The Little Mermaid (1989)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Disney’s version of this Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale is notable for its Music Score which won the Academy Award (Alan Menken) and features two Oscar nominated songs "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" (lyrics by Howard Ashman). The screenplay was written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker.
The titled character is Ariel (Jodi Benson) who protests that she’s "sixteen and not a child" when her father King Triton (Kenneth Mars) exerts discipline to reign in his daughter’s wanderlust and love of all things human. As a mermaid Ariel collects all the shiny objects she finds discarded or lost from ships above and keeps them as treasures in her grotto. Her seagull friend Scuttle (Buddy Hackett) mistakenly identifies the objects and their purpose while her friend Flounder (Jason Marin) listens attentively as well.
After another trip to the surface during which Ariel sees a handsome prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes) the King harshly scolds his daughter and destroys her grotto in rage per her rebellion causing Ariel to flee. Triton then sends his court composer Sebastian (Samuel E. Wright) a lobster to follow his daughter and keep her out of danger. But Sebastian is both dismayed and unable to keep Ariel from striking an agreement with Ursula (Pat Carroll) the Sea Witch who has the power to give Ariel legs in exchange for her beautiful voice. The document signed states that Ariel can remain human if she can get Eric to fall in love with her (and kiss her) within 3 days.
Even voiceless Ariel – with help from Sebastian’s composition talents ("Kiss the Girl") – is able to charm Eric right to the edge before Ursula sends her slimy eels Flotsam & Jetsam (Paddi Edwards) to disrupt their kiss. So Ursula decides to transform herself into the lovely Vanessa using Ariel’s captured voice to fool the Prince into marrying her instead. But after Scuttle discovers Vanessa’s true identity the race is on for Ariel and her animal friends to disrupt the wedding and save Eric who (in the end) ends up saving Ariel as well.