Undeniably one of Disney's best

Rating: Null/10 (13 April 2002)

*I only recommend you read this review if you have viewed the movie and are reading reviews to observe other people's opinions and thoughts, because it does contain spoilers*
Snow White, Bambi, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Cinderella... Before 1989, these were the crown jewels of Disney. Pure classics that no one could desecrate or destroy. Unfortunately, for a long stretch, Disney lost its touch with the viewers. They released uninteresting full length features featuring short stories about Mickey and Co. Entertaining, but certainly not deep enough to become classics.
Then came The Little Mermaid in 1989. There were some good Disney movies in the eighties, most notably the heart-breaking yet uplifting Fox and the Hound, and the animal translation of Sherlock Holmes called The Great Mouse Detective. There were some dunders too. The Black Cauldron was suppose to reinvigorate Disney, but instead, from what I've heard, it was dark and unfit for the target audience, children. It ranks up with Atlantis: The Lost Empire as the only Disney animated features to receive a PG rating. Anyways, The Little Mermaid burst onto the screen with such life, energy, beauty, and heart that it just turned the studio around. The fantasy tale of a growing mermaid who risks it all for love captured the hearts of all. Why shouldn't it? It was romantic, funny, and very optimistic of the world we live in. Most famously, it had some of the greatest music in movie history. Under The Sea, Part of Your World, and Kiss The Girl were the best, while the supporting numbers were good as well. Lovable characters like Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder gave the heart to the story.
It's 2002 now, and The Little Mermaid is 13 years old now, or 12. However old it is, it has aged remarkably well, showing the timelessness of the film. Disney is in a rut much like it was in before The Little Mermaid was released. So all the more people appreciate this movie. I was 12 when I first saw it, on The Wonderful World of Disney. I recorded it, and fell in love with it. I saw it every day after school for days. It became my favorite Disney film, and among my favorite-est movies ever.
But I must say, at the age of fourteen now, The Little Mermaid is not my favorite Disney movie anymore. It has to do with the lack of depth in the story, a little over-cuteness feel to it. Make no mistake, I still love it, but some other richer films that the Mouse House released has impressed me more. With the way I'm going on here, you'd think I dislike this movie. That's wrong. I LOVE it. Starting with the music. My favorite is Part of Your World. I never really got into Under The Sea, and Kiss The Girl is a sap song, in the best way possible, but still, a sap song. Yeah, Part of Your World is a sap song too, but I just love the voice and the melody, and the longing. Secondly, all the characters are just lovable. Even the villain, with a nasty wit and a look that just screams EVIL. Ariel is beautifully drawn, with her sexy red hair. The very thin waist and fish tail is not very appealing, but you can't help but get a crush on Ariel. Her father, Triton, comes off as an over-strict father, but it's easy to see how much love he has. Ariel's sidekicks, Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle, are lifelong friends who never stop fighting for her. The only bad major character is Eric. He's a prince, but never seems to have any active role. Just kinda sits around playing his recorder and wrestling his dog, the also lovable Max.
The animation is pretty dated compared to latest offerings like the amazing Tarzan and Atlantis. But that's hardly the matter. The beauty of the film is its radiance, not in its drawings and colors.
As an extra note of personal opinion, I cannot tell you how sick I am of feminists and over-worried mothers that think that letting their young daughters watch this classic movie will turn them into "doomed airheads like Ariel". They claim that Ariel gets Eric's love because she loses her voice and gets legs. Excuse me? Eric was about to marry Vanessa, the sea witch in disguise, and only when Ariel got her voice back did he fully love her. And when he lost her legs, he risked his life to get her back. Another claim is that Ariel's a bad role model because she gives up her family and friends for the affection of a man she hardly knows. Well, her father destroyed all her possessions, she thought Sebastian sold her out... And just after that happened, the sea witch swoons her with promises of true love. Don't you think anybody would've grabbed that chance? Yet another claim is Ariel's tiny waist and big breasts. First of all, she doesn't have much breast to speak of. Second of all, her tiny waist is actually quite small, but who really cares? These over-zealous feminists won't be happy until a Disney movie remakes Cinderella with a Shrek-like ogre taking Cinderelly's place, and the story goes that Cindrella takes her house by force, makes her cruel step sisters and step mother into her servants, marries the prince because of her savvy business skills, and then finally usurps the throne from the king, in the end becoming an asexual single mom queen who brings prosperity to the land. Just a rant. And also, parents should guide their children to enjoy fairy tales, but also make the distinction between reality and fantasy. If they don't do that, that's just lazy parenting.
So in overall, The Little Mermaid gets an 8/10. The story's not as in depth as Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, or Tarzan, but it's just as heart-warming. Arguably the most important movie Disney ever made, excluding Snow White.

PS My favorite Disney animated movies (Top 10)
1) Beauty and the Beast 2) Mulan 3) Tarzan 4) The Little Mermaid 5) Aladdin 6) Cinderella 7) The Jungle Book 8) The Lion King 9) The Fox and the Hound 10) Robin Hood