Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric and Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” (Photo courtesy of Disney/Giles Keyte) A special interest is an intense interest that ...

Much of Ariel and Eric's bonding in the animated film is conveyed via montage, but the remake fleshes this period out, including by following them to a market.

As Merlin mentioned, Ariel needs to picture Eric, call his name thrice, and kiss him. As this step is completed, Eric will return to his true self in the Valley.