Lord only knows

Rating: 7/10 (28 September 2000)

Lord only knows why I don't like this Disney film as much as some of the others. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. It marked the beginning of Disney's renaissance. It's lively. It's hip. It's vibrant. So what's wrong? My personal tastes, I guess. The songs are big, but a few got on my nerves, as did a few of the characters. It has neither the charm of some of the classics nor the grandness of some of the later works, especially Beauty and the Beast. The things Ariel does to find happiness are a bit strange, such as her selling her voice to a complete stranger or her falling in love with someone who falls in love with her just for her voice. I also thought this movie was a bit too derivative of earlier classics like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. It's the same old fairy tale formula with nothing new added except better animation and bigger, but not necessarily better, songs. But don't let all this stop you from enjoying this movie. Practically everybody else has.