The Little Mermaid

 3.5/4

Starring (voices): Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Pat Carroll, Jason Marin, Buddy Hackett, Kenneth Mars, Christopher Daniel Barnes

Rated G

The importance of "The Little Mermaid" to the Walt Disney Company cannot be underestimated.  Although the House of Mouse still churned out movies after Walt Disney's death, its animated films were no longer the pinnacle of quality.  Don Bluth and his team left to form their own company, other artists such as John Lasseter (who was fired for pushing investment into computer animation, and later found success in heading Pixar, which was eventually acquired by Disney, making it doubly ironic) and Tim Burton (who was fired for producing the short film "Frankenweenie," which he later turned into a feature film).  Financially, Disney animation was in the toilet.  With the company expanding into other areas, little time and attention was given to their animated films, and Michael Eisner considered shutting it down.  The success of "The Great Mouse Detective" in 1986 restored confidence, but it was the film about a mermaid brought the animation studio back with a vengeance.

Ariel (Benson) is the youngest daughter of Triton (Mars), King of the Merpeople.  Like many sixteen year olds, Ariel is flighty and more than a bit rebellious.  She has a secret obsession with the world above the sea, and longs to be a part of that world.  She gets a chance to achieve her dream by making a deal with the sea-witch, Ursula (Carroll).  But it carries a heavy price: her life.

Truth be told, "The Little Mermaid" is an imperfect movie.  It has many of the qualities that would be hallmarks of the Disney Renaissance, only they aren't assembled in the proper proportions.  They're there (strong female lead, Broadway-style songs, cute supporting characters, etc.), but it's still a rough draft of what was to come.  When compared to "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King," it comes up short.  Considering how high those two films set the bar, even coming in at just a notch below still represents a bold success.

Jodi Benson is a solid choice for the wistful Ariel.  She has a great singing voice, and manages to create a character who feels like an actual teenager (even when the writing gets her down).  Samuel E. Wright is a riot as Sebastian, the court composer who is assigned to keep tabs on the girl and lives in constant fear of Triton's wrath because he never succeeds.  Pat Carroll, whose chance to work on a Disney film was a dream come true for her, is deliciously evil as Ursula.  She's fun to watch.

The animation is fun and playful, but lacks the vividness and the detail of the other Disney movies.  There are standout sequences, to be sure.  The famous number "Under the Sea" is one, as is the "Kiss the Girl" sequence.  The final fight is impressive, but it's so short that it isn't as satisfying as it could be.  But the non-musical sequences feel bland and cheap.  An example is the concert sequence that opens the film and the scenes in Prince Eric's castle (although the scene where Sebastian flees from a sadistic chef is explosively funny).

The screenplay, credited to six people and based on a Hans Christian Anderson tale, needed some ironing out.  The dialogue is occasionally flat and the storytelling lacks confidence.  The story and characters eventually gain traction, but it takes a bit.  Another rewrite to expand some of the expository scenes would have made it feel more complete.

As it is. this is a wonderful movie for the whole family.

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