Mermaid & Man

Ariel is a free spirited 16-year-old mermaid princess with a beautiful voice, and she loves discovering new things. She has a particular fascination with the human world, and often goes treasure hunting in sunken ships. She believes that a world that makes such wonderful things like the dinglehopper and snarfblat can't be so bad, and wishes to be a part of that world.

Eric is the tall, dark, and handsome prince, who loves to sail and play the flute. He's the heir to a coastal kingdom, and he is feeling a bit pressured by his people to get married. He wants to find the right girl, and isn't feeling too rushed about marriage. He loves his dog Max, and would go to lengths to save him, like the time he runs back to his burning ship to save him.

Love Story

One fateful night, Ariel swims up to the ocean's surface and falls in love at first sight with Eric, the handsome prince who happened to be celebrating his birthday aboard his ship. However, the ship is suddenly caught in a devastating storm, and Ariel quickly rescues Eric from drowning and brings him ashore. He was still knocked unconscious, so she starts to sing in her melodious voice, and he slowly regains consciousness. But before he could catch a glimpse of his savior, she quickly returns to the sea, and he is only left with the haunting melody she sang to him... He vows to find this girl, as he's sure she's the one for him.

Ariel is also determined to become a part of Eric's world, and makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, to trade in her beautiful voice for human legs. If she can make the Prince kiss her by sunset on the third day, she'll become a human permanently. Up in the surface world, Ariel finally gets her chance to get close to Eric, when he finds her on the shore. He feels that he may've met her before, but is disappointed when he finds out that this girl couldn't talk. Frustrated, but not giving up just yet, Ariel does her best to make him fall in love with her, and it seems she's going to be successful.

At this point, Ursula disguises herself as a human named Vanessa and casts a spell on Eric, in order to block Ariel from accomplishing her goal. Ursula planned to make Eric marry her, but their wedding was thwarted by Ariel's sea friends, and in the chaos that ensued on the ship, Ariel got her voice back. With the spell broken, Eric sees that the girl he's been looking for all along was right there in front of him, but before they could kiss, Ursula turns Ariel back into a mermaid, as the sun had just set on the deadline. Ursula takes Ariel back into the ocean with her, but Eric vows that he won't lose Ariel twice, and jumps in after them.

The battle erupts into epic proportions, but Eric was able to steer a ship's mast into Ursula, killing her and bringing calm back to the sea. As Ariel sadly watches Eric washed ashore from a distance, King Triton looks on and realizes that his daughter really loves him, and that it's time to let her do what she wants. So he grants her the human legs she's always wanted, and she runs to shore excitedly just as Eric awakens. They embrace and finally share a kiss, and they soon get married ♥

In the sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to Sea, it is revealed that Ariel and Eric have a daughter named Melody.