The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Little Mermaid (Dir: Ron Clements & John Musker, 1989). 

Based upon Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale, The Little Mermaid was Walt Disney Animation’s first fairytale adaptation in three decades. It was their biggest critical and commercial success in years and is credited with starting a renaissance in Disney feature animation. 

As I am sure you know, The Little Mermaid is the story of Ariel, the teenage mermaid who trades her voice for a man. Not the most feminist of plots but I don’t think it raised eyebrows back in 1989. Be thankful we are more enlightened now and don’t let it spoil your entertainment. Because The Little Mermaid is very entertaining. 

The most cinematic Disney animation to date, thanks to inventive use of ‘camera’ angles. There are a few occasions when the animation looks a little flat and characters go slightly off model, possibly due to cost cutting measures following the costly failure of the ambitious The Black Cauldron (Ted Berman & Richard Rich, 1985). However, most of the animation looks great and much of it looks spectacular, with standout scenes including a dramatic shipwreck, the Under The Sea musical number and a remarkable final confrontation with sea witch Ursula. 

If, at times, The Little Mermaid is a little less visually spectacular than mega-flop The Black Cauldron, it does have a far tighter grip on narrative. While a huge admirer of ...Cauldron, I have to admit that ...Mermaid is a far more satisfying piece of filmmaking. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker and the talented Disney artists created a movie which felt simultaneously contemporary and classic Disney. Clichéd as it may sound, there is a sense of magic in The Little Mermaid that had been absent from Disney movies for some time. 

A fine vocal cast was assembled for the film. As the voice of Ariel, Jodi Benson has the right amount of naive wonder and youthful determination. She also has a beautiful singing voice. Pat Carroll’s lends her husky tones to Ursula, one of Disney’s most hissable villains, while comic relief is supplied by Samuel E Wright as Ariel’s crustacean custodian Sebastian, bringing a Caribbean vibe to musical numbers Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl.

The Little Mermaid was Disney’s first full animated musical since Robin Hood (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1973) and their best since The Jungle Book (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1967). Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s musical score is, arguably, what elevates The Little Mermaid from a good movie to a great one and in the modern Disney era has only ever been matched for greatness by Ashman and Menken’s Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise, 1991). Howard’s tragic early death, in 1991 aged 40, undoubtedly robbed the world of much beautiful music. 

It is unfortunate that in subsequent years the Disney Company chose to market this movie, and the ‘princess’ movies in general, almost exclusively to little girls. The appeal of great filmmaking should extend beyond age or gender and The Little Mermaid undoubtedly does; its status as a classic is entirely justified.