The Little Mermaid (1989 film)

"The Little Mermaid (Disney film)" redirects here. For the 2023 remake, see The Little Mermaid (2023 film).

The Little Mermaid
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed by
Written by
  • John Musker
  • Ron Clements
Based on"The Little Mermaid"
by Hans Christian Andersen
Produced by
Starring
Edited byMark Hester
Music byAlan Menken
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution[a]
Release date
  • November 17, 1989 (1989-11-17)
Running time
83 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[2]
Box office$235 million[3]

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation in association with Silver Screen Partners IV and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen. The film was written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the film's songs with Alan Menken, who also composed the film's score. Featuring the voices of René Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Paddi Edwards, Buddy Hackett, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Ben Wright, and Samuel E. Wright, The Little Mermaid tells the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel, who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric, which leads her to make a magic deal with the sea witch, Ursula, to become human and be with him.

Walt Disney planned to put the story in a proposed package film containing Andersen's stories, but scrapped the project. In 1985, while working on The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Clements and Musker decided to adapt the fairy tale and proposed it to Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, who initially declined due to its similarities to a proposed sequel to the 1984 film Splash, but ultimately approved of it. Ashman became involved and brought in Menken. With supervision from Katzenberg, they made a Broadway-style structure with musical numbers as the staff was working on Oliver & Company (1988). Katzenberg warned that the film would earn less since it appealed to female viewers, but he eventually became convinced that it would be Disney's first blockbuster hit.

The Little Mermaid was released in theaters on November 17, 1989, to critical acclaim, earning praise for the animation, music, and characters. It was also a commercial success, garnering $84 million at the domestic box office during its initial release,[4] and $235 million in total lifetime gross worldwide,[3] becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1989. Along with the major success of both Disney's 1986 animated film The Great Mouse Detective[5][6] and the 1988 Disney/Amblin live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid is given credit for breathing life back into the art of Disney animated feature films after some films produced by Disney were struggling. It also marked the start of the era known as the Disney Renaissance.[7] The film won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Under the Sea").

The film's success led to a media franchise. A direct-to-video sequel was released in 2000, focusing on Ariel's daughter, Melody. A prequel followed in 2008. The first film was adapted into a stage musical with a book by Doug Wright[8] and additional songs by Alan Menken and new lyricist Glenn Slater opened in Denver in July 2007 and began performances on Broadway January 10, 2008[9][10] starring Sierra Boggess.[11][12][13] Other derived works and material inspired by the film, include a 2019 live musical presentation on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney, and a 2023 live-action film adaptation directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey. In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[14]


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  1. ^ "The Little Mermaid (U)". British Board of Film Classification. December 28, 1989. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  2. ^ Stewart, James B. (2005). DisneyWar. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 104. ISBN 0-684-80993-1.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference DisneyWW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "The Little Mermaid (1989) – Box Office Summary". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  5. ^ Korkis, Jim (February 23, 2011). "How Basil Saved Disney Feature Animation: Part One". Mouse Planet.
  6. ^ Korkis, Jim (March 2, 2011). "How Basil Saved Disney Feature Animation: Part Two". Mouse Planet. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  7. ^ Pallant, Chris (2011). Demystifying Disney: A History of Disney Feature Animation. New York: Continuum Publishing. p. 89. ISBN 9781441150462. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  8. ^ Kachka, Boris (February 26, 2006). "Q&A With Grey Gardens Playwright Doug Wright". New York. Archived from the original on June 19, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  9. ^ Michael Buckley (January 6, 2006). "Playbill Features: STAGE TO SCREENS: Chatting with Grey Gardens and Little Mermaid Librettist Doug Wright". Playbill. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  10. ^ Andrew Gans (January 8, 2009). "The Little Mermaid to Celebrate First Broadway Anniversary January 10". Playbill. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  11. ^ Gans, Andrew (November 3, 2017). "From Little Mermaid to Phantom of the Opera, Sierra Boggess' 6 Most Memorable Nights Onstage". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  12. ^ "Sierra Boggess Cast as Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid". Broadway.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  13. ^ "The Little Mermaid". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  14. ^ Ulaby, Neda (December 14, 2022). "'Iron Man,' 'Super Fly' and 'Carrie' are inducted into the National Film Registry". NPR. Retrieved December 14, 2022.