The Little Mermaid (1989)(1989)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Nov 17, 1989 | Wide
A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince's love.
Releases
Original Release | Nov 17, 1989
- Dec 15, 1989 | Wide
1997 Re-release | Nov 14, 1997
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Box Office Results
All Releases (2)
$111,543,479
$99,800,000
$211,343,479
$75,880,929
$75,880,929
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(U.S. Only)
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English,French
Summaries
Plot Summary
- Triton is the King of the Merpeople (aquatic humanoids or fish-like centaurs), but the humans believe them to be a myth.Ariel (Jodi Benson), 16-year-old mermaid princess, is curious about the human world. With her fish friend Flounder (Jason Marin), Ariel collects human artifacts and goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle (Buddy Hackett) the seagull. Scuttle is not very educated about human artifacts and tells Ariel that a fork is Dinglehopper used by humans to straighten their hair, and a smoking pipe is some sort of a musical instrument.Ariel's fascination with the human world, takes her away from her duties as a Princess at the Royal court and she even missed a celebration of her father's rule where she was supposed to sing. Ariel is one of Triton's daughters, but one with the most melodious voice. Ariel also goes to the deep-sea shipwrecks to scavenge for human artifacts and is attacked by sharks.Ignoring the warnings of her father (King Triton (Kenneth Mars)) and court musician (Sebastian the crab (Samuel E. Wright)), Ariel still longs to be part of the human world. Triton assigns his crab assistant Sebastian to look out for Ariel and Sebastian does his best to discourage Ariel.Triton has banished his sister Ursula from the court, and she lives in exile, and keeps an eye on Ariel via her 2 eels and a magic Orb. Sebastian finds that Ariel has a hidden cave where she has kept all the human artifacts she has ever collected.One night, Ariel goes to the surface and watches firecrackers from a ship in celebration of Birthday of Prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes). Ariel and Scuttle watch the humans by getting on the ship secretly, and Ariel is besotted by Eric. Grimsby (Ben Wright) is Eric's steward. In a storm, the ship catches fire when lightening strikes the ship & Eric is trapped trying to rescue his dog Max. Eric throws Max overboard but goes down with the ship when a gunpowder keg explodes in the fire, blowing the ship apart. Ariel saves him & brings him to shore & sings to him to revive him. Sebastian drags her away before other humans arrive, Eric has a vague memory a girl with a beautiful voice, having saved him.Ursula watches the events from her orb and senses an opportunity to end her exile. Ariel is completely lost with her thoughts on Eric and longs to meet him again. Sebastian tries to explain that she is a Mermaid, and her place is in the oceans. When Triton learns of Ariel's love from her sisters (at first, he assumes that it is a Merman, but then Sebastian says that Ariel is in love with a human), he is furious and destroys Ariel's collection of human artifacts in her secret cave. After Triton leaves, a pair of eels, Flotsam (Paddi Edwards) and Jetsam (Paddi Edwards), convince a crying Ariel that she must visit Ursula (Pat Carroll) the sea witch, if she wants all of her dreams to come true. Ursula was exiled by Triton and is looking for revenge via Ariel. Sebastian and Flounder follow Ariel but are stopped by the eels from interfering.Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days within which Ariel must receive the 'kiss of true love' from Eric before the sunset on the third day; otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid on the 3rd day and belong to Ursula. As payment for legs, Ariel has to give up her voice, with Ursula storing it in a nautilus shell. Ariel is worried that Eric would not recognize her without her voice, but Ursula convinces her that Ariel still has her looks and her body language. Ariel has the spell taken on her, and Ursula transforms her into an almost naked (as mermaids only wear seashells which cover their nipples) human form of herself. As soon as Ariel changes into a human, she cannot breathe underwater and is helped to the surface by Sebastian and Flounder. Sebastian can see that Ariel would be miserable for the rest of her life without Eric and agrees to help the now-naked Ariel. Once Ariel surfaces, Scuttle arrives and is happy to see her as a human. Concerned she may seem uninteresting or unconvincing to be a human, he helps the nude Ariel dress up into a nearby towel lying by the shore (to look like a human's dress).Eric and his dog Max find Ariel on the beach, wearing only the towel. He initially suspects that she is the one who saved his life, but when he learns that she cannot speak, he discards that notion. However, he lets her into his palace where she is bathed, clothed and fed, now living a human life. Sebastian is worried that this way three days will pass without a kiss and Ariel would lose Eric forever. Sebastian ends up being separated from Ariel and lands in the palace kitchen where the chef tries to cook him, but Sebastian manages to escape. Eric invites Ariel for a tour of his Kingdom. Sebastian creates the mood on a starry night and Eric almost kisses Ariel, but the boat is overturned by Ursula's minions and the true love kiss never happens that night.Ursula is worried as it was too close and intervenes by taking form of a beautiful maiden "Vanessa" and using Ariel's captured voice to deceive Eric. She hypnotises Eric into marrying him the very next day. Scuttle informs Ariel that Vanessa is Ursula in disguise & Ariel goes to save Eric. Sebastian informs Triton, and Scuttle disrupts the wedding with the help of various sea animals. In the chaos, Ursula's shell is destroyed, restoring Ariel's voice and breaking the enchantment over Eric. Realising that Ariel is the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid, forcing her to jump back into the sea.Triton confronts Ursula and demands Ariel's release, but the deal is inviolable. At Ursula's urging, Triton agrees to take Ariel's place as Ursula's prisoner, giving up his trident. Ariel is released as Triton transforms into a polyp and loses his authority over Atlantica. Ursula declares herself the Queen of the Seven Seas, but before she can use the trident, Eric appears with a harpoon. Ursula attempts to kill Eric, but Ariel intervenes, causing Ursula to inadvertently kill Flotsam and Jetsam. Enraged, Ursula uses the trident to grow in size.Ariel and Eric reunite on the surface just before a gigantic Ursula separates them. She then gains full control of the ocean, creating a storm and bringing sunken ships to the surface. Just as Ariel is about to be killed, Eric commandeers a wrecked ship and impales Ursula with its splintered bowsprit, stabbing her to death. With Ursula dead, Triton and the other polyps in her garden revert to their original forms. Realizing that Ariel truly loves Eric, Triton turns her into a human and approves her marriage to Eric. Ariel and Eric marry on a ship and depart, with all of Ariel's friends and family watching them as well.
Storyline
- In Disney's beguiling animated romp, rebellious 16-year-old mermaid Ariel is fascinated with life on land. On one of her visits to the surface, which are forbidden by her controlling father, King Triton, she falls for a human prince. Determined to be with her new love, Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula to become human for three days. But when plans go awry for the star-crossed lovers, the king must make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter. — Jwelch5742 Suffocating in her father King Triton's vast undersea realm, the young and rebellious mermaid princess, Ariel, yearns for a new life above water, on the unexplored dry land. Hopelessly head over heels for the charming mortal prince, Eric, desperate Ariel summons up her courage to come to an ill-advised arrangement with the ocean's cunning and terrible sea-witch, Ursula, in high hopes of winning his heart. However, Ariel has only three days to succeed. Will she see her wish come true? — Nick Riganas Unhappy with her life as a mermaid, the princess Ariel dreams of living a life on the surface world. Only problem is that her father, King Triton has forbidden all contact with humans. When Ariel saves handsome Prince Eric from drowning in a storm, she is determined to find a way to be with her prince charming. To do this, she strikes a deal with the ruthless sea witch Ursula for three days as a human, unaware that it is all a part of Ursula's evil plan to overthrow Triton and rule the seas. — Blazer346 Loosely based upon the story by Hans Christian Andersen. Ariel, youngest daughter of King Triton, is dissatisfied with life in the sea. She longs to be with the humans above the surface, and is often caught in arguments with her father over those "barbaric fish-eaters". She goes to meet Ursula, the Sea Witch, to strike a deal, but Ursula has bigger plans for this mermaid and her father. — Tim Pickett <quetzal@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au> 1 more All
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