mermaid fairy‐tale films
mermaid fairy‐tale films,a sub‐genre derived directly or indirectly from Hans Christian Andersen's ‘The Little Mermaid’. None of the films is interested in the metaphysical ideas of that story; instead, they concentrate on exploring the comic and tragic potential of beautiful voices, tails versus legs, cross‐species relationships, and slippery sex.
In Andersen, the mermaid has her tongue cut off as the price to be paid for entering the human world, but in the comedy Miranda (UK, 1948) that idea is turned on its head. Throughout, the mermaid's tongue is her chief strength. Initially, she uses it to persuade a handsome doctor she has rescued to take her to London. There she gives voice to any desires she has, telling men how strong they are, and what nice ears they have; and she takes what she wants when she sees it, devouring bowl after bowl of cockles. Such conduct...
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