The Little Mermaid (1989)

Directed by

Ron Clements, John Musker

Written by

John Musker, Ron Clements

Genre

fantasy film, melodrama, musical film, romance film, cinematic fairy tale, children's film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 23m

Rated

G

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 8,452 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A teenage mermaid princess named Ariel dreams of becoming human so she can be with a human prince she falls in love with. She makes a risky deal with a sea witch to trade her voice for legs.

whimsicalromanticyearningupbeatadventurousmusicalteenage

What happens

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film. It was written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the film's songs with composer Alan Menken. Loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, it was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation in association with Silver Screen Partners IV and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film features the voices of René Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Paddi Edwards, Buddy Hackett, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Ben Wright, and Samuel E. Wright. The story follows a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel (Benson) who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric (Barnes), which leads her to forge an agreement with the sea witch Ursula (Carroll) to be with him. Walt Disney planned to put the story in a proposed package film containing Andersen's stories, but he scrapped the project. In 1985, while working on The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Clements and Musker decided to adapt the fairy tale. They proposed it to Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, who initially declined due to its similarities to a proposed sequel to the 1984 film Splash, but ultimately approved it. Ashman became involved, and brought in Menken. With supervision from Katzenberg, they made a Broadway-style structure with musical numbers as the staff was working on Oliver & Company (1988). Katzenberg warned that the film would earn less since it appealed to female viewers, but he eventually became convinced that it would be another blockbuster hit for the company. The Little Mermaid was released in theaters on November 17, 1989, to critical acclaim, earning praise for the animation, music, and characters. It was also a commercial success, garnering $84 million at the domestic box office during its initial release, and $235 million in total lifetime gross worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1989. Along with the major successes of The Great Mouse Detective, the 1988 Disney/Amblin live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Oliver & Company, The Little Mermaid is given credit for revitalizing the art of Disney animated feature films after an uneven period. It also marked the start of the era known as the Disney Renaissance. The film won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Under the Sea"). The film's success led to a media franchise. A prequel television series aired on CBS from 1992 to 1994. A direct-to-video sequel was released in 2000, focusing on Ariel's daughter Melody. A prequel followed in 2008. The first film was adapted into a stage musical with a book by Doug Wright and additional songs by Alan Menken and new lyricist Glenn Slater opened in Denver in July 2007 and began performances on Broadway January 10, 2008 starring Sierra Boggess. Other derived works and material inspired by the film, include a 2019 live musical presentation on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney, and a 2023 live-action film adaptation directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey. In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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