The Little Mermaid live-action remake has been undergoing some plot changes to make sure we see fully fleshed-out characters and to not have Ariel’s journey be just about “a boy.” One of the biggest outdated scenes from the animated movie was the “Kiss the Girl” scene, when our favorite red crab Sebastian is encouraging Prince Eric to kiss Ariel without asking her. During an episode of The View, the show’s hosts went back and forth about if Ariel would have been in a position to give consent during the “Kiss the Girl” scene.
When Ariel and Prince Eric are on a little boat date, Sebastian encourages the dashing prince through song to “kiss the girl,” which these days could translate as giving permission to kiss a girl without checking if it’s okay with her. On the latest episode of The View, lawyer and host Sunny Hostin wondered if Ariel would have been able to give consent in this scene realistically.
