Did you ever consider the legality of Ursula exchanging Ariel's voice for a new pair of gams? Of course you didn't. However, just because the legal jargon is left out of this Disney classic, doesn't mean it was meant to be ignored. London-based comic and writer Shon Faye — who went to law school and is qualified to practice commercial law, according to BuzzFeed — interpreted Ariel and Ursula's contract, and it turns out this document wasn't even close to legal.
There are a lot of things wrong with Ariel's decisions in The Little Mermaid — like the fact that Ariel would give up everything and everyone she knows in order to pursue a guy she's never even spoke to — but perhaps her biggest mistake was not attempting to null the contract she signed. Ursula did some seriously shady things after promising the even exchange of Ariel's voice for a pair of human legs, like deliberately sabotaging Ariel's relationship with the Prince by marrying him herself. (Still a little unclear why she did that, to be honest.) According to Faye, those things would have voided the pair's contract.
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one of the cutest/saddest things I ever did was write out the legal ways Ariel could have annulled her contract with Ursula The Sea Witch pic.twitter.com/xyaGiuXW5U
— shon faye (@shonfaye) November 2, 2016
Twitter is, obviously, all about this:
The legal analysis of Ariel's contract with Ursula ?????
— Ellie ? (@yeaahellieeee) November 5, 2016
How Ariel could have got out of her contract with Ursula in The Little Mermaid ?
— Yew Dyed (@sixx_shooter) November 4, 2016
I love the internet!
legal ways ariel could've annulled her contract= my law goals THANKS
— Sheryl★Ranpofucket™ (@noctisfunzies) November 4, 2016
this is a very intense analysis of the contract bet. Ursula and Ariel
— ??☃ (@zarnope) November 4, 2016
good job and thank you for this!! https://t.co/C8gZpaS8kK
Of course, just because Ariel could have legally voided the contract doesn't mean she could have done so in practice. Something tells me that Ursula wouldn't take so kindly to the little mermaid pursuing counter legal action, and would have turned her into a sea snake before Ariel could have told her to lawyer up. Still, this contract analysis is an amazing reminder that legal documents need to be thoroughly reviewed before you give up a major human function.