The Little Mermaid

• Written and Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements
• November 17, 1989
• Loosely based on the 1837 fairy tale The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

Voice Cast

• Ariel-Jodi Benson
• Prince Eric-Christopher Daniel Barnes
• Ursula-Pat Carroll
• King Triton-Kenneth Mars
• Sebastian-Samuel E. Wright
• Flounder-Jason Marin
• Scuttle-Buddy Hackett
• Flotsam and Jetsam-Paddi Edwards
• Sir Grimsby-Ben Wright
• Carlotta-Edie McClurg
• Harold-Will Ryan
• Chef Louis-René Auberjonois

A teenage mermaid princess who has fallen for a human prince makes a deal with a sea witch to become human.

Despite its flaws, there is more to this than revealed by a surface look. The Little Mermaid is a story about growing up as well as finding true love from someone outside of your social circle. It’s all wrapped up in a fanciful family friendly fairytale brought to the screen by Disney.

Ariel has to leave her comfortable old life behind and take a risk. As much because it is a natural progression as it is an extension of her own adventurous spirit. This adventurous girl’s spirit cannot be contained by the confines of the world she lives in. She also has to learn to be careful and deal with the consequences of her choices. In this case those consequences come via a Faustian bargain with the sea witch Ursula. There’s no way Ariel would ever have met Eric if she had stayed where she was. She had to take a chance and reach out to her crush rather than observe him from afar like some finned stalker.

Ariel needs to become her own person and her father cannot see that. King Triton is just your average overprotective parent trying to keep their child from all the terrible things out there rather than guide them to deal with those terrible things. What Triton doesn’t understand is the harder he forbids the more appealing the forbidden is. A common parental mistake is what gets the story rolling. And you can even take King Triton’s feelings towards the surface as bigotry as he views them all the same rather than as individuals. That there is a great deal to have in a story aimed at children.

Eric for his part is going through many of the same things as Ariel. He cannot find the right person by simply looking around his tiny world. He needs to step beyond the confines of what he knows in order to find love. Never mind that this adult finds love with a 16-year-old girl that he just met and only got to know. Never mind that this 16-year-old is wanting to marry the hot guy that she saw from a distance while he was out boating.

Ursula is not blatantly evil but rather paves the road to Hell with temptation. She says all the right things and you could see if you were if you were Arie, how what she offered would be seen in a less than nefarious way. The main threat aside from Ursula is the ticking clock. Ariel has only three days to get Prince Eric to fall in love with her. Otherwise she has to pay the price and Ursula is not going to be kind about that. Disney really knew how to make threatening villains when it put its mind to it. Ursula is evil without being over the top.

There are also themes of friendship and curiosity. Sebastian and Flounder accept her for who she is even if Sebastian finds it exasperating. Flounder is her loyal sidekick that goes along on Ariel’s excursions to learn about the human world and taking items she takes to the seagull Scuttle who is either seriously confused on what he is looking at or just blowing smoke up Ariel’s blowhole.

The animation in The Little Mermaid is absolutely stunning. There is a level of detail and just general attention given to this that wasn’t done too often in Disney hand drawn animation. Perhaps it’s just the rich environment sparking creativity that gives this that something extra special.

This also proves you can make a popular and well-regarded animated film with no huge names providing the voice work. Buddy Hackett, Kenneth Mars, Edie McClurg, and René Auberjonois are the biggest names present. Unless you have certain level of nerdiness you BARELY at best know who these people are. All talented people that should have been bigger given their talent but never were. They were certainly more experienced in general acting unlike the rest of the voice cast but you get my point.

The Little Mermaid has classic song after classic song. I think just about every one used here has made it into the public consciousness to one extent or another. Not one. Not two. But all of them. “Part of Your World” performed by Jodi Benson (Ariel), “Poor Unfortunate Souls” performed by Pat Carroll (Ursula), and “Under the Sea” as well as “Kiss the Girl” performed by Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian) either surmise the moment in the story they’re used or help to move the narrative along. They aren’t there just to get some Top 40 airplay.

This film has plenty of heart and genuine emotion. And aside from the surface stuff there is so much below that you get. Ariel must leave everything behind and Triton must let go in a moving moment. It’s no wonder this film has the following it has and is a classic.

There is plenty of that trademark Disney humor along with some stuff that borders on the macabre. How dark is the scene in the kitchen where Sebastian is watching Chef Louis prepare the meal and he sees him using a meat cleaver on an animal who could’ve at one point been his friends? That’s a little messed up! That begs the question what does Ariel eat as a mermaid and what will she eat as a human? Anywho…

The Little Mermaid is a classic piece of Disney animation with so much more than what you get from a surface look. It has some substance and some moral lessons all wrapped in a fanciful and entertaining story. This is a must see!