Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24074103-20131122113452/@comment-9340689-20140307172806

Myself 123 wrote: Really Sonic Wind is the only thing that counters the belief that Sonic manipulates air through high speed movement; Insta-shield also goes by the name of Twin Spin Attack, which implies the shield, or wind, or whatever you want to call it, is created by rapidly spinning, the same can be said with Sonic Storm and Sonic Wave, the description even confirms this.

In the case of Sonic Wind, it's a one time attack, an anomaly if you will, so it's best not to over think the ability.

There's someone on the Disney Wiki who believes Ariel can control water, because of videogame adaptions (she uses bubbles) and because of the "Part of your world" reprise