Faerie Tale Theatre - The Little Mermaid

Rating:
Summary: Don't go Under the Sea for This One
Review: Faerie Tale Theatre is a very charming series, a perfect way to entertain the family. From a very young age, I have enjoyed viewing the 1 hour videos based on classic stories that everyone is generally familiar with. And many of them were truly well-done and true entertainment. My view changed quite a bit however, when I saw their "The Little Mermaid."

Now generally we must be forgiving in the special effects department, knowing that these films were on a low budget. But if a low budget was the case, than "The Little Mermaid" should not have been a part of this. The chords holding up the underwater actors are very obvious, and the overall look of the film is just sad, and laughable in places.

The acting is also a major sleeper. Pam Dawson is nothing but boring in her role, putting no effort or feeling into her dialogue, and no emotion into her pantomiming after she has traded her voice for a pair of legs.

One also must note the ending, which tries to change the sad ending of the original fairy tale where the Mermaid turns into seafoam, and that's the end of that. But here, they make her a "Spirit of the Air", so she can watch over her Prince. Blah. A bad ending to a bad film.

If you are going to watch Faerie Tale Theatre, I highly recommend the series. But if you get the full DVD set, just throw this one out. You'll be glad in the end that you did.

BOTTOM LINE- Go Under the Sea With Disney's Little Mermaid

Rating:
Summary: a true FAERIE TALE THEATRE classic
Review: FAERIE TALE THEATRE's touching and tender recreation of THE LITTLE MERMAID (the second-last in the series) is one of their best efforts.

Pearl (Pam Dawber) is a beautiful young mermaid who lives with her father King Neptune (Brian Dennehy) and her sisters Coral and Anemonie (Donna McKechnie and Laraine Newman) in a kingdom at the bottom of the ocean. When Pearl comes of age and is allowed a brief glimpse of the world above the sea, she falls in love with a handsome Prince (Treat Williams) whom she saves from drowning when his ship has a fatal explosion.

She makes a bargain with the Sea Witch (Karen Black): her voice in exchange for a pair of legs and hopefully the love of the Prince. Once on land Pearl quickly returns to the Prince, though he only has eyes for the lovely Princess Emilia (Helen Mirren).

What follows is a heartbreaking story of selfless love and sacrifice, as Pearl risks everything for true love...

Pam Dawber leads a strong cast. Karen Black is amazing as the Sea Witch; Newman and McKechnie are a delight as Pearl's sisters and Treat Williams fills the role of the Prince admirably. A true gem in the series

Rating:
Summary: Good for a movie made in the 80's
Review: In response to M. Reinking's review, I agree that Disney's The Little Mermaid was the best Little Mermaid movie. And the quality of the acting and etc. of the Faerie Tale Theatre version is a little sad, but it was made in the 80's..or early early 90's...
Also, she did become a Spirit of the Air in the original Hans Christian Anderson story...because she spared the Prince's life. So I value this version of the story, because it's the first (and so far, only) true version of the actual story. I think that's what was good about all the Faerie Tale Theater movies. Also, if anyone happens to know...there was a bunch of fairy tales that used to show on the Disney Channel. Does anyone know what those were called? Please, let me know...

Rating:
Summary: Faerie Tale Theatre: The Little Mermaid
Review: One of the most challenging faerie tales to recreate is this one, and overall, the makers of this Faerie Tale Theatre episode succeed in recreating it. Pam Dawber makes a delightfully sweet little mermaid, and Treat Williams is great as her distant love. Karen Black makes a splash of a performance as the sea witch, and Helen Mirren turns in a nice performance as the prince's wife. It's a very good version, but I wouldn't say it's the best version of this story. I really, truly loved it though.

Rating:
Summary: One of the better episodes
Review: QUOTED FROM M REINKING -""One also must note the ending, which tries to change the sad ending of the original fairy tale where the Mermaid turns into seafoam, and that's the end of that. But here, they make her a "Spirit of the Air", so she can watch over her Prince. Blah. A bad ending to a bad film.""

M. Reinking obviously did not read the original story by Hans Anderson. Yes the mermaid did start to turn to sea foam, but that was not the end of that. in the book she was transformed into a "Daughter of the Air" and given a second chance at obtaining an eternal soul. So M Reinking doesn't even know what they are talking about.

As for the film, Yes, the special effects would be laughed at by kids today spoiled with amazing looking films like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Where the film still stands strong though is in the story and performances by Pam Dawber, Treat Williams and the always admirable Helen Mirren. Shelly Duvall did a great service for kids in the 80's with her series of Faerie Tale Theaters. Sure today we have films and series of better quality but I would hope that everyone who grew up with these can still appriciate them the way they did when they were kids.

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT FILM IN THE CLASSIC 80's SERIES
Review: This film takes us under the sea to explore the world of Pam Dawber as the Little Mermaid, curious about the world above. Treat Williams plays the perfect prince and Karen Black plays a surprisingly beautiful sea witch. The sets are wonderful and the music is hauntingly beautiful. The special effects are a little fishy, but that's okay. This film is a wonderful adaptation of H.C Andersen's classic story. You won't forget this movie. Highly Recommended.A+

Rating:
Summary: The Catalyst to My Mermaid Obsession!!
Review: When i was a kid in the 80's this was (and still is) one of my favorite mermaid movies!! Once i saw this i was hooked! This really did get me "into" mermaids! This is actually the "real" story of "The Little Mermaid" (this is "PRE--disneys Ariel") (this is the one where she dosent "battle" the sea witch, and i guess saying much else will spoil it if you dont know the story. the costumes in "The Little Mermaid" are FANTASTIC!! the sea witch is great. considering it was the 80's all the effects arent too bad. i can only say its all good--SEE IT!! if you like mermaids you will appreciate the costumes and the sea witch has INCREDIBLE makeup--really FAB! pay attention to her makeup when you see it!(even my big grown-up boyfriend liked it when we watched it a week ago! lol!