The beauty of Disney is that of nostalgia. If you’re not into the current product in terms of animation or live action you can always go back into the vault and find something that brings you back to a certain point of time in your life. Disney’s back catalogue hasn’t aged in the way a lot of other studios have; there’s a sense of timelessness to a large portion of its catalogue.
The Little Mermaid is a classic for this reason; it’s still a genuinely great animated film in the thirty years since it’s been released.
Simple premise: Ariel (Jodi Benson) is a mermaid who falls in love with a land dweller (Christopher Daniel Barnes). In exchange for her singing voice she has three days to find true love’s kiss. Shenanigans and singing ensue.
While animation has gotten better and more computer oriented there’s something beautiful about the old school style of animation; it doesn’t feel as artificial as newer animated films do. There’s a weird magic in the imperfection that modern animated techniques just don’t quite have.
A number of historical pieces about the film are included.
Walt Disney Animation presents The Little Mermaid. Written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker based on the story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. Starring Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll. Run Time: 83 minutes Rated G. Released on DVD: 2.26.19
