The Little Mermaid (1989) - Review and Analysis by Scott Wood for Critical-Film.com

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The Little Mermaid (1989) A film review by Scott Wood For Critical-film.com   I have gotten some flack lately about a lack of animated features being reviewed here at critical-film, so I figured I may as well go out and attempt to end the nagging with a glowing review of what I believe to be the greatest animated cartoon feature of all time.   I know there is a lot of debate on this among Disney purists. I have heard strong arguments for all of “Snow White,” “Fantasia,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” These are valid choices for their own reasons, and I find it a case of splitting hairs with a lot of them to try to prove which is better. Let's just call it a matter of opinion, if you will, that I choose “The Little Mermaid” over the rest. I am not attempting to anger people with a choice that may not be theirs', I merely believe my selection to be the correct one.   Consider that I make this choice even though I am not, nor ever was a teenage girl with oppressive parents, so I am not picking “The Little Mermaid” as a result of personal resonance. I truly believe this picture makes use of all the positive aspects of animation, and also all aspects of classic Disney animated films.   “The Little Mermaid” created a world to itself. This is an aspect of animation that is truly unique to its field, and is not exploited commonly enough. There is a sense of creation, imagination, and wonder at the idea of what is happening in a world under the water that we can not see, and this movie utilizes this idea to its fullest extent. It is bright, colorful, and fun, and it takes advantage of every sea creature or plant that it can to create fantastic musical sequences, and memorable places that a kid can imagine themselves being in. It is so important that the cinema aimed at youth aspires to trigger their imagination and creativity, and “The Little Mermaid” does just that.   It has a story that is atypical, but relatable. There is no real message here for the kids, unlike the overused “look beneath the surface” message that was so common in cartoon motion pictures of the nineties. It means not to teach children necessarily (there may be a sort of lesson learned by Ursula the Sea-Witch), and the underline moral seems more geared towards the parent/child relationship than anything else. It shows very relatable arguments between father and daughter, and gives both sides reason for feeling the way they do during these confrontations. I would like to think that both sides could walk away with a better understanding of how the other side views these disputes, but I would have to think that children would be too young to take from it maybe what they could, and it is the parent that will benefit more; all the more reason for the family to enjoy it.   On top of all of this, it does all the little things well. It has a likable story, with a cast of likable characters. It has a classic Disney villain that gets truly frightening by the film's end, and is genuinely evil and easy to hate. Even by simply forging a fitting climax, it succeeds where later efforts like “Hercules” failed. It does literally everything right, and even though I had to sit through it hundreds of times over with my younger sister, it holds on to its enjoyment, and hasn't lost a beat in all of these years.   Movies nowadays lack the kind of magic that can be found in this gem from Disney, even from Disney's own studios.   (Four-and-a-half Stars)   This review was provided in HTML format, as your browser is not capable of displaying flash content. To experience Critical-Film.com the way it was meant to be seen, please download the flash player from <a href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BIOW">Macromedia</a>.