The Little Mermaid (1989)

Directors:

Ron Clements
John Musker

Writers:

John Musker (written by) and
Ron Clements (written by) ...

Release Date:

17 November 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Somewhere under the sea and beyond your imagination is an adventure in fantasy.

Plot:

A mermaid princess makes a faustian bargain with an unscrupulous seahag in order to meet a human prince on land.

Plot Keywords:

Mermaid | King | Sea | Sea Witch | Witch

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Rene Auberjonois	...	Louis (voice)
Christopher Daniel Barnes	...	Eric (voice)
Jodi Benson	...	Ariel (voice)
Pat Carroll	...	Ursula (voice)
Paddi Edwards	...	Flotsam & Jetsam (voice)
Buddy Hackett	...	Scuttle (voice)
Jason Marin	...	Flounder (voice)
Kenneth Mars	...	Triton (voice)
Edie McClurg	...	Carlotta (voice)
Will Ryan	...	Seahorse (voice)
Ben Wright	...	Grimsby (voice)
Samuel E. Wright	...	Sebastian (voice)
Hamilton Camp	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Debbie Shapiro Gravitte	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Debbie Shapiro)
Robert Weil	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Also Known As:

La sirenita (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
A Pequena Sereia (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Arielle, die Meerjungfrau (West Germany) [de]
But Ha-Yum Ha-Ktana (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
De kleine zeemeermin (Netherlands) [nl]
Den lilla sjöjungfrun (Sweden) [sv]
Den lille havfrue (Denmark) [da]
Den lille havfruen (Norway) [no]
I mikri gorgona (Greece) [el]
Küçük denizkizi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
La petite sirène (France) [fr]
La sirenetta (Italy) [it]
Mala syrenka (Poland) [pl]
Pieni merenneito (Finland) [fi]
Ritoru maameido (Japan) [ja]

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (original release) | DTS (re-release) (1997) | Dolby Digital (re-release) (1997) | Dolby (35 mm prints) (original release) | SDDS (re-release) (1997)

Certification:

Singapore:G | Iceland:L | West Germany:o.Al. | Canada:G (Quebec) | Portugal:M/4 | South Korea:All | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Belgium:KT | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-6/3 | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G (PCA #29385) | West Germany:0 (re-release) | Ireland:G | Brazil:Livre

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

This was the first Disney film to receive an Academy Award since Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), though other films had been nominated.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the Chef goes to poke Sebastian with the two-prong fork, the prongs trap Sebastian in between them and stick into the table. The holes that were supposed to be made by the fork were already there.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Prince Eric: Isn't this great? The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face... aaah, the perfect day to be at sea!
Grimsby: [leaning over rail] Oh, yes... urp... delightful.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "30 Rock: The Bubble (#3.15)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Part of Your World (Reprise)

An incredibly romantic movie!

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.