The Little Mermaid
It took a bit for me to get into watching Disney’s animated films once I hit double-digits in age. Movies like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King” just weren’t my cup of tea. Of course, the more I got into cinema, in general, it was only natural that the Disney classics would hit my playlist, and of course, “The Little Mermaid” was no doubt to be one of them. The personal connection was also important– after all, when I would tell some people my last name, they would go, “You mean like the bird in ‘The Little Mermaid?'” Yes, that never got old. Still, there are worse fates: the bird is voiced by the iconic Buddy Hackett, and it distracts from one of the actual definitions of the word “scuttle.”
Even in an age when Disney is almost entirely devoted to CG animation, and it’s branched out into more boy-centric efforts like “Wreck-It-Ralph” and “Big Hero 6,” “The Little Mermaid” remains one of the finest examples of the studio at the peak of it’s powers. In bringing Hans Christian Andersen’s story to G-rated life, directors Ron Clements and John Musker brought the brightest, most lively colors and sense of atmosphere audiences had seen from a Disney film in decades to the service of a story that has adventure, romance, comedy and music that makes it an unforgettable experience for the whole family.
That last part, the music, is what set “The Little Mermaid” apart from even the iconic Disney masterpieces of the early days of the studio when it was first released. Written by the late Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who came to the studio’s attention with their off-Broadway collaboration, “Little Shop of Horrors,” music had always been a part of the Disney tradition in their animated classics, but this was a full-throated musical the way audiences hadn’t seen before, and it was an instant winner. Whether it was the longing for a different life Ariel (voiced by Jodi Benson) sings about in “Part of Your World,” or the wicked solo Ursula (Pat Carroll) sings while negotiating a deal with Ariel in “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” or the catchy, delightful “Under the Sea” the crab composer, Sebastian (Samuel E. Wright) sings before Ariel’s adventure on land starts, or the romantic ballad, “Kiss the Girl,” we hear when the now-human Ariel is trying to get her prince charming, Eric, to kiss her, and live happily ever after. This was the first of five straight Disney Animated features that won Oscars for both Best Original Song and Original Score, and while the popularity of the format was tested with films like “Mulan,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Home on the Range,” the likes of “Hercules,” “Tangled” and “Frozen” proved that, with the right material, the animated musical was still a durable genre that audiences could get behind.
With their “princess movies” like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Tangled” and “Frozen,” not to mention their early classics like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty,” Disney basically became a defining characteristic of many young girls’s childhoods, but the truth is, their best films (which “The Little Mermaid” certainly belongs in) are universal. At their best, Disney films are the definition of a “4-quadrent” movie, which means that all the demographics are served, and they’re something anyone can find something to enjoy. I’m not this film’s target demographic, but I get that desire for freedom Ariel is singing about in “Part of Your World,” and enjoy the comic relief of characters like Sebastian and Scuttle, and hey, you know, the hopeless romantic in me enjoys the love story. I feel no shame in admittedly I like this movie, maybe even love it, because let’s face it, while Disney has no problem pandering to a specific audience, it knows that more people than that audience will see their movies, and crafts their movies accordingly. After all, they couldn’t stand the test of time if they didn’t, and “The Little Mermaid” has lasted for over 25 years, and will be around for many years more.
