Nowadays, whenever someone hears the title "The Little Mermaid," they undoubtedly think of the 1989 Disney animated production. The coming-of-age story follows Ariel (voiced by Jodi Benson) as she ventures to the surface world, hoping to be a part of something more beyond her father's undersea kingdom. It's an age-old story, but one that continues to venture on in popular culture.

Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name, "The Little Mermaid" kickstarted what's known as the Disney Renaissance, bringing home two Academy Awards for the House of Mouse and spawning various prequels and sequels in the years following. In 2023, we even got a live-action remake.

But how close to the original story is Disney's "Little Mermaid?" Well, the truth is, there were quite a few changes made to the original material, which is a much darker "Little Mermaid" than you might expect. Like most fairy tales adapted by Walt Disney Studios, Ariel's story was given quite the facelift in order to make it suitable for younger audiences -- well, at least modern ones. But although Disney's Ariel differs significantly from the mermaid originally crafted by Andersen, there are some things that tie both versions of this character closely together. If you don't know the original fairy tale, then let this be your first venture into the work of Hans Christian Andersen.