The Little Mermaid Quotes (1989)

The Little Mermaid Quotes (1989)

Scuttle: [singing loudly and off-key] Wa wa wa, wa wa!

Prince Eric: Wow. Somebody should find that poor animal and put it out of its misery.

Ariel: [singing] Up where they walk / Up where they run / Up where they stay all day in the sun / Wanderin' free / Wish I could be / Part of that world...


Ursula: You'll have your looks... your pretty face... and don't underestimate the importance of "bo-dy lan-guage." Ha!


Ursula: The men up there don't like a lot of blabber / They think a girl who gossips is a bore / Yes, on land it's much preferred / for ladies not to say a word / After all, dear, what is idle prattle for? / Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation / True gentlemen avoid it when they can / But they dote and swoon and fawn / On a lady who's withdrawn / It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man.

Sebastian: Are you sure about this?

Scuttle: Have I ever been wrong? I mean when it's important!

Sebastian: The newt play the flute / The carp play the harp / The plaice play the bass / And they soundin' sharp / The bass play the brass / The chub play the tub / The fluke is the duke of soul.

Fluke: Yeah!

Sebastian: The ray he can play / The ling's on the strings / The trout's rocking out / The blackfish she sings / The smelt and the sprat / They know where it's at / And oh, that blowfish blow! Ha-ha!


Ariel: Flounder, don't be such a guppy.

Flounder: I'm not a guppy.


Grimsby: [leaning over rail] Oh, yes... urp... delightful.

Ariel: I love you, Daddy.


Ursula: Now, here's the deal. I will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got that? Three days. Now listen, this is important. Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get dear ol' princey to fall in love with you. That is, he's got to kiss you. Not just any kiss - the kiss of true love. If he does kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you'll remain human, permanently, but - if he doesn't, you turn back into a mermaid, and - you belong to me!

Sebastian: Like I always say, Your Majesty, "children have got to be free to lead their own lives."

Triton: You always say that, Sebastian?

Sebastian: [nervous] Tee-hee.

Triton: Well... I guess there's one problem left.

Sebastian: And what's that, Your Majesty?

Triton: How much I'm going to miss her.

Sebastian: This has got to be, without a doubt, the single most humiliating day of my life!

[Ariel pats him on the head]

Sebastian: I hope that you appreciate what I go through for you, young lady! Now, we got to make a plan to get that boy to kiss you. Tomorrow, when he takes you for that ride, you gotta look your best! You gotta bat your eyes, like this.

[does so]

Sebastian: You gotta pucker up your lips, like this...

[does so, notices that Ariel has fallen asleep. He sighs, and blows out the candle]

Sebastian: You are hopeless, child. You know that. Completely hopeless.

Scuttle: [breathlessly] I was flyin', I - of course I was flyin' - and I saw that the watch... the witch, was watchin' in a mirror and she was singin' with a stolen set of pipes. Do you hear what I'm tellin' you?

[picks up Sebastian and slams him down on every word]

Scuttle: The prince... is marryin'... the sea witch... in disguise!

Prince Eric: [upon first meeting Ariel, after she's signed her soul over to Ursula, lost her voice, been turned into a human, and nearly drowned] Gee, you must have really been through something.

Scuttle: We're out to discover!

Scuttle: It's a dinglehopper. Humans use these little babies... to straighten their hair out. See? Just a little twirl here and a yank there and voila. You've got an aesthetically pleasing configuration of hair that humans go nuts over.

Ariel: I've never seen a human this close before. Oh... he's very handsome, isn't he?

[Scuttle looks at the dog and scratches his neck]

Scuttle: I don't know, he looks kind of hairy and slobbery to me.


Ariel: [sung] I don't know when/I don't know how/But I know something's starting right now/Watch and you'll see/Some day I'll be/Part of your world.

Ursula: [singing] I admit that in the past I've been nasty/They weren't kidding when they called me, well a witch/But you'll find that now-a-days/I've mended all my ways, repented, seen the light and took a switch/true? Yes. And I fortunately know a little magic/It's a talent that I always have possessed, but now dear lately, please don't laugh/I use it on behalf, of the miserable, lonely and depressed!

[conjures a fat mermaid and a skinny merman]

Ursula: [to Flotsam & Jetsam] Pathetic!

Ursula: [Continues singing] Poor, unfortunate souls! So sad, so true! This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl and do I help them?

[snaps fingers and the pair become fit and hug each other]

Ursula: Yes, indeed! Now it's happened once or twice/someone couldn't pay the price/and I'm afraid I have to rake them across the coals!

[turns them into seaweed people]

Ursula: Yes I have had my share of complaints but on the whole I've been a saint!... to those Poor Unfortunate Sou-uls!

Prince Eric: Well, what do you say? Would you like to join me on a tour of my kingdom tomorrow?

[Ariel nods with delight]

Grimsby: Wonderful! Now, let's eat before this crab wanders off my plate.

[He puts his fork down onto his plate and is surprised to hear a clinking noise. The crab, Sebastian, has indeed wandered off his plate]

Grimsby: Happy Birthday, Eric!

[Reveals a statue of Prince Eric, Max growls at it]

Prince Eric: Uh, gee Grim. It's... it's really something!

Grimsby: Yes, I commissioned it myself.

Scuttle: You see the snarfblatt dates back to pre-hysterical times when humans would sit around and stare at each other all day.

[long pause]

Scuttle: got very boring. So they invented this snarfblatt to make fine music, allow me!

[Attempts to blow the pipe and seaweed crops out of it]

Ariel: [realizing] Music?

Scuttle: It's stuck!

[coughs and gags]

Ariel: Oh, the concert! Oh my gosh my father's gonna kill me!

Flounder: The concert was today?

Ariel: He’s so beautiful.

Ursula: [after Ariel makes her vaporize Flotsam and Jetsom] BABIES! My poor little poopsies!

Sebastian: Ariel, where are you going?

[He swims up to her and observes that she is swimming with Flotsam and Jetsam]

Sebastian: Ariel, what are you doing here with this riffraff?

Ariel: I'm going to see Ursula.

Sebastian: [gets a shocked look on his face and gasps] Ariel, no! No!

[He begins tugging on her tail fin, trying to pull her back]

Sebastian: She's a demon! She's a monster!

Ariel: Why don't you go tell my father? You're good at that!

[She shakes him off]

Ursula: [singing] If you want to cross a bridge, my sweet / You've got to pay the toll / Take a gulp and take a breath and go ahead and sign the scroll! / Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her, boys / The boss is on a roll / This poor unfortunate soul!

Andrina: Ariel, dear, time to come out. You've been in there all morning.

[Ariel emerges, singing to herself]

Atina: What is with her lately?

[Ariel looks at herself in the mirror, then picks a flower next to it and swims away, but stops short when she sees her father]

Ariel: Morning, Daddy.

[Ariel tucks the flower next to her father's ear and swims off, continuing to sing to herself]

Atina: Oh, she's got it bad.

Triton: What? What has she got?

Andrina: Isn't it obvious, Daddy? Ariel's in love.

Triton: Ariel?

[picks the flower from the side of his ear]

Triton: In love?

Sebastian: Ariel, you're under a lot of pressure down here. Come with me, I'll take you home and get you something warm to drink.

Grimsby: Eric?... If I may say... far better than any dream girl is one of flesh and blood. One warm, and caring, and right before your eyes.

Flotsam & Jetsam: Poor child. Poor, sweet child. She has a very serious problem. If only there was something we could do. But there is something.

Ariel: Who-who are you?

Flotsam & Jetsam: Don't be scared. We represent someone who can help you. Someone who can make all your dreams come true. Just imagine... You and your Prince... together... forever.

Ariel: I don't understand.

Flotsam & Jetsam: Ursula has great powers.

Ariel: The sea witch? Why, that's-I couldn't possibly-no! Get out of here! Leave me alone!

Flotsam & Jetsam: Suit yourself. It was only a suggestion.

[Jetsam flicks the broken statue's face towards Ariel]

Ariel: [looking at the face] Wait.

Flotsam & Jetsam: Yes?

Ursula: [her last words] So much... for true love!

Ursula: [to Eric] So long, lover boy!

Prince Eric: Believe me, Grim, when I find the right girl, I'll know. Without a doubt, it'll just-BAM-hit me. Like lightening.

[Lightning cracks in the background]


Ursula: That's right. But - you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices, innit?

Ursula: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I can't stand it! It's too easy! The child is in love with a human. And not just any human. A prince!


Ursula: Her daddy'll love that. King Triton's headstrong, lovesick girl would make a charming addition to my little garden.

Ariel: [regarding King Triton, as Sebastian watches, unobserved] If only I could make him understand. I just don't see things the way he does. I just don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad.

[She begins singing "Part of Your World."]

Ariel: Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? / Wouldn't ya think my collection's complete / Wouldn't you think I'm the girl / Girl who has everything / Look at this trove, treasures untold / How many wonders can one cavern hold? / Looking around you'd think / Sure, she's got everything / I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty / I have whoozits and whatzis galore / You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty / But who cares? No big deal / I want more.

Triton: I just don't know what we're going to do with you, young lady.

Ariel: Daddy, I'm sorry, I just forgot, I...

Triton: As a result of your careless behavior...

Sebastian: Careless and reckless behavior!

Triton: The entire celebration was, er...

Sebastian: Well, it was ruined! That's all, completely destroyed! This concert was to be the pinnacle of my distinguished career. Now thanks to you, I am the laughingstock of the entire kingdom!

Flounder: But it wasn't her fault! Ah - well - first, ahh, this shark chased us - yeah - yeah! And we tried to - but we couldn't - and - then grr - and - and we - whoa! Ah, and then we were safe. But then this seagull came, and it was this is this, and that is that, and...

Triton: Seagull? What? Oh - you went up to the surface again, didn't you? Didn't you?!

Ariel: Nothing - happened.

Triton: Ariel, How many times must we go through this? You could've been seen by one of those barbarians - by - by one of those humans!

Ariel: Daddy, they're not barbarians!

Triton: They're dangerous; do you think I would want to see my youngest daughter snared by some fish eater's hook?

Ariel: I'm sixteen years old - I'm not a child anymore...!

Triton: Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young lady. As long as you live under my ocean, you'll obey my rules!

Ariel: But if you would just listen...

Triton: Not another word! And I am never, never to hear of you going to the surface again. Is that clear?

[Ariel leaves, crying]

Sebastian: Down here all the fish is happy / As off to the waves they roll / The fish on the land ain't happy / They sad 'cause they in the bowl / But fish in the bowl is lucky / They in for a worser fate / One day when the boss get hungry...

Fish: Guess who gonna be on the plate?


Sebastian: Oh! Uh, peculiar?

Triton: You know, mooning about, daydreaming, singing to herself. You haven't noticed, hmm?

Sebastian: Oh, well I...

Triton: Sebastian.

Sebastian: Hmm?

Triton: I know you've been keeping something from me.

Sebastian: Keeping something?

Triton: About Ariel?

Sebastian: [Stops his knees from shaking] Ariel?

Triton: In love? Hmm?

Sebastian: I tried to stop her, sir! She wouldn't listen! I told her to stay away from humans! They are bad! They are trouble! They are...

Triton: Humans? What about humans?

Sebastian: Humans?

[Chuckles nervously]

Sebastian: Who said anything about humans?


Triton: I consider myself a reasonable merman. I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed.

Ariel: But Dad, I...

Triton: Is it true you rescued a human from drowning?

Ariel: Daddy, I had to...

Triton: Contact between the human world and the mer world is strictly forbidden. Ariel, you know that! Everyone knows that.

Ariel: He would have died.

Triton: One less human to worry about!

Ariel: You don't even know him.

Triton: Know him? I don't have to know him, they're all the same! Spineless, savage, harpooning fish-eaters, incapable of any feeling of...

Ariel: Daddy, I love him!


Triton: No! Have you lost your senses completely? He's a human, you're a mermaid!

Ariel: I don't care.

Triton: So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you; and if this is the only way, so be it!

Scuttle: [Looking through the wrong end of a telescope, shouting as if Ariel was far away] Whoa! Mermaid off the port bow! Ariel! How you doin', kid?

[Ariel pulls down the telescope]

Scuttle: Whoa, what a swim.

Ariel: All right, I'm going inside. You can just stay here and watch for sharks.

Flounder: Okay. Yeah, you go. I'll just stay and... What? Sharks? Ariel!

[Eric is Playing a Melancholic rendition of 'Part of Your World' on his flute as Grimsby approaches]

Grimsby: Eric, if I may say, far better than any dream girl is one of flesh and blood. One warm, and caring, and right before your eyes

[Grimsby motions up towards Ariel's bedroom window, a smile cracks Eric's face, and in a moment of realization Eric throws his Flute to the see and leaves to speak to his lovely young friend, when he hears a familiar voice singing and see's a beautiful young woman walking the beach. The woman continues to sing and places the Prince under a sort of trance]




Scuttle: I haven't seen this in years, this is wonderful!

Ariel: What is it?

Scuttle: A banded, bulbous snarfblatt.

Ariel, Flounder: Ohhh.

Ursula: Yes, hurry home, princess. We wouldn't want to miss old Daddy's celebration, now, would we? Huh! Celebration indeed. Bah! In my day, we had fantastical feasts when I lived in the palace. And now, look at me - wasted away to practically nothing - banished, and exiled, and practically starving, while he and his flimsy fish-folk celebrate. Well, I'll give 'em something to celebrate soon enough. Flotsam! Jetsam! I want you to keep an extra close watch on this pretty little daughter of his. She may be the key to Triton's undoing...

Triton: I'm really looking forward to this performance, Sebastian.

Sebastian: Your Majesty. This will be the finest concert I have ever conducted. Your daughters, they will be spectacular!

Triton: Yes, and especially my little Ariel.

Sebastian: Yes, yes. She has the most beautiful voice. Hmm?

[to himself]

Sebastian: If only she'd show up for rehearsals once in a while.

Triton: Do you... think - I was too hard on her?

Sebastian: Definitely not! Why, if Ariel was my daughter, I'd show her who was boss. None of this flitting to the surface and other such nonsense. No, sir! I'd keep her under tight control.

Triton: You're absolutely right, Sebastian.

Sebastian: Of course.

Triton: Ariel needs constant supervision.

Sebastian: Constant.

Triton: Someone to watch over her, to keep her out of trouble.

Sebastian: All the time.

Triton: And you are just the crab to do it.

Ursula: Well, angelfish, the solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself.

Ariel: Can you do that?


Ursula: Oh, and there is one more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment. You can't get something for nothing, you know.

Ariel: But I don't have any...

Ursula: I'm not asking much. Just a token really, a trifle. You'll never even miss it. What I want from you is... your voice.

Ariel: My voice?

Ursula: You got it, sweetcakes. No more talking, singing, zip.

Ariel: Is he - dead?

Scuttle: [Opens Eric's eyelid] It's hard to say.

[Puts his ear against Eric's foot]

Scuttle: Oh, I - I can't make out a heartbeat.

Ariel: You're not getting cold fins now, are you?

Sebastian: Ariel, listen to me. The human world is a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there.


Sebastian: The seaweed is always greener / In somebody else's lake / You dream about going up there / But that is a big mistake / Just look at the world around you / Right here on the ocean floor / Such wonderful things around you / What more is you lookin' for? / Under the sea / Under the sea / Darlin', it's better / Down where it's wetter / Take it from me / Up on the shore they work all day / Out in the sun they slave away / While we devotin' / Full time to floating / Under the sea!

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

Ariel: [after Rescuing the Prince] Is he dead?

Scuttle: It's hard to say?

[Place's his ear to Eric's foot]

Scuttle: Oh I can't make out a heartbeat.

Ariel: No look, he's breathing. He's so beautiful.

Ariel: [singing] What would i give to live where you are/ What would I pay to stay here beside you/ what would I do to see you smiling at me/ Where would we walk/ where would we run/ If we could stay all day in the sun/ Just you and me/ and I could be/ part of your world

Grimsby: [Calling Out] Eric. Eric

[the approaching Grimsby and Max's barking send a startled Ariel Back into the Ocean]

Grimsby: [Helping Eric to his Feet] Oh, you really delight in these sadistic strain on my blood pressure don't you.

Prince Eric: A girl, rescued me. She was singing. She had the most beautiful voice.

Grimsby: Ah Eric, I think you swallowed a bit to much sea-water. Off we go. Come along Max.

Sebastian: [after watching the unfolding events] We just gonna forget the whole thing ever happened. The Sea King will never know. You won't tell him.

Flounder: [Nods in agreement] Sebastian: I won't tell him. I will stay in one piece.

[Ariel has positioned herself on top of a rock watching Eric longingly]

Ariel: [sung] I don't know when/ I don't know how/ But I know something's starting right now/ Watch and you'll see/ Someday I'll be/ Part of Your World

[Adoring a statue of Eric]

Ariel: It looks just like him. It even has his eyes. "Why, Eric, run away with you? This is all so - so sudden... "

[Ariel's turned herself into a human]

Sebastian: Just look at her! On legs! On human legs!


Sebastian: My nerves are shot. This is a catastrophe! What would her father say? I'll tell you what her father'd say. He'd say he's gonna kill himself a crab, that's what her father'd say! I'm gonna march meself home and tell him right this minute

[Ariel scoops him up and starts shaking her head frantically]

Sebastian: and don't you shake your head at me, young lady! Maybe there's still time. If we could get that witch to give you back your voice, you could go home with all the normal fish and just be...

[Ariel's face falls]

Sebastian: just be... just be miserable for the rest of your life.

[sighs, defeated]

Sebastian: Alright, alright, I'll try to help you find that prince.

[Ariel, overjoyed, kisses him]

Sebastian: Boy. What a softshell I'm turning out to be.

Ursula: [Scuttle hums the wedding march and hears Vanessa singing] What a lovely little bride I'll make / my dear, I look divine / Things are working out according to my ultimate design.

[throws pin at angel vanity]

Ursula: Soon I'll have that little mermaid / And the ocean will be mine...

[looks into mirror and sees Ursula]

Scuttle: [sees whats going on in the ship] The Sea Witch! Oh, she's... what the... I gotta...

[crashes into ship with a loud ding]

Scuttle: ARIEL!

Louis: [singing] Les... pois... sons, les poissons / How I love les poissons / Love to chop and to serve little fish / First I cut off their heads, then I pull out their bones / Ah, mais oui ça c'est toujours delish / Les poissons, les poissons, Hee-hee-hee, ho-ho-ho! / With the cleaver I hack them in two / I pull out what's inside, and I serve it up fried / 'Cause I love little fishes, don't you? / Here's something for tempting the palate / Prepared in the classic technique / First you pound the fish flat with the mallet / Then you slash through the skin, give the belly a slice / Then you rub some salt in, 'cause that makes it taste nice!

[Sees Sebastian]

Louis: Zut alors! I have missed one.

[Picks him up]

Louis: Sacrebleu! What is this? / How on earth could I miss / Such a sweet, little succulent crab / Quel dommage, what a loss! / Here we go, in the sauce / Now some flour, I think just a dab / Now I'll stuff you with bread! / It don't hurt, 'cause you're dead / And you're certainly lucky you are / 'Cause it's gonna be hot in my big silver pot / Toodle-oo, mon poisson, au revoir!

Scuttle: Well, look at what the catfish dragged in!


Scuttle: Look at ya! Look at ya! There's something different. Don't tell me. I got it. It's your hairdo, right? You've been using the dinglehopper, right?

[Ariel shakes her head]

Scuttle: No? No, huh? Well, let me see. New... seashells? No new seashells. I gotta admit, I can't put my foot on it right now, but if I just stand here long enough, I should...

Sebastian: She's got legs, you idiot! She traded her voice to the sea witch and got legs! Geez, mon!

Scuttle: I knew that.

Flounder: Ariel's been turned into a human. She'll have to make the prince fall in love with her, and she's gotta-she's gotta kiss her.

Sebastian: And she's only got three days!

Triton: Any sign of them?

Seahorse: No, Your Majesty. We searched everywhere. We've found no trace of your daughter or Sebastian.

Triton: Well, keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored, and let no one in this kingdom sleep until she's safe at home.

Seahorse: [bows his head] Yes, sire.


Triton: [in shame] Oh, what have I done? What have I done?

Prince Eric: You know, I feel really bad not knowing your name. Maybe I can guess. Is it, uh... Mildred?

[Ariel looks disgusted]

Prince Eric: Okay, no. How about Diana? Rachel?

Sebastian: [Whispering] Ariel. Her name's Ariel.

Prince Eric: Ariel?

[Ariel nods]

Prince Eric: Ariel? Oh. That's kind of pretty. Okay, Ariel.

Ursula: [watching Flotsam and Jetsam knock the boat with Ariel and Eric in it about to kiss] Nice work boys. That was a close one... too close! The little tramp!


Ursula: Well, she's better than I thought. At this rate, he'll be kissing her by sunset for sure!

[smashes through her potions]

Ursula: Well, it's time Ursula took matters into her own tentacles.

[throws a bottle with a butterfly in it, into her cauldron]

Ursula: Triton's daughter will be mine!... and then I'll make him writhe. I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!

[laughs, transforming into Vanessa]

Ursula: Now I am the ruler of all the ocean! The waves obey my every whim!

Sebastian: Jeez, man, I'm surrounded by amateurs. You want something done, you've got to do it yourself.

[speaking in a low, seductive voice]

Sebastian: First, we've to create the mood.

[transitioning from speech to song]

Sebastian: Percussion. Strings. Winds. Words.

[singing "Kiss the Girl"]

Sebastian: There you see her / Sitting there across the way / She don't got a lot to say / But there's something about her / And you don't know why / But you're dying to try / You wanna kiss the girl.

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