The Little Mermaid (1989 film)

The Little Mermaid

1997 re-release poster
Directed by Ron Clements
John Musker
Produced by John Musker
Howard Ashman
Written by Ron Clements
John Musker
Fairy tale
Hans Christian Andersen
Starring Rene Auberjonois
Christopher Daniel Barnes
Jodi Benson
Pat Carroll
Buddy Hackett
Jason Marin
Kenneth Mars
Samuel E. Wright
Music by Alan Menken
Howard Ashman
Studio Walt Disney Feature Animation
Silver Screen Partners IV
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Buena Vista Distribution
Release date(s) November 15, 1989 (1989-11-15)
Running time 85 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $40 million[1]
Gross revenue $211,343,479[2]
Followed by The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 15, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, and the first of the Disney Renaissance. During its initial release, The Little Mermaid earned $111 million in North American box office revenue, and has to date earned $211 million in total gross.[2]

After the success of the 1988 Disney/Amblin film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 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 Renaissance.

A stage adaptation of the film with a book by Doug Wright[3] and additional songs by Alan Menken and new lyricist Glenn Slater opened in Denver in July 2007 and began performances on Broadway.[4]

Contents

Plot

Ariel, a sixteen-year-old mermaid princess, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world. With her best fish friend Flounder, Ariel collects human artifacts 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 Triton) and court musician (Sebastian the crab) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden (the sea's primary contact with humans involve fishermen, so King Triton considers humans as nothing more than mere predators), Ariel still longs to be part of the human world; to this end she has filled a secret grotto with all the human artifacts she has found. ("Part of Your World") Sebastian, who is 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").

One night, Ariel, Flounder and an unwilling Sebastian travel to the ocean surface to watch a celebration for the birthday of Prince Eric, with whom Ariel falls in love. A sudden storm hits, during which everyone manages to escape in a lifeboat--except for Eric who goes back to rescue his dog Max. He almost drowns saving Max but is saved by Ariel, who drags him to the beach. Although it seems that his heart isn't beating, Ariel notices that Eric is breathing. She sings to him but dives underwater when Max returns to Eric. Upon waking, 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 Ursula the sea witch, if she wants all of her dreams to come true.

Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days ("Poor, Unfortunate Souls"). 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 takes by magically removing the energy from Ariel's vocal chords and storing it in a nautilus shell. Ariel's tail is transformed into legs and Sebastian and Flounder drag her to the surface. Meanwhile, Triton discovers Ariel and Sebastian's disappearance and, wracked with guilt over his behaviour, orders a search for them.

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 the frustration of both Ariel and Max (who knows the truth). He helps her to the palace, where the servants think she is a survivor of a shipwreck. Ariel spends time with Eric, and at the end of the second day, they almost kiss ("Kiss the Girl") 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 enchantment 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. As 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 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 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, transforming into a giant, and forming a whirlpool that disturbs several shipwrecks to the surface, one of which Eric commandeers. Just as Ursula is set to use the trident to destroy Ariel, Eric turns the wheel hard to port and runs Ursula through the abdomen with the ship's splintered bowsprit, mortally wounding her. With her last breaths, Ursula pulls the ship down with her, but Eric escapes to shore in time.

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.

In the final scene, an unspecified amount of time later, Ariel marries Eric in a wedding where both humans and merpeople attend.

Cast and characters

Notable voice actors who provided additional voices include Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, and Hamilton Camp.

Production

Story development

The Little Mermaid was originally planned as part of one of Walt Disney's earliest feature films, a proposed package film featuring vignettes of Hans Christian Anderson tales. [5] Development started soon after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the late 1930s, but was put on hold due to various circumstances.

In 1985, The Great Mouse Detective co-director Ron Clements discovered a collection of 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 Eisner and Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg at a "gong show" idea suggestion meeting. Eisner and Katzenberg passed the project over, because at that time the studio was in development on a sequel to their live-action mermaid comedy Splash (1984) and felt The Little Mermaid would be too similar a project. [6] The next day, however, Walt Disney Studios chairman Katzenberg greenlit the idea for possible development, along with Oliver & Company. While in production in the 1980s, the staff found, by chance, original story and visual development work done by Kay Nielson for Disney's proposed 1930s Anderson feature. [5] 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.[6]

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 Rabbit and Oliver & Company as more immediate releases.

In 1987, songwriter Howard Ashman became involved with the writing and development of Mermaid after he was asked to contribute a song 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 revised the story format to make Mermaid a musical with a Broadway-style story structure, with the song sequences serving as the tentpoles of the film. [5] Ashman and composer Alan Menken, both noted for their work as the writers of the successful Off-Broadway stage musical Little Shop of Horrors, [7] teamed up to compose the entire song score. In 1988, with Oliver out of the way, Mermaid was slated as the next major Disney release.

Animation

More money and resources were dedicated to Mermaid than any other Disney animated film in decades. [5] Aside from its main animation facility in Glendale, California, Disney opened a satellite feature animation facility during the production of Mermaid in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (near Orlando, Florida), within Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World. [8] Opening in 1989, the Disney-MGM facility's first projects were to produce an entire Roger Rabbit cartoon short, Roller Coaster Rabbit, and to contribute ink and paint support to Mermaid. [8]

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. [5] Originally, Keane had been asked to work on Ursula, as he had established a reputation for drawing large, powerful figures, such as the bear in The Fox and the Hound and Professor Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective. 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."[9] The character's body type and personality were based upon that of Alyssa Milano, [5] then starring on TV's Who's the Boss? and the effect of her hair underwater was based on footage of Sally Ride when she was in space. [5]

The design of the villainous Ursula the Sea Witch was based upon drag performer Divine. [5] Pat Carroll was not Clements and Musker's first choice to voice Ursula; the original script had been written with Bea Arthur of the Disney-owned TV series The Golden Girls in mind. [10] After Arthur turned the part down, actresses such as Nancy Marchand, Nancy Wilson, Roseanne, Charlotte Rae, and Elaine Stritch were considered for the part. [10] Stritch was eventually cast as Ursula, but clashed with Howard Ashman's style of music production and was repalced by Carroll. [10]

Another first for recent years was the filming of live actors and actresses for motion 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 Benson was chosen to play Ariel, and Sherri Lynn Stoner, a former member of Los Angeles' Groundlings improvisation comedy group, acted out Ariel's key scenes. [6]

The underwater setting required the most special effects animation for a Disney animated feature since Fantasia in 1940. Effects animation supervisor Mark Dindal estimated that over a million bubbles were drawn for this film, in addition to the use of other processes such as airbrushing, backlighting, superimposition, and some computer animation. 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. [5]

An attempt to use Disney's famed multiplane camera for the first time in years for quality "depth" shots failed because the machine was reputedly in dilapidated condition. The multiplane shots were instead photographed at an outside animation camera facility. [5]

The Little Mermaid was the last Disney feature film to use the traditional hand-painted cel method of animation. Disney's next film, The Rescuers Down Under, used a digital method of coloring and combining scanned drawings developed for Disney by Pixar called CAPS (Computer Animation Production System), which would eliminate the need for cels, the multiplane camera, and many of the optical effects used for the last time in Mermaid. [5] A CAPS prototype was used experimentally on a few scenes in Mermaid, and one shot produced using CAPS - the penultimate shot in the film, of Ariel and Eric's wedding ship sailing away under a rainbow - appears in the finished film. [5] Computer-generated imagery was used to create 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. These objects were animated using 3D wireframe models, which were plotted as line art to cels and painted traditionally.[5]

Music

The Little Mermaid was considered by some as "the film that brought Broadway into cartoons".[11] Alan Menken wrote the Academy Award winning score, and collaborated with Howard Ashman on the songs.

Songs

*Note: "Vanessa's Song" is not included on any official Disney soundtrack of The Little Mermaid. It is a reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls".

Release

Box office

Early in the production of The Little Mermaid, Jeffrey Katzenberg cautioned Ron Clements, John Musker, and their staff, reminding them that since Mermaid was a "girl's film", it would make less money at the box office than Oliver & Company, which had been Disney's biggest animated box office success in a decade. [6][7] However, by the time the fim was closer to completion, Katzenberg was convinced mermaid would be a hit and the first animated feature to earn more than $100 million and become a "blockbuster" film. [6][7]

During its original 1989 theatrical release, Mermaid earned $84,355,863 at the North American box office, [2] falling just short of Katzenberg's expectations but earning 64% more than Oliver. [7] The Little Mermaid was reissued on November 17, 1997, on the same day as Anastasia, a Don Bluth animated feature for Fox Animation Studios. The reissue brought $27,187,616 in additional gross. [2] The film also drew $99.8 million in box office earnings outside of the United States and Canada between both releases, resulting in a total international box office figure of $211 million. [2]

The film was also screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.[12]

Home video release

In a then atypical and controversial move for a new Disney animated film, The Little Mermaid was released as part of the Walt Disney Classics line of VHS and Laserdisc home video releases in May 1990, eight months after the release of the film. [7] Before Mermaid, only a select number of Disney's catalog animated films had been released to home video, as the company was afraid of upsetting its profitable practice of theatrically reissuing each film every seven years. [7] Mermaid became that year's top-selling title on home video, with over 10 million units sold (including 7 million in its first month).[13] This success led future Disney films to be released soon after the end of their theatrical runs, rather than delayed for several years. [7]

Following Mermaid's 1997 re-release in theaters, a new VHS version of the film was released in March 1998 as part of the Masterpiece Collection. The VHS sold 13 million units and ranked as the third best-selling video of the year.[14][15]

The Little Mermaid was released in a Limited Issue "bare-bones" DVD in 1999, with a standard video transfer and no substantial features. The film was re-released on DVD on October 3, 2006, as part of the Walt Disney Platinum Editions line of classic Walt Disney animated features. Deleted scenes and several in-depth documentaries were included, as well as an Academy Award-nominated short film intended for the shelved Fantasia 2006, The Little Match Girl.[16] The DVD sold 1.6 million units on its first day of release,[17] and over 4 million units during its first week, 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.[18] The Platinum Edition DVD was released as part of a "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.

Reception

The Little Mermaid received positive reviews and on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 52 reviews collected, the film has an overall approval rating of 90% based on various reviews collected since its 1989 release.[19]

Roger Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, was enthusiastic about the film and wrote that, "The Little Mermaid is a jolly and inventive animated fantasy - a movie that's so creative and so much fun it deserves comparison with the best Disney work of the past." Ebert also commented positively on the character of Ariel, stating, "... Ariel is a fully realized female character who thinks and acts independently, even rebelliously, instead of hanging around passively while the fates decide her destiny."[20] The staff of TV Guide wrote a positive review, praising the film's return to the traditional Disney musical as well as the film's animation. Yet they also wrote that the film is detracted by the juvenile humor and the human characters' eyes. While still giving a positive review, they stated that the film "can't compare to the real Disney classics (which appealed equally to both kids and adults)."[21] The staff of Variety praised the film for its cast of characters, Ursula in particular, as well as its animation. Stating that the animation "proves lush and fluid, augmented by the use of shadow and light as elements like fire, sun and water illuminate the characters." Also praised was the musical collaboration between Howard Ashman and Alan Menken "whose songs frequently begin slowly but build in cleverness and intensity."[22] Todd Gilchrist of IGN wrote a positive review of the film, stating that the film is "an almost perfect achievement." Gilchrist also praised how the film revived interest in animation as it was released at a time when interest in animation was at a lull.[23] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post wrote a mixed review of the film, referring to it as a "likably unspectacular adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic." Hinson went on to write that the film is average even at its highest points. He wrote that while there is nothing wrong with the film, it would be difficult for children to identify with Ariel and that the characters seemed bland. Hinson concluded his review saying that the film is "accomplished but uninspiring, The Little Mermaid has enough to please any kid. All that's missing is the magic." [24]

In April 2008 – almost 20 years after the film's initial release in 1989 – Yahoo! 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 traditionally animated Disney animated films- Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, respectively- scored above it in the poll even after the update.)[25]

Significance

The Little Mermaid, Disney's first animated fairy tale since Sleeping Beauty (1959), [6] is an important film in animation history for many reasons. Chief among these are its re-establishment of animation as a profitable venture for The Walt Disney Company, [7] as the company's theme parks, telelvision productions, and live-action features had overshadowed the animated output since the 1950s. [7] Mermaid was the second film, following Oliver and Company, produced after Disney began expanding its animated output following its successful live action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and became Disney's first animated major box office and critical hit since The Rescuers in 1977. [7] Walt Disney Feature Animation was further expanded as a result of Mermaid and increasingly successful follow-ups - Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994). The staff increased from 300 members in 1988 to 2,200 in 1999 spread across three studios in Burbank, California, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. [8] This period of Disney's animation history is sometimes referred to as the "Disney Renaissance".

In addition, Mermaid signaled the re-establishment of the musical film format as a standard for Disney animated films. The majority of Disney's most popular animated films from the 1930s on had been musicals, though by the 1970s and 1980s the role of music had been de-emphasized in the films. [6] 1988's Oliver and Company had served as a test of sorts to the success of the musical format before Disney committed to the Broadway-style structure of The Little Mermaid. [6]

Awards

In January 1990, The Little Mermaid earned three Academy Award nominations, making it the first Disney animated film to earn an Academy Award nomination since The Rescuers in 1977. The film won two of the awards, for Best Song ("Under the Sea") and Best Score. The film also earned four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, and won the awards for Best Song ("Under the Sea") and Best Score. [26]

In addition to the box office and critical success of the film itself, the Mermaid soundtrack album earned two awards at the 33rd Grammy Awards in 1991 - for Best Recording for Children and Best Instrumental Composition written for a Motion Picture or Television. [27] Bolstered by the film's success and the soundtrack's Oscars, Golden Globes and Grammy Awards, was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in September 1990 for shipments of two million copies of the soundtrack album, an unheard of feat for an animated film at the time. [28] To date, the soundtrack has been certified six times platinum. [28]

The Little Mermaid won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score as well as Best Song for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's "Under the Sea", sung by Samuel E. Wright in a memorable scene. Another song from the film, "Kiss the Girl," was nominated but lost to "Under the Sea." The film also won two Golden Globes for Best Original Score as well Best Original Song for "Under the Sea." It was also nominated in two other categories, Best Motion Picture and another Best Original Song. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman also won a Grammy Award in 1991 for "Under the Sea."

The Little Mermaids Academy Award winning for Best Original Song and Best Original Score was repeated by Disney's next four films, also in the same era (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, & Pocahontas)

Award Recipient
Best Music, Original Score Alan Menken
Best Music, Original Song ("Under the Sea") Alan Menken & Howard Ashman
Nominated:
Best Music, Original Song ("Kiss the Girl") Alan Menken & Howard Ashman
Golden Globes
Award Result
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy Nominated
Best Original Score Won
Best Original Song (For "Under the Sea") Won
Best Original Song (For "Kiss the Girl") Nominated
Grammy Awards
Award Result
Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television (For "Under the Sea") Won

Controversy

Closeup of the alleged penis

In the film, King Triton lives in a castle of gold, along with his daughters. The castle is displayed in the artwork for the cover for the Classics VHS cassette when the film was first released on video. Close examination of the artwork, as well as the film, shows an oddly shaped structure on the castle, closely resembling a penis.[29][30] Disney and the cover designer insist it was an accident, resulting from a late night rush job to finish the cover artwork. The questionable object does not appear on the cover of the second releasing of the movie.[29]

The second allegation is that a clergyman is seen with an erection during a scene late in the film.[31][32][33] The clergyman is a short man, dressed in Bishop's clothing, and a small bulge is slightly noticeable in a few of the frames that are actually later shown to be the stubby-legged man's knees, but the image is small and is very difficult to distinguish. The combined incidents led an Arkansas woman to file suit against The Walt Disney Company in 1995, though she dropped the suit two months later.[32][33][34][35][36]

Related works

The success of the film led to a spin-off television series, two direct-to-video films (a sequel and a prequel), several albums with music inspired by the film, attractions in Disney parks, and many more media.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stewart, James B. (2005). DisneyWar, p. 104. ISBN 0-684-80993-1. Simon & Schuster. Retrieved June 4, 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "The Little Mermaid". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=littlemermaid.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-22. 
  3. ↑ Kachka, Boris (2006-02-26). "Q&A With Grey Gardens Playwright Doug Wright - New York Magazine". Newyorkmetro.com. http://newyorkmetro.com/arts/theater/profiles/16075/. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  4. ↑ "Playbill Features: STAGE TO SCREENS: Chatting with Grey Gardens and Little Mermaid Librettist Doug Wright". Playbill.com. http://www.playbill.com/features/article/97323.html. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 (2006) Audio Commentary by John Musker, Ron Clements, and Alan Menken Bonus material from The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition [DVD]. Walt Disney Home Entertainment.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 (2006) Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid [Documentary featurette]. Bonus material from The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition DVD. Walt Disney Home Entertainment.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 Hahn, Don. (2009). Waking Sleeping Beauty. [Documentary film]. Burbank, California: Stone Circle Pictures/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Moore, Roger (June 20, 2004), "AFTER THE MAGIC ; SCORES OF FORMER DISNEY ANIMATORS AND THEIR COLLEAGUES HAVE DISPERSED TO LAUNCH THEIR OWN STUDIOS, SEEK NEW CAREERS AND DISCOVER NEW IDENTITIES -- DETERMINED TO LAND ON THEIR FEET.", Orlando Sentinel: F1, http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/access/653286501.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jun+20%2C+2004&author=Roger+Moore%2C+Sentinel+Movie+Critic&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=F.1&desc=AFTER+THE+MAGIC+%3B+SCORES+OF+FORMER+DISNEY+ANIMATORS+AND+THEIR+COLLEAGUES+HAVE+DISPERSED+TO+LAUNCH+THEIR+OWN+STUDIOS%2C+SEEK+NEW+CAREERS+AND+DISCOVER+NEW+IDENTITIES+--+DETERMINED+TO+LAND+ON+THEIR+FEET., retrieved 8 May 2010 
  9. ↑ (2004) Interview with Glen Keane. Bonus material from Pocahontas: 10th Anniversary Edition [DVD]. Walt Disney Home Entertainment.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Neuwirth, Allan (2003). Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies. Allworth Communications, Inc.. pp. 46-47. ISBN 1581152698. 
  11. ↑ Aladdin Platinum Edition, Disc 2: Alan Menken: Musical
  12. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: The Little Mermaid". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/176/year/1990.html. Retrieved 2009-08-08. 
  13. ↑ Nichols, Peter M. (1993-09-12). "THE NEW SEASON: HOME ENTERTAINMENT; 'Beauty' Was Big, but Make Way for 'Aladdin' - New York Times". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEEDC1039F931A2575AC0A965958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fR%2fRecords%20and%20Achievements. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  14. ↑ "Press Release Page". Mickey-mouse.com. http://www.mickey-mouse.com/pressreleases.htm#TBC. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  15. ↑ "VidNews Archives". OnVideo. http://www.onvideo.org/oldnews.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  16. ↑ "The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition - DVD Press Release - UltimateDisney.com". UltimateDisney.com<!. http://www.ultimatedisney.com/littlemermaid-platinumedition-pressrelease.html. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  17. ↑ "Record Starts for X-Men and Mermaid - ComingSoon.net". ComingSoon.net<!. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/dvdnews.php?id=16821. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  18. ↑ "Weekly Breakdown Sales For The Little Mermaid DVD". The-numbers.com. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1989/LMERM-DVD.php. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  19. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes - The Little Mermaid". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1012450-little_mermaid/. Retrieved 2009-12-23. 
  20. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1989-11-17). "The Little Mermaid review". Chicago Sun Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19891117/REVIEWS/911170304/1023. Retrieved 2009-12-23. 
  21. ↑ "The Little Mermaid movie review". tvguide.com. 1989. http://movies.tvguide.com/little-mermaid/review/127524. Retrieved 2009-12-23. 
  22. ↑ "The Little Mermaid movie review". Variety. 1989-01-01. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117792642.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-12-23. 
  23. ↑ "Double Dip Digest: The Little Mermaid". IGN. 2006-10-03. http://dvd.ign.com/articles/737/737058p1.html. Retrieved 2009-12-23. 
  24. ↑ "The Little Mermaid review". The Washington Post. 1997-11-17. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/review97/littlemermaidhin.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  25. ↑ "Making the Grade: Yahoo Users' Top Rated Animated Films photos on Yahoo! Summer Movie Guide (June 25th, 2008)". Movies.yahoo.com. http://movies.yahoo.com/summer-movies/Kung-Fu-Panda/1809826133/photos/358/9268/. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  26. ↑ "The 47th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1952)". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. http://www.hfpa.org/browse/year/1989. Retrieved 2010-05-09. 
  27. ↑ Grammy Awards database search for "Little Mermaid". Grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 RIAA "Gold and Platinum" search for "Little Mermaid". RIAA.com.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Little Mermaid Phallus". snopes.com. http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/mermaid.asp. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  30. ↑ Viets, Elaine (24 November 1992). "Mermaid's Tower is Kettle of Fish". Everyday Magazine (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). 
  31. ↑ Smith, Russell W. (8 September 1995). "Sex Seen (by Some) in Films by Disney" (in American English). Austin American-Statesman. pp. d1. 
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Little Mermaid Minister". snopes.com. http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/minister.asp. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Beck, Susan (5 January 1996). "Help the Needy; Help Yourself". The Recorder. p. 2. 
  34. ↑ Emery Jr., C. Eugene (March 1996). "When the Media Miss Real Messages in Subliminal Stories". Skeptical Inquirer. p. 16. 
  35. ↑ "Disney Catches Hell". Entertainment Weekly. 
  36. ↑ Omaha World-Herald "Filth' Found in Disney Movies Is a Stretch of the Imagination."

External links

Preceded by
"Let the River Run" from Working Girl		 Academy Award for Best Original Song ("Under the Sea")
1989		 Succeeded by
"Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)" from Dick Tracy
Disney's The Little Mermaid
Films
The Little Mermaid (1989) · The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000) · The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008)
Characters
Ariel · Other characters
Music
Albums
The Little Mermaid · Sebastian from The Little Mermaid · Sebastian: Party Gras! · Songs from the Sea
Songs
"Part of Your World" · "Under the Sea" · "Poor Unfortunate Souls" · "Kiss the Girl"
Video games
The Little Mermaid · Ariel the Little Mermaid · The Little Mermaid II: Pinball Frenzy
Adaptations
TV series (episodes) · Musical
Attractions
Ariel's Grotto · Ariel's Undersea Adventure · Jumpin' Jellyfish · King Triton's Carousel of the Sea · Mermaid Lagoon · Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Disney theatrical animated features
Walt Disney
Animation Studios
films
(literary sources)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) · Pinocchio (1940) · Fantasia (1940) · Dumbo (1941) · Bambi (1942) · Saludos Amigos (1942) · The Three Caballeros (1944) · Make Mine Music (1946) · Fun and Fancy Free (1947) · Melody Time (1948) · The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) · Cinderella (1950) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Peter Pan (1953) · Lady and the Tramp (1955) · Sleeping Beauty (1959) · One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) · The Sword in the Stone (1963) · The Jungle Book (1967) · The Aristocats (1970) · Robin Hood (1973) · The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) · The Rescuers (1977) · The Fox and the Hound (1981) · The Black Cauldron (1985) · The Great Mouse Detective (1986) · Oliver & Company (1988) · The Little Mermaid (1989) · The Rescuers Down Under (1990) · Beauty and the Beast (1991) · Aladdin (1992) · The Lion King (1994) · Pocahontas (1995) · The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) · Hercules (1997) · Mulan (1998) · Tarzan (1999) · Fantasia 2000 (1999) · Dinosaur (2000) · The Emperor's New Groove (2000) · Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) · Lilo & Stitch (2002) · Treasure Planet (2002) · Brother Bear (2003) · Home on the Range (2004) · Chicken Little (2005) · Meet the Robinsons (2007) · Bolt (2008) · The Princess and the Frog (2009) · Tangled (2010) · Winnie the Pooh (2011)
Walt Disney Pictures
films with animation
The Reluctant Dragon (1941) · Victory Through Air Power (1943) · Song of the South (1946) · So Dear to My Heart (1949) · Mary Poppins (1964) · Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) · Pete's Dragon (1977) · Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) · Enchanted (2007)
DisneyToon Studios
films
DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) · A Goofy Movie (1995) · Doug's 1st Movie (1999) · The Tigger Movie (2000) · Recess: School's Out (2001) · Return to Never Land (2002) · The Jungle Book 2 (2003) · Piglet's Big Movie (2003) · Teacher's Pet (2004) · Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005) · Bambi II (2006)
Films directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
1980s
The Great Mouse Detective (1986) · The Little Mermaid (1989)
1990s
Aladdin (1992) · Hercules (1997)
2000s