NOTE!: AFTER THE REVIEW I'M GONNA TACKLE A MISCONCEPTION ABOUT THIS MOVIE. SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, STAY AND READ THAT.
With the live-action remake arriving soon, it's time to once again look back at the classic verison that came first.
The Little Mermaid is an animated musical fantasy film, based on the 1837 Danish story of the same name written by Hans Christian Anderson. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Feature Animation, and Silver Screen Partners IV and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. The Little Mermaid was written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker.
The story is young Ariel has an interest in humans and their world, and even dreams of being. This curiosity doesn't go unnoticed by the evil sea witch Ursula. After a huge fight with her father, Ariel runs off and Ursula makes her a deal. Get the Prince Eric to fall in love with her in three days or she'll go back to being a mermaid. While this is going on, Ursula is planning to put an end to King Triton.
- Negatives
I've got nothing, so just move on.
- Mix
Once again, I've got nothing. Keep moving on.
- Positives
One thing I liked about the movie was the humor. While the primary focus is Ariel's story about exploring the human and eventually falling for Eric, there's still some good jokes. Like that crazy chef going after Sebastian, that's a good moment of slapstick.
Then we've got Ursula. Her characterizing is basically a hunger for power, and it's very entertaining. I forgot how much fun it was seeing her enjoying being evil and loving every moment of it.
I don't know if I can add anything new about the music, it feels like every positive thing said about them as already been said. I completely agree that the songs are timeless classics. I only watched this yesterday to refresh my memory, and I'm still trying to get the melody of 'Under the Sea' out of my head.
Now to my surprise there's quite a bit of development to this story. Such as Ariel and Eric actually building their relationship, or the biggest development of them all, King Triton. The guy went from absolutely hating humans, to the point where nobody, not evening his own daughter [Ariel] is allowed to go to the surface. By the end, he's very much I changed man.
The last thing I'll praise is the animation. Once again, what can I say that hasn't already been said? It's smooth, it's lively, it's colorful, etc. Just check out this classic and perfect shot.
Her movements, the water rising from behind her, the wind blowing in her hair, it's all just...perfect. There's no other word to describe it.
The Little Mermaid is truly a classic, and should be watched not from an animation perspective, but an overall cinematic perspective.
My final rating is, A Must Watch!
The Misconception
So some of you probably know the movie has this unfortunate thing where a lot of people insist that Ariel did everything she did, for the sake of getting herself a man. That's why she gave up her voice and such. If you don't believe me, well let's flashback to 2018 and hear what Keira Knightley has to say.
Yes, much like Knightley there are people who believe this, but they're wrong. Ariel didn't give up her voice because of some man, she did it because of her fixation with the human world. I know this because I watched the movie, and Ariel sung a song about it, and I've got a video with lyrics to prove it.
Now surely you guys both heard and read what she sung. In no part of that song did she mention falling in love and wanting to be with a man. She sung about walking, dancing, and wanting to know why fire burns etc., but no mention of a guy. Even when she makes her deal with Ursula, she didn't do it because of Eric, she did it because of her curiosity. Sure at this point she was in love with him, but she's still mainly focused on the world of humans and wanting to be a human. The reason the love plot played any sort of role was because it was a stipulation made by Ursula. Which horribly backfired because they did wind up actually falling for each other.
So at no point did the movie itself say if ya want your dream man, give up your voice. But do you know who did say Ariel should keep her mouth shut? Do you know who did say men like a woman who's silent? Do you know who said Ariel should use her "body language" to infatuate a man? Ursula! The villain of the movie!
So I hope you enjoyed this review, along with that little something special. I wrote that part down because I'm so tired of hearing that, so I felt like getting it off my chest. Anyhow, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Saturday, May 27th, for my review of the live-action remake of this exact movie. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.
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