Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-11-23
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Animated, Digital Sound, HiFi Sound, PAL
• Original language: English, French
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 79 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits of The Little Mermaid in 1989 it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured a "magic" that had been dormant for 30 years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend a day, warm on the sand", Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull and a flounder. The lyrics and music by song-writing team Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the Sea"). Mermaid put animation back on the studio's "to do" list and was responsible for ushering 1991's Beauty and the Beast into cinemas. A modern Disney classic. --Keith Simanton

Synopsis
Mermaids are supposed to stay under the sea, but Ariel, a headstrong teenager, longs to be part of the magical world on land. When she falls in love with a human prince, she strikes a bargain with the evil sea witch in order to win the prince's love.

Customer Reviews

Make it a "Part of your world".
The Little Mermaid is undoubtably one of the best animated Disney films and is one to treasure forever.

The story is loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersan tale of a young mermaid who wishes to be part of the Human world. However, unlike the fairy tale, this has a happy ending.

Ariel is a fantastic heroine, headstrong and independant. She falls in love with the rather wooden Prince Eric and trades her voice with the sea witch Ursula in the hope of his returning her affection.

The story is romantic but also has its fair share of drama in it. The characters of Sebastian, Scuttle and Flounder add the comic relief. The moral of true love conquering all is a very Disney ideal but something you'd definately want your kids to see! I would recommend this highly.

Watery Good Fun...
14 years before 'Finding Nemo' splashed into cinemas, 'The Little Mermaid' had already taught us that it is indeed better, down where it's wetter Take It From Meeee....

where do i start This delightful Disney-fied adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's tale of the same name still holds its own after all these years of advancements in animation. It's partly because the studio really pushes the boat out, as it were, when it comes to getting the visuals right. But it's also because this is a great story, with a strong female lead, a nice array of supporting characters, suspense and romance in all the right places and some better-than-decent tunes.

Jodi Benson does a fantastic job as the voice of Ariel, the "little mermaid" of the title (actually, she's 16 so not really all that little) For reasons we can only hazard a guess at, she longs to leave her deep sea life behind her and live up-top with the human types. So, despite the strong advice of King Triton (who's also her dear old daddy), she makes a deal with the tentacled seahag Ursula which involves swapping her voice for a pair of legs. The catch? She's got to get the handsome and unfortunately named Prince Eric to snog her before the sun goes down on the third day, or she'll be tossed back into the sea like an old trout Of course, it goes without saying that pop's is gonna chuck a wobbler when he finds out lol

The colourful and imaginative backdrops make for a visual treat, particularly in the underwater scenes, whilst the characters are much better written than many of their counterparts from other Disney flicks of the period. Perhaps the only exception to that is witchy woman Ursula, who's a bit like Madam Mim from 'The Sword and the Stone' only without the comedy value. And you can't help but wonder why, if she's such a great sorceress, she doesn't use some of that magic to make herself vaguely presentable instead of living her life as some sort of aquatic Grotbags.

i hope this review helps. to those who are not already familiar with the little mermaid my advice is simple.. "BUY IT" and if you have seen it my advice again is 'BUY IT' i have been waiting for the release of the little mermaid for years' all we need next is 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' :) hope you lovely people of amazon enjoy this film..

The best disney film not under walt's supervision.
The little mermaid is the best.You'll meet Ariel the mermaid in love with a human and her unforgettable friends,flounder the fish,sebastian the crab and scuttle the seagull.You'll also meet Ursula the great villainess and many more characters.Also experience the award winning music(you'll be dancing in your seat.) This movie on DVD is excellent but it could have more features,nevertheless you see this masterpiece in all it's true glory! It is certainly my fave film of all time and I'm a 15 year old lad!Enjoy it!