The Little Mermaid 1989 Film Review

When people think of Disney these days they usually think of the terrible animated movies that they've been putting out. Yet there was a time when Disney would produced nothing but hit animated movie after hit animated movie in an era that's called the Disney Renaissance as that's when they produced all of the hit films that they are insistent on remaking these days and so then join me as I review the film that officially marked the start of the Disney Renaissance with the film in question being called simply just "The Little Mermaid" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when she trades her voice to a sea witch for a chance at true love Ariel has just three days to convince a human prince to fall in love with her before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with this films plot harkening back to the Disney films of the thirties where they had very simple plots and set ups and because of that this films plot really does work really well with it being made clear as day that these are the types of plots that Disney does best and that work the best because of how timeless that they are and how much that these plots can and more often then not do talk to everyone's inner child and while yes the plot of the 2023 version of The Little Mermaid is a tad bit more stronger then the plot of this film is that's more due to the fact that that film is using this film as a jumping off point whereas this film is doing the same plot but from scratch but in saying that tho it would have been nice if this films plot was a little bit stronger as it does feel like that this film is made up of nothing more then a bunch of random scenes that only come together every so often but when this film does put it's plot front and centre that's when we get the hints of just how good that this films really can be with it being made clear as day that the makers of this film are indeed trying there best to make a film with a good enough plot that will please everyone both boy and girl alike with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Jodi Benson as Ariel and Vanessa , Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Eric and Pat Carroll as Ursula. Also starring in this film is Kenneth Mars as King Triton , Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian , Jason Marin as Flounder , Paddi Edwards as Flotsam and Jetsam , Ben Wright as Grimsby , René Auberjonois as Chef Louis , Edie McClurg as Carlotta , Will Ryan as Harold and Buddy Hackett as Scuttle.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that'd actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of this films actors turning in some really good performances in this film and while Jodi does really get alot of rightfully earned praise for playing Ariel she does also deserve alot of love for also voicing Vanessa as well as she makes both characters sound different and yet at the same time also very similar to each other as well with all of this films actors being perfectly well cast so much so that it really is hard to picture quite literally anybody else playing these characters this is despite the fact that Disney has recast the voice for Ursula who does a really good job playing her but given just how well cast Pat Carroll is in the role she will always be irreplaceable as the character with the best actor in the whole entire film being Pat Carroll as she really is just that good in the film with her giving her Ursula alot of sass that makes her an enduring character and yet when she needs to be she can be a really terrifying person with that more often then not being done in the exact same scene and while of course Jodi Benson will always be good as Ariel as she's still voicing the character to this very day Pat Carroll is the one that's really quite clearly having the more fun playing her character with the acting that's in this very film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Walt Disney Feature Animation. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with the fact that this films animation is so good is something that's not really all that surprising as all of the films in the Disney Renaissance all having some really good animation in them with there being a really good mixture of both 2D and some very early 3D animation in this film as alot of the ships when there turning look to be done in 3D CGI animation and it looks really good with there being alot of bright colors that just pop even under the sea as the makers of this film knew that they had to make this film look visually appealing and weren't trying to make as close to real life as was humanly possible and because of that we do get alot of bright colors in places where there really wouldn't be any and while other films in the Disney Renaissance era would have much more better animation the fact that this films animation still holds up really well so much so that you might have thought that the film was made it is something that does go to show you that when animation is done right and when they have the right people working on it be there character designers to background designers then you can create something that is not only magical but also something that does stand the test of time and it's that kind of magic that alot of Disney films be they animated or not or just lacking.

Whilst this is a comedy film at it's heart and at the core of the film is it's romance between Ariel and Eric. While the romances between whoever the main character of the film and the prince is usually really underdeveloped heck in the original Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs the prince isn't even named and barely gets any screen time here tho romance does feel earned so much so that you want to see him get the girl at the end of the film because of the fact that they've spent alot of time together just getting to know each other as best as they can do and while yes Eric himself isn't the best character in the whole film his romance with Ariel is one that works really well and that is something that should always come first when adapting this classic story as without a believable romance plot then you don't really have a film to speak off and to it's credit this is something that the live action remake did somewhat understand as that film did at the very least make an attempt to make there romance work but it just felt forced in that film where as here because of the fact that the characters are charming and because of the fact that the animation is allowed to linger on certain shots that aren't focused on the romance we get to feel just what it is that both characters are looking for in a partner and when they find it in each other we of course do want them to end up together and while Ursula tries to win the day by using what she thinks all people want because of the fact that Ariel had gotten to truly know Eric she was able to use the thing that he needed to know that it was really her that loves him and fair enough there romance could be better developed but given just how long that this film is there romance is as good as it was ever going to be and was a lot more better then any of the romances in alot of the early Disney animated films.

This film is of course a musical film which does have songs which were all written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. With nearly all of this films songs being songs that are still fondly remembered to this very day be it "Kiss The Girl" or even "Under The Sea" you either remember those songs or you've at the very least heard of those songs as there songs that are still being mentioned and still being played to this very day with all of this films songs being very well written and as well as being well sung as well with the best example of this being "Poor Unfortunate Souls" as the song mixes broadway style writing with elements of burlesque which was a rather interesting thing to do with the song and yet at the same time tho it's also something that really does fit the character of Ursula perfectly with her even trying to manipulate Ariel into giving up her voice during the song and heck it could even be said that "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is Ursula's "I Want" song as she does set her plan into motion during that song however tho the films best song does of course have to be "Part Of Your World" as that song is the quintessential "I Want" song as it's just Ariel expressing what her dreams and desires are with the song itself being song so beautifully by Jodi Benson with her truly becoming Ariel in that moment and heck the song is so good that it's used as part of the intro theme to The Little Mermaid animated TV show along with "Under The Sea" and "Kiss The Girl" but in this film it really was hard to say just what the best song of the film really is as to be honest there all so good but what set "Part Of Your World" apart from all of the others was the fact that it continues the story of Ariel whereas must of the songs in this film apart from maybe "Poor Fortunate Souls" stop the story to do the song.   

The ending of this film is one that truly does help to set the film apart from alot of the other Disney Renaissance films. As not only do we have the main villain of the film almost beating the heroes at several points but she does also technically win the film for a short while as well with Ursula archiving her goal of taking of the kingdom with her only being beaten by the fact that she got greedy and wanted more power this time by defeating Ariel herself and while Ursula was a great classic villain her ending is also one that's quite shocking as we see her openly getting stabbed to death of Eric driving the boat splintered bowsprit with this again being something that the 2023 film got wrong as that film had Ariel take her on on the land with Eric taking on her under the sea with Ariel coming in to help him alot of the time when that makes no sense as Eric would no nothing about being under the sea but Ariel would do just like how Ariel would no nothing about driving a boat but Eric would do and by changing that ending whilst it might not seem like much in the long run it is something that did remove the fact that they ultimately saved each other thus earning the other persons trust and respect alot more then what they would have done as the roles were reversed and while Ursula's death was a dark one as we get to see just how much pain she was in it was something that really did befit her character as she was a monstrous character ad having her be the cause of the death of the two fish that loved the most in the world and due to her own hubris cause her own death as well was something that really did work for this film.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and twenty two minuets and forty eight seconds. Which to be fair to this film is more then enough running time in order to fully tell it's story in a way that does justice to it's story with this film having more then enough there interms of plot to fully justify that amount of running time and to fully cover that amount of running time as well as there really was no way that you could do the story of this film and have all of the songs in it in a shorter running time as that would risk doing alot more harm to the films plot but in saying that tho this is a film that really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the plot of this film is one that's not really that well developed as for alot of the time especially in the films second act it was hard to work out just what the main plot of this film is meant to be alot of the time as it does feel like that this film does drop it's plot when the second that Ariel washes up on the beach that's when every single scene really needed to be about the plot and to be about developing the films plot with the films characters fairing a little bit better when compared to the films plot as the films characters do have alot of scenes that show alot of promise as to who these characters could be should they get some character development with the film putting alot more focus on the romance between Ariel and Eric then it did in giving the characters some much needed character development which is something that really does make alot of sense as that romance is key to making the film but at the same time tho it would have helped the film out quite alot if the characters were given some sort of character development but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With there being alot of cute moments in the film that are funny and that will get a laugh out of people with the best example of this being Scuttle trying to work out just what's new with Ariel despite the fact that he's landed right on her legs which is something that really does feel true to his character as he is the type of character who would do something like that and yet at the same time it's also a really funny joke in it's own with the films best joke also being another cute joke and one that feels true to the character of Ariel as it's the joke where Ariel does her hair with a fork which is a cute little joke and one that does feel right to her character as all she knows about the human world she's learnt from Scuttle and therefor she does get things wrong about the human world and even the song "Part Of Your World" manages to add in moments of comedy that add to Ariels knowledge of the human world where she trys to remember what feet are and what a street is as well as why a fire burns which is a small thing to include but there all cute and funny moments all of which really are delivered pitch perfectly as they all feel right for the character or Ariel due to the fact that she much like Scuttle knows nothing about the human world with there not really being a single bad joke in this film as there all just that good and while there not all laugh out loud funny they are all cute and funny jokes and those are the types of jokes that work the best for this type of film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall there's a reason why this film is a timeless classic and is still talked about to this very day with that being the fact that this film is just that good and is one that people should show there little ones if they want to show a good film that has good characters and timeless animation in it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a gran old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Disney fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images really from this very film being the really great Google Images this is really because of the fact that really all of the images that I really indeed got and really used from Google Images are all really high quality really with all of the images that really are all and of course really currently up and on the really great and the really solid Google Images really are all being really fairly high in quality and as well as them all really being fairly high in definition.