Pure Genius!

Rating: Null/10 (19 February 2001)

How can anyone not love this film? I don't think there is a girl/mum/woman/granny/sister/daughter out there who has not dreamt of being that feisty teenager who has nothing to loose, but her voice! The musical score that accompanies this film is pure genius and is performed to perfection. Now, I love most Disney films I have to admit, and I am not going to pretend that this is THE best but it's certainly one of them, up there with Beauty and The Beast and The Lion King, so anyone who says that this film is no good, has obviously not seen it! The despair that we see in Ariel's face as she watches her beloved Eric announce his engagement to Ursula (of all people) just shows why this film has stood the test of time, and I can guarantee that any child who likes Disney now, if shown The Little Mermaid, will go the swimming pool twice as often as before and start trying to swim like Ariel, or sing like Ariel, or dream of finding their very own Eric! I could sit here and compliment the animation, and the direction, and the voices, and the music of this film until I am blue in the face but I would still not account for the most important thing that gives this film that little extra........and that's the magic of Disney. The magic of make believe and wonder, and that feeling you get when you are a child of how anything can happen. You really get this feeling from The Little Mermaid, a feeling you don't get from other Disney films, like Bedknobs and Broomsticks, or (to some extent) Mary Poppins. Finally, I know I can vouch for all my family when I say that the ending, is masterfully done the way only Disney know how, there was not a dry eye in the house, honest! Now I am 15 years old and I am not a mother, and I don't have any little siblings, so I haven't seen this film in quite a while, but it has stuck with me for this long, and I am not ashamed to say this, but I can still sing along to all the songs, and I do sometimes, when I am alone and I feel happy - 'I Want To Be Where The People Are' suddenly pops in my head. So, don't underestimate the potential of this film, if you are looking for a little touch of magic, of childhood, look no further.