Review of The Little Mermaid (1989) by Filipeneto — 05 Oct 2021

This is one of Disney's great animation classics, released at a time when the studio has made some productions of great popular impact and critical acclaim. The story is very much based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen about the impossible love between a mermaid and a human prince. I don't think the script is really worth mentioning, given that it is widely known, not only by admirers of fairy tales, but even by those who have never seen the film or read Andersen's tales.

The film has a good set of actors who provide us with an excellent voice work. Personally, I would like to highlight the contributions of Jodi Benson, Kenneth Mars, Pat Carroll, and Samuel Wright's deep Caribbean accent. Some characters in the film become so popular that they were used not only for merchandising, but also for the Disney theme parks. This is the case of the protagonist, Ariel, one of the most iconic Disney princesses ever. Ursula is often singled out as an excellent villain, and she actually deserves that, but I can't look at her without seeing her as a kind of adaptation of the Bad Witch from “Sleeping Beauty”, with a Mephistophelian touch.

The film was beautifully designed, and the animations are of high quality, one of the best the studio did before massively abandoning traditional animation and converting to digital. The colors are vibrant, the film is bright and beautifully edited, it never seems to drag or take longer than necessary. In addition to all this, the film has one of the best soundtracks that Disney has conceived, signed by the master hand of Alan Menken and worthy winner of the Oscar for Best Soundtrack in 1990. Although everyone talks about “Under the Sea”, a mellow, tropical melody that won the Oscar for Best Original Song this year, I honestly prefer “Part of Your World”, but that's my personal taste.