The Little Mermaid is a
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
animated feature produced by
Walt Disney Feature AnimationWalt Disney Animation Studios is a key element of The Walt Disney Company, and the only existing cartoon studio. The feature animation studio was an integrated part of Walt Disney Productions from the start of production on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1934...
and based on the
Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "Thumbelina", "The Little Match Girl", and the "The Ugly Duckling".During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted...
fairy taleA fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, gnomes, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events...
of the same name"The Little Mermaid" is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
. Distributed by
Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since 1954 were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney...
, the film was originally released to theaters on November 17, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
in the
Walt Disney Animated Classics seriesThe Walt Disney Animated Classics are a series of feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1937....
. During its initial release,
The Little Mermaid grossed over $84 million in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and an additional $99 million internationally.
After the success of the
1988-Top grossing films :source: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1988&p=.htm- Awards :Academy Awards:* Alice * Alien Nation, starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin* Amsterdamned...
DisneyWalt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since 1954 were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney...
/
AmblinAmblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director, Steven Spielberg, film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its productions,...
film
Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Steven Spielberg and based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, under the Touchstone banner and co-produced by Amblin Entertainment...
,
The Little Mermaid is given credit for breathing life back into the animated feature film genre after a string of critical or commercial failures that dated back to the early 1980s. It also marked the start of the era known as the
Disney RenaissanceThe Disney Renaissance was an era when the Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films mostly based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio...
.
A
stage adaptation of the filmThe Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...
with a book by
Doug WrightDoug Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play, I Am My Own Wife.-Early years:Wright was born in Dallas, Texas...
and additional songs by
Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
and new lyricist
Glenn SlaterGlenn Slater is a Tony-nominated lyricist who collabrates with Alan Menken and other musical theatre composers.Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey...
opened in Denver in July 2007 and began performances on
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
.
Plot
Ariel, a sixteen-year-old
mermaidA mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a human head and torso and the tail of an aquatic animal such as a fish.-Overview and etymology:...
princessPrincess, is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world. With her best
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
friend Flounder, Ariel collects human
artifactA cultural artifact is term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users...
s and goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle the seagull, who offers very inaccurate and comical knowledge of human culture. Ignoring the warnings of her father (
King TritonKing Triton is a Disney character of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise. He first appears in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, and later re-appears in the film's prequel television series spin-off The Little Mermaid, direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and...
) and court musician (
SebastianSebastian the crab is a Disney character who first appears in Disney's 1989 feature film The Little Mermaid...
the
crabCrabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax.Crabs have a soft body covered with a hard shell. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a...
) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden, Ariel still longs to be part of the human world; to this end she has filled a secret
grottoA grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
with all the human artifacts she has found. (
"Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
") While Sebastian, who was assigned to watch over Ariel and be sure she does not visit the surface again tries to convince her that its better to live under the sea than in the human world (
"Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
")
One night, Ariel and Flounder travel to the ocean surface to watch a celebration for the birthday of
Prince EricPrince Eric is a fictional character who first appears in the animated Disney film The Little Mermaid. He later appears in the spin-off prequel television series and in the direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea....
, with whom Ariel falls in love. A sudden storm hits, during which everyone manages to escape in a lifeboat except for Eric who goes and rescues his dog Max, who was still trapped on the ship. He saves Max but almost drowns but is saved by Ariel, who drags him to the beach. She sings to him, but when he stirs awake he sees a vision. She dives underwater when Max comes to Eric. Eric has a vague impression that he was rescued by a girl with a beautiful voice; he vows to find her, and Ariel vows to find a way to join Eric. (
"Part of Your World (reprise)")
Triton and his daughters notice a change in Ariel, who is openly lovesick. Triton questions Sebastian about Ariel's behavior, during which Sebastian accidentally reveals the incident with Eric. Triton furiously confronts Ariel in her grotto, using his trident to destroy her collection of human treasures. After Triton leaves, a pair of eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, convince a crying Ariel that she must visit
UrsulaUrsula is an animated villainess who first appears in the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in the film, the spin-off television series and the Kingdom Hearts video games....
the sea witch, who can supposedly make all her dreams come true.
Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days (
"Poor, Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
"). Within these three days, Ariel must receive the "kiss of true love" from Eric; otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid on the third day and belong to Ursula. As payment for legs, Ariel has to give up her voice, which Ursula magically traps in a shell she wears as a locket. Ariel's tail is transformed into legs and Sebastian and Flounder drag her to the surface.
Eric and Max find Ariel on the beach. He initially suspects that she is the one who saved his life, but when he learns that she cannot speak, he discards that notion—to both the frustration of Ariel and Max (who knows the truth). He helps her to the palace, where the servants think she is as a survivor of a shipwreck. Ariel spends time with Eric, and at the end of the second day, they almost kiss (
"Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
") but are thwarted by Flotsam and Jetsam. Angered at their narrow escape, Ursula takes the disguise of a beautiful young woman named "Vanessa" and appears onshore singing with Ariel's voice. Eric recognizes the song, and in her disguise, Vanessa/Ursula casts a hypnotic spell of
enchantmentEnchantment may refer to:*Incantation or enchantment, a magical spell, charm or bewitchment, in traditional fairy tales or fantasy*the sense of Wonder or Delight**for the usage by J.R.R...
on Eric to make him forget about Ariel.
The next day, Ariel finds out that Eric will be married to the disguised Ursula on a ship. She cries and is left behind when the wedding barge departs. Scuttle discovers that Vanessa is Ursula in disguise, and informs Ariel. Ariel and Flounder chase the wedding barge, Sebastian informs Triton and Scuttle is assigned to literally "stall the wedding." With the help of various animals, the nautilus shell around Ursula's neck is broken, restoring Ariel's voice back to Ariel and breaking Ursula's enchantment over Eric. Realizing that Ariel was the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Ursula reverts to her true form and she kidnaps Ariel.
Triton appears and confronts Ursula, but cannot destroy Ursula's contract with Ariel. Triton chooses to sacrifice himself for his daughter, and is transformed into a polyp. Ursula takes Triton's crown and trident, which was her plan from the beginning. Ursula uses her new power to gloat, forming a whirlpool that disturbs several shipwrecks, one of which Eric commandeers. Just as Ursula is set to use the trident to destroy Ariel, Eric turns the wheel hard to
portPort is the nautical term that refers to the left side of a ship, as perceived by a person on board the ship and facing towards the bow . The port side of a vessel is indicated with a red navigation light at night.The term is also used on aircraft, spacecraft, and analogous...
, in effect ramming the ship's splintered
bowspritThe bowsprit, or boltsprit, of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Tall Ships:...
through Ursula's
abdomenIn vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
.
With Ursula gone, her power breaks and the polyps in Ursula's garden (including Triton) turn back into the old merpeople. Later, after seeing that Ariel really loves Eric and that Eric also saved him in the process, Triton willingly changes her from a mermaid into a human using his trident. She runs into Eric's arms, and the two finally kiss. Ariel marries Eric in a wedding where both humans and merpeople attend.
Cast and characters
- Chef Louis, voiced by top-billed Rene Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and attorney Paul Lewiston on...
, is the chef of Eric's house, a diminutive man with a very short temper whose favorite dish is fish and seafood in general. He tries to cook up Sebastian into a stuffed crab.
- Prince Eric
Prince Eric is a fictional character who first appears in the animated Disney film The Little Mermaid. He later appears in the spin-off prequel television series and in the direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea....
, voiced by Christopher Daniel BarnesChristopher Daniel Barnes is an American actor who performed in many movies and television series. Barnes is also known professionally as C.D. Barnes and C.B. Barnes. He was once the national teenage spokesperson for Greenpeace...
, is a prince that likes to sail, and with whom Ariel falls in love after she saves him from a shipwreck. He is kind and giving, easily taking Ariel in when he finds her stranded on the beach despite not knowing she was the one who once saved his life.
- Princess Ariel, voiced by Jodi Benson
Jodi Benson is an American voice actress and soprano singer. She is best known for providing the speaking voice as well as the singing voice of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels...
, is a 16-year old mermaid entranced with the human world. She is kind, innocent and naive and very trusting. She falls in love with a prince and trades her voice to the sea witch Ursula for 3 days as a human. She is the primary protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, video game, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to share the most empathy...
.
- Ursula
Ursula is an animated villainess who first appears in the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in the film, the spin-off television series and the Kingdom Hearts video games....
, voiced by Pat CarrollPatricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She has performed in numerous stage productions, but is best known for her roles as "Bunny Halper" on The Danny Thomas Show, as Shirley Feeney's mother on Laverne and Shirley and as the voice of the villainesses, Ursula and Morgana, in The Little...
, is the villainous Sea Witch, a cecaelia banished by Triton long before the film's events. After getting Ariel's voice, she tries to marry Eric under the identity of Vanessa (The Little Mermaid) (Jodi Benson).
- Scuttle, voiced by Buddy Hackett
Leonard Hacker was an American comedian and actor. In his later life, he and his wife set up the Singita Animal Sanctuary in the San Fernando Valley, California.-Early life:...
, is a seagull which Ariel considers an expert in the human world when in fact he knows very little about the world's actual working from beyond a bird's eye view. He's loud, obnoxious but has the best of intentions for Ariel.
- Flounder, voiced by Jason Marin
Jason Marin is an American actor known mostly for his role as Flounder in The Little Mermaid.- Filmography :* 1985 - Back to the Future - Sherman Peabody* 1988 - Moving - Paperboy* 1988 - Inherit the Wind...
, is Ariel's fish sidekickA sidekick is a stock character, a close companion who assists a partner in a superior position. Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, Batman's companion Robin, and Xena's partner, Gabrielle are some well-known sidekicks in fiction....
. He is a talkative, yet timid gold and blue striped fish who is just as naive and impressionable as Ariel is, often involving himself in her adventures.
- King Triton
King Triton is a Disney character of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise. He first appears in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, and later re-appears in the film's prequel television series spin-off The Little Mermaid, direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and...
, voiced by Kenneth MarsKenneth Mars is an American television, movie and voice actor. Best known for his roles in several Mel Brooks films, the most memorable being the insane Nazi playwright of Springtime for Hitler, Franz Liebkind, in 1968's The Producers and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp...
, is the ruler of Atlantica and Ariel's widowed father. He is curmudgeonly, but caring and overbearingly protective of his youngest daughter Ariel. Despite his good intentions he feels he can tend to be too harsh with her, often hurting her feelings.
- Grimsby, voiced by Ben Wright
Ben Wright was an English actor in radio, film and television.-Radio:Wright worked extensively in American radio, supplying crisp, erudite diction as the radio incarnation of Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Peter Black on Pursuit...
, is Eric's majordomoA majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, the term refers to the highest person of a household staff, one who acts on behalf of the owner of a typically large residence...
. He is sophistocated with a low sense of humor, but generally caring of Eric and his best interests. This was Wright's final acting role before his death in 1989.
- Sebastian
Sebastian the crab is a Disney character who first appears in Disney's 1989 feature film The Little Mermaid...
, voiced by Samuel E. WrightSamuel E. Wright is an American film and theater actor who is best known as the voice of Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid, and the voice of Kron in Disney's Dinosaur.-Career:Samuel E...
, is a crabCrabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax.Crabs have a soft body covered with a hard shell. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a...
that leads the Atlantica orchestra. During development, he was turned from BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
to Jamaican. He is a high strung, somewhat cowardly crustacean with a natural musical aptitude and though charged with keeping an eye on Ariel he often sides with her and protects her from harm despite what Triton might think of her (or his) actions.
- Flotsam and Jetsam, voiced by Paddi Edwards
Paddi Edwards , was an American actress. She worked steadily in film and television between the years of 1960 and 1999, up until the time of her death in Encino, California on October 18, 1999. She found a niche in television movies and, towards the end of her life, doing voiceover work in...
, are Ursula's eelTrue eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and approximately 600 species. Most eels are predators...
pets/henchmen. They are twins, who usually speak in sync, they are killed accidentally by Ursula in the climaxIn general, a climax is a point of greatest intensity or force in an ascending series; i.e., a culmination...
of the film.
- Carlotta the maid, voiced by Edie McClurg
Edie McClurg is an American character actress. She is known for her perky Upper Midwestern accent.-Career:McClurg began her career with a role in the 1976 Brian De Palma horror film Carrie as Helen Shyres, one of Carrie's classmates. In 1980, she was a regular performer on The David Letterman Show...
, is one of Eric's maids. She is kind hearted and always willing to help Ariel out, she is one of the few people who see her as a match for Eric.
- Ariel's Sisters, voiced by Kimmy Robertson
Kimmy Robertson is an American actress best known for her role as Lucy Moran in the TV series Twin Peaks. She has also appeared in Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh. She was a ballerina before finding success as an actress...
and Caroline VasicekCaroline Vasicek is an Austrian actress and musical actress.She has her training in dance, drama and musicals in Vienna completed. With ten years she was the first time on the boards, which mean the world and received twelve years with her first lead role...
, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, and Alana are Ariel's six older sisters, and although they were introduced in the above order, their age order is different, as revealed in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's BeginningThe Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a 2008 Disney animated feature film, and the direct-to-video prequel to the 1989 film The Little Mermaid...
, with Attina being the oldest instead of Aquata.
- Harold the Seahorse, voiced by Will Ryan
Will Ryan is an American veteran voice actor and producer–writer–composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the US...
, is the court announcer to King Triton's palace.
- Max the Sheepdog, vocal effects by Frank Welker
Franklin W. "Frank" Welker is a veteran American actor, who specializes in voice acting. He is responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 40 years in American television and motion pictures.Welker is listed as number one on the...
, is an Old English SheepdogThe Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog which was developed in England from very old herding types of dog. The Old English Sheepdog has very long fur covering the face and eyes....
and Prince Eric's pet, who first appears in the film.
Production
The film was originally planned as one of Disney's earliest feature films. Development started soon after
Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a American animated feature based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full color, the first...
in the late 1930s, but was put on hold due to various circumstances.
In 1985,
The Great Mouse DetectiveThe Great Mouse Detective is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures...
co-director Ron Clements discovered a collection of Hans C. Andersen's fairy tales while browsing a bookstore. He presented a two-page draft of a movie based on "The Little Mermaid" to CEO
Michael EisnerMichael Dammann Eisner is the former chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. His tenure at Disney lasted from 1984 to 2005.-Early life:...
, who passed it over, because at that time the studio was in development on a sequel to
SplashSplash is a 1984 fantasy film and romantic comedy film directed by Ron Howard and written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge...
. But the next day, Walt Disney Pictures boss
Jeffrey KatzenbergJeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as studio chairman at The Walt Disney Company, and for producing the DreamWorks animated films Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Bee Movie, and Kung Fu...
, green-lighted the idea for possible development, along with "
Oliver & CompanyOliver & Company is a 1988 animated feature film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated...
." Unknown to the production team at the time, the idea for the movie had actually been one of
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
's favorites. While in production in the 1980s, the staff found the original 1930s Disney
Mermaid story and art development work by chance. Many of the changes made by the staff in the 1930s to Hans Christian Andersen's original story were coincidentally the same as the changes made by Disney writers in the 1980s.
That year, Clements and
Great Mouse Detective co-director John Musker expanded the two-page idea into a 20-page rough script, eliminating the role of the mermaid's grandmother and expanding the roles of the Merman King and the sea witch. However, the film's plans were momentarily shelved as Disney focused its attention on
Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Steven Spielberg and based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, under the Touchstone banner and co-produced by Amblin Entertainment...
and
Oliver & Company as more immediate releases.
In 1987, songwriter
Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
became involved with
Mermaid after he was asked to contribute to
Oliver & Company. He proposed changing the minor character Clarence, the English-butler crab, to a Jamaican Rastafarian crab and shifting the music style throughout the film to reflect this. At the same time, Katzenberg, Clements, Musker, and Ashman changed the story format to make
Mermaid like an animated Broadway musical. Ashman and Alan Menken (composer) teamed up to compose the entire soundtrack. In 1988, with
Oliver out of the way,
Mermaid was slated as the next major Disney release.
More money and resources were dedicated to
Mermaid than any other Disney animated film in decades. The artistic manpower needed for
Mermaid required Disney to farm out most of the underwater bubble effects animation in the film to Pacific Rim Productions, a China-based firm with production facilities in Beijing.
Mermaid's supervising animators included Glen Keane and Mark Henn on Ariel, Duncan Marjoribanks on Sebastian, Andreas Deja on King Triton, and Ruben Aquino on Ursula. Originally, Keane had been asked to work on Ursula, as he had established a reputation for drawing large, powerful figures (the bear in
The Fox and the HoundThe Fox and the Hound is a 1981 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions which premiered in the United States on July 10, 1981. The twenty-fourth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is loosely based on the Daniel P...
, Professor Ratigan in
The Great Mouse DetectiveThe Great Mouse Detective is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures...
). Keane, however, was assigned as one of the two lead artists on the petite Ariel and oversaw the "Part of Your World" musical number. He jokingly stated that his wife looks exactly like Ariel "without the fins." The character's body shape and personality were based upon that of
Alyssa MilanoAlyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer. Her acting career began after she appeared in the Broadway show Annie. Her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? catapaulted her to fame...
, then starring on TV's
Who's the Boss?Who's the Boss? is an American television sitcom starring Tony Danza, Judith Light, Alyssa Milano, Danny Pintauro, and Katherine Helmond...
and the effect of her hair underwater was based on footage of
Sally RideSally Kristen Ride is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut who, in 1983, became the first American woman and then-youngest American to enter space.-Early life:...
, when she was in space.
Another first for recent years was that live actors and actresses were filmed for reference material for the animators, a practice used frequently for many of the Disney animated features produced under Walt Disney's supervision. Broadway actress
Jodi BensonJodi Benson is an American voice actress and soprano singer. She is best known for providing the speaking voice as well as the singing voice of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels...
was chosen to play Ariel, and
Sherri Lynn StonerSherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16 1965, in Santa Monica, California, United States.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs...
, a former member of Los Angeles' Groundlings improvisation comedy group, acted out Ariel's key scenes. Not all of Disney's animators approved of the use of live-action reference; one artist quit the project over the issue. An attempt to use Disney's famed
multiplane cameraThe multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another...
for the first time in years for quality "depth" shots failed because the machine was reputedly in dilapidated condition.
Aside from its main animation facility in
GlendaleGlendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is a suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, Disney opened a satellite feature animation facility during the production of
Mermaid near Orlando, Florida, within the still-unfinished
Disney-MGM StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
Theme Park at Walt Disney World. Though the park opened to the public a year later, work at the animation studio began in May 1988, and the Disney-MGM facility's first projects were to produce an entire "Roger Rabbit" cartoon short, and contribute ink and paint support to
Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid is the last Disney feature film to use the traditional hand-painted cel method of animation. Disney's next film,
The Rescuers Down UnderThe Rescuers Down Under is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and first released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990...
, used a digital method of coloring and combining scanned drawings – CAPS (
Computer Animation Production SystemThe Computer Animation Production System is a proprietary collection of software programs, scanning camera systems, servers, networked computer workstations, and custom desks developed by The Walt Disney Company together with Pixar in the late-1980s...
), which eliminated the need for cels. A CAPS prototype was used experimentally on a few scenes in
Mermaid, including the final wedding scene. Other
CGIComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
includes some of the wrecked ships in the final battle, a staircase behind a shot of Ariel in Eric's castle, and the carriage Eric and Ariel are riding in when she bounces it over a ravine.
On November 15, 1989,
The Little Mermaid began critics' screenings in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. On November 17, 1989, the world premiere of
The Little Mermaid took place near
OrlandoOrlando is a major city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan region...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
on all ten AMC Pleasure Island screens at Walt Disney World's newly-built Pleasure Island nightclub.
Actresses from all over the globe were considered for the role of the film's villain, Ursula the Sea Witch. These included American actresses such as Bea Arthur,
Nancy MarchandNancy Marchand was an American actress, whose career encompassed both stage and screen. She appeared in various theatre productions throughout the early 1950s, before being offered roles on film and television....
,
Charlotte RaeCharlotte Rae is an American character actress, singer and dancer, who in her six decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life . She received a Best Actress Emmy Nomination in a Comedy in 1982...
,
Elaine StritchElaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist, best known for her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in Company, her 2001 one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty, and most recently for her role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleen on NBC's 30 Rock.-Early years:Stritch was born in Detroit,...
,
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actresses such as
Joan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins OBE is an English actress, author, and columnist.-Early life:Collins was born in Paddington, London, the daughter of Elsa , a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins, an agent whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey, The Beatles and Tom Jones...
,
Jennifer SaundersJennifer Jane Saunders is a BAFTA- and Emmy Award-winning English comedienne, screenwriter and actress.She first came into widespread attention in the 1980s and early 1990s when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama...
(who auditioned for it) and
Dawn FrenchDawn Roma French is a British actress, writer and comedienne. In her career, she has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards and also won a Fellowship BAFTA along with Jennifer Saunders...
(who also auditioned for it), and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n actress
Rowena WallaceRowena Wallace is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Patricia in Sons and Daughters. She was born on August 23, 1947 in Coventry, United Kingdom and is based in Sydney, Australia.-Early Life and Budding Career:...
, who claims she was asked to audition for the role by
Michael EisnerMichael Dammann Eisner is the former chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. His tenure at Disney lasted from 1984 to 2005.-Early life:...
.
Music
The Little Mermaid was considered by some as "the film that brought
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
into cartoons".
Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
wrote the Academy Award winning score, and collaborated with
Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
in the songs.
Songs
- "Fathoms Below" – Sailors
- "Daughters of Triton" – Triton's Daughters
- "Part of Your World
"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" – Ariel
- "Part of Your World (Reprise)" – Ariel
- "Under the Sea
"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" – Sebastian and Sea Creatures
- "Poor Unfortunate Souls
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" – Ursula
- "Les Poissons
Les Poissons is a song from the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, which is sung in the film and in the The Little Mermaid Broadway show by the character Chef Louis, voiced by René Auberjonois in the movie and played by John Treacy Egan in the play. Sebastian the crab Les Poissons (meaning "The Fishes"...
" – Chef Louis
- "Kiss the Girl
"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" – Sebastian and Chorus
- "Vanessa's Song" – Vanessa/Ursula*
- "Part of Your World (Finale)" – Chorus
- Note: "Vanessa's Song" is not included on any official Disney Soundtrack of The Little Mermaid. It is a reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
".
The compilation
Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical MagicClassic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic is a 5-disc CD box set, which contains 125 songs from Disneyland and Walt Disney World, various Disney films in animation and live-action, and the Walt Disney anthology television series...
includes "
Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
", "
Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
", and "
Poor Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" on the red disc, "
Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" on the blue disc, and "
Les PoissonsLes Poissons is a song from the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, which is sung in the film and in the The Little Mermaid Broadway show by the character Chef Louis, voiced by René Auberjonois in the movie and played by John Treacy Egan in the play. Sebastian the crab Les Poissons (meaning "The Fishes"...
" on the green disc.
The compilation
Disney's Greatest HitsDisney's Greatest Hits is a 3-disc CD-set, released by Walt Disney Records in 2001 and 2002.- Volume 1 :# Strangers Like Me # Reflection # I Won't Say...
includes "
Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" on the blue disc, "
Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" on the green disc, and "
Poor Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" and "
Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" on the red disc.
Significance
The Little Mermaid is an important film in
animationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways...
history for many reasons:
- It marked a return to the musical
The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
format that made Disney films popular from the 1930s to the 1970s, after a test run with Oliver and Company the year before. It featured seven original songs by composer Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
and lyricist Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
, who served as the film's producer.
- It was the first return to fairy tales since 1959's Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault. It was released to theatres on January 29, 1959 by Buena Vista Distribution...
.
- It had the most special effects for a Disney animated feature since Fantasia
Fantasia is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Fantasia features animation set to classical music and no dialogue—only spoken introductions by the host, American composer and music critic Deems Taylor, before segments...
was released forty-nine years earlier. Effects animation supervisor Mark DindalMark L. Dindal is an American special effects animator and film director. Dindal was head of special effects on Disney's The Little Mermaid and The Rescuers Down Under....
estimated that over a million bubbles were drawn for this film, in addition to the use of other processes such as airbrushAn airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
ing, backlighting, superimposition, and some flat-shaded computer animationComputer animation is the art of creating moving images with the use of computers. It is a subfield of computer graphics and animation. Increasingly it is created by means of 3D computer graphics, though 2D computer graphics are still widely used for stylistic, low bandwidth, and faster real-time...
.
- The Little Mermaid was a box office success and grossed over $200,000,000 worldwide.
- This film marked the final use of the Disney studio's multiplane camera
The multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another...
, as well as one of the first uses of CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) in a Disney feature, seen in the movie's final scene. CAPS is a digital ink-and-paint and animation production system that colors the animators' drawings digitally, as opposed to the traditional animation method of tracing ink and paint onto cels (see Traditional animationTraditional animation, also referred to as classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular form of animation...
). All subsequent 2D animated Disney features have used CAPS instead of ink-and-paint, with Home on the Range as the last one.
- This film signaled a renaissance in Disney animation
The Disney Renaissance was an era when the Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films mostly based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio...
; the films were popular and financial successes, causing Disney's feature animation department to begin significant expansion, from about 300 artists in 1988 to 2,400 by 1999. In fact, The Little Mermaid was Disney's first significant animated success since The RescuersThe Rescuers is a 1977 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The twenty-third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization, headquartered in New York and shadowing...
in 1977.
- The Little Mermaid won the 1990 Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Music Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Winners with multiple nominations:...
. "Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" and "Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song; the Oscar went to "Under the Sea."
- The soundtrack, riding high on the heels of the film's popularity and the Academy, Golden Globes and Grammy Awards, went triple platinum, an unheard-of feat for an animated movie at the time. Since then, it has gone 6x Platinum in the US.
- Ursula the Sea Witch is perhaps the first example of a cecaelia
A cecaelia is a composite mythical being, appearing occasionally in art , literature, and multimedia; combining the head, arms and torso of a woman and, from the lower torso down, the tentacles of an octopus or squid as a form of mermaid or sea demon...
– a hybrid mythological creature not unlike mermaids that is half-human and half-octopus appearing on the big screen. Due to the popularity and widely-known appearance of the villain, the usage of cecaelia in art (particularly online), literature, video games, and even aquatic-themed parades increased dramatically. Additionally, cecaelia are now more frequently referred to as 'sea witches'.
1989 original run
The Little Mermaid is a
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
animated feature produced by
Walt Disney Feature AnimationWalt Disney Animation Studios is a key element of The Walt Disney Company, and the only existing cartoon studio. The feature animation studio was an integrated part of Walt Disney Productions from the start of production on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1934...
and based on the
Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "Thumbelina", "The Little Match Girl", and the "The Ugly Duckling".During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted...
fairy taleA fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, gnomes, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events...
of the same name"The Little Mermaid" is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
. Distributed by
Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since 1954 were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney...
, the film was originally released to theaters on November 17, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
in the
Walt Disney Animated Classics seriesThe Walt Disney Animated Classics are a series of feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1937....
. During its initial release,
The Little Mermaid grossed over $84 million in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and an additional $99 million internationally.
After the success of the
1988-Top grossing films :source: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1988&p=.htm- Awards :Academy Awards:* Alice * Alien Nation, starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin* Amsterdamned...
DisneyWalt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since 1954 were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney...
/
AmblinAmblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director, Steven Spielberg, film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its productions,...
film
Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Steven Spielberg and based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, under the Touchstone banner and co-produced by Amblin Entertainment...
,
The Little Mermaid is given credit for breathing life back into the animated feature film genre after a string of critical or commercial failures that dated back to the early 1980s. It also marked the start of the era known as the
Disney RenaissanceThe Disney Renaissance was an era when the Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films mostly based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio...
.
A
stage adaptation of the filmThe Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...
with a book by
Doug WrightDoug Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play, I Am My Own Wife.-Early years:Wright was born in Dallas, Texas...
and additional songs by
Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
and new lyricist
Glenn SlaterGlenn Slater is a Tony-nominated lyricist who collabrates with Alan Menken and other musical theatre composers.Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey...
opened in Denver in July 2007 and began performances on
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
.
Plot
Ariel, a sixteen-year-old
mermaidA mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a human head and torso and the tail of an aquatic animal such as a fish.-Overview and etymology:...
princessPrincess, is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world. With her best
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
friend Flounder, Ariel collects human
artifactA cultural artifact is term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users...
s and goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle the seagull, who offers very inaccurate and comical knowledge of human culture. Ignoring the warnings of her father (
King TritonKing Triton is a Disney character of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise. He first appears in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, and later re-appears in the film's prequel television series spin-off The Little Mermaid, direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and...
) and court musician (
SebastianSebastian the crab is a Disney character who first appears in Disney's 1989 feature film The Little Mermaid...
the
crabCrabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax.Crabs have a soft body covered with a hard shell. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a...
) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden, Ariel still longs to be part of the human world; to this end she has filled a secret
grottoA grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
with all the human artifacts she has found. (
"Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
") While Sebastian, who was assigned to watch over Ariel and be sure she does not visit the surface again tries to convince her that its better to live under the sea than in the human world (
"Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
")
One night, Ariel and Flounder travel to the ocean surface to watch a celebration for the birthday of
Prince EricPrince Eric is a fictional character who first appears in the animated Disney film The Little Mermaid. He later appears in the spin-off prequel television series and in the direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea....
, with whom Ariel falls in love. A sudden storm hits, during which everyone manages to escape in a lifeboat except for Eric who goes and rescues his dog Max, who was still trapped on the ship. He saves Max but almost drowns but is saved by Ariel, who drags him to the beach. She sings to him, but when he stirs awake he sees a vision. She dives underwater when Max comes to Eric. Eric has a vague impression that he was rescued by a girl with a beautiful voice; he vows to find her, and Ariel vows to find a way to join Eric. (
"Part of Your World (reprise)")
Triton and his daughters notice a change in Ariel, who is openly lovesick. Triton questions Sebastian about Ariel's behavior, during which Sebastian accidentally reveals the incident with Eric. Triton furiously confronts Ariel in her grotto, using his trident to destroy her collection of human treasures. After Triton leaves, a pair of eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, convince a crying Ariel that she must visit
UrsulaUrsula is an animated villainess who first appears in the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in the film, the spin-off television series and the Kingdom Hearts video games....
the sea witch, who can supposedly make all her dreams come true.
Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days (
"Poor, Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
"). Within these three days, Ariel must receive the "kiss of true love" from Eric; otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid on the third day and belong to Ursula. As payment for legs, Ariel has to give up her voice, which Ursula magically traps in a shell she wears as a locket. Ariel's tail is transformed into legs and Sebastian and Flounder drag her to the surface.
Eric and Max find Ariel on the beach. He initially suspects that she is the one who saved his life, but when he learns that she cannot speak, he discards that notion—to both the frustration of Ariel and Max (who knows the truth). He helps her to the palace, where the servants think she is as a survivor of a shipwreck. Ariel spends time with Eric, and at the end of the second day, they almost kiss (
"Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
") but are thwarted by Flotsam and Jetsam. Angered at their narrow escape, Ursula takes the disguise of a beautiful young woman named "Vanessa" and appears onshore singing with Ariel's voice. Eric recognizes the song, and in her disguise, Vanessa/Ursula casts a hypnotic spell of
enchantmentEnchantment may refer to:*Incantation or enchantment, a magical spell, charm or bewitchment, in traditional fairy tales or fantasy*the sense of Wonder or Delight**for the usage by J.R.R...
on Eric to make him forget about Ariel.
The next day, Ariel finds out that Eric will be married to the disguised Ursula on a ship. She cries and is left behind when the wedding barge departs. Scuttle discovers that Vanessa is Ursula in disguise, and informs Ariel. Ariel and Flounder chase the wedding barge, Sebastian informs Triton and Scuttle is assigned to literally "stall the wedding." With the help of various animals, the nautilus shell around Ursula's neck is broken, restoring Ariel's voice back to Ariel and breaking Ursula's enchantment over Eric. Realizing that Ariel was the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Ursula reverts to her true form and she kidnaps Ariel.
Triton appears and confronts Ursula, but cannot destroy Ursula's contract with Ariel. Triton chooses to sacrifice himself for his daughter, and is transformed into a polyp. Ursula takes Triton's crown and trident, which was her plan from the beginning. Ursula uses her new power to gloat, forming a whirlpool that disturbs several shipwrecks, one of which Eric commandeers. Just as Ursula is set to use the trident to destroy Ariel, Eric turns the wheel hard to
portPort is the nautical term that refers to the left side of a ship, as perceived by a person on board the ship and facing towards the bow . The port side of a vessel is indicated with a red navigation light at night.The term is also used on aircraft, spacecraft, and analogous...
, in effect ramming the ship's splintered
bowspritThe bowsprit, or boltsprit, of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Tall Ships:...
through Ursula's
abdomenIn vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
.
With Ursula gone, her power breaks and the polyps in Ursula's garden (including Triton) turn back into the old merpeople. Later, after seeing that Ariel really loves Eric and that Eric also saved him in the process, Triton willingly changes her from a mermaid into a human using his trident. She runs into Eric's arms, and the two finally kiss. Ariel marries Eric in a wedding where both humans and merpeople attend.
Cast and characters
- Chef Louis, voiced by top-billed Rene Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and attorney Paul Lewiston on...
, is the chef of Eric's house, a diminutive man with a very short temper whose favorite dish is fish and seafood in general. He tries to cook up Sebastian into a stuffed crab.
- Prince Eric
Prince Eric is a fictional character who first appears in the animated Disney film The Little Mermaid. He later appears in the spin-off prequel television series and in the direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea....
, voiced by Christopher Daniel BarnesChristopher Daniel Barnes is an American actor who performed in many movies and television series. Barnes is also known professionally as C.D. Barnes and C.B. Barnes. He was once the national teenage spokesperson for Greenpeace...
, is a prince that likes to sail, and with whom Ariel falls in love after she saves him from a shipwreck. He is kind and giving, easily taking Ariel in when he finds her stranded on the beach despite not knowing she was the one who once saved his life.
- Princess Ariel, voiced by Jodi Benson
Jodi Benson is an American voice actress and soprano singer. She is best known for providing the speaking voice as well as the singing voice of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels...
, is a 16-year old mermaid entranced with the human world. She is kind, innocent and naive and very trusting. She falls in love with a prince and trades her voice to the sea witch Ursula for 3 days as a human. She is the primary protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, video game, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to share the most empathy...
.
- Ursula
Ursula is an animated villainess who first appears in the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in the film, the spin-off television series and the Kingdom Hearts video games....
, voiced by Pat CarrollPatricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She has performed in numerous stage productions, but is best known for her roles as "Bunny Halper" on The Danny Thomas Show, as Shirley Feeney's mother on Laverne and Shirley and as the voice of the villainesses, Ursula and Morgana, in The Little...
, is the villainous Sea Witch, a cecaelia banished by Triton long before the film's events. After getting Ariel's voice, she tries to marry Eric under the identity of Vanessa (The Little Mermaid) (Jodi Benson).
- Scuttle, voiced by Buddy Hackett
Leonard Hacker was an American comedian and actor. In his later life, he and his wife set up the Singita Animal Sanctuary in the San Fernando Valley, California.-Early life:...
, is a seagull which Ariel considers an expert in the human world when in fact he knows very little about the world's actual working from beyond a bird's eye view. He's loud, obnoxious but has the best of intentions for Ariel.
- Flounder, voiced by Jason Marin
Jason Marin is an American actor known mostly for his role as Flounder in The Little Mermaid.- Filmography :* 1985 - Back to the Future - Sherman Peabody* 1988 - Moving - Paperboy* 1988 - Inherit the Wind...
, is Ariel's fish sidekickA sidekick is a stock character, a close companion who assists a partner in a superior position. Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, Batman's companion Robin, and Xena's partner, Gabrielle are some well-known sidekicks in fiction....
. He is a talkative, yet timid gold and blue striped fish who is just as naive and impressionable as Ariel is, often involving himself in her adventures.
- King Triton
King Triton is a Disney character of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise. He first appears in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, and later re-appears in the film's prequel television series spin-off The Little Mermaid, direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and...
, voiced by Kenneth MarsKenneth Mars is an American television, movie and voice actor. Best known for his roles in several Mel Brooks films, the most memorable being the insane Nazi playwright of Springtime for Hitler, Franz Liebkind, in 1968's The Producers and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp...
, is the ruler of Atlantica and Ariel's widowed father. He is curmudgeonly, but caring and overbearingly protective of his youngest daughter Ariel. Despite his good intentions he feels he can tend to be too harsh with her, often hurting her feelings.
- Grimsby, voiced by Ben Wright
Ben Wright was an English actor in radio, film and television.-Radio:Wright worked extensively in American radio, supplying crisp, erudite diction as the radio incarnation of Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Peter Black on Pursuit...
, is Eric's majordomoA majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, the term refers to the highest person of a household staff, one who acts on behalf of the owner of a typically large residence...
. He is sophistocated with a low sense of humor, but generally caring of Eric and his best interests. This was Wright's final acting role before his death in 1989.
- Sebastian
Sebastian the crab is a Disney character who first appears in Disney's 1989 feature film The Little Mermaid...
, voiced by Samuel E. WrightSamuel E. Wright is an American film and theater actor who is best known as the voice of Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid, and the voice of Kron in Disney's Dinosaur.-Career:Samuel E...
, is a crabCrabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax.Crabs have a soft body covered with a hard shell. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a...
that leads the Atlantica orchestra. During development, he was turned from BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
to Jamaican. He is a high strung, somewhat cowardly crustacean with a natural musical aptitude and though charged with keeping an eye on Ariel he often sides with her and protects her from harm despite what Triton might think of her (or his) actions.
- Flotsam and Jetsam, voiced by Paddi Edwards
Paddi Edwards , was an American actress. She worked steadily in film and television between the years of 1960 and 1999, up until the time of her death in Encino, California on October 18, 1999. She found a niche in television movies and, towards the end of her life, doing voiceover work in...
, are Ursula's eelTrue eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and approximately 600 species. Most eels are predators...
pets/henchmen. They are twins, who usually speak in sync, they are killed accidentally by Ursula in the climaxIn general, a climax is a point of greatest intensity or force in an ascending series; i.e., a culmination...
of the film.
- Carlotta the maid, voiced by Edie McClurg
Edie McClurg is an American character actress. She is known for her perky Upper Midwestern accent.-Career:McClurg began her career with a role in the 1976 Brian De Palma horror film Carrie as Helen Shyres, one of Carrie's classmates. In 1980, she was a regular performer on The David Letterman Show...
, is one of Eric's maids. She is kind hearted and always willing to help Ariel out, she is one of the few people who see her as a match for Eric.
- Ariel's Sisters, voiced by Kimmy Robertson
Kimmy Robertson is an American actress best known for her role as Lucy Moran in the TV series Twin Peaks. She has also appeared in Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh. She was a ballerina before finding success as an actress...
and Caroline VasicekCaroline Vasicek is an Austrian actress and musical actress.She has her training in dance, drama and musicals in Vienna completed. With ten years she was the first time on the boards, which mean the world and received twelve years with her first lead role...
, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, and Alana are Ariel's six older sisters, and although they were introduced in the above order, their age order is different, as revealed in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's BeginningThe Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a 2008 Disney animated feature film, and the direct-to-video prequel to the 1989 film The Little Mermaid...
, with Attina being the oldest instead of Aquata.
- Harold the Seahorse, voiced by Will Ryan
Will Ryan is an American veteran voice actor and producer–writer–composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the US...
, is the court announcer to King Triton's palace.
- Max the Sheepdog, vocal effects by Frank Welker
Franklin W. "Frank" Welker is a veteran American actor, who specializes in voice acting. He is responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 40 years in American television and motion pictures.Welker is listed as number one on the...
, is an Old English SheepdogThe Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog which was developed in England from very old herding types of dog. The Old English Sheepdog has very long fur covering the face and eyes....
and Prince Eric's pet, who first appears in the film.
Production
The film was originally planned as one of Disney's earliest feature films. Development started soon after
Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a American animated feature based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full color, the first...
in the late 1930s, but was put on hold due to various circumstances.
In 1985,
The Great Mouse DetectiveThe Great Mouse Detective is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures...
co-director Ron Clements discovered a collection of Hans C. Andersen's fairy tales while browsing a bookstore. He presented a two-page draft of a movie based on "The Little Mermaid" to CEO
Michael EisnerMichael Dammann Eisner is the former chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. His tenure at Disney lasted from 1984 to 2005.-Early life:...
, who passed it over, because at that time the studio was in development on a sequel to
SplashSplash is a 1984 fantasy film and romantic comedy film directed by Ron Howard and written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge...
. But the next day, Walt Disney Pictures boss
Jeffrey KatzenbergJeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as studio chairman at The Walt Disney Company, and for producing the DreamWorks animated films Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Bee Movie, and Kung Fu...
, green-lighted the idea for possible development, along with "
Oliver & CompanyOliver & Company is a 1988 animated feature film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated...
." Unknown to the production team at the time, the idea for the movie had actually been one of
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
's favorites. While in production in the 1980s, the staff found the original 1930s Disney
Mermaid story and art development work by chance. Many of the changes made by the staff in the 1930s to Hans Christian Andersen's original story were coincidentally the same as the changes made by Disney writers in the 1980s.
That year, Clements and
Great Mouse Detective co-director John Musker expanded the two-page idea into a 20-page rough script, eliminating the role of the mermaid's grandmother and expanding the roles of the Merman King and the sea witch. However, the film's plans were momentarily shelved as Disney focused its attention on
Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Steven Spielberg and based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, under the Touchstone banner and co-produced by Amblin Entertainment...
and
Oliver & Company as more immediate releases.
In 1987, songwriter
Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
became involved with
Mermaid after he was asked to contribute to
Oliver & Company. He proposed changing the minor character Clarence, the English-butler crab, to a Jamaican Rastafarian crab and shifting the music style throughout the film to reflect this. At the same time, Katzenberg, Clements, Musker, and Ashman changed the story format to make
Mermaid like an animated Broadway musical. Ashman and Alan Menken (composer) teamed up to compose the entire soundtrack. In 1988, with
Oliver out of the way,
Mermaid was slated as the next major Disney release.
More money and resources were dedicated to
Mermaid than any other Disney animated film in decades. The artistic manpower needed for
Mermaid required Disney to farm out most of the underwater bubble effects animation in the film to Pacific Rim Productions, a China-based firm with production facilities in Beijing.
Mermaid's supervising animators included Glen Keane and Mark Henn on Ariel, Duncan Marjoribanks on Sebastian, Andreas Deja on King Triton, and Ruben Aquino on Ursula. Originally, Keane had been asked to work on Ursula, as he had established a reputation for drawing large, powerful figures (the bear in
The Fox and the HoundThe Fox and the Hound is a 1981 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions which premiered in the United States on July 10, 1981. The twenty-fourth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is loosely based on the Daniel P...
, Professor Ratigan in
The Great Mouse DetectiveThe Great Mouse Detective is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures...
). Keane, however, was assigned as one of the two lead artists on the petite Ariel and oversaw the "Part of Your World" musical number. He jokingly stated that his wife looks exactly like Ariel "without the fins." The character's body shape and personality were based upon that of
Alyssa MilanoAlyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer. Her acting career began after she appeared in the Broadway show Annie. Her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? catapaulted her to fame...
, then starring on TV's
Who's the Boss?Who's the Boss? is an American television sitcom starring Tony Danza, Judith Light, Alyssa Milano, Danny Pintauro, and Katherine Helmond...
and the effect of her hair underwater was based on footage of
Sally RideSally Kristen Ride is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut who, in 1983, became the first American woman and then-youngest American to enter space.-Early life:...
, when she was in space.
Another first for recent years was that live actors and actresses were filmed for reference material for the animators, a practice used frequently for many of the Disney animated features produced under Walt Disney's supervision. Broadway actress
Jodi BensonJodi Benson is an American voice actress and soprano singer. She is best known for providing the speaking voice as well as the singing voice of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels...
was chosen to play Ariel, and
Sherri Lynn StonerSherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16 1965, in Santa Monica, California, United States.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs...
, a former member of Los Angeles' Groundlings improvisation comedy group, acted out Ariel's key scenes. Not all of Disney's animators approved of the use of live-action reference; one artist quit the project over the issue. An attempt to use Disney's famed
multiplane cameraThe multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another...
for the first time in years for quality "depth" shots failed because the machine was reputedly in dilapidated condition.
Aside from its main animation facility in
GlendaleGlendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is a suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, Disney opened a satellite feature animation facility during the production of
Mermaid near Orlando, Florida, within the still-unfinished
Disney-MGM StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
Theme Park at Walt Disney World. Though the park opened to the public a year later, work at the animation studio began in May 1988, and the Disney-MGM facility's first projects were to produce an entire "Roger Rabbit" cartoon short, and contribute ink and paint support to
Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid is the last Disney feature film to use the traditional hand-painted cel method of animation. Disney's next film,
The Rescuers Down UnderThe Rescuers Down Under is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and first released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990...
, used a digital method of coloring and combining scanned drawings – CAPS (
Computer Animation Production SystemThe Computer Animation Production System is a proprietary collection of software programs, scanning camera systems, servers, networked computer workstations, and custom desks developed by The Walt Disney Company together with Pixar in the late-1980s...
), which eliminated the need for cels. A CAPS prototype was used experimentally on a few scenes in
Mermaid, including the final wedding scene. Other
CGIComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
includes some of the wrecked ships in the final battle, a staircase behind a shot of Ariel in Eric's castle, and the carriage Eric and Ariel are riding in when she bounces it over a ravine.
On November 15, 1989,
The Little Mermaid began critics' screenings in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. On November 17, 1989, the world premiere of
The Little Mermaid took place near
OrlandoOrlando is a major city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan region...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
on all ten AMC Pleasure Island screens at Walt Disney World's newly-built Pleasure Island nightclub.
Actresses from all over the globe were considered for the role of the film's villain, Ursula the Sea Witch. These included American actresses such as Bea Arthur,
Nancy MarchandNancy Marchand was an American actress, whose career encompassed both stage and screen. She appeared in various theatre productions throughout the early 1950s, before being offered roles on film and television....
,
Charlotte RaeCharlotte Rae is an American character actress, singer and dancer, who in her six decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life . She received a Best Actress Emmy Nomination in a Comedy in 1982...
,
Elaine StritchElaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist, best known for her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in Company, her 2001 one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty, and most recently for her role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleen on NBC's 30 Rock.-Early years:Stritch was born in Detroit,...
,
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actresses such as
Joan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins OBE is an English actress, author, and columnist.-Early life:Collins was born in Paddington, London, the daughter of Elsa , a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins, an agent whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey, The Beatles and Tom Jones...
,
Jennifer SaundersJennifer Jane Saunders is a BAFTA- and Emmy Award-winning English comedienne, screenwriter and actress.She first came into widespread attention in the 1980s and early 1990s when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama...
(who auditioned for it) and
Dawn FrenchDawn Roma French is a British actress, writer and comedienne. In her career, she has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards and also won a Fellowship BAFTA along with Jennifer Saunders...
(who also auditioned for it), and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n actress
Rowena WallaceRowena Wallace is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Patricia in Sons and Daughters. She was born on August 23, 1947 in Coventry, United Kingdom and is based in Sydney, Australia.-Early Life and Budding Career:...
, who claims she was asked to audition for the role by
Michael EisnerMichael Dammann Eisner is the former chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. His tenure at Disney lasted from 1984 to 2005.-Early life:...
.
Music
The Little Mermaid was considered by some as "the film that brought
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
into cartoons".
Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
wrote the Academy Award winning score, and collaborated with
Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
in the songs.
Songs
- "Fathoms Below" – Sailors
- "Daughters of Triton" – Triton's Daughters
- "Part of Your World
"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" – Ariel
- "Part of Your World (Reprise)" – Ariel
- "Under the Sea
"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" – Sebastian and Sea Creatures
- "Poor Unfortunate Souls
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" – Ursula
- "Les Poissons
Les Poissons is a song from the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, which is sung in the film and in the The Little Mermaid Broadway show by the character Chef Louis, voiced by René Auberjonois in the movie and played by John Treacy Egan in the play. Sebastian the crab Les Poissons (meaning "The Fishes"...
" – Chef Louis
- "Kiss the Girl
"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" – Sebastian and Chorus
- "Vanessa's Song" – Vanessa/Ursula*
- "Part of Your World (Finale)" – Chorus
- Note: "Vanessa's Song" is not included on any official Disney Soundtrack of The Little Mermaid. It is a reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
".
The compilation
Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical MagicClassic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic is a 5-disc CD box set, which contains 125 songs from Disneyland and Walt Disney World, various Disney films in animation and live-action, and the Walt Disney anthology television series...
includes "
Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
", "
Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
", and "
Poor Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" on the red disc, "
Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" on the blue disc, and "
Les PoissonsLes Poissons is a song from the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, which is sung in the film and in the The Little Mermaid Broadway show by the character Chef Louis, voiced by René Auberjonois in the movie and played by John Treacy Egan in the play. Sebastian the crab Les Poissons (meaning "The Fishes"...
" on the green disc.
The compilation
Disney's Greatest HitsDisney's Greatest Hits is a 3-disc CD-set, released by Walt Disney Records in 2001 and 2002.- Volume 1 :# Strangers Like Me # Reflection # I Won't Say...
includes "
Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" on the blue disc, "
Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" on the green disc, and "
Poor Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" and "
Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" on the red disc.
Significance
The Little Mermaid is an important film in
animationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways...
history for many reasons:
- It marked a return to the musical
The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
format that made Disney films popular from the 1930s to the 1970s, after a test run with Oliver and Company the year before. It featured seven original songs by composer Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
and lyricist Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
, who served as the film's producer.
- It was the first return to fairy tales since 1959's Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault. It was released to theatres on January 29, 1959 by Buena Vista Distribution...
.
- It had the most special effects for a Disney animated feature since Fantasia
Fantasia is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Fantasia features animation set to classical music and no dialogue—only spoken introductions by the host, American composer and music critic Deems Taylor, before segments...
was released forty-nine years earlier. Effects animation supervisor Mark DindalMark L. Dindal is an American special effects animator and film director. Dindal was head of special effects on Disney's The Little Mermaid and The Rescuers Down Under....
estimated that over a million bubbles were drawn for this film, in addition to the use of other processes such as airbrushAn airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
ing, backlighting, superimposition, and some flat-shaded computer animationComputer animation is the art of creating moving images with the use of computers. It is a subfield of computer graphics and animation. Increasingly it is created by means of 3D computer graphics, though 2D computer graphics are still widely used for stylistic, low bandwidth, and faster real-time...
.
- The Little Mermaid was a box office success and grossed over $200,000,000 worldwide.
- This film marked the final use of the Disney studio's multiplane camera
The multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another...
, as well as one of the first uses of CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) in a Disney feature, seen in the movie's final scene. CAPS is a digital ink-and-paint and animation production system that colors the animators' drawings digitally, as opposed to the traditional animation method of tracing ink and paint onto cels (see Traditional animationTraditional animation, also referred to as classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular form of animation...
). All subsequent 2D animated Disney features have used CAPS instead of ink-and-paint, with Home on the Range as the last one.
- This film signaled a renaissance in Disney animation
The Disney Renaissance was an era when the Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films mostly based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio...
; the films were popular and financial successes, causing Disney's feature animation department to begin significant expansion, from about 300 artists in 1988 to 2,400 by 1999. In fact, The Little Mermaid was Disney's first significant animated success since The RescuersThe Rescuers is a 1977 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The twenty-third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization, headquartered in New York and shadowing...
in 1977.
- The Little Mermaid won the 1990 Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Music Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Winners with multiple nominations:...
. "Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" and "Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song; the Oscar went to "Under the Sea."
- The soundtrack, riding high on the heels of the film's popularity and the Academy, Golden Globes and Grammy Awards, went triple platinum, an unheard-of feat for an animated movie at the time. Since then, it has gone 6x Platinum in the US.
- Ursula the Sea Witch is perhaps the first example of a cecaelia
A cecaelia is a composite mythical being, appearing occasionally in art , literature, and multimedia; combining the head, arms and torso of a woman and, from the lower torso down, the tentacles of an octopus or squid as a form of mermaid or sea demon...
– a hybrid mythological creature not unlike mermaids that is half-human and half-octopus appearing on the big screen. Due to the popularity and widely-known appearance of the villain, the usage of cecaelia in art (particularly online), literature, video games, and even aquatic-themed parades increased dramatically. Additionally, cecaelia are now more frequently referred to as 'sea witches'.
1989 original run
The Little Mermaid is a
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
animated feature produced by
Walt Disney Feature AnimationWalt Disney Animation Studios is a key element of The Walt Disney Company, and the only existing cartoon studio. The feature animation studio was an integrated part of Walt Disney Productions from the start of production on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1934...
and based on the
Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "Thumbelina", "The Little Match Girl", and the "The Ugly Duckling".During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted...
fairy taleA fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, gnomes, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events...
of the same name"The Little Mermaid" is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
. Distributed by
Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since 1954 were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney...
, the film was originally released to theaters on November 17, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
in the
Walt Disney Animated Classics seriesThe Walt Disney Animated Classics are a series of feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1937....
. During its initial release,
The Little Mermaid grossed over $84 million in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and an additional $99 million internationally.
After the success of the
1988-Top grossing films :source: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1988&p=.htm- Awards :Academy Awards:* Alice * Alien Nation, starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin* Amsterdamned...
DisneyWalt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since 1954 were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney...
/
AmblinAmblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director, Steven Spielberg, film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its productions,...
film
Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Steven Spielberg and based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, under the Touchstone banner and co-produced by Amblin Entertainment...
,
The Little Mermaid is given credit for breathing life back into the animated feature film genre after a string of critical or commercial failures that dated back to the early 1980s. It also marked the start of the era known as the
Disney RenaissanceThe Disney Renaissance was an era when the Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films mostly based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio...
.
A
stage adaptation of the filmThe Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...
with a book by
Doug WrightDoug Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play, I Am My Own Wife.-Early years:Wright was born in Dallas, Texas...
and additional songs by
Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
and new lyricist
Glenn SlaterGlenn Slater is a Tony-nominated lyricist who collabrates with Alan Menken and other musical theatre composers.Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey...
opened in Denver in July 2007 and began performances on
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
.
Plot
Ariel, a sixteen-year-old
mermaidA mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a human head and torso and the tail of an aquatic animal such as a fish.-Overview and etymology:...
princessPrincess, is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world. With her best
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
friend Flounder, Ariel collects human
artifactA cultural artifact is term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users...
s and goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle the seagull, who offers very inaccurate and comical knowledge of human culture. Ignoring the warnings of her father (
King TritonKing Triton is a Disney character of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise. He first appears in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, and later re-appears in the film's prequel television series spin-off The Little Mermaid, direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and...
) and court musician (
SebastianSebastian the crab is a Disney character who first appears in Disney's 1989 feature film The Little Mermaid...
the
crabCrabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax.Crabs have a soft body covered with a hard shell. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a...
) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden, Ariel still longs to be part of the human world; to this end she has filled a secret
grottoA grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
with all the human artifacts she has found. (
"Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
") While Sebastian, who was assigned to watch over Ariel and be sure she does not visit the surface again tries to convince her that its better to live under the sea than in the human world (
"Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
")
One night, Ariel and Flounder travel to the ocean surface to watch a celebration for the birthday of
Prince EricPrince Eric is a fictional character who first appears in the animated Disney film The Little Mermaid. He later appears in the spin-off prequel television series and in the direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea....
, with whom Ariel falls in love. A sudden storm hits, during which everyone manages to escape in a lifeboat except for Eric who goes and rescues his dog Max, who was still trapped on the ship. He saves Max but almost drowns but is saved by Ariel, who drags him to the beach. She sings to him, but when he stirs awake he sees a vision. She dives underwater when Max comes to Eric. Eric has a vague impression that he was rescued by a girl with a beautiful voice; he vows to find her, and Ariel vows to find a way to join Eric. (
"Part of Your World (reprise)")
Triton and his daughters notice a change in Ariel, who is openly lovesick. Triton questions Sebastian about Ariel's behavior, during which Sebastian accidentally reveals the incident with Eric. Triton furiously confronts Ariel in her grotto, using his trident to destroy her collection of human treasures. After Triton leaves, a pair of eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, convince a crying Ariel that she must visit
UrsulaUrsula is an animated villainess who first appears in the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in the film, the spin-off television series and the Kingdom Hearts video games....
the sea witch, who can supposedly make all her dreams come true.
Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days (
"Poor, Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
"). Within these three days, Ariel must receive the "kiss of true love" from Eric; otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid on the third day and belong to Ursula. As payment for legs, Ariel has to give up her voice, which Ursula magically traps in a shell she wears as a locket. Ariel's tail is transformed into legs and Sebastian and Flounder drag her to the surface.
Eric and Max find Ariel on the beach. He initially suspects that she is the one who saved his life, but when he learns that she cannot speak, he discards that notion—to both the frustration of Ariel and Max (who knows the truth). He helps her to the palace, where the servants think she is as a survivor of a shipwreck. Ariel spends time with Eric, and at the end of the second day, they almost kiss (
"Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
") but are thwarted by Flotsam and Jetsam. Angered at their narrow escape, Ursula takes the disguise of a beautiful young woman named "Vanessa" and appears onshore singing with Ariel's voice. Eric recognizes the song, and in her disguise, Vanessa/Ursula casts a hypnotic spell of
enchantmentEnchantment may refer to:*Incantation or enchantment, a magical spell, charm or bewitchment, in traditional fairy tales or fantasy*the sense of Wonder or Delight**for the usage by J.R.R...
on Eric to make him forget about Ariel.
The next day, Ariel finds out that Eric will be married to the disguised Ursula on a ship. She cries and is left behind when the wedding barge departs. Scuttle discovers that Vanessa is Ursula in disguise, and informs Ariel. Ariel and Flounder chase the wedding barge, Sebastian informs Triton and Scuttle is assigned to literally "stall the wedding." With the help of various animals, the nautilus shell around Ursula's neck is broken, restoring Ariel's voice back to Ariel and breaking Ursula's enchantment over Eric. Realizing that Ariel was the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Ursula reverts to her true form and she kidnaps Ariel.
Triton appears and confronts Ursula, but cannot destroy Ursula's contract with Ariel. Triton chooses to sacrifice himself for his daughter, and is transformed into a polyp. Ursula takes Triton's crown and trident, which was her plan from the beginning. Ursula uses her new power to gloat, forming a whirlpool that disturbs several shipwrecks, one of which Eric commandeers. Just as Ursula is set to use the trident to destroy Ariel, Eric turns the wheel hard to
portPort is the nautical term that refers to the left side of a ship, as perceived by a person on board the ship and facing towards the bow . The port side of a vessel is indicated with a red navigation light at night.The term is also used on aircraft, spacecraft, and analogous...
, in effect ramming the ship's splintered
bowspritThe bowsprit, or boltsprit, of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Tall Ships:...
through Ursula's
abdomenIn vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
.
With Ursula gone, her power breaks and the polyps in Ursula's garden (including Triton) turn back into the old merpeople. Later, after seeing that Ariel really loves Eric and that Eric also saved him in the process, Triton willingly changes her from a mermaid into a human using his trident. She runs into Eric's arms, and the two finally kiss. Ariel marries Eric in a wedding where both humans and merpeople attend.
Cast and characters
- Chef Louis, voiced by top-billed Rene Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and attorney Paul Lewiston on...
, is the chef of Eric's house, a diminutive man with a very short temper whose favorite dish is fish and seafood in general. He tries to cook up Sebastian into a stuffed crab.
- Prince Eric
Prince Eric is a fictional character who first appears in the animated Disney film The Little Mermaid. He later appears in the spin-off prequel television series and in the direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea....
, voiced by Christopher Daniel BarnesChristopher Daniel Barnes is an American actor who performed in many movies and television series. Barnes is also known professionally as C.D. Barnes and C.B. Barnes. He was once the national teenage spokesperson for Greenpeace...
, is a prince that likes to sail, and with whom Ariel falls in love after she saves him from a shipwreck. He is kind and giving, easily taking Ariel in when he finds her stranded on the beach despite not knowing she was the one who once saved his life.
- Princess Ariel, voiced by Jodi Benson
Jodi Benson is an American voice actress and soprano singer. She is best known for providing the speaking voice as well as the singing voice of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels...
, is a 16-year old mermaid entranced with the human world. She is kind, innocent and naive and very trusting. She falls in love with a prince and trades her voice to the sea witch Ursula for 3 days as a human. She is the primary protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, video game, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to share the most empathy...
.
- Ursula
Ursula is an animated villainess who first appears in the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She is voiced by Pat Carroll in the film, the spin-off television series and the Kingdom Hearts video games....
, voiced by Pat CarrollPatricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She has performed in numerous stage productions, but is best known for her roles as "Bunny Halper" on The Danny Thomas Show, as Shirley Feeney's mother on Laverne and Shirley and as the voice of the villainesses, Ursula and Morgana, in The Little...
, is the villainous Sea Witch, a cecaelia banished by Triton long before the film's events. After getting Ariel's voice, she tries to marry Eric under the identity of Vanessa (The Little Mermaid) (Jodi Benson).
- Scuttle, voiced by Buddy Hackett
Leonard Hacker was an American comedian and actor. In his later life, he and his wife set up the Singita Animal Sanctuary in the San Fernando Valley, California.-Early life:...
, is a seagull which Ariel considers an expert in the human world when in fact he knows very little about the world's actual working from beyond a bird's eye view. He's loud, obnoxious but has the best of intentions for Ariel.
- Flounder, voiced by Jason Marin
Jason Marin is an American actor known mostly for his role as Flounder in The Little Mermaid.- Filmography :* 1985 - Back to the Future - Sherman Peabody* 1988 - Moving - Paperboy* 1988 - Inherit the Wind...
, is Ariel's fish sidekickA sidekick is a stock character, a close companion who assists a partner in a superior position. Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, Batman's companion Robin, and Xena's partner, Gabrielle are some well-known sidekicks in fiction....
. He is a talkative, yet timid gold and blue striped fish who is just as naive and impressionable as Ariel is, often involving himself in her adventures.
- King Triton
King Triton is a Disney character of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise. He first appears in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, and later re-appears in the film's prequel television series spin-off The Little Mermaid, direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and...
, voiced by Kenneth MarsKenneth Mars is an American television, movie and voice actor. Best known for his roles in several Mel Brooks films, the most memorable being the insane Nazi playwright of Springtime for Hitler, Franz Liebkind, in 1968's The Producers and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp...
, is the ruler of Atlantica and Ariel's widowed father. He is curmudgeonly, but caring and overbearingly protective of his youngest daughter Ariel. Despite his good intentions he feels he can tend to be too harsh with her, often hurting her feelings.
- Grimsby, voiced by Ben Wright
Ben Wright was an English actor in radio, film and television.-Radio:Wright worked extensively in American radio, supplying crisp, erudite diction as the radio incarnation of Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Peter Black on Pursuit...
, is Eric's majordomoA majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, the term refers to the highest person of a household staff, one who acts on behalf of the owner of a typically large residence...
. He is sophistocated with a low sense of humor, but generally caring of Eric and his best interests. This was Wright's final acting role before his death in 1989.
- Sebastian
Sebastian the crab is a Disney character who first appears in Disney's 1989 feature film The Little Mermaid...
, voiced by Samuel E. WrightSamuel E. Wright is an American film and theater actor who is best known as the voice of Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid, and the voice of Kron in Disney's Dinosaur.-Career:Samuel E...
, is a crabCrabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax.Crabs have a soft body covered with a hard shell. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a...
that leads the Atlantica orchestra. During development, he was turned from BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
to Jamaican. He is a high strung, somewhat cowardly crustacean with a natural musical aptitude and though charged with keeping an eye on Ariel he often sides with her and protects her from harm despite what Triton might think of her (or his) actions.
- Flotsam and Jetsam, voiced by Paddi Edwards
Paddi Edwards , was an American actress. She worked steadily in film and television between the years of 1960 and 1999, up until the time of her death in Encino, California on October 18, 1999. She found a niche in television movies and, towards the end of her life, doing voiceover work in...
, are Ursula's eelTrue eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and approximately 600 species. Most eels are predators...
pets/henchmen. They are twins, who usually speak in sync, they are killed accidentally by Ursula in the climaxIn general, a climax is a point of greatest intensity or force in an ascending series; i.e., a culmination...
of the film.
- Carlotta the maid, voiced by Edie McClurg
Edie McClurg is an American character actress. She is known for her perky Upper Midwestern accent.-Career:McClurg began her career with a role in the 1976 Brian De Palma horror film Carrie as Helen Shyres, one of Carrie's classmates. In 1980, she was a regular performer on The David Letterman Show...
, is one of Eric's maids. She is kind hearted and always willing to help Ariel out, she is one of the few people who see her as a match for Eric.
- Ariel's Sisters, voiced by Kimmy Robertson
Kimmy Robertson is an American actress best known for her role as Lucy Moran in the TV series Twin Peaks. She has also appeared in Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh. She was a ballerina before finding success as an actress...
and Caroline VasicekCaroline Vasicek is an Austrian actress and musical actress.She has her training in dance, drama and musicals in Vienna completed. With ten years she was the first time on the boards, which mean the world and received twelve years with her first lead role...
, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, and Alana are Ariel's six older sisters, and although they were introduced in the above order, their age order is different, as revealed in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's BeginningThe Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a 2008 Disney animated feature film, and the direct-to-video prequel to the 1989 film The Little Mermaid...
, with Attina being the oldest instead of Aquata.
- Harold the Seahorse, voiced by Will Ryan
Will Ryan is an American veteran voice actor and producer–writer–composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the US...
, is the court announcer to King Triton's palace.
- Max the Sheepdog, vocal effects by Frank Welker
Franklin W. "Frank" Welker is a veteran American actor, who specializes in voice acting. He is responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 40 years in American television and motion pictures.Welker is listed as number one on the...
, is an Old English SheepdogThe Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog which was developed in England from very old herding types of dog. The Old English Sheepdog has very long fur covering the face and eyes....
and Prince Eric's pet, who first appears in the film.
Production
The film was originally planned as one of Disney's earliest feature films. Development started soon after
Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a American animated feature based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full color, the first...
in the late 1930s, but was put on hold due to various circumstances.
In 1985,
The Great Mouse DetectiveThe Great Mouse Detective is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures...
co-director Ron Clements discovered a collection of Hans C. Andersen's fairy tales while browsing a bookstore. He presented a two-page draft of a movie based on "The Little Mermaid" to CEO
Michael EisnerMichael Dammann Eisner is the former chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. His tenure at Disney lasted from 1984 to 2005.-Early life:...
, who passed it over, because at that time the studio was in development on a sequel to
SplashSplash is a 1984 fantasy film and romantic comedy film directed by Ron Howard and written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge...
. But the next day, Walt Disney Pictures boss
Jeffrey KatzenbergJeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as studio chairman at The Walt Disney Company, and for producing the DreamWorks animated films Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Bee Movie, and Kung Fu...
, green-lighted the idea for possible development, along with "
Oliver & CompanyOliver & Company is a 1988 animated feature film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated...
." Unknown to the production team at the time, the idea for the movie had actually been one of
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
's favorites. While in production in the 1980s, the staff found the original 1930s Disney
Mermaid story and art development work by chance. Many of the changes made by the staff in the 1930s to Hans Christian Andersen's original story were coincidentally the same as the changes made by Disney writers in the 1980s.
That year, Clements and
Great Mouse Detective co-director John Musker expanded the two-page idea into a 20-page rough script, eliminating the role of the mermaid's grandmother and expanding the roles of the Merman King and the sea witch. However, the film's plans were momentarily shelved as Disney focused its attention on
Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Steven Spielberg and based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, under the Touchstone banner and co-produced by Amblin Entertainment...
and
Oliver & Company as more immediate releases.
In 1987, songwriter
Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
became involved with
Mermaid after he was asked to contribute to
Oliver & Company. He proposed changing the minor character Clarence, the English-butler crab, to a Jamaican Rastafarian crab and shifting the music style throughout the film to reflect this. At the same time, Katzenberg, Clements, Musker, and Ashman changed the story format to make
Mermaid like an animated Broadway musical. Ashman and Alan Menken (composer) teamed up to compose the entire soundtrack. In 1988, with
Oliver out of the way,
Mermaid was slated as the next major Disney release.
More money and resources were dedicated to
Mermaid than any other Disney animated film in decades. The artistic manpower needed for
Mermaid required Disney to farm out most of the underwater bubble effects animation in the film to Pacific Rim Productions, a China-based firm with production facilities in Beijing.
Mermaid's supervising animators included Glen Keane and Mark Henn on Ariel, Duncan Marjoribanks on Sebastian, Andreas Deja on King Triton, and Ruben Aquino on Ursula. Originally, Keane had been asked to work on Ursula, as he had established a reputation for drawing large, powerful figures (the bear in
The Fox and the HoundThe Fox and the Hound is a 1981 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions which premiered in the United States on July 10, 1981. The twenty-fourth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is loosely based on the Daniel P...
, Professor Ratigan in
The Great Mouse DetectiveThe Great Mouse Detective is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures...
). Keane, however, was assigned as one of the two lead artists on the petite Ariel and oversaw the "Part of Your World" musical number. He jokingly stated that his wife looks exactly like Ariel "without the fins." The character's body shape and personality were based upon that of
Alyssa MilanoAlyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer. Her acting career began after she appeared in the Broadway show Annie. Her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? catapaulted her to fame...
, then starring on TV's
Who's the Boss?Who's the Boss? is an American television sitcom starring Tony Danza, Judith Light, Alyssa Milano, Danny Pintauro, and Katherine Helmond...
and the effect of her hair underwater was based on footage of
Sally RideSally Kristen Ride is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut who, in 1983, became the first American woman and then-youngest American to enter space.-Early life:...
, when she was in space.
Another first for recent years was that live actors and actresses were filmed for reference material for the animators, a practice used frequently for many of the Disney animated features produced under Walt Disney's supervision. Broadway actress
Jodi BensonJodi Benson is an American voice actress and soprano singer. She is best known for providing the speaking voice as well as the singing voice of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels...
was chosen to play Ariel, and
Sherri Lynn StonerSherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16 1965, in Santa Monica, California, United States.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs...
, a former member of Los Angeles' Groundlings improvisation comedy group, acted out Ariel's key scenes. Not all of Disney's animators approved of the use of live-action reference; one artist quit the project over the issue. An attempt to use Disney's famed
multiplane cameraThe multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another...
for the first time in years for quality "depth" shots failed because the machine was reputedly in dilapidated condition.
Aside from its main animation facility in
GlendaleGlendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is a suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, Disney opened a satellite feature animation facility during the production of
Mermaid near Orlando, Florida, within the still-unfinished
Disney-MGM StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
Theme Park at Walt Disney World. Though the park opened to the public a year later, work at the animation studio began in May 1988, and the Disney-MGM facility's first projects were to produce an entire "Roger Rabbit" cartoon short, and contribute ink and paint support to
Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid is the last Disney feature film to use the traditional hand-painted cel method of animation. Disney's next film,
The Rescuers Down UnderThe Rescuers Down Under is a animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and first released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990...
, used a digital method of coloring and combining scanned drawings – CAPS (
Computer Animation Production SystemThe Computer Animation Production System is a proprietary collection of software programs, scanning camera systems, servers, networked computer workstations, and custom desks developed by The Walt Disney Company together with Pixar in the late-1980s...
), which eliminated the need for cels. A CAPS prototype was used experimentally on a few scenes in
Mermaid, including the final wedding scene. Other
CGIComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
includes some of the wrecked ships in the final battle, a staircase behind a shot of Ariel in Eric's castle, and the carriage Eric and Ariel are riding in when she bounces it over a ravine.
On November 15, 1989,
The Little Mermaid began critics' screenings in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. On November 17, 1989, the world premiere of
The Little Mermaid took place near
OrlandoOrlando is a major city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan region...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
on all ten AMC Pleasure Island screens at Walt Disney World's newly-built Pleasure Island nightclub.
Actresses from all over the globe were considered for the role of the film's villain, Ursula the Sea Witch. These included American actresses such as Bea Arthur,
Nancy MarchandNancy Marchand was an American actress, whose career encompassed both stage and screen. She appeared in various theatre productions throughout the early 1950s, before being offered roles on film and television....
,
Charlotte RaeCharlotte Rae is an American character actress, singer and dancer, who in her six decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life . She received a Best Actress Emmy Nomination in a Comedy in 1982...
,
Elaine StritchElaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist, best known for her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in Company, her 2001 one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty, and most recently for her role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleen on NBC's 30 Rock.-Early years:Stritch was born in Detroit,...
,
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actresses such as
Joan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins OBE is an English actress, author, and columnist.-Early life:Collins was born in Paddington, London, the daughter of Elsa , a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins, an agent whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey, The Beatles and Tom Jones...
,
Jennifer SaundersJennifer Jane Saunders is a BAFTA- and Emmy Award-winning English comedienne, screenwriter and actress.She first came into widespread attention in the 1980s and early 1990s when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama...
(who auditioned for it) and
Dawn FrenchDawn Roma French is a British actress, writer and comedienne. In her career, she has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards and also won a Fellowship BAFTA along with Jennifer Saunders...
(who also auditioned for it), and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n actress
Rowena WallaceRowena Wallace is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Patricia in Sons and Daughters. She was born on August 23, 1947 in Coventry, United Kingdom and is based in Sydney, Australia.-Early Life and Budding Career:...
, who claims she was asked to audition for the role by
Michael EisnerMichael Dammann Eisner is the former chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. His tenure at Disney lasted from 1984 to 2005.-Early life:...
.
Music
The Little Mermaid was considered by some as "the film that brought
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
into cartoons".
Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
wrote the Academy Award winning score, and collaborated with
Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
in the songs.
Songs
- "Fathoms Below" – Sailors
- "Daughters of Triton" – Triton's Daughters
- "Part of Your World
"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" – Ariel
- "Part of Your World (Reprise)" – Ariel
- "Under the Sea
"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" – Sebastian and Sea Creatures
- "Poor Unfortunate Souls
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" – Ursula
- "Les Poissons
Les Poissons is a song from the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, which is sung in the film and in the The Little Mermaid Broadway show by the character Chef Louis, voiced by René Auberjonois in the movie and played by John Treacy Egan in the play. Sebastian the crab Les Poissons (meaning "The Fishes"...
" – Chef Louis
- "Kiss the Girl
"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" – Sebastian and Chorus
- "Vanessa's Song" – Vanessa/Ursula*
- "Part of Your World (Finale)" – Chorus
- Note: "Vanessa's Song" is not included on any official Disney Soundtrack of The Little Mermaid. It is a reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
".
The compilation
Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical MagicClassic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic is a 5-disc CD box set, which contains 125 songs from Disneyland and Walt Disney World, various Disney films in animation and live-action, and the Walt Disney anthology television series...
includes "
Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
", "
Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
", and "
Poor Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" on the red disc, "
Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" on the blue disc, and "
Les PoissonsLes Poissons is a song from the 1989 film The Little Mermaid, which is sung in the film and in the The Little Mermaid Broadway show by the character Chef Louis, voiced by René Auberjonois in the movie and played by John Treacy Egan in the play. Sebastian the crab Les Poissons (meaning "The Fishes"...
" on the green disc.
The compilation
Disney's Greatest HitsDisney's Greatest Hits is a 3-disc CD-set, released by Walt Disney Records in 2001 and 2002.- Volume 1 :# Strangers Like Me # Reflection # I Won't Say...
includes "
Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" on the blue disc, "
Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" on the green disc, and "
Poor Unfortunate Souls"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a song from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid. Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and performed by Pat Carroll, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is sung to Princess Ariel by Ursula the Sea Witch...
" and "
Part of Your World"Part of Your World" also known as "Part of That World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film...
" on the red disc.
Significance
The Little Mermaid is an important film in
animationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways...
history for many reasons:
- It marked a return to the musical
The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
format that made Disney films popular from the 1930s to the 1970s, after a test run with Oliver and Company the year before. It featured seven original songs by composer Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
and lyricist Howard AshmanHoward Ashman was an American playwright and movie music lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
, who served as the film's producer.
- It was the first return to fairy tales since 1959's Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault. It was released to theatres on January 29, 1959 by Buena Vista Distribution...
.
- It had the most special effects for a Disney animated feature since Fantasia
Fantasia is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Fantasia features animation set to classical music and no dialogue—only spoken introductions by the host, American composer and music critic Deems Taylor, before segments...
was released forty-nine years earlier. Effects animation supervisor Mark DindalMark L. Dindal is an American special effects animator and film director. Dindal was head of special effects on Disney's The Little Mermaid and The Rescuers Down Under....
estimated that over a million bubbles were drawn for this film, in addition to the use of other processes such as airbrushAn airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
ing, backlighting, superimposition, and some flat-shaded computer animationComputer animation is the art of creating moving images with the use of computers. It is a subfield of computer graphics and animation. Increasingly it is created by means of 3D computer graphics, though 2D computer graphics are still widely used for stylistic, low bandwidth, and faster real-time...
.
- The Little Mermaid was a box office success and grossed over $200,000,000 worldwide.
- This film marked the final use of the Disney studio's multiplane camera
The multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another...
, as well as one of the first uses of CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) in a Disney feature, seen in the movie's final scene. CAPS is a digital ink-and-paint and animation production system that colors the animators' drawings digitally, as opposed to the traditional animation method of tracing ink and paint onto cels (see Traditional animationTraditional animation, also referred to as classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular form of animation...
). All subsequent 2D animated Disney features have used CAPS instead of ink-and-paint, with Home on the Range as the last one.
- This film signaled a renaissance in Disney animation
The Disney Renaissance was an era when the Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films mostly based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio...
; the films were popular and financial successes, causing Disney's feature animation department to begin significant expansion, from about 300 artists in 1988 to 2,400 by 1999. In fact, The Little Mermaid was Disney's first significant animated success since The RescuersThe Rescuers is a 1977 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The twenty-third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization, headquartered in New York and shadowing...
in 1977.
- The Little Mermaid won the 1990 Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Music Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Winners with multiple nominations:...
. "Kiss the Girl"Kiss the Girl" is an Academy Award-nominated calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
" and "Under the Sea"Under the Sea" is an Academy Award-winning song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and is heavily influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song was performed in the film by Samuel E...
" were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song; the Oscar went to "Under the Sea."
- The soundtrack, riding high on the heels of the film's popularity and the Academy, Golden Globes and Grammy Awards, went triple platinum, an unheard-of feat for an animated movie at the time. Since then, it has gone 6x Platinum in the US.
- Ursula the Sea Witch is perhaps the first example of a cecaelia
A cecaelia is a composite mythical being, appearing occasionally in art , literature, and multimedia; combining the head, arms and torso of a woman and, from the lower torso down, the tentacles of an octopus or squid as a form of mermaid or sea demon...
– a hybrid mythological creature not unlike mermaids that is half-human and half-octopus appearing on the big screen. Due to the popularity and widely-known appearance of the villain, the usage of cecaelia in art (particularly online), literature, video games, and even aquatic-themed parades increased dramatically. Additionally, cecaelia are now more frequently referred to as 'sea witches'.
1989 original run
| Release Week | Gross | Rank | Total |
|---|
| 1 |
$6,031,914 |
3 |
$6,065,716 |
| 2 |
$8,384,862 |
3 |
$16,832,844 |
| 3 |
$4,030,274 |
5 |
$22,109,571 |
| 4 |
$2,764,119 |
7 |
$25,748,251 |
| 5 |
$2,522,362 |
4 |
$28,941,871 |
| 6 |
$3,319,664 |
6 |
$34,089,416 |
| 7 |
$9,235,512 |
3 |
$49,401,857 |
| 8 |
$4,585,047 |
5 |
$56,126,383 |
| 9 |
$3,851,208 |
6 |
$60,855,174 |
| 10 |
$2,823,840 |
8 |
$65,247,711 |
| 11 |
$2,174,414 |
9 |
$68,066,110 |
| 12 |
$1,774,352 |
9 |
$74,262,415 |
1997 re-release run
| Release Week | Gross | Rank | Total |
|---|
| 1 |
$9,814,520 |
3 |
$9,814,520 |
| 2 |
$5,687,421 |
5 |
$17,950,386 |
| 3 |
$3,990,314 |
8 |
$23,947,879 |
Academy Awards
- Two Wins
- Best Original Score
- Best Original Song - "Under the Sea"
- One Nomination
- Best Original Song - "Kiss the Girl"
Golden Globe Award
- Two Wins
- Best Original Score - Motion Picture
- Best Original Song - Motion Picture - "Under the Sea"
- Two Nominations
- Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
- Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Grammy Award
1991 - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television:
Alan Menken (composer) Howard Ashman (lyricist) for "Under the Sea"
Other awards
- BMI Film & TV Awards
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
- One Win: BMI Film Music Award
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association was founded in 1975. Its main purpose is to present yearly awards to members of the film industry who have excelled in their fields. These awards are presented each January...
- Golden Screen Awards
- One Win: Golden Screen Award
- Golden Reel Awards
Founded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the soundtracks, and improve the professional relationship of its...
- One Win: Best Sound Editing - Animated Feature
- Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Awards also known as the 'Hollywood Young Artist Award' are presented yearly by the Young Artist Foundation. Started in 1980 by long-standing Hollywood Foreign Press member Maureen Dragone, they were envisioned specifically as awards to be presented to talented young people in...
- One Win: Best Family Motion Picture - Adventure or Cartoon
In April 2008 – almost 20 years after the film's initial release in 1989 –
Yahoo!Yahoo! Inc. is an American public corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, , that provides Internet services worldwide...
users voted "
The Little Mermaid" as #14 on the top 30 animated films of all time. Later, when Yahoo! updated the list in June of the same year, the film remained on the list but dropped six slots to end at #20. (Only three other 2D Disney animated films- "
Aladdin", "
Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation which premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on November 13, 1991...
", & "
The Lion KingThe Lion King is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Released to theaters on June 15, 1994 by Walt Disney Pictures, it is the 32nd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. The story, which was strongly influenced by the William Shakespeare play Hamlet,...
", respectively- scored above it in the poll even after the update.)
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canadian, and Mexican release dates
- November 17, 1989 (original release)
- November 14, 1997 (re-issue)
Worldwide release dates
- Brazil Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
: December 15, 1989
- Argentina Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
: December 7, 1989
- Peru Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
: December 14, 1989
- Australia Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
: June 20, 1990
- United Kingdom U.K.: October 12, 1990
- Italy Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
: November 9, 1990
- Denmark Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
: November 16, 1990
- Belgium Belgium
The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
: November 20, 1990
- France France
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
: November 28, 1990
- Germany Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
: November 29, 1990
- Norway Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
: November 29, 1990
- Finland Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
: November 30, 1990
- Sweden Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
: November 30, 1990
- Greece Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
: December 2, 1990
- Spain Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
: December 5, 1990
- Netherlands Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
: December 21, 1990 *Turkey TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
: January 18, 1991
- Hong Kong Hong Kong
Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
: January 24, 1991
- Japan Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
: July 20, 1991
- South Korea South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
: December 21, 1991
- Costa Rica Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", constitutionally...
: February 15, 1992
- Guatemala Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population...
: February 15, 1992
- Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
: October 30, 1993
- India India
India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
: April 11, 1994
- Ethiopia Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
: January 14, 1995
- Kenya Kenya
The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
: December 18, 1996
- Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland
Ireland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
: May 16, 1997
- Thailand Thailand
The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
: October 15, 1997
- Kuwait Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The greatest distance from north to south is 200 km and from east to west 170 km . The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a...
: September 23, 1998 *Turkey TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
:October 23, 1998 (re-relase)
- Bulgaria Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
: June 1, 1999
- Russia Russia
Russia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
: October 28, 2006
- Philippines Manila
The City of Manila , or simply Manila or Maynila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western portion of the National Capital Region, in the western side of Luzon...
: December 15, 1998
The film was also screened out of competition at the
1990 Cannes Film Festival- Jury :*Bernardo Bertolucci *Alexei Guerman *Anjelica Huston *Bertrand Blier *Christopher Hampton*Fanny Ardant *Françoise Giroud *Hayao Shibata *Mira Nair *Sven Nykvist...
.
Home video release history
The film's home video debut was in May 1990 with a
VHSVideo Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, was a video tape recording standard developed during the 1970s. It was released to the public during the latter half of the decade. During the late part of the 1970s and the early 1980s it formed one-half of the VHS vs Betamax war, which it...
and a
LaserdiscThe Laserdisc is an obsolete home video disc format, and was the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially marketed as Discovision in 1978, the technology was licensed and sold as Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Videodisc, Laservision, Disco-Vision, DiscoVision, and MCA...
release, part of the
Walt Disney ClassicsWalt Disney Classics was a brand name used by Walt Disney Home Video on their American, Japanese, European and Australian home video releases of Disney animated features. The first title arrived in stores on December 6, 1984...
line, that became that year's top-selling title on home video, with over 10 million units sold (including 7 million in its first month). It was one of the highest-selling home video titles ever at the time.
Following the re-release on theaters, a new VHS was released in March 1998 as part of the
Masterpiece CollectionThe Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection was a line of VHS videos and Laserdiscs released by Walt Disney Home Video from 1994 to 1999. The Spanish counterparts began selling in 1995....
. The VHS sold 13 million units and ranked as the 3rd best-selling video of the year.
The Little Mermaid was released in a Limited Issue "barebones"
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
in 1999, with a standard video transfer and no substantial features. The film was re-released on
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
on October 3, 2006, as part of the
Walt Disney Platinum EditionsThe Platinum Editions are a line of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment as well as a follow-up to Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection, which ran from 2000 to 2001. The series features restored digital versions of several of the most popular Disney animated...
line of classic Walt Disney animated features. Deleted scenes and several in-depth documentaries were included, as well as the Academy Award-nominated short film intended for the shelved
Fantasia 2006,
The Little Match Girl"The Little Match Girl" is a short story by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story is about a dying child's hallucinations, and was first published in 1845...
. On its opening day the DVD sold 1.6 million units, and in its first week, over 4 million units, making it the biggest animated DVD debut for October. By year's end, the DVD had sold about 7 million units and was one of the year's top ten selling DVDs. The Platinum Edition DVD was released as part of a "The Little Mermaid Trilogy" boxed set on December 16, 2008. The Platinum Edition of the movie along with its sequels went on moratorium on January 2009.
Sequels and spinoffs
Note:
John MuskerJohn Musker is an American animation director.Musker is one half of America's leading contemporary animation team with Ron Clements. He first met Clements during the production of The Fox and the Hound , where he worked as a character animator under Clements...
and
Ron ClementsRon Clements is an American animation director and producer.He is one half of America's leading contemporary animation team with John Musker. Clements began his career as an animator for Hanna-Barbera. After a few months there, he was accepted into Disney's Talent Development Program, an animator...
have no affiliation with these sequels/spin offs.
- The animated series prequel of the film titled The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid is an animated Walt Disney Television Animation television series based on the 1989 Disney film of the same name. It features the adventures of Ariel as a mermaid prior to the events of the film. This series is the first Disney Television series to have spun-off from a major film...
premiered in late 1992 on the CBS television network. Each episode focuses on Ariel's adventures before the events of the original film, and 31 episodes were made in all.
- A series of shorts starring Sebastian were aired as part of the Disney animated series Marsupilami
Marsupilami is a fictional comic book animal created by André Franquin, first published on 31 January 1952 in the magazine Spirou.
Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped working on the series in 1968 and the...
.
- A direct-to-video
A film that is released direct-to-video is one which has been released to the public on home video formats before or without being released in movie theaters or broadcast on television...
sequelA sequel is a work in literature, film, or other media that chronologically portrays events following those of a previous work.In many cases, the sequel continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings. A sequel can lead to a series, in which key elements appear...
, titled The Little Mermaid II: Return to the SeaThe Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is a 2000 Disney animated feature film and direct-to-video sequel to the 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid...
, was released on September 19, 2000. The plot is essentially a re-telling of the first film, and focuses on Ariel's daughter Melody who longs to be a part of the ocean world and is ultimately manipulated by Ursula's vengeful sister, Morgana (also voiced by Pat Carroll) into stealing the Trident for her.
- A direct-to-video prequel, titled The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a 2008 Disney animated feature film, and the direct-to-video prequel to the 1989 film The Little Mermaid...
, was released on August 26, 2008. The story is set before the events of the original film, in which King Triton has banned music from Atlantica, and Ariel, her sisters, Sebastian and Flounder rebel against this new law while a greedy palace official, Marina Del Rey, seeks to claim Sebastian's position for herself.
- Ariel, Sebastian, Flounder, King Triton, Ursula, Prince Eric, Scuttle and Chef Louie are "guests" in House of Mouse. Ursula appears as one of the leading villains in Mickey's House of Villains
Mickey's House of Villains is a direct-to-video film produced by The Walt Disney Company. It is a film adaptation of the Disney Channel animated television series Disney's House of Mouse, starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Daisy Duck and Disney Villains that have appeared in...
. Ariel, Prince Eric and Ursula also appear in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of MouseMickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse is the first direct-to-video movie spin off from the Disney Channel animated television series House of Mouse.-Plot:...
.
- The Little Mermaid is featured as a playable world in the Kingdom Hearts series known as Atlantica. Characters from the film include Ariel, Sebastian, Flounder, King Triton, Prince Eric, Ursula, Flotsam, and Jetsam. In all three main games, Sora, Donald Duck
Donald Duck is an American cartoon character from The Walt Disney Company. Donald is a white anthropomorphic duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He usually wears a sailor shirt, cap, and a red or black bow tie, but no trousers...
and GoofyGoofy is an animated cartoon character from the Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse universe, and is one of Mickey Mouse's best friends. His original concept name was "Dippy Dawg" in cartoon shorts created during the 1930s; then his name was given as "George Geef" or "G.G. Geef" in cartoon shorts during...
aid Ariel and King Triton in their battles against Ursula, with the third gameis an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...
following the plotline of the movie.
Broadway
A pre-
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
stage version premiered in September 2007 in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, with music by
Alan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz...
, new lyrics by
Glenn SlaterGlenn Slater is a Tony-nominated lyricist who collabrates with Alan Menken and other musical theatre composers.Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey...
, and a book by
Doug WrightDoug Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play, I Am My Own Wife.-Early years:Wright was born in Dallas, Texas...
. The musical began performances on Broadway at the
Lunt-Fontanne TheatreThe Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 203-217 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse,...
on November 3, 2007 and officially opened on January 10, 2008.
The original cast featured
Sierra BoggessSierra Boggess is an American theater actress. She was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, with her two sisters, Summer and Allegra. The three of them were members of the Colorado Children's Chorale...
as Ariel,
Norm LewisNorm Lewis is a Broadway actor.-Biography:In 2005, Lewis starred in the Public Theater's "Shakespeare in the Park" revival of Two Gentlemen of Verona. He played Javert in the 2007 revival of Les Misérables on Broadway...
as King Triton,
Sherie Rene ScottSherie Rene Scott is an American actress, singer and writer. Scott recently premiered 'Everyday Rapture' at the Second Stage Theatre in New York City to critical acclaim and is set to premiere it on broadway in 2010...
as Ursula, Eddie Korbich as Scuttle, Tituss Burgess as Sebastian, Sean Palmer as Prince Eric,
Jonathan FreemanJonathan Freeman is a Tony-nominated American actor known for voicing the villainous Jafar in Disney's Aladdin and its sequel The Return of Jafar, as well as the Kingdom Hearts series and was the puppeteer for Tito Swing of the Jukebox Band on the PBS series Shining Time Station.In 1994, he was...
as Grimsby, Derrick Baskin as Jetsam,
Tyler MaynardTyler Maynard is an American film and stage actor. He is notable for playing minor roles in films such as Palindromes and Red Doors as well as playing one of the lead roles in the play Altar Boyz.-Biography:...
as Flotsam, Cody Hanford and J.J. Singleton as Flounder, and John Treacy Egan as Chef Louis.
The show became the most successful tryout for a Disney musical by selling nearly 95,000 seats.
Reviews of the show have varied widely;
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
called it "charm free", while
TimeTime is a component of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects...
described it as "ravishing."
The show closed on Broadway August 30th, 2009, after 685 performances and 50 previews.
Video games
Four games were released based on the film:
The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid is a video game was developed by Capcom for the NES and Game Boy, and published in 1991 for the NES, and in 1992 for the Game Boy. It is a single player side-scrolling action game where you control Ariel on a quest to defeat the evil Ursula, the sea witch.-Plot:In Disney's The...
, by
Capcomis a leading international developer and publisher of video games headquartered in Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1979 as Japan Capsule Computers, a company devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines...
for the
Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
and
Game BoyThe is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America on , and in Europe on . In Southern Asia, it is known as the "Tata Game Boy" It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line...
,
The Little Mermaid: Magic in Two Kingdoms, by Buena Vista Games, released for the GBA,
Ariel the Little MermaidAriel the Little Mermaid is a video game based on Disney's film of same title, published by Sega in 1992 for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Game Gear...
by
Segais a multinational video game software and hardware development company, and a home computer and console manufacturer headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan...
for the
Mega Drive/GenesisThe is a fourth-generation video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 and Europe in 1990. The console was released in North America in 1989 under the name Genesis, as Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in that region...
,
Game GearThe is a handheld game console which was Sega's response to Nintendo's Game Boy. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
and
Master SystemThe Sega Master System is an 8-bit cartridge-based video game console that was manufactured by Sega and was first released in 1986. Its original Japanese incarnation was the Sega Mark III...
. This also includes the feature of playing as Triton. The most recent game released was
Disney's The Little Mermaid Ariel's Undersea Adventure which was released on the
Nintendo DSThe is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in Canada, the United States, and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside—with the bottom one being a touchscreen...
on October 2, 2006.
The Little Mermaid was also featured on
Kingdom Heartsis an action role-playing game developed and published by Square in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result of a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney...
, a game featuring heavy usage of scenes and characters from famous Disney movies, as well as many of the original voice actors. A
Little Mermaid hand-held LCD game from
Tiger ElectronicsTiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets.Randy Rissman and Roger Shiffman founded the company in 1978. It started with low-tech items like phonographs, but then began developing handheld electronic games and teaching toys...
was also released.
Theme parks
Ariel makes regular appearances in the Disney theme parks, having a special location called
Ariel's Grotto#REDIRECT Ariel's Grotto...
at the
Magic KingdomThe Magic Kingdom is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The first park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1971. The park saw an estimated 17 million visitors in 2008, making it the most visited theme park in the world....
and formerly in Disneyland Park has now become pixie hollow. At
Disney's Hollywood StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
, the show "Voyage of The Little Mermaid" is performed daily. The show opened up on January 6, 1992. Ariel is live sung. Puppets portray Ursula, Sebastian, Flounder, and the rest of the fish. With Lasers, Lights, Film Projection, and Special Effects, the show has become a favorite to all visitors. It is currently the second-longest running show at a Walt Disney World Theme Park.