Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
This colorful adventure tells the story of an impetuous mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and puts everything on the line for the chance to be with him. Memorable songs and characters -- including the villainous sea witch Ursula.
The Little Mermaid is a landmark of animation history that revitalized Disney's feature animation division. Its hand-drawn cinematography is lush and vibrant, with fluid underwater sequences that remain visually stunning. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's score gives it a genuinely distinctive musical identity — 'Part of Your World,' 'Under the Sea,' and 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' are iconic. Novelty is high because this film essentially reinvented the Disney animated musical template that dominated the next decade, and Ursula remains one of animation's great villains. The plot is a fairly straightforward fairy-tale romance with some thin characterization of Eric, and Ariel's motivations occasionally feel shallow beyond teenage impulsiveness. Voice performances are charming but rarely transcend their roles. The ending resolves a little too neatly and quickly, softening the darker Andersen source material into conventional happily-ever-after territory.