Passing of the Torch

There is always someone who is willing to take over the work that has been done and needs to be done. In the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, Ariel visits a marketplace, and a vendor offers her some food (directed by Rob Marshall, Walt Disney Pictures, 2023). The food vendor also hands her a fork, telling her, “I think you’ll be needing this.” The vendor is played by Jodi Benson, the voice actress who played Ariel in the original animated version. The original version famously had Ariel calling a fork a “dinglehopper.” This scene is a tongue-in-cheek “passing of the torch” to the new Ariel.