I do think Ariel's body shape is sort of problematic.
While it would be really nice to see a larger heroine in general (and by this, I also mean a plus-sized heroine regardless of how people say that would be "OMG BAD HEALTH EXAMPLE"), I'm willing to give Glen the benefit of the doubt with Ariel. She was his first character of this sort and the main model he used was young Alyssa Milano. Have you seen some of the pics of Alyssa? There's some images where she looks just as disproportionate. I think his lack of experience with a character design such as Ariel's didn't transfer well based on the examples he had to go by for reference and ended up exaggerated. Additionally, I've paid close attention to Ariel's waist (and arms) in past viewings for any signs of my theory and both are inconsistent in size (similar to the margin of inconsistency I've viewed in pictures of Alyssa). So, while, Ariel really could have stood for a larger waist line (like a few of the other ladies), I'm willing to play devil's advocate since by time Pocahontas came along, there was a HUGE difference. Then again, Tarzan suffers from a strangely small waist at times too, so it could be a Keane weakness in general. (Rapunzel is harder to gauge since it's such a different medium and most human characters in CGI are so strangely shaped, whether being super tall or super skinny or having ginormous heads or noses or what have you).
Anyways, thanks for the great read/great analysis. So much to think about and mull over. And I only wish I could have talked more about it. But I'm sure you'll respond with other points of interest for me to consider (no pressure xD).
no subject
While it would be really nice to see a larger heroine in general (and by this, I also mean a plus-sized heroine regardless of how people say that would be "OMG BAD HEALTH EXAMPLE"), I'm willing to give Glen the benefit of the doubt with Ariel. She was his first character of this sort and the main model he used was young Alyssa Milano. Have you seen some of the pics of Alyssa? There's some images where she looks just as disproportionate. I think his lack of experience with a character design such as Ariel's didn't transfer well based on the examples he had to go by for reference and ended up exaggerated. Additionally, I've paid close attention to Ariel's waist (and arms) in past viewings for any signs of my theory and both are inconsistent in size (similar to the margin of inconsistency I've viewed in pictures of Alyssa). So, while, Ariel really could have stood for a larger waist line (like a few of the other ladies), I'm willing to play devil's advocate since by time Pocahontas came along, there was a HUGE difference. Then again, Tarzan suffers from a strangely small waist at times too, so it could be a Keane weakness in general. (Rapunzel is harder to gauge since it's such a different medium and most human characters in CGI are so strangely shaped, whether being super tall or super skinny or having ginormous heads or noses or what have you).
Anyways, thanks for the great read/great analysis. So much to think about and mull over. And I only wish I could have talked more about it. But I'm sure you'll respond with other points of interest for me to consider (no pressure xD).