The Little Mermaid
1989 · Movie · G · 83 min · ★ 7.4 · 90% critics
This colorful adventure follows a curious mermaid princess who dreams of life on land and falls for a human prince. When a powerful sea witch offers a chance to be near him, she risks everything—including her voice—for the chance at love.
Based on The Little Mermaid
Also known as Little Mermaid 1
Where to watch
Streaming on Disney+ — or rent from $3.99.
1 hour to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 1989
- Release date
- 1989-11-17
- Language
- English
- Rated
- G
- Runtime
- 83 min
- Max quality
- UHD
- Critic score
- 90/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.3/10 (8,407 votes)
- Box office
- $184,155,863
- Budget
- $40,000,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy this bright animated musical if you want fairy-tale romance and unforgettable songs; Not for you if you want deeper character development, or if “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast” felt more substantial to you.
Pros: dazzling underwater visuals; memorable musical numbers; entertaining villain | Cons: shallow character focus; thin romance; story can feel basic
Themes
- witch
- princess
- sea
- daughter
- kingdom
- fireworks
- cartoon
- mermaid
- prince
- villain
- musical
- coming of age
- +13 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Original Score · 1990
- Academy Award — Best Original Song · 1990
- Academy Award — Best Original Score · 1990 · nominated
Cast & crew
Jodi Benson
as Ariel / Vanessa (voice)
Samuel E. Wright
as Sebastian (voice)
Pat Carroll
as Ursula (voice)
Christopher Daniel Barnes
as Prince Eric (voice)
Kenneth Mars
as King Triton (voice)
Buddy Hackett
as Scuttle (voice)
Jason Marin
as Flounder (voice)
René Auberjonois
as Louis (voice)
Paddi Edwards
as Flotsam & Jetsam (voice)
Ben Wright
as Grimsby (voice)
Directed by John Musker, Ron Clements