I think both are good but that this one makes it more obvious to everyone.

Ariel and her father do kind of say Im sorry-this maybe my opinion but " Saying I love you Daddy" lets King Triton know-there are no hard feeling between them anymore. Besides sometimes after all that went on its harder to say Im sorry in person, sometimes actions speak louder than words. So it all depends on the situation- So as I said in Ariel and Triton's situation what he did for her and her saying" I love you Daddy" showed they were sorry and will always be there for each-other. Eric bowing to his father-in-law who hated humans spoke volumes, is another example. So it depends.

Another thing-no matter who its between " I love you" and " I am Sorry" are the two hardest things to say to another person- I learned this in Psychology class- the latter being even harder cause you or both people have to admit they were wrong.

Okay. I look at it this way. It takes way more time and energy to successfully animate a face and have it convey real emotional feelings, than it does to have a voice actor simply state " I'm very sorry."

I think so.

A combination of both is good, but expression says far more than words can many times, and a long-winded speech is often far less effective than nothing. wavesurf also brings up a good point.

Some of us aren't good with words! My mother was never able to express fault or apologies with words because she was a very prideful woman, and now I have that same problem...but I can still feel shame and regret, and humility