The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation in association with Silver Screen Partners IV and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The film 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 Alan Menken. Menken also composed the film's score. Featuring 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 Little Mermaid tells the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel, who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric, which leads her to make a magic deal with the sea witch, Ursula, to become human and be with him.
The Little Mermaid
- John Musker
- Ron Clements
- Howard Ashman
- John Musker
Mark Hester
- November 17, 1989
83 minutes[1]
United States
English
$40 million[2]
$235 million[3]
Walt Disney planned to put the story in a proposed package film containing Andersen's stories, but scrapped the project. In 1985, while working on The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Clements and Musker decided to adapt the fairy tale and 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 of 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 Disney's first blockbuster hit.
The Little Mermaid was released to 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,[4] and $235 million in total lifetime gross worldwide,[3] becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1989. Along with the major success of both Disney's 1986 animated film The Great Mouse Detective[5][6] and the 1988 Disney/Amblin live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid is given credit for breathing life back into the art of Disney animated feature films after some films produced by Disney were struggling. It also marked the start of the era known as the Disney Renaissance.[7] 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 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[8] 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[9][10] starring Sierra Boggess.[11][12][13] 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. On December 14, 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".[14]
Plot[edit]
Under the Atlantic Ocean, in the kingdom of Atlantica, Ariel, a 16-year-old mermaid princess dissatisfied with her life, is fascinated by the human world. With her best friend Flounder, Ariel visits Scuttle, a seagull who gives inaccurate information about humans, and collects human artifacts in her grotto. However, her father King Triton, the ruler of Atlantica, says contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden. One night, Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian, a crab who serves as Triton's adviser and court composer, travel to the surface to watch a birthday celebration for Prince Eric. Ariel falls in love with Eric at first sight. A storm later wrecks the ship and knocks Eric overboard. Ariel rescues Eric and brings him to shore. She sings to him, but leaves just as he regains consciousness to avoid being discovered. Eric vows to find the girl who saved him. Discovering a change in Ariel's behavior, Triton questions Sebastian and learns of her love for Eric. Frustrated, Triton travels to Ariel's grotto and destroys her collection of artifacts in a misguided attempt to protect her. After a remorseful Triton leaves, two eels named Flotsam and Jetsam convince Ariel to visit Ursula the sea witch.
Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days in exchange for Ariel's voice, which Ursula puts in a nautilus shell. Within these three days, if Ariel receives a "true love's kiss", she will remain a human permanently. Otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid and belong to Ursula. After accepting, Ariel is given human legs and taken to the surface by Flounder and Sebastian. Eric finds Ariel on the beach and takes her to his castle, unaware that she is the one who rescued him earlier. Ariel spends time with Eric, and at the end of the second day, they almost kiss but are thwarted by Flotsam and Jetsam. Furious at Ariel's close success, Ursula disguises herself as a young woman named Vanessa and appears onshore singing with Ariel's voice. Eric recognizes the song, and Ursula casts a hypnotic enchantment that makes him forget about Ariel.
The next day, Ariel discovers that Eric will be married to Vanessa. Scuttle discovers Vanessa's true identity and informs Ariel, who pursues the wedding barge. Sebastian informs Triton, and Scuttle disrupts the wedding with the help of various sea animals. In the chaos, Ursula's shell is destroyed, restoring Ariel's voice and breaking the enchantment over Eric. Realizing that Ariel is the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Turning back into her true form, Ursula kidnaps Ariel. Triton confronts Ursula and demands Ariel's release, but the deal is inviolable. At Ursula's urging, Triton agrees to take Ariel's place as Ursula's prisoner, giving up his trident. Ariel is released as Triton transforms into a polyp and loses his authority over Atlantica. Ursula declares herself the Queen of the Seven Seas, but before she can use the trident, Eric appears with a harpoon. Ursula attempts to kill Eric, but Ariel intervenes, causing Ursula to inadvertently kill Flotsam and Jetsam. Enraged, Ursula uses the trident to grow in size.
Ariel and Eric reunite on the surface just before a gigantic Ursula separates them. She then gains full control of the ocean, creating a storm and bringing sunken ships to the surface. Just as Ariel is about to be killed, Eric commandeers a wrecked ship and impales Ursula with its splintered bowsprit. With Ursula dead, Triton and the other polyps in her garden revert to their original forms. Realizing that Ariel truly loves Eric, Triton turns her into a human and approves her marriage to Eric. Ariel and Eric marry on a ship and depart, with all of Ariel's friends and family watching them as well.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Early in the production of The Little Mermaid, Jeffrey Katzenberg cautioned Clements, Musker, and their staff, telling them that since The Little Mermaid was a "girl's film", it would make less money at the box office than Oliver & Company, which had been Disney's biggest animated box office success in a decade.[20][21] However, by the time the film was closer to completion, Katzenberg was convinced The Little Mermaid would be a hit and the first animated feature to earn more than $100 million in its initial run and become a "blockbuster" film.[20][21]
During its original 1989 theatrical release, The Little Mermaid made $6.1 million in its opening weekend, ranking in third place behind Harlem Nights and Look Who's Talking.[61] Throughout this run, it earned $84.4 million at the North American box office,[62] falling short of Katzenberg's expectations but earning 64% more than Oliver & Company[21] and becoming the animated film with the highest gross from its initial run.[63] The film was theatrically reissued on November 14, 1997, on the same day as Anastasia, a Don Bluth animated feature for Fox Animation Studios. For this release, it ranked in third place behind The Jackal and Starship Troopers, collecting $9.8 million during its first weekend.[64] The reissue brought $27.2 million in additional gross.[62] The film also drew $123 million in box office earnings outside the United States and Canada between both releases, resulting in a total international box office figure of $235 million.[3]
Critical reception[edit]
Review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film has a 93% approval score based on 71 reviews and an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's consensus reads "The Little Mermaid ushered in a new golden era for Disney animation with warm and charming hand-drawn characters and catchy musical sequences."[65] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[66]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times was enthusiastic about the film, writing, "The Little Mermaid is a jolly and inventive animated fantasy—a movie that's so creative and so much fun it deserves comparison with the best Disney work of the past." Ebert also commented positively on the character of Ariel, stating she "is a fully realized female character who thinks and acts independently, even rebelliously, instead of hanging around passively while the fates decide her destiny."[67] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "While the story won't win any prizes from the women's liberation movement, the animation is so full and colorful and the songs so beguiling that this is a case of where someone made one like they used to. The drawing of the evil octopus witch who is jealous of the mermaid's singing voice is particularly outstanding."[68] Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised the film as a "marvel of skillful animation, witty songwriting and smart planning. It is designed to delight filmgoers of every conceivable stripe... Adults will be charmed by the film's bright, outstandingly pretty look and by its robust score. Small children will be enchanted by the film's sunniness and by its perfect simplicity."[69]
Variety magazine praised the film for its cast of characters, Ursula in particular, as well as its animation, stating that the animation "proves lush and fluid, augmented by the use of shadow and light as elements like fire, sun and water illuminate the characters." They also praised the musical collaboration between Howard Ashman and Alan Menken "whose songs frequently begin slowly but build in cleverness and intensity."[70] During the film's 1997 re-release, Hal Hinson of The Washington Post wrote a mixed review, referring to it as a "likably unspectacular adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic."[71]
The staff of TV Guide wrote a positive review, praising the film's return to the traditional Disney musical as well as the film's animation. Yet they also wrote that the film is detracted from by the juvenile humor and the human characters' eyes. While still giving a positive review, they stated that the film "can't compare to the real Disney classics (which appealed equally to both kids and adults)."[72] Todd Gilchrist of IGN wrote a positive review of the film, stating that the film is "an almost perfect achievement". Gilchrist also praised how the film revived interest in animation as it was released at a time when interest in animation was at a lull.[73] Empire gave a positive review of the film, stating that "[The Little Mermaid is] a charmer of a movie, boasting all the ingredients that make a Disney experience something to treasure yet free of all the politically correct, formulaic elements that have bogged down the more recent productions."[74]
In April 2008 – 19 years after the film's initial release in 1989 – Yahoo! users voted The Little Mermaid as No. 14 on the top 30 animated films of all time. In June, that same year, the film remained on the list but dropped six slots to end at #20. (Only three other traditionally animated Disney animated films - Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, respectively - scored above it in the poll even after the update.)[75] In 2011, Richard Corliss of Time magazine named it one of "The 25 All-TIME Best Animated Films".[76]
Accolades[edit]
The film earned three Academy Award nominations, making it the first Disney animated film to earn nominations since The Rescuers in 1977.
Bolstered by the film's success and the soundtrack's award wins, it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in September 1990 for shipments of two million copies of the soundtrack album, an unheard of feat for an animated film at the time.[77] To date, the soundtrack has been certified six times platinum.[77]
Legacy[edit]
Importance[edit]
The Little Mermaid, which was Disney's first animated fairy tale since Sleeping Beauty (1959),[20] is an important film in animation history for many reasons. It was instrumental in re-establishing feature-length animation as a profitable venture for the Walt Disney Company, as the company's theme parks, television productions, and live-action features had overshadowed the animated output since the 1950s.[21] The Little Mermaid was the second film, following Oliver & Company, produced after Disney began expanding its animated output following its successful live action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and became Disney's first animated major box office and critical hit since The Rescuers in 1977.[21] Walt Disney Feature Animation was further expanded as a result of The Little Mermaid and increasingly successful follow-ups – Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994). The staff increased from 300 members in 1988 to 2,200 in 1999 spread across three studios in Burbank, California, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.[22]
In addition, The Little Mermaid signaled the re-establishment of the musical film format as a standard for Disney animated films. The majority of Disney's most popular animated films from the 1930s on had been musicals, though by the 1970s and 1980s the role of music had been de-emphasized in the films.[20] 1988's Oliver & Company had served as a test of sorts to the success of the musical format before Disney committed to the Broadway-style structure of The Little Mermaid.[20]
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".[14]
Controversy and criticism[edit]
Dr. Michael Landis, a history teacher at State University of New York, Ulster, writing for Smithsonian Magazine in 2019, says the film "sent important messages about identity to its young audiences," including topics of gay rights (the central character, Ariel, "feels constrained by her patriarchal society" and is "in the closet"), gender fluidity, and body image issues.[88] Ariel turns to "the only strong female in the entire film and thus Ariel's only female role model," the villain Ursula (who was based on famous drag queen Divine, herself closely associated with gay filmmaker John Waters). Landis invokes Laura Sells and her argument that, "Ariel learns [from Ursula that] gender [is not]...a natural category, but...a performed construct." He adds:
Sequel and prequel[edit]
A direct-to-video sequel, titled The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, was released on September 19, 2000. The plot focuses on Ariel's daughter, Melody, who longs to be a part of the ocean world.[98] A direct-to-video prequel, titled The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, was released in 2008. The story is set before the events of the original film, in which King Triton has banned music from Atlantica.[99]
Other media[edit]
Television series[edit]
A prequel animated series based on the film premiered in late 1992 on the CBS television network, following Ariel's adventures before the events of the film.[100]