The Little Mermaid (1989) Reviews

• May Have Saved Disney's Movie Franchise.

  tfrizzell2002-07-03

  Disney animated films had become somewhat second-rate by 1989 and it appeared that one of the great genres in the cinema was on life-support. But that all changed with "The Little Mermaid". The film is a cinematic classic that tells the story of a young mermaid princess who just wants to be human so she makes a deal with an evil sea witch to get her wish, but she loses her beautiful voice in the process and she must be kissed by her true love to get it back. A really great motion picture that has some really memorable songs in it. 5 stars out of 5.

• This is my favourite movie of all time...

  BigAir1998-12-17

  I probably never would have seen this movie if my mother hadn't persuaded me to take my little brother to see it. I enjoyed it a lot the first time, but it was only when I saw it again a couple of years later on video I realised just how superb a movie it is. It's not a clever or complex movie, it's not the kind of film which works on an adult level as well as on a children's one. However, three aspects of it make it truly great: 1: The music. 'Under The Sea' richly deserved its Oscar, but 'Part Of Your World' deserved it even more. 2. The animation. Quite simply, it's absolutely gorgeous. The underwater scenes in particular take your breath away. 3. The Story. How can you resist a love story that touching? I urge anyone with even a touch of sentimentality about them to set their predjudices aside and see this movie.

• An incredibly romantic movie!

  cLoNe1999-08-06

  Yeah, yeah... It's the little mermaid, the same cute barbie-like character little girls love so much... But the movie is great. If you just free yourself from the sissy pink image of the movie you're in for a treat. The songs are great, by the same team who gave us Little Shop Of Horrors: Alan Menken and Howard Ashman who teamed up in Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin as well. Aladdin was their last project together with Ashman's untimely death from AIDS in 1991. The story is funny and romantic, so who cares if it's not following the original tale? A perfect movie for everyone, not just little girls.

• Life must be great under the sea!

  Smells_Like_Cheese2004-01-20

  The Little Mermaid is one of the best Disney films of the 80's! It's such a wonderful film and is such a tear jerker, lol. The songs, the story, the animation, the voices, were just so wonderful and perfect. This is the film that I'm sure will go on for generations to come, I just showed it to my cousin recently, he's 6, and he just loves it as well. I remember watching this movie when I was a little girl and I just wanted a friend like Sebastian, he was so much fun, even though he's somewhat of a buzz kill, he can really get the party going. Just the whole story is a blast to watch and is so beautiful. Ariel is one of the many princesses of King Triton's mighty kingdom under the sea, but she has a different dream. She goes up constantly to the shore to collect human items and wonders what it would be like to be a human instead of a mermaid. One day when she gets into a nasty fight with her father, Ursella, an evil octopus woman who wants to take over King Triton's kingdom, grants Ariel's wish, but she can only stay human if she can get her crush, Eric, to say her name, sounds easy, right? Well, Ursella takes her voice away, but her intentions are for Ariel to fail and make sure that she takes over the kingdom. The Little Mermaid is such a fun Disney film and is a great treasure of our time. I just love the song "Under the sea", it's so much fun to sing and dance too, I admit it, I'm a dork, I still sing and dance to it when I see it. I highly recommend this movie for anyone, it's a true Disney classic that is so much fun, I guarantee you that you might shed a tear when Ariel says "Daddy", you'll see what I mean when you watch it. 10/10

• "The Little Mermaid" Surprised Me

  JKearse1999-04-28

  It has been ten years since "The Little Mermaid" was released. Back when Disney originally released the film, I was both excited and apprehensive. Excited, because it is one of the best children's stories and one of my favorites. Apprehensive, because I knew Disney would change the ending and give it a happy ending, which is understandable but still unfortunate. When I first saw it, I liked it much more than I thought I would, and after each repeated viewing, I have liked it more and more. I am now convinced this is the second best American Animated film, after "Beauty and the Beast". The music, story, writing, and animation are superb as others have stated, but the villainess, Ursula, is also a major factor in the success of the film. She is the best written and performed of all Disney villains. She is purely evil but totally believable. Pat Carroll, who I have often noticed but never really considered, did a fabulous job with Ursula's characterization. The music and songs are consistantly very good. There is no deep thought to this one, but "The Little Mermaid" is artfully near-perfect entainment.