And thus we begin the Disney Renaissance with...
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Starring: Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Buddy Hackett, Ben Wright, Paddi Edwards, Edie McClurg, Kimmy Robertson, Caroline Vasicek, Will Ryan, Frank Welker, René Auberjonois
Songs: "Fathoms Below," "Daughters of Triton," Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," "Poor Unfortunate Souls," "Les Poissons," "Kiss the Girl," "Happy Ending"
The Little Mermaid is the twenty-eighth animated Disney feature, and it is loosely based on the Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of Ariel, a mermaid princess who longs to live on the land. She falls in love with the handsome human Prince Eric, and trades her voice to Ursula the sea-witch for a pair of legs and a chance to make the prince love her back.
The idea to make a Little Mermaid movie dates back to the late 1930s, just after Snow White was completed. The studio planned to make this one segment of a package film all made up of Hans Christian Andersen adaptations. However, like many of the other story ideas that were proposed at the time, it was never made because the war changed a lot of plans at the studio. The idea came up again in 1985, but was originally rejected because the studio was planning a sequel to the hit movie Splash and didn't want another mermaid movie to compete with it. But soon the project was greenlit and production began in earnest in 1987.
An interesting note is that this movie required more special effects animation than any Disney film since Fantasia, back in 1940, because of the underwater setting. Also, this film was the last film to use animation cels, as all future films used scanned and digitally colored drawings.
This movie, of course, is the start of a new era in Disney animation, known as the Renaissance. That is because most of the movies over the previous two decades had either been commercial or critical failures. There were some minor successes, but Disney needed a smash hit... which this movie provided. It got excellent reviews and was a big financial success. The studio even decided to take a risk and release the movie to home video shortly after it left theaters (which was unusual, at the time) and because the movie made so much money (as the top selling VHS of the year) all future Disney releases would come to home video soon after leaving theaters, rather than waiting several years as the studio had been doing.
I really like this movie. It's beautiful to look at with crisp, clean animation and picturesque backgrounds. The voice acting is top notch, and the music (provided by Disney legends Alan Menken and Howard Ashman) is awesome. I loved it as a kid, and in fact in my earliest years, Ariel was my favorite princess (before I discovered Aurora). When I was a kid, I didn't know a single girl my age or around my age that didn't love this movie.
What I Liked: I love a lot of things about this movie, but honestly my favorite moment is right after "Under the Sea" when Sebastian and all the fish are standing there, out of breath like you would be after a big production number with all that singing and dancing. And they look and Ariel's gone. I don't know why but that moment is the most hilarious thing to me.
What I Disliked: Umm... Ariel makes me feel old. What?
Should You Watch This Movie: Better question is why haven't you already?
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