u/Zion_Fett

I really disagree with people saying Prince Eric had no personality in the animated The Little Mermaid, because it was always there—you just had to pay attention. He was adventurous, romantic, rebellious toward royal expectations, deeply drawn to the sea, and clearly someone willing to risk himself for others. He wasn’t written to dominate the story, but that doesn’t mean he was empty

What the live-action version did wasn’t invent a personality—it gave those existing traits more room to breathe. It expanded the emotional space around him, letting audiences sit longer with his curiosity, his loneliness, and his desire for a life beyond what was expected of him. The foundation was always in the original; the remake simply made people notice it more clearly.