Great Broadway style songs in a Disney animated classic

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2014)

Ariel is a mermaid princess curious about the mysterious human life on land. She collects various objects with her fish friend Flounder which the clueless Scuttle the seagull misidentifies. Her father King Triton is not happy with her fascination. The crab Sebastian is the king's courtier composer and he is assigned to keep an eye on Ariel. Ariel goes to spy on Prince Eric celebrating his birthday on his ship. He's looking for the right girl. His ship runs into a storm and Eric is thrown overboard. Ariel rescues him and leaves when he regains consciousness. He remembers her beautiful singing. King Triton finds out and destroys her salvage objects. Two eels named Flotsam and Jetsam take Ariel to Ursula the sea witch who strikes a deal with her. She trades her voice for a pair of legs for 3 days. She must get a true love's kiss before the third sunset to remain human or else she'll return to be a mermaid belonging to Ursula. It turns out that Ursula has an even darker plot.
This could be seen as a movie for little girls. There's validity to that viewpoint. It's just a very well made movie for little girls. There's nothing wrong with that. The songs are terrific. Ariel is one of the most lively adorable compelling Disney princesses. Ursula is a great villain. And the animal sidekicks are lots of fun.