In scenes of transformation in the franchise, one only sees the mermaid to human transition, where the tail splits in half with each becoming a leg. In this film we see that happen to Ariel when Ursula turns her into a human, in the sequel the same thing happens to Melody, when Ursula's magic from a bottle wears out on her, whilst she was trapped in an ice cave with Flounder. But it is never the other way round, in this movie, in Vanessa's wedding scene when Ariel is about to kiss Eric, she only jerks upward in pain and slips down on the deck (she is only shown to the waist), a clip later, her tail is shown having just transformed and in the sequel, when Melody is transformed, her feet are covered in swirling green lights before her tail pops out.