deal with the whirlpool.

Besides, A whirlpool is like a Tornado, in a sense, and most people who get caught in a tornado don't survive (or at least, they don't go unscathed.), so either way, by real life standards, she would have died.

[Ariel's Grotto]

This may sound silly, but I was always under the impression that her tail broke her fall. It was a subconscious thought, really, since I never stopped and seriously considered it before. But notice how all her weight is on her tail when she lifts up her upper body?? I know that probably doesn't make much sense either, but that was my take on it. I am not going to think about it anymore, honestly.

[buckmana]

Well, it is true that anything living in the sea is physically stronger then anything on land.

But I believe that Ariel didn't actually land on the rock in question.

It looks like she pulls herself up onto the rock from the water, so she landed in the shallow water around it.

I guess a mermaid would expert at diving from great heights, so Ariel adjusted her fall to make sure she would survive the drop from so high.

After all, cliff divers can leap into the water from a height that would normally kill someone because they know a techinique to hit the water "just right".

So, I guess this is what Ariel did.

[ainu]

I think your theory is the most logical, pokeria.
I can't think of any other reason why she'd survive the fall, other than she has certain capabilities that a human wouldn't have (the superhuman strength.)
But yeah, I think movies assume a lot of the time that people won't notice these things, and we do. X)

[macgregor]

Simple Disney magic lol

It's just easier. You're right ainu when you say they think we won't notice; the animators and storyboard crew all knew it's impossible but were sure you'd be so wrapped up in the story you wouldn't care, and they knew that those who did notice would only be die hard fans and we all know while Disney loves us for our devotion, they hate us for our nit-picking.
The boulder in front of her grotto used to bother me as a kid. I think they also thought that since Sebastian is smaller, you'd think the rock isn't that heavy and he's just a lot smaller.

[pokeria1]

The boulder in front of her grotto used to bother me as a kid. I think they also thought that since Sebastian is smaller, you'd think the rock isn't that heavy and he's just a lot smaller.

The Problem is that they also seemed to hint that that depth of water can kill someone (like Ariel's first transformation [as the animation made it seem more like she was not only drowning, but also getting crushed at the same time.] or Eric being dragged by Flotsam and Jetsam.).

Even with Sebastian, it still seems to hint that the water pressure/depth would make already heavy objects even more heavier, as in, almost impossible to move it. Plus, the Sebastian thing creates an even bigger plothole since, how was Flounder able to open the grotto door when he brought the Statue into it.

I still say it has to be Super Strength. Heck, for all we know, she could be physically powerful, even FOR a mermaid.

[macgregor]

Yeah Flounder bringing in the statue bothered me as well but I figured he got some other creatures to help. Atlanticans(?) are pretty friendly for the most part.

[ainu]

Ooh. I must be dumb - I always assumed the statue fell into her grotto in that exact place. XD
I swear, it must be Disney assuming most people don't think about these things. There are a million things I could speculate on and probably be occupied for weeks, lol.

[Jazzy]

Come on folks this is the EASIEST question ever. The answer is Disney magic of course. Thats the reason for everything you don't understand in a Disney movie.

I don't really see the reason to dwell so much into tiny details in a Disney film. It's supposed to be fun, adventurous, and lighthearted. Maybe, I'm missing something but I don't really understand what the big hullabaloo is about.

[ainu]

Well, sometimes these things can be fun to speculate. ^^