Comment by R. M. Fisher “Ravenna”

# January 2, 2007,

The movie that reinvigorated the Disney franchise and set off the start of its Silver Age, “The Little Mermaid” has finally been properly restored and distributed in a DVD that’s packed with lots of juicy extras.

In creating “The Little Mermaid”, the Disney Company tinkered a little with the traditional Hans Christian Anderson story - actually, tinkered quite a lot. The original fairytale ends with the nameless mermaid’s tragic and selfless death: after she sacrifices all in order to be with the man she loves, she gives it all up so that he might live happily with his human love. Taking this basic premise of a water-bound mermaid who falls in love with a land-dweller, Disney makes the ending considerably more upbeat, packs it full of catchy songs, and throws in a few animal sidekicks for good measure. Purists of any work of literature that Disney have adapted (whether it be Chinese legend, French novels about hunchbacks, Native American history or the library of children’s literature that Disney has delved into for inspiration) have always been somewhat scornful of the changes made in the name of the Disney brand-name, and in many cases I can see their point.

But “The Little Mermaid” is based on a fairytale, albeit one that was born from one man’s head as opposed to the collective minds of human culture. But this being the case, the story can get away more easily with changes to the story, without loosing the potency of its core themes and ideas. In particular, the filmmakers struck gold in their characterisation of the Little Mermaid herself; by making her a vivacious red-headed called Ariel, they unknowingly set the standard for animated heroines forever afterwards (the fact that the character is silent for much of the movie and still remains entirely `alive’ is a testimony to both the animation and the characterisation). Ariel dreams of the mystery and excitement of the human world, much to the concern of her father King Triton and his valet, the Caribbean crab Sebasation. But since when have teenage girls ever taken notice of stodgy authority figures? Together with her best friend Flounder, Ariel secretly explores sunken ships, taking her finds to the scatterbrained seagull Scuttle for analysis.

But when she saves the life of Prince Eric in a storm, a sinister outcast makes her move upon the hapless young girl. Ursula the Sea-Witch offers to turn Ariel into a human for three days, during which she must get Eric to kiss her should she want to remain with him on land always. The price is her voice, and the penalty should she fail is a lifetime of misery as one of Ursula’s grotesque little plants. The clock is ticking, and there is more than just Ariel’s future at stake…

The restoration of “The Little Mermaid” demonstrates just how beautiful the movie is, and the painstaking work that went into each detail, right down to the last bubble. The pacing is perfect (neither too speedy nor dragging along), the characters are bright and lovable, and the story is a classic love/adventure/coming-of-age/fantasy story with just enough bittersweetness at Ariel’s eventual parting from her family and friends in the ocean to leave a lump in your throat. And don’t get me started on the songs: from the reggae “Kiss the Girl” sung by an array of aquatic animals that are desperately urging Eric to kiss Ariel (it always has me on the edge of my seat), to Ursula’s villainous “Poor Unfortunate Souls” which is so insistent and persuasive in convincing Ariel to accept Ursula’s bargain that her rather stupid decision to sign away her freedom becomes completely understandable (heck, by the end of it *you’ll* be ready to sign), and of course the award-winning “Under the Sea”, which will get stuck in your head for days.

It isn’t entirely perfect of course; the makers never did quite reconcile Ariel’s youthful fancies with reality, leaving a rather one-sided view of the dual worlds of sea and land. In her song “Part of Your World”, Ariel wistfully dreams about land, imagining it to be a paradise where humans “never reprimand their daughters” and that everyone is happy and fulfilled in their extraordinary lives on dry land. For those of us living on land, we know the reality is quite different - and it is a strange omission in the storytelling that Ariel never seems to learn this. Instead, she is treated with nothing but kindness and love once she’s out of the water, and never experiences the darker side of life on earth. In other words, Ariel is completely vindicated, King Triton is proved totally wrong, and although letting your children go is a lesson every parent must learn, Ariel never really learns the equally important idea that sometimes parents can be right.

But this is a sin of omission as opposed to commission, and the rest of the film is as close to storytelling perfection as any film could ever be (and was only topped by Disney’s next offering “Beauty and the Beast”). As well as the movie there are plenty of special features; including several deleted scenes (mostly extended songs and some background information - such as the reason behind why Ursula was banished from Triton’s kingdom), a virtual ride of a Little Mermaid-themed attraction at Disneyland that was designed but never built, a featurette on Hans Christian Anderson and his original fairytale (well done Disney, always acknowledge your sources!) and a pop version of “Kiss the Girl” as sung by Ashley Tisdale
(who probably had a lot of sugar before this particular performance). I hate to say it, but it’s actually quite catchy. Best of all though is a short-film based on Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Match-girl”. Much like a segment of “Fantasia”, it has no dialogue, only music and animation, and it was apparently made entirely for the release of this DVD. It’s a lovely treat, especially since 2-D animation is so rare these days.

Great movie, great DVD, great enjoyment.

Comment by Stephen H. Wood “Film scholar and vintage movie lover”

# January 2, 2007,

I watched Disney’s animated THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989) in one nasty, angry mood. Within twenty minutes, I was feeling happy, caught in the spell of a strong story, gorgeous animation, and lively Oscar-winning songs. The magic of Disney for kids of all ages permeates this story of Ariel, the likeable mermaid who falls in love with a human. If she can go without her lovely voice for three days and still get the handsome prince to kiss her, she is a human for life. The catch is that she can never again see her aquatic friends, like her king father and Sebastian the hilarious crab comic relief who almost gets eaten! The central villainess is one of my all-time favorites, Ursula the sea witch, evil enough for adults and not too scary for kids. She has stolen Ariel’s lilting voice. The story is taken from Hans Christian Andersen, but with a downbeat ending radically rethought in Disney fashion. But I have a hunch the Andersen literary circle would approve of the changes in making this a wonderful family film. The voice work is perfection, including Jodi Benson as Ariel and Pat Carroll as Ursula. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman collaborated on the songs; “Under the Sea” won a deserved Oscar, but I like “Part of Your World” and the hilarious “Kiss the Girl” also.

The new double-disk DVD of THE LITTLE MERMAID is an absolute must-own, and not just for families with children. If you are a child at heart, like me, you will treasure it. And Disney Studios has restored the heck out of it–the colors are gorgeous, the image clarity is flawless, and the remastered soundtrack does justice to the music. The 83 minute movie is on disk one, at its correct 1.78 moderate wide-screen aspect ratio, along with an audio commentary, should you decide (I did not) to listen to the co-writers and co-directors talk about the movie. (They do enough of that on disk two.) Also on disk one are a trailer for LITTLE MERMAID III (straight to video, probably a wise business decision) and a “Kiss the Girl” music video. There is also a feature that lets you go to a particular song, a popular feature on a movie with these songs and an Oscar-winning music score.

Disk two is mammoth, a good three hours. I went to bed at midnight with the whole games section untouched. There are 45 minutes of deleted scenes with commentary on what we are watching and why they were cut out. There is another 45 minutes that goes behind the scenes at Disney Studios in 1989 at a time of great business upheaval to create the mood that this happy and romantic film was made under. We also get a nine minute segment on animated special effects, like sea storms. Disney was apparently thinking of doing THE LITTLE MERMAID back in 1941, but changed his mind and thankfully made DUMBO instead. Or was it PINOCCHIO? THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL is a lovely and sad animated short adaptation of another Andersen story, an exquisite bonus. There are also LITTLE MERMAID art galleries and the original theatrical trailer.

I still have Games and Activities to do, so I am not sure what to expect. I gather that Disney was going to do a LITTLE MERMAID ride at Disneyland or Disney World, but changed their minds. There is something called “UNDER THE SEA: A Virtual Ride” and a live-action segment on life under the sea. It’s an incredible two-disk DVD, and I have a hunch it belongs in every household. Maybe even two copies–Disney is threatening to put this title back in the vaults for seven more years, and your kids may wear out one copy before seven years is up. THE LITTLE MERMAID is not quite a Walt Disney immortal animated classic for me, but give it another decade and it might be. For the time being, it is a fabulous way to spend a long evening with your kids. Or even alone in a night bedroom.