THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989) (Disney) Voices: Samuel E. Wright, Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Buddy Hackett, Kenneth Mars, Jason Marin. Screenplay: John Musker and Ron Clements, from the story by Hans Christian Andersen. Producers: Howard Ashman and John Musker. Directors: John Musker and Ron Clements. MPAA Rating: G. Running Time: 82 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
It may be an exaggeration to say that THE LITTLE MERMAID saved feature animation from extinction. If so, it's not much of one. In 1989, when MERMAID was first released, only one man in Hollywood seemed to believe that family films weren't inevitably box office poison: Disney's Jeffrey Katzenberg, who re-committed Disney to its historical life's-blood after costly flops like THE BLACK CAULDRON. His vision was rewarded with $90 million in U.S. grosses, at the time the highest total ever for an animated film. And THE LITTLE MERMAID begat a feature animation renaissance, which begat box office giants like BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN and THE LION KING, which begat billions in merchandise and video sales, which begat a desire in other studios to get their fingers in the lucrative animation pie.
The wonderful thing about THE LITTLE MERMAID is the wonderful thing about most unwitting trend-setters: it was made not to set trends, but to be an entertaining film. That's certainly what it turned out to be, telling the story of a teenage mermaid named Ariel (voice of Jodi Benson) fascinated with the surface world. That fascination only intensifies one day when she saves the life of a human prince named Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes), with whom whe instantly falls in love. Determined to join her true love despite the objections of her father King Triton (Kenneth Mars), Ariel finds a willing assistant in the sea-witch Ursula (Pat Carroll), who offers the Faustian trade of Ariel's voice for the chance to become human. Thus begins Ariel's quest to win Eric's heart, ably assisted by her guardian crab Sebasian (Samuel E. Wright).
To their everlasting credit, writer/directors John Musker and Ron Clements weren't looking forward to LITTLE MERMAID coloring books or sing-along tapes when they put together their narrative. The were looking _backward_, to the reasons Disney's classic cartoons endured, beginning with a timeless story (Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, tweaked for an appropriately happy ending). Musker and Clements crafted THE LITTLE MERMAID with attention to the fundamentals of storytelling, little things like coherent plotting, charming characterizations and clever writing. They made sure they had key elements like an appropriately loathsome villain and sharp comic relief, applied the talents of a gifted group of character animators and voice actors, and ended up with a minor gem on their hands.
They also realized the crucial role of music in the Disney animated canon, so they made the smartest of all the decisions which went into THE LITTLE MERMAID: they got Alan Menken and Howard Ashman to score it. The talented composing team behind LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS turned the film into a full-fledged musical, establishing the fundamental song requirements for all the successful Disney features to come: a song for the hero/heroine ("Part of Your World"), a song for the villain ("Poor Unfortunate Souls"), a love theme ("Kiss the Girl") and a grand, show-stopping production number ("Under the Sea"). The latter two proved to be among Disney's most delightful tunes ever, adding the special spark which turned Samuel E. Wright's already-exceptional vocal performance as Sebastian into the stuff of classics. In fact, even the minor numbers in THE LITTLE MERMAID were strong enough to re-surface later (listen again to "Les Poissons," and tell me you don't hear the beta version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST's "Be Our Guest").
Disney has re-released many of its animated films to theaters in recent years, but there's something special about the return of THE LITTLE MERMAID. It's not that it's the best of Disney's New Wave, not even with digitally improved prints and multi-track sound. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST provided richer characters, ALADDIN was more energetic, and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME was more emotionally resonant. THE LITTLE MERMAID, however, was the most innocent, and perhaps the most purely enchanting. Its exuberance and humor made animation hip again, which may be why THE LITTLE MERMAID marked the turning point for feature animation as a viable commercial entity. 20th Century Fox should consider that history in all the release-date jockeying between MERMAID and their own ANASTASIA. A trail-blazer deserves some respect.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 parts of your world: 9.
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