November 17, 1989 saw the beginning of the Disney
Renaissance, with its first film being a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s
tale The Little Mermaid. Starring
Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, and Buddy Hackett, the film was the
first to feature music by Alan Menken. It was the 13th highest
grossing film of 1989, won the Academy Awards for Best Song (Under the Sea) and
Best Score, earned a Saturday morning prequel series, a direct to video sequel
and prequel, and was popular enough to warrant an appearance in the Kingdom Hearts franchise as well as a
ride at Disney California Adventure.
A 16-year-old mermaid named Ariel (Benson)
is one of the daughters of Triton (Kenneth Mars), King of the Sea. She is
unique in that she is fascinated by humans. But Triton hates them. One night,
she ventures to the surface and falls in love with the human Prince Eric
(Christopher Daniel Barnes). She rescues him after his ship is destroyed in a
storm, but she becomes desperate to become a human.
She visits the sea witch Ursula (Carroll)
to become a human. She gives up her voice to become human and agrees that if
she can get him to fall for her in three days, she’ll become permanently human.
If not, she will be Ursula’s slave.
While Prince Phillip of Sleeping Beauty was the first Disney
Prince to actually do something, Prince Eric is the first Disney Prince to do
it all on his own power. He didn’t need any magic to steer his ship into Ursula’s
Final Form, he just did it. And it must be stated just how determined he was.
Once he finally realized he had the girl he was after, he just wasn’t going to
let her go without fighting. He doesn’t care that he’s up against a gigantic
evil octopus. And he was using a ship that was previously wrecked that came up
when she did it. He’s crafty enough to use whatever he can get.
Ursula is the octopus version of
Ratigan. She’s evil, but she’s also smart.
She words the contract in a way that she would be all but guaranteed to come
out on top after she shape shifts into a woman. She just didn’t count on an
insane seagull to ruin her plans. Also, she actually seems to care for her
minions, considering she flies into a rage when Flotsam and Jetsam are blasted.
But, her hubris was her downfall. In her breakdown after her plan has failed,
she makes herself grow to epic proportions, giving Eric the target he needed.
Triton is also excellently
characterized as a parent. He’s got a hatred of humans and he’s projecting that
onto Ariel. We only know that he hates them because they eat fish, but the
origin of that hatred isn’t revealed. And so we understand that he’s trying to
be the best father he can be, he just isn’t able to correctly put into words
just really why he doesn’t want Ariel
up on the surface.
The side characters are also fun.
Flounder is afraid of everything, but in the end won’t hesitate to help Ariel.
Sebastian just wants to do his job as a court composer and when he’s given the
task of looking after Ariel, he takes it, but doesn’t want to upset the king
and even tries to hide the fact that she has a statue of Eric. And Scuttle is
hilarious. He’s insane and doesn’t know a thing about what he says is his
expertise. But he’s able to rally fish, dolphins and birds to attack Ursula in disguise.
The animation in this film is
stellar, with it truly feeling like it’s a Disney movie with really good songs.
There’s not one that doesn’t feel like it doesn’t fit.
On the other hand, my main issue
with this movie is our main character herself. Ariel wants what she wants. And
she’s going to do anything it takes to get it. Normally that’s not a bad trait,
except when you not only gamble your soul to do it as well as almost risk the
entire ocean coming under the control of Ursula. She is the cause of everything
and despite that, she ends up with everything she wants with absolutely zero repercussions.
Though there’s a short time in the climax when she apologizes, it’s not because
she’s really sorry that she caused everything, she’s sorry that it all went
south. Furthermore, she is willing to give up everything that makes her who she
is for love. That's a surefire way to end up hating yourself. The film isn’t trying to tell us that we can do whatever
we want with no consequences or that we should lose what makes us who we are in
the quest for love, but it ends up coming out. And that’s a glaring fault.
Yet, she’s absolutely adorable when
she can’t talk and is just enthralled in the wonder of seeing everything on
land. It’s heartwarming to see her unbridled joy at what’s going on around her.
Final Call: A good start to the
Renaissance, despite the faults provided by Ariel. #10
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