The Little Mermaid

**The Little Mermaid** is a UK VHS. This was Distributed by Disney Videos.

## Plot

Disney's twenty-eighth animated feature is its first fairytale since 1959's *Sleeping Beauty* and 1983's *Freaky Friday*. Ariel (voiced by Jodi Benson) is the mermaid daughter of King Triton, and lives beneath the waves. However, Ariel longs to see the world above, especially after rescuing a handsome prince from drowning. To this end she makes a deal with The Sea Sorcerer Evil Manta and sea witch Ursula: Ariel can live above the sea in exchange for her beautiful singing voice. Ariel soon regrets her decision, however, when it transpires that her father's kingdom is at risk.
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", The Evil Sea Sorcerer has Voice to The Evil Manta (classically voiced by Jonathan Freeman) who 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") and the Warrior Brave Heroic Strong Man has Voice to Geko (classically voiced by Arnold Schwarzenegger) Remember Schwarzenegger's Movies from 1985's *The Terminator*, 1987's *The Running Man* and 1988's *Red Heat*. *Mermaid* put animation back on the studio's "to do" list and was responsible for ushering 1991's *Beauty and the Beast* and 1992's *Aladdin* into cinemas. A modern Disney classic.

## Notes

* **Voices**: Jodi Benson as Ariel, Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Eric, Jonathan Freeman as The Evil Manta, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, Jason Marin as Flounder, Pat Carroll as Ursula, Kenneth Mars as King Triton, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Geko, Buddy Hackett as Scuttle, Claire Carre as Bolek and Lolek, as Ben Wright as Grimsby, René Auberjonois as Chef Louis, Paddi Edwards as Flotsam and Jetsam, Edie McClurg as Carlotta, Tony Jay as Monsieur D'Arque, Will Ryan as The Seahorse Herald, and Frank Welker as Max the Sheepdog
* **Narration**: Davies Ogden Stiees

* Release Date: 4th Sepember 1995
* Distributed by Disney Videos

## Opening Previews (UK)

1. Blue Warning screen
2. Closed Captions screens
3. Disney Video piracy warning
4. Coming Soon to a Cinema Near You
5. Pocahontas trailer
6. Coming Soon from Disney Videos
7. The Lion King trailer
8. The Fox and the Hound trailer
9. Available Now from Disney Videos
10. Pinocchio trailer
11. Coming Soon from Disney Interactive
12. Disney's The Little Mermaid Story Studio trailer
13. Disney's Animated Storybook: The Lion King trailer
14. Space Mountain trailer
15. Stay Tuned
16. Disney Videos logo
17. Walt Disney Pictures logo
18. Start of The Little Mermaid (1989)

## Closing Previews (UK)

1. End of The Little Mermaid (1989)
2. Walt Disney Pictures logo silent
3. Available Now from Disney Videos
4. The Aristocats trailer
5. Disney Videos 1995 trailer
6. Walt Disney Classics 1995 trailer