The movie that jump started the Disney Renaissance, and brought back animated musicals, was the Little Mermaid, voiced by the wonderful Jodi Benson. This is the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel who dreams of a world outside of Antlantica, to find true love with Prince Eric. However, some do think it is a bad idea, not to mention considering the temper of the King, King Triton. Triton’s second-in-command is the crab, the Royal Composer, Sebastian. Several times he tries to stop Ariel from making big mistakes, but his attempts end in failure.
Therefore, he tries to show the beauty of the ocean, with the song “Under the Sea”, a popular and catchy tune, probably the most well-known of Little Mermaid. (A pity, since there is no tune like “Part of Your World”.
The seaweed is always greener,
In somebody else's lake
We all know what old saying Sebastian is saying to Ariel. “The grass is always greener” and there is genuine concern about what he is saying. He’s trying to tell her that it’s not always better.
You dream about going up there,
But that is a big mistake
Sebastian is saying this, not in the most noble of ways. But it is important that you need to prepare to be disappointed when one goes somewhere they get rose-tinted glasses about. This is similar to Mother Gothel, but the difference is, Gothel wants to keep Rapunzel’s magical hair to herself, but Sebastian is concerned about his own well-being in facing Triton, and is concerned over Ariel’s well-being.
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things around you,
What more is you looking for?
The ocean is rather beautiful in the movie, but Ariel has lost interest in the beauty of the ocean, and dreams for something different. Sebastian is trying to remind her that home can be beautiful and wonderful, if you know what to look for. But that is not always possible, with Ariel getting some wanderlust.
Under the sea,
Under the sea
Darling, 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 devoting, full-time to floating,
Under the sea!
Here we have the refrain, and it would be hard to analyze it line by line, without the full context. And speaking of context, Sebastian is actually setting up a strawman when it comes to the surface, saying that there is a lot of freedom and it is easygoing in the ocean, whereas on the surface, humans tend to work a lot under the harsh sun, without much results. As true as Sebastian may be, it is only a part of the truth. Up on the surface, he can easily become dinner. But on the ocean floor, he has far more freedom. However, he is not telling Ariel the full story, and image of the surface world.
Sebastian/Lobster: Down here, all the fish is happy
Sebastian: As off through the waves they roll
Both: The fish on the land ain't happy,
Sebastian: They sad 'cause they in their bowl
This series of lines is tricky, as we see that Sebastian has a hard time relating to merfolk, as he is talking about fish being stuck in a bowl. Thinking of Morph from Treasure Planet, it is actually really sad and horrid, how the freedom of the fish is very limited on the surface, as the fish are stuck in a bowl, in someone’s house, being a slave at the whims of the owner. This might apply to Ariel if she is a mermaid on the surface, but overall, this shows that he is a little out of touch with Ariel.
But fish in the bowl is lucky,
Both: They in for a worser fate!
Sebastian then prepares Ariel for even worse news, as he claims that the fish stuck in bowls are lucky, and that there’s something worse that’s in store for the fish.
One day when the boss get hungry...
Deep Voice: Guess who gon' be on the plate?
This is a far more legitimate concern Sebastian has for Ariel. Say she becomes human. Eric’s kingdom is next to the sea, and one of the primary sources of food is fish, and the possibility of one of Ariel’s seaborn friends ending up on her plate needs to be told to her, so she can be prepared for the possibility. Not that she’s listening. Although one can argue that there is some foreshadowing with Chef Louis.
Sebastian: Uh-oh!
Under the sea,
Under the sea
Nobody beat us, fry us, and eat us
In fricassee!
Sebastian is reminding her of how fish are cooked and fried, and is getting sorta specific about dishes that are eaten. Ariel does need to be prepared to eat fish if she’s going to marry Eric, as he’s the type to love eating fish.
We what the land folks loves to cook.
Under the sea, we off the hook.
Finishing up with the fears of the upper world, he’s then bringing up how good it is under the sea, and the safety that comes with living so deep underwater.
We got no troubles, life is the bubbles!
Under the sea, (Snails: Under the sea)
Under the sea (Snails: Under the sea)
Since life is sweet here, we got the beat here
Naturally
Snails: Naturally-y-y-y
He is trying to sell the easy-going and simple life of the sea, but from a different perspective, it’s like Hakuna Matata, which is a form for Simba to escape from his responsibilities. Ariel on the other hand, is getting curious about the danger of something she doesn’t have, and that’s being denied to her.
Sebastian: Even the sturgeon and the ray,
They get the urge and start to play
We got the spirit, you got to hear it,
Under the sea!
The newt play the flute,
The carp play the harp,
The plaice play the bass,
And they sounding sharp,
The bass play the brass,
The chub play the tub,
The fluke is the duke of soul! (Fish: Yeah!)
The ray, he can play,
The lings on the strings,
The trout rocking out,
The blackfish, she sings,
The smelt and the sprat,
They know where it's at,
And oh, that blowfish blow!
Here Sebastian is gathering all the underwater creatures to come join and enjoy the spirit of what they have under the sea, by having them all join into the fray and sing their hearts away.
And it is fitting that it’s this point when Flounder finds his way to Ariel, and whispers something in her ear, and they slip away while Sebastian is busy singing and gathering everyone. Sebastian is so busy lecturing her via this energetic song, but only Flounder is truly listening to her, and considering what she wants, even when it is shortsighted. Sebastian shows that he is also more concerned over his status quo, that he isn’t aware that Ariel was missing, as he got carried away. This is no different than in the beginning. That was also his fault, because he didn’t go backstage in order to make sure everything was in order, and it caused him huge embarrassment, on something that was avoidable, and adapted to Ariel going missing.
What do they got? A lot of sand!
We got a hot crustacean band
Sebastian is also starting with the strawmanning again, and is focusing on how hot the sand gets when the days are hot. But even if he goes to the surface, he wouldn’t go very far, so he has a rather biased view of the surface world. Which brings up the question if Sebastian is singing this for Ariel, or himself, because there is an aspect of self-gratification. He is more concerned over his own feelings, than respecting Ariel’s interests in exploring who she is, like many adolescent girls. She’s been sheltered by her father and sisters, that swimming out of the nest can be a very dangerous world, especially with a girl as curious as Ariel.
Each little clam here know how to jam here,
Under the sea!
Each little slug here cutting a rug here,
Under the sea!
Each little snail here know how to wail here,
That's why it's hotter under the water!
Yeah, we in luck here down in the muck here
Under the sea!
The song finishes up with a lot more sea animals jamming with Sebastian, which tells us how much he loves the sea. He’s trying to sell it to Ariel, but he’s failing as it’s more about him. It’s why he loses track of the song. He has a selfish streak, and it takes him a while to consider what his charge wants. Not to mention he doesn’t give good advice, especially since he’s not a parent. It’s only at the end, when he tries to convince Triton that they need to let Ariel decide her own course in life, that he actually gives good and selfless advice.
This song tells us more about Sebastian, than the life under the sea. This is how he sees everything, and this is his status quo. It’s safe, it’s fun, and it’s colourful, but he can’t force it on Ariel. It’s why she’s flippant about it, and leaves at the first opportunity, all the while Sebastian is so focused on everything, that he forgets that she’s truly there. In the Lion King, Timon and Pumbaa sing “Hakuna Matata”, which is about the wonderful life they have, and about all the beauty around them in a similar way, but the difference is, Timon and Pumbaa recognized that Simba didn’t have it easy, but they didn’t pry. They gave Simba an escape from his past, and thought they were helping him heal, when what they did was to truly help Simba run away from his problems. As far as Mother Gothel from “Tangled” is concerned, Sebastian is concerned about Ariel, and he does care. Gothel sung “Mother Knows Best”, which stokes up the fear and gaslighting to an eleven, when Sebastian is setting up more of a strawman. In a way, Sebastian is between the two. He is focused on himself, but he is trying to convince Ariel that she’s got it nice.
But Ariel is no longer a young child that needs supervision. She is growing to become a young woman, and she needs to chart her own course, but she is meeting with resistance, in the form of Sebastian, who is more focused on what he wants, and treats Ariel like a little child who doesn’t know any better.
Enchanting essay Brothers with an important message for both young and old. Should we seek new experiences or find satisfaction and growth in our current situation?
Beautiful song about human aspiration to improve life circumstances, but it comes with risks needed to be evaluated. ✨💖✨
Thank you, well done! 💖
Well, I never thought I’d agree with a comparison between Mother Gothel and Sebastian, but I can see how their motives are similar. At least Sebastian’s actions weren’t blatantly selfish and deceiving.