Rating: 
Summary: Some great songs, but what a sexist message!
Review: Sure, the animation is beautiful and some of the songs are terrific ("Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" are the best, I think), but don't any other parents have a problem with this film and the message it sends? A young, spirited girl with a beautiful voice must ABANDON her IDENTITY (or the two most important parts of it: her identity as a mermaid and her precious voice) in order to get a man (a prince, of course). After a series of struggles this supposedly modern heroine triumphs how? By getting the guy and sailing off into the sunset, even though we've been told at the beginnin that she's only 16. My 2 year old daughter loves the images and the songs, so we'll watch it occasionally, but I wish Disney would make a few female characters that have more on their minds than giving up freedom for marriage. We need more Mulans!
Rating: 
Summary: A true Disney classic!!
Review: This film is filled with wonderful characters, beautiful music, and a whole lot of laughter and fun. I remember the first time I took my daughter to see it. It was her first movie in a theater and the first time ethier of us had seen the movie. We were smiling at eachother and laughing together throughout the whole show. And the music!! Neither of us could stay still in our seats while they were singing any of the songs!! When it came out in March of 1998 I had our copy reserved and we have watched it many times since then. We loved it then and we cherish it now in our own video collection! Ariel, Eric and the rest of the characters of The Little Mermaid have given us many special memories that will never be forgotten. Thank you Walt Disney!D.M.
Rating:
Summary: SEA IT!
Review: This movie is a good version of Hans Chrishton Andersons story.Sebaston is realy funny.The animation is good and the music is great.Sea it every day.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story with heartfelt memories.
Review: "The Little Mermaid" is quite simply the best movie ever made. Some people may rave about "Aladdin", "Beauty and the Beast", "Mulan", and the others, but this is the winner, no questions about it. It is THE best movie, cartoon, show, etc., ever. Ariel is charmingly sweet and innocent; she has a sense of humor, and is optimistic, intellegent, and stubborn. She believes that the world is basically a good place---which it is. Ursula is the most malovolent, frightening-ly funny Disney villian ever. The crab Sebastian is, well, crabby, but he's a "soft shell" underneath it all. Prince Eric is fairly one-dimensional, like all Disney princes, but he has something none of the others seemed to have had: a sense of humor. Flounder is afraid of his own shadow but will encounter anything for his best friend Ariel. The dog Max is goofy and lovable; the same can be said about the seagull Scuttle. And then there's King Triton. Stern and strict, he obviously loves his little girl Ariel and tries to be a good father to her. Even by helping her to reach her dream, as all good parents do. ----- Don't be mistaken into thinking this is a romance movie. Ariel doesn't want to be human just because she loves Eric; she is also fasinated by the human world and has always dreamed of being human. It's underlying message is: "Reach for your goals, and you CAN be a part of the world that you want to be a part of. Dreams can come true, through hard work." And Ariel DOES have to work for her dreams! ----- I have loved this movie since it first came out when I was seven. I saw it at the theater 6 times (and once more when it was re-released last year), and saw the video well over a hundred times. I just watched it again last night! I have many special memories from this film . . . including the night when my Dad came home from work, very late, because he had spent two or three hours coaming all of Philadelphia to find me a Little Mermaid doll. I was SO happy to see "Ariel" herself at home, with my father grinning all the while. I can still see the scene in my memory. My Dad passed away this year, and I miss him horribly. But I know that he'll always be with me, just like Triton will always be "with" Ariel. And I still have that Little Mermaid doll. ------ See this movie. You'll never forget the music, the humor, and the magic "Under the sea"!
Rating:
Summary: Splendid and Effortless Looking Realization of Perfection
Review: Disney's 1989 animated film THE LITTLE MERMAID is a very formidable movie, surpassing the combined visual and musical artistic talents of all concerned. Character development is one of the strong points of THE LITTLE MERMAID achieved through concise dialogue, music and simplistic yet effective images. However, most effective to the success of this film are the songs that advance the story line and define the characters. That was the brilliance of lyricist Howard Ashman's contribution to THE LITTLE MERMAID. He and composer Alan Menken developed songs that in several minutes clearly define Ariel's reckless but innocent curiosity about the humans above and her yearning to discover that world. Every song in THE LITTLE MERMAID bolsters the depth of the characters, advances the plot or enhances the significance of a scene in addition to being very melodic and well written. So in THE LITTLE MERMAID we are given a substantial amount of information and entertainment in a minimum amount of time. There is not a single frame of wasted footage in this film. The combined effort is one of a splendid and effortless looking perfect creation of a classical animated Disney tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing DVD Transfer
Review: save your $ on ebay auctions and wait for the platinum series release. this version's sound is excellent (dolby 5.1), but the bland/dull colors is a big disappointment. poor visibility, below average clarity and very dark throughout the entire movie. i've seen better second generation VHS recordings. this being a classic Disney release, it deserves a new high definition transfer like Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King (outstanding DVD's).
Rating:
Summary: Magical entertainment for the whole family
Review: "The Little Mermaid" is a smashing blend of romance, action, music, and superb Disney animation. We all know the story, don't we? Little Ariel is a mermaid who wants to be part of the world beyond the sea, but her father (the king of an undersea nation) wants her "under the sea", where he thinks she belongs. Ariel falls in love with a human prince and trades her lovely singing voice to the evil Sea-Witch so that she can be with him. Will Ariel wed the handsome prince, make her dad understand what she wants, and defeat the evil Sea-Witch? It's a Disney flick, folks...that's all one need say. The film is a delight from start to finish, but I have to give special mention the music and songs (by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman), which span yearning ("Part of Your World"), salesmanship ("Under the Sea"), and barely-concealed evil ("Poor Unfortunate Souls"). The score and musical numbers are a sheer delight (and the ones for Ashman and Menken's next project, "Beauty and the Beast", are even better), and you'll be humming them for weeks after seeing this film. It also bears mentioning that unlike many other Disney cartoons, in which the violence level is quite high for a G-rated film, the violence in "The Little Mermaid" is very restrained; of all the recent Disney films, this is the one best suited for young children. And if your young kids are like my daughter, they'll soon be telling you they want to be mermaids, just like Ariel. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: One of Disney's Greatest Achievements
Review: Before Disney started releasing absurd movies that justifiably performed poorly at the box office such as "Brother Bear" and "Home on the Range," and the ridiculous "Teacher's Pet," which couldn't even hit $10 million, they stuck to what they were best at -- taking classic children's stories and making them into grand animated movie musicals. People speak with their wallets, and the animated musicals mostly hit $150 million and above. Now, with the era of computer animation hitting it's peak, mediocrity (compared to films such as The Little Mermaid) such as the vastly overrated "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles" flourishes.
But we can be nostalgic, right?
My parents brought me to and then bought me all of these classic Disney movie musicals. My first Disney movie in theaters was "Aladdin" in 1993, when I was three years old. My first on video was this, The Little Mermaid, which my mom had bought previously. I've still watched it multiple times every year since I've had it. And it will weather the test of time far more than movies like "Finding Nemo."
The musical numbers are superb. "Kiss the Girl" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" are probably the best of them (Sorry, "Under the Sea" purists, it's just not workin' for me here!), for they have the most theatrical feel. The wickedness oozes out of Ursula, who is easily the most sinister of any Disney villain, during the latter. The former is Sebastian, Ariel the Mermaid's little crustacion sidekick, rallying the sea creatures to push Ariel and Prince Eric to kiss, for only if they kiss in three days can Ariel regain her voice she gave up through her pact with Ursula to become human. It's almost good enough to be called, dare I say, intense?
The tweaks to the story are top-notch. It flows perfectly enough without any confusion for the little ones and with enough emotion for the older crowd. The voices serve each character perfectly and the length is perfect for a quick movie (around an hour and a half). Of course, though, the highlight of the movie is the fabulous music.
So before Disney resorted to fart jokes, they had films such as this. Parents, if your kids were born past 1995, they almost certainly are missing out on the musicals of Disney's golden age, 1988-1994, where they cranked out classic after classic. Who am I to talk? I'm a fifteen year old guy who loves great movies of all kinds, and Disney's old movies are certainly that.
- 3/5/05
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST DISNEY MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!
Review: AWESOME animation! A beautiful mermaid! enchanting music and memorable characters. Ariel is truly the best! A must for your Disney collection. A+++++
Rating:
Summary: The Little Mermaid
Review: Disney hit gold with The Little Mermaid, a charming, beautifully awesome film that is up there as one of the best animated films of all time!
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