The Little Mermaid Quotes

Scuttle: [examines a pipe] This... I haven't in years. This is wonderful!

Ariel: What is it?

Scuttle: A banded, bulbous snarfblatt.

Ariel, Flounder: Oh.

Ursula: Yes, hurry home, princess. We wouldn't want to miss old Daddy's celebration, now, would we? Huh! Celebration indeed.

[chuckles sarcastically]

Ursula: 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: 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: [perks up in agreement] You're absolutely right, Sebastian.

Sebastian: [politely] Of course.

Triton: Ariel needs constant supervision.

Sebastian: [in agreement] Constant.

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

Sebastian: [in agreement] All the time.

Triton: [points at Sebastian] And *you* are just the crab to do it!

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.

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!

Scuttle: [Looking throught 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.

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?

[Flounder gasps and hides in Ariel's hair as she gives him a dirty look]

Triton: 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.

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]

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.

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!

[laughs]

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

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: 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!

Triton: Sebastian, I'm concerned about Ariel. Have you noticed she's been acting peculiar lately?

Sebastian: [pretending to act confused] Oh! Uh, peculiar?

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

Sebastian: [slowly] Oh, well I.

Triton: [suspicious] Sebastian.

Sebastian: [looks up] Hmm?

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

Sebastian: [nervously] Keeping something?

Triton: About Ariel?

Sebastian: [very nervously stops his knees from shaking] Ariel?

Triton: [points his trident at Sebastian] In love?

Sebastian: [protesting] I tried to stop her, sir! She wouldn't listen! I told her to stay away from you and stay above the up treble...!

Triton: Humans? WHAT ABOUT HUMANS?

Sebastian: Humans?

[chuckles nerviously]

Sebastian: Who said anything about humans?

[Sebastian moves away but King Triton grabs him]

Triton: [confronts Ariel in her grotto] I consider myself a reasonable merman. I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed!

Ariel: But Dad, I...

Triton: [interrupts] 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: [coldly] One less human to worry about!

Ariel: [frustrated] 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!

Ariel: Daddy, I love him!

[Ariel gasps, realizing she accidentally slipped the truth]

Triton: [shocked] 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!

[He proceeds to destroy Ariel's collection of human objects with his trident]

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?

[this gives Ursula an evil idea, but she pretends to be kind]

Ursula: [politely] My dear, sweet child... that's what I do! It's what I live for, to help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to.

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.

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

[laughs]

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 he's gotta he's gotta kiss her.

Sebastian: And she's only got three days!

Louis: [singing] Les Poissons, 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!

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.

[leaves]

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!

[sighs]

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: [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's reflection]

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!

[Ariel's turned herself into a human]

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

[shudders]

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 myself straight home right now...

[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: [slowly] 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 Sebastian and puts him on a rock]

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

Triton: Let's see, now. Oh, who could the lucky merman be?

[Notices Sebastian]

Triton: Come in, Sebastian.

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

[singing]

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!

[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: If I become human, I'll never be with my father or sisters again.

Ursula: That's right. But you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?

Sebastian: Jeez, mon! I'm surrounded by amateurs!

[Sebastian jumps in the water]

Sebastian: You want something done, you've got to do it yourself.

[Sebastian picks a blade of underwater grass and returns to the surface where some turtles are swimming by]

Sebastian: [speaking in a low, seductive voice] First, we've got 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.

Sebastian: Are you sure about this?

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

Ariel: But without my voice, how can I.

Ursula: You'll have your looks. Your pretty face and don't underestimate the importance of "body language." Ha!

[singing]

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 prefered / 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.

Triton: She really does love him. Doesn't she, Sebastian.

Sebastian: [nods] Well, it's like I always say, Your Majesty. "Children have got to be free to lead their own lives."

Triton: You always say that?

Sebastian: [chuckles nervously and shrugs]

Triton: Then I guess there's just one problem left.

Sebastian: And what's that, Your Majesty?

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

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

Flounder: I'm not a guppy.

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!

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.

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

[Scuttle looks at Max and scratches his neck]

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

Ariel: No, not that one. The one playing the snarfblatt.

[first lines]

Prince Eric: Isn't this great? The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face. Aaah, the perfect day to be at sea!

Grimsby: [leaning over rail] Oh, yes. Delightful.

[last lines]

Ariel: I love you, Daddy.

Grimsby: Oh Eric, it isn't being alone. The entire Kingdom wants to see you happily settled down with the right girl.

Prince Eric: [looks out towards the horizon, unaware that Ariel is sitting next to the top of the ladder on the side of the ship with Scuttle watching] Well she's out there somewhere. I just... I just haven't found her yet.

Grimsby: [as Ariel looks up, fascinated by Eric] Well, perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough.

Prince Eric: Believe me, Grim. When I find her, I'll know. Without a doubt it'll just... BAM! Hit me... like lightning.

[lightning flashes in the background]

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 herslf 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?

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?

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]

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]

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: [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 possitioned 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

Scuttle: [Flying blissfully close to the wedding barge, as he hums the Wedding March]

Vanessa: [singing in Ariel's Voice, to the tune of "Poor Unfortunate Souls"] What a lovely little bride I'll make/ My dear I'll look divine.

Vanessa: [Chuckles, then continues Singing] Things are working out according/ To my ultimate design

Scuttle: [Watching the entire scene gulps]

Vanessa: [singing] Soon I'll have that little mermaid/ And the ocean will be mine!

Vanessa: [laughing into the mirror, whose reflection reveals she is indeed Ursula]

Scuttle: [Gasps] The Sea Witch! Oh no. She's gonna. I gotta.

[In his haste flys into the window by mistake]

Scuttle: Ariel!

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

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 and leaves. 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]

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!

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: [gasps] The concert was today?

Ariel: Flounder, you really are a guppy.

Flounder: I am not!

Ariel: [singing] I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see 'em dancing, walking around on those...

[turns to Flounder]

Ariel: What do you call 'em? Oh... feet!

[Ariel playfully tugs on Flounder's fins]

Ariel: [continues singing] Flippin' your fins, you don't get too far, legs are required for jumping, dancing! Strolling along down a...

[pause]

Ariel: What's that word again? Street! Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun, wandering free, wish I could be part of that world!

Prince Eric: [as Sebastian is singing "Kiss the Girl" to him] Did you hear something?

[Ariel shrugs 'nope']

Grimsby: Eric, what are you doing?

Prince Eric: Grim, I lost her once! I'm not gonna lose her again!

Ariel: Eric, you've gotta get away from here!

Prince Eric: No! I won't leave you!