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Movies / On DVD / The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid

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The Little Mermaid (1989)

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Reviews Counted:51

Fresh:46

Rotten:5

Average Rating:8/10

Consensus: The Little Mermaid ushered in a new golden era for Disney animation with warm and charming hand-drawn characters and catchy musical sequences.

Runtime: 83 mins

Genre: Childrens

Synopsis: The Little Mermaid is Disney's animated version of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a mermaid who falls in love with a handsome prince whom she rescues from drowning. Disobeying her... The Little Mermaid is Disney's animated version of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a mermaid who falls in love with a handsome prince whom she rescues from drowning. Disobeying her father, lord of a great sea kingdom, the mermaid makes a deal with an evil enchantress. In exchange for a pair of legs, the mermaid must sacrifice her exquisite voice to the witch, who, unbeknownst to the mermaid, uses it to beguile the prince into marrying her. [More]

Starring: Jodi Benson, Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll

Starring: Jodi Benson, Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Paddi Edwards, Buddy Hackett, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Ben Wright, Samuel E. Wright, Edie McClurg, Will Ryan

Director: John Musker, Ron Clements

Director: John Musker, Ron Clements
Screenwriter: John Musker, Ron Clements
Story: Hans Christian Andersen
Producer: Howard Ashman, John Musker
Composer: Alan Menken

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Little Mermaid

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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Relying on a simple, recognized tale, great songs and marvellous animation, it turned its fortunes around.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/03/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This return to traditional Disney territory is geared to captivate children while allowing them to maintain their street cred, largely by combining extravagant animated technique with ranging musical styles.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This was the rebirth of Disney in the modern era and due to superb songs, enduring humour and a touching plot it remains an animation classic.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Delivers exactly the right quotient of laughs, sniffles, scares and songs to remain sparkling family fun.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is unquestionably the best animated film in many years and is therefore highly recommended.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

You could wish upon a star and not conjure up a more joyous animated movie than this graceful retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
09/03/08
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Within the apparently necessary aesthetic and ideological limitations (such as making the hero and heroine Americans surrounded by foreign servants a la Pinocchio), the animation manages to be fairly energetic.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/03/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

Overall, it's an enjoyable film, thankfully free of the computerized look of later Disney cartoons, but it really can't compare to the real Disney classics.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/02/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A fantastic success.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
06/10/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

May represent Disney's best animated feature since the underrated Sleeping Beauty in 1959.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/20/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A coming of age fable for both Disney and the mermaid heroine

Full Review Source: Film Experience | comment Comment
07/20/07
Nathaniel Rogers
Nathaniel Rogers
Film Experience

The Little Mermaid was a mirage, not an oasis.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment 3 Comments
01/10/07
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

Still a great entertainment and a welcome addition to any Disney library.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
10/27/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The hand-drawn animation is terrific, and the soundtrack, which includes Part of Your World, Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl, is among Disney's best.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
10/09/06
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

The Little Mermaid is the story of one packrat pre-tween princess whose undersea kingdom is only matched in depth by her remarkable sense of consumer-minded entitlement.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment 6 Comments
10/05/06
Eric Henderson
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine

...cute, romantic, well-animated, well paced, and filled with more good music than Disney had produced in quite some time.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
10/01/06
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Huggable, lovable Disney. Before the corporation went dumpster diving.

comment Comment
08/21/05
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

An instant classic with a great story, great animation, great music, and a great villain.

comment Comment
05/12/05
James Plath
James Plath
DVDTown.com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/27/05
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

A surprising success, thanks largely to Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's brilliant songs.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
03/03/05
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for The Little Mermaid

September 29, 2009: Exclusive: Mandy Moore Talks Rapunzel
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December 28, 2007: Disney's Little Mermaid Heads to Broadway
Given all the success Disney has found by bringing animated hits like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King to Broadway, it stands to reason that they'd eventually go back to... More...

March 09, 2007: "Toy Story 3" Leads Locked, Hand-Drawn "Frog Princess" Also a Go
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are officially signed up to reprise their beloved roles in "Toy Story 3," which I believe is a sequel to "Toy Story" and "Toy... More...

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