Entertainment

Chrissy Teigen Pointed Out A 'Little Mermaid' Plot Hole That'll Make You Doubt Your Childhood

by Emily Mae Czachor
Rich Polk/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images; Chrissy Teigen/Twitter

If you were ever a kid with a penchant for Disney princesses, then you're probably familiar with "Part of Your World," Ariel's iconic ballad from The Little Mermaid. Turns out, Chrissy Teigen's heard the song, too, and she has some questions. Chrissy Teigen's The Little Mermaid tweets on Sunday night pointed out a pretty compelling plot hole, and Disney aficionados out there who prefer their pop culture with a dose of critical analysis are going to want to see what she has to say.

While the internet isn't quite sure what got the supermodel mom of two thinking so incisively about the nitty gritty behind the beloved Disney flick (though perhaps it has something to do with her little ones, Luna and Miles), followers are still grateful that Teigen took some time to share her musings with fans on social media. Because even those of us who've listened to "Part of Your World" dozens of times over these last few decades (at least) would probably still have to admit that Teigen's stream-of-consciousness-style rant on Twitter raised some pretty compelling questions about the popular Disney track. Like, "how does Ariel know what 'reprimand' means, but not 'feet'?"

Teigen dispensed that particular inquiry into cyberspace Sunday night, June 10, kicking off a proximate string of quippy tweets that gifted fans with about as many giggles as it did insights into what seems to be a big ol' Disney-made logical fallacy.

Just in case anyone's feeling a bit lost right now, let's back up. Because getting on board with Teigen's plot-hole theory probably requires at least some foundational knowledge of the song's lyrics in the first place. As more vigilant Little Mermaid fans might remember, the "Part of Your World" lyrics in question go like this: "Bet'cha on land, they understand / Bet they don't reprimand their daughters." Those familiar with the song's context know that Ariel longs to be part of the human world, where people spend their time walking around with their — wait, what's the word again? For the record, it's "feet," though it takes Ariel a moment to remember the word.

Now, it's probably worth dropping a quick reminder here that young Ariel was born and raised under the sea. So, in theory, it's possible that the bright-eyed mermaid might not be familiar with the word "feet," simply because it hasn't been integrated too heavily into her day-to-day vocabulary. After reading Teigen's initial tweet, one Twitter user posited a similar idea. "She doesn't have feet, so she doesn't know what they are. They're not something she needs to have knowledge of," Twitter user @emilylagace wrote, replying to Teigen's Little Mermaid inquiry.

But as far as Ariel's selective vocabulary is concerned, Teigen wasn't buying it. "Her friends have feet," Teigen responded, clarifying later that, by "friends," she meant "things without fins." After that, the model segued into a particularly on-point argument, as amusing as it was. "I don't have a peen but I know what one is," she wrote, replying to the user's comment. Elaborating on her frustrations with Ariel's ostensible lack of awareness about the specifics of what it means to be human, Teigen continued, arguing, "You can not have something and know what it is." It's pretty tough to argue with her logic there.

Leave it to Teigen to take a fleeting lyric from a Disney song and turn it into a full-fledged critical debate on social media. But if her thoughtful comments on Ariel's potential lyrical blunder in "Part of Your World" are any indication, it seems safe to say that, at least, she knows what she's talking about. And that's more than she can say for Ariel.