The Little Mermaid - Nostalgia Critic

With the remake coming out, Nostalgia Critic calls upon one of the original Disney films' animators, Philo Barnhart, to help him look over the animated classic. Join us as we take a look at Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989).
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The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 28th Disney animated feature film, it is loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The film was written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the film's songs with Alan Menken. Menken also composed the film's score. Featuring the voices of Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, and Buddy Hackett, The Little Mermaid tells the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel, who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric, which leads her to make a magic deal with the sea witch, Ursula, to become human and be with him.
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Special thanks to Philo for being AMAZING! facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063443965148 Check out our store - channelawesome.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

I'll definitely Will! You guys just Made My day all the better with this video!😊😊

[@jerricablackcat4303]

Can you please review The Crow, Crow City of Angles (that poor movie suffered the same fate as Cool World) , Power Rangers 2017, and Mortal Kombat 2021?

[@slenderfan-101j.g.4]

If they are ever going to make a remake of the sequels then I do hope we get to see more of melody

[@anubusx]

Review The Mummy 3 Stargate The Dragonslayer Predator Month The Rock Tremors

[@nataliehughes1020]

Can you review Escape from Cluster Prime, Escape from Tomorrow, Meet the Robinsons, Spongebob movies, Beauty and the Beast 1991, Aladdin 1992, Rock and Rule, Pocahontas, Hercules, and The Rescuers Down Under? So far so good on those Disney Renaissance reviews. 🙂🙂

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

A Interesting Fact: Glen Keane, the lead artist for Ariel, admitted in an interview that for the longest time he was embarrassed by Ariel reaching out towards the surface in the last chorus of "Part of Your World." He thought it was way too cheesy, but had to leave it in to meet his deadline. Ten years later, however, Keane was approached by a young woman who told him that when she saw the film as a kid, all she wanted to do was take Ariel's hand and help her out of the water. Keane has been deeply proud of the scene ever since.

[@daniellavaladez7820]

That’s amazing, and he should definitely be proud of the scene. One of the most beautiful sequences in the entire Disney canon.

[@donaldwright8567]

When you're doing the big climax of an "I want" song in a musical, that is when you pile on ALL of the cheese 🧀.

[@lordpicklenips3407]

Howard Ashman 😢

[@monsterhanna6691]

🥺🥺🥺💛💛💛

[@darkdemigod]

*girl helps Ariel out* *she dies from the air* mermaid saving is a hobby!

[@Rin-xc5he]

I will also add that in defense of Ariel’s character, people forget that she didn’t go to the human world solely for Eric. She’d had a fascination/obsession with it for years, collecting everything she could and imagining what it could look like. And in the end, it wasn’t even Eric that pushed her into making such a drastic decision, but her father completely refusing to listen and giving her that ultimatum. A fantasy world that she’d spent so much of her life dreaming about in that case, would understandably become much more alluring than staying where she wasn’t even allowed to voice her interests in private. *PHEW* Sorry 😂 I’ve had that argument pent up for YEARS 😂 I just think a lot of people who feel trapped where they are could relate to her 🙈

[@alexandersmith4731]

Yup, Ariel is a rebel but she doesn't have any bad blood in her, it was only when she is emotionally hurt due to what Triton did to her grotto

[@shaheenahmad90]

Couldn't have said it better myself

[@PaulW_ftPAULK]

Agreed, so glad people understand that. (Not the flipping star of the remake, though....)

[@leebulger7112]

I completely agree with you she already wanted to be human and falling in love with Eric just validates what she already desired.

[@nine_tails137]

While I do agree with everything you said, I feel Ariel introducing music to Atlantica kinda retcons the original. IDK why? It just feels that way to me.

[@a.t.trujillo9970]

I never knew that Ariel was basically the Disney version of an anime girl the more you know

[@theawesomeman9821]

She looks better than most anime WAIFUS

[@dtester]

I always knew she was Anime influenced just based on her design, but it's really interesting to hear how deliberate they were in deciding it!

[@JamesDavy2009]

@@dtester You'd be surprised how much Disney and Japanese anime were connected to each other throughout the 20th Century.

[@dtester]

@@JamesDavy2009 I bet! I know that early Anime was inspired by Disney. Probably the best example is Osamu Tezuka's work. So it's like a big cycle of inspiring each other. Plus western studios would often outsourced work to Japan back in the day.

[@Dargonhuman]

@@dtester You could say it's the Circle of (animated) Life...

[@petite2276]

I love how all old animators are so soft spoken and polite

[@joshentertainment2]

Is he actually an animator

[@Gokulosestoavirus]

@@joshentertainment2 yes he is

[@MisterCasket]

All of them? You talked to all old animators in existence?

[@wolfclaw719]

its how they lull you into a false sense of security so you're easier to snare

[@nuclearcatbaby1131]

It’s the type of personality that you would expect to get a job drawing puppies

[@1805movie]

R.I.P. Howard Ashman. The unsung hero of the Disney Renaissance.

[@melissamarsh2219]

Gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul

[@darkstarmoonshadow8892]

AMEN

[@holdencross5904]

And now they trample his work

[@andrewmcdonald183]

Also, the writer of the Off-Broadway musical, Little Shop of Horrors.

[@nuclearcatbaby1131]

You mean they got two different people to write the music and the lyrics? Damn they should have just hired Danny Elfman for this, he wrote music AND lyrics for Nightmare Before Christmas and sang for Jack Skellington too. Then again he might not have been interested in making a Broadway style movie.

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

Pretty cool that you got one of the original animators to join in on your review of The Little Mermaid. The movie that began the Renaissance Era of Disney. I miss those days. 😊

[@kdusel1991]

He also did the secret of NIMH as well! Doug also reviewed that one as NC not too long ago

[@eddiegutierrez1843]

@@spongebakesquarepansgamingyou generally have no idea what the word “woke” means and it shows.

[@mullaoslo]

I saw Oliver and the sherlock mouse (don't remember the American title) movie in the cinema before this but this was the first that came out when I was older than 5 so the first one I have real memories of

[@PandaMonium92827]

we all do, mate...

[@andrewdowns3673]

Everyone does.

[@Too_Tall_64]

My father was the Projectionist at a theater. The Little Mermaid was still in theaters. He took his girlfriend to see it. She loved it so much they went home together... Nine months later in 1990, I was born... I was conceived because of this movie.

[@JP2GiannaT]

It was my parents' first date, so... maybe me too...?

[@Too_Tall_64]

@@JP2GiannaT Were you born late July - early October 1990?

[@georgeeastwood6930]

That’s weirdly very wholesome! ❤

[@sian2337]

Is your name Ariel? 😉

[@Will_Rules]

​@@sian2337it should be

[@JuanHernandez-cy9yw]

The shot of Ariel taking her first breath after almost drowning with the sunlit background was to me always a beautiful work of art.

[@nut4ku]

Yeah her hair flip is the most iconic disney moment of all time

[@brih220]

And it created a movement of 90s kids trying to recreate that shot in pools for years to come 🥲

[@bigfeet3557]

I love how phylo just didn’t have a good response for the palace having a dong and just kind of said “yeah, that was there”😂😂😂😂

[@monsterhanna6691]

Yeah, I loved that. 😂

[@Talon1124]

Oh, the phallus on the palace? Yeah, that was there. n.n;

[@jerraldwest8531]

I think the thought that came to his mind when he said that was "God, we were so wasted that night"

[@bigfeet3557]

@@jerraldwest8531 yea, just “I know he said he was going to do it but I didn’t think he actually would”

[@yaminogame]

We all knew it but it is nice to have confirmation 🤣

[@Veelasiren]

Something I always found interesting about Ursula is that she didn't hide the dangerous consequences you could suffer if you took one of her deals, she was honest about that at least. She planted the dozens of merfolk she'd transformed directly in front of her home. Ariel literally had to swim over all of them to get inside and one of them even tried to stop her. During her song Ursula both showed and told Ariel that the creatures in front of her home were merfolk that couldn't pay her price and that was what happened to them.

[@alexandersmith4731]

That's what happens in the original tale as well, difference is the witch warned the mermaid sincerely since she doesn't have any agenda for the princess

[@monsterhanna6691]

I never thought of it like that and that makes it really dark and foreboding. At the same time, I don't entirely see it that way because Ursula would also give her clients very unreasonable payments in advance. There's even a deleted scene where she was "helping" a Merman, Harold, who basically wanted to be big and strong for women and needed to bring Ursula a fresh-water Lily...while they were out of season. And she still made him as "part of her little garden". Also, remember in Poor Unfortunate Souls during the "Now it's happened once or twice, someone couldn't pay the price, and I'm afraid I have to rake them across the coals", or something like that and the mer-people in the illustration she was using looked very confused as if either A), they weren't expecting that or B), didn't know what she wanted. No hate, I just don't see it entirely the way you explained it.

[@alexandersmith4731]

@@monsterhanna6691 Nah, that's true, while she was honest on what the requirements is for Ariel to stay a human, Ariel would never have guessed Ursula would wanna sabotage her in any way until Scuttle reveals it, the one that was honest is the witch in the original tale even with her amusement and laughter

[@monsterhanna6691]

@@alexandersmith4731 Again, I understand where you're coming from and I'm not saying I disagree with you. It does make Ursula a lot scarier when you think about it.

[@kingblanketfort]

I can admit she was a good villain, but even as a kid, I found her utterly disgusting. I didn't even like looking at her, and I still don't.

[@sugaravery2823]

I love how during the scene where Ursula is creating the spell to disguise herself as Vanessa, she throws a butterfly into her cauldron. The name Vanessa means butterfly.🦋

[@Valerio_the_wandering_sprite]

And it ultimately comes from Latin vanitas, "vanity".

[@monsterhanna6691]

Oh, I never knew that. 😍🦋

[@jimbolic0809]

I can't believe there are so many nuggets like this in the movie. I suppose it's also due to Ursula's transformation that she uses a butterfly then.

[@sugaravery2823]

@@jimbolic0809 I guess Jim Hensons puppets are all sick and dead forever in the Mighty Name of Yahweh Jehova maam

[@luigipowdemo6458]

Now THAT'S a crazy detail.

[@JosephDutra]

I really do love the scene when Ariel finds out Eric is going to marry Vanessa. No vocal performance to go on, it’s all up to the animators to capture the acting for that scene and they create so much emotion and heartbreak in just a few seconds! This is why Animation is Cinema!!

[@Jeremy_theGent]

I always remember the scene on the pier, where she can barely catch her breath because she's in so much grief and anguish.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Jeremy_theGent Dark Fact: That was from the Hans Christian Anderson book, when the Mermaid becomes human, the prince fell in love with someone else. Except in the film the Mermaid wasn't temped to kill the Prince.

[@sherylannd6813]

Ursula turning herself into a Kraken basically was super cool, and her death actually being active murder by the Prince was so refreshing. Especially since Ariel and Eric save each other, even more than once.

[@ddjsoyenby]

agreed that was one of the best disney villain d3@ths.

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

Too bad the live action will not have that happen

[@Tank50us]

@@ddjsoyenby and probably one of the most gruesome too... I mean... she got a ships bowsprit ran through her... that HAD to hurt...

[@leebulger7112]

​@@Tank50usAs Morgana put in the sequel Ursula was shishkebabed. If anyone can correct my spelling I would appreciate it.

[@Spectra651]

@@Tank50us To this day that moment still makes me cringe (in a good way). Usually villains' deaths in Disney films are implied, like having them fall from a high ledge or something, but in this you SEE the thing just about to pierce her stomach, and your imagination fills in the rest. It's so damn well done, probably the best Disney death imo.

[@imsomewhatcertain1024]

King Triton: “Is it true you rescued a human from drowning?!” Ariel: “You don’t even know him!” Doug Walker reviewing this movie: “You don’t either.” Once again, the Nostalgia Critic speaks the truth.

[@aeoligarlic4024]

true but it’s about being a good samaritan..

[@idongesitusen5764]

Every kid who had the don't talk to strangers talk was thinking that. Given that Ariel takes after her mother, you'd think Triton would've tried to make that lesson stick.

[@Evilriku13]

@@idongesitusen5764 it's a shame that it is never explained what happened to Ariel's mother. From how Triton acts I assume she died to humans in some way and that's why he is so cautious if not aggressive towards them.

[@mew10521]

I forgot she never met him

[@valentinasgaggero311]

Triton thought all humans were ruthless monsters and Eric sure wasn't that. Eric risked drowning just to save the people aboard the ship and his dog's life. And Ariel saw that. So, yes, Ariel did indeed knew him better than Triton.

[@amityislandchum]

How could you not talk about the scene where Ursula turns back from the doppelganger into her squid form and crawls across the ship deck?! Such a beautiful, terrifying bit of animation.

[@BessieRiggs]

“So long, lover boy.” Ursula was such a good animated villain. She was just as expressive as Ariel.

[@monsterhanna6691]

She was an octopus. 😂

[@amityislandchum]

@@monsterhanna6691 Honestly I was typing on my phone and "squid" was faster, but you are correct. 😂

[@pundertalefan4391]

Yeah, that was horrifying.

[@MatsuyoRific]

Fun fact, in the cut version of the story where Ursula is Triton's sister, she was the partial ruler of Atlantica along with Triton, but was banished for eating her subjects. So the part at the end where Philo tries to eat them is actually quite fitting.

[@lukacunningham342]

Oh, so that explains why in the live-action adaptation, Usurla usually calls Triton “brother”

[@Valerio_the_wandering_sprite]

That also explains why her first scene involves what is indeed cannibalism.

[@erichfiedler1481]

At least they kept that element in the remake, the whole Ursula being Triton's sister thing

[@joshuariddensdale2126]

Which is a direct reference to the original Hans Christian Andersen story, where Ursula is Ariel's aunt.

[@Bubblelove236]

@@lukacunningham342 also in the musical

[@sunglasses426]

The scene of Ursula stealing Ariel’s voice with the smoke hanks is honestly one of my favorite scenes in any movie, let alone Disney flick

[@user-gz2sn3yk6n]

Thanks so much, Mark! That was one of my scenes!

[@Josh-Man]

I always imagined that I was a part of the movie, ever since I had a little Mermaid dream as a kid, wanting to swim and reach out to save Ariel during that scene. 🥰🥰

[@DipperPines1986]

I especially love Ariel's singing in this scene, it's so alluring, like the sirens singing.

[@rossbooth4635]

Not to mention Ursula singing the spell - always terrified me and still kind of does. Beluga sevruga come winds of the Caspian Seaaaaa Larengix glaucitis et max laryngitis la voce to meeeee

[@Zyk0th]

You know, in the original Hans Christian Andersen story, the Sea Witch takes a knife and physically cuts the mermaid's tongue out, rather than stealing it with magic.

[@dangurney1042]

Fun fact: Samuel E. Wright the voice of Sebastian was also the original Mufasa in The Lion King Broadway show.

[@Movypro23]

And Kron in dinosaur 2000

[@velociraptor4you3291]

@@Movypro23 I was quite surprised to find that Kron and Sebastian were voiced by the same guy. Just goes to show the impressive _range_ Samuel had.

[@donovanlocust1106]

May he rest in peace

[@velociraptor4you3291]

@@donovanlocust1106 Indeed.

[@Jay_SUBZ3R0]

Fun fact: The moment in the final battle where Ursula becomes gigantic was inspired by the action movie Die Hard. The original ending focused on Ariel saving the day and defeating Ursula herself, but Jeffrey Katzenberg felt the ending wasn’t big enough and after he saw Die Hard which came out in the cinemas around the time of the Little Mermaid’s production, he convinced the animators who were working on the film to make the ending bigger and told them “Make it look more Die Hard.”

[@TheSuperSnake313]

That actress that brought Ariel to life, and all the other voice actors for that matter, I mean perfect casting. It all works so dark perfectly. I hope today's generation can find the nostalgia in current films, but boy were the 80s and 90s a lot of fun

[@MarioandDisneyFan1]

Fun fact: Disney released a comic that explained how Flounder moved the statue. It was in an issue of an old magazine of theirs called "Disney Adventures". Apparently after Flounder found the statue, he met a friendly squid who was willing to move it for him.

[@JessOkami]

Please tell us it wasn't Tentacles from the Titanic movies XD

[@monsterhanna6691]

​@@JessOkami He was an octopus. 😂

[@ryansalter2325]

I remember reading that! I used to love reading those magazines.

[@autobotsrollout1237]

​@@JessOkami did you know there's a tv series that continues that's story from the movie 😂

[@RedaFox1]

I remember a comic showing where the skeleton that Ursula lives in came from

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Fun Fact: The animators created the character of Ursula for Bea Arthur, who declined as she was occupied with The Golden Girls (1985). Jennifer Saunders then auditioned for the role of Ursula but was turned down. Somehow in 2002, Steven Spielberg got hold of her tape and insisted to the three directors of Shrek 2 (2004) that she be cast as the scheming Fairy Godmother. After Bea Arthur turned down the chance to voice Ursula, Nancy Marchand, Sylvia Sidney, Nancy Wilson, Roseanne Barr, Coral Browne, Charlotte Rae and Elaine Stritch were all then considered with the latter eventually being cast in the part; however, Stritch's style clashed with that of lyricist Howard Ashman so Pat Carroll got the part.

[@kdusel1991]

I didn't know that it was written for Bea Arthur! That's so cool!!

[@austinghost1458]

Also Ursula’s character design is based off of an actress (drag queen) named Divine.

[@shaheenahmad90]

I learned about that from the new magazine

[@sketchygetchey8299]

I’m now imagining Ursula in that Star Wars Holiday Special! 😅

[@pisces2569]

I would love to watch an alternate take of B Arthur as Ursula

[@robbieking4070]

I find something that fans bring up is that Eric wasn’t Ariel’s only reason for her actions. Before she met him she was already pretty passionate about the surface world (her song says enough) with Eric being the tipping point.

[@starrsmith3810]

Exactly. People who bitch about Ariel always act as if her entire motivation came down to Eric. They completely forget the original lyrics to Part of Your World was Part of THAT world. She wanted to be human even before seeing Eric. He was merely the tipping point. That and Triton’s actions.

[@NoahTheAmbitious]

And Even Then, Eric Wasn't The Tipping Point, Triton Destroying Her Stuff Was, So The Whining Blokes Are Just Missing Points

[@katherined]

Let’s face it, the remake is not going to hold a candle in comparison to this master piece. And it is so nice to hear someone who worked on The Little Mermaid share some behind the scene stuff in his little fun way.

[@PrinceYamiUchihaCosplay]

Who knows, maybe it will but we'll have to wait and see

[@FluffyAbsol]

"The Phallus on the Palace" is being said way to casually for being so hilarious.

[@spacejam8765]

Fun fact, Christopher Daniel Barnes who voiced Prince Eric, also voiced Peter Parker in Spiderman the 1994 cartoon.

[@RGF91]

i'm shocked he didn't reference that

[@jeuryrabassa4724]

And I love that series. Along with Spider-Man:Unlimited with Rino Romano,Spider-Man:TNAS with Neil Patrick Harris and Spectacular Spider-Man with Josh Keaton.

[@Animevazquez]

I heard that in 107 facts about spider man the animated series

[@BigFatCone]

Whaaat? Peter Parker is Spider-Man?

[@Animevazquez]

It’s true he is

[@nickcopeland6915]

Fun fact: Christopher Daniel Barnes was only 16 when he voiced Eric.

[@erichfiedler1481]

And he would later voice Peter Parker in the 2nd best animated Spider-Man series, Spectacular Spider-Man is still the GOAT

[@tranatkikomi6873]

No wonder I got a sense of "he sounds young" as I got older and heard his voice.

[@Blankettaper80007]

He also played Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions (2010) and then he will play Spider-Man 2099 in Spider-Man Edge Of Time (2011)

[@PrinceYamiUchihaCosplay]

Wait really, I didn't know he was 16 when he voiced the character

[@kalevipoeg6916]

I absolutely always LOVED the expressions Ariel makes - her face and how she's animated, it wasn't just cute or beautiful but so....alive in a way animated characters just weren't before - and now I get why - those references are spot on!

[@tranatkikomi6873]

She legit feels like a teenager in her expressions. Like the frustrated hair puff.

[@holdencross5904]

So apparently the actresses and actors were making expressions as they recorded their lines.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: In the song "Part of Your World", Ariel asks what's a fire and why does it burn. It's ironic that shortly after singing this song, Ariel witnesses firsthand the terrible effects of fire when she sees the shipwreck and rescues Eric.

[@ryansalter2325]

The voice of Grimsby, Ben Wright, was also the voice of Roger in '101 Dalmatians' and Rama the wolf in 'The Jungle Book'. This was his final role before he died 4 months before the movie came out.

[@Backstabmacro]

Aw. I always find it sad when someone doesn’t live to see the thing they helped create come to be.

[@low-keydrama1260]

Ariel was obsessed with the surface world way before meeting the prince. As seen in Part of Your World. She wanted to be on the surface to explore and learn. Falling for the prince was just an added bonus that just increased her desire to be up there.

[@PaulW_ftPAULK]

Exactly, thank you.

[@erichfiedler1481]

Something certain mockbusters failed to understand

[@PhoenixRising87]

People forget that because it's easier to be a basic bitch and mock Disney Princesses.

[@katelynne7211]

I actually view the original Andersen’s story more as a moral tale than a romantic tragedy, it’s really emphasized that the little mermaid’s biggest desire is to become human to have an immortal soul, marrying the prince is the easy way out for her to achieve that, and the lessons are obviously to keep your faith, dreams can only be achieved through hard work and kindness will always be rewarded.

[@alexandersmith4731]

It's both really when you learn what Hans believed in and has been through, the context becomes more complex when you learn about it, it's more than a love story and a moral tale while also simultaneously being both, but that's just how I see some of his stories

[@leebulger7112]

​@@alexandersmith4731I heard that Hans Christian Andersen wrote the Little Mermaid after a man he had a crush on got married so it was partly inspired by his own experience.

[@alexandersmith4731]

@@leebulger7112 Yeah, it's believed that is part of his inspiration for the little mermaid but not completely, its also a note to remember that Hans is a deeply religious guy, he wants his little mermaid to have an Immortal soul and a place in heaven or in general the unending happiness without being bounded by a human (in this context, being romantically bounded he meant) or other creatures different from one self because to him that's too strict of a rule

[@manonvernon8646]

@@leebulger7112 This is interesting because The Little Mermaid seems to speak to a lot of gay men

[@alexandersmith4731]

@@manonvernon8646 Tbh if you want an even more gay context and sadder tone of his fairytales, The Snowman (who is in love with a stove) is more on the nose for that

[@LowellLucasJr.]

To the Nostalgia Critic and crew, I just want to thank you all for grabbing a great animator to share what one behind some of the designs and art of a Little Mermaid! I absolutely love the film, even though I'm a guy, but I am an artist who truly appreciate the work of art that went into this film! It truly is a Marvel!❤❤❤

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

I agree

[@fcv4616]

It doesn't matter if you're a guy. This film can appeal to anyone.

[@TCG9777]

​@@fcv4616 as a guy, I feel the same way

[@davidthomas2909]

Yes but could we do without the sick humor?

[@HyperShadow991]

the look on tritons face after she started crying after destroying her collection was a look of fatherly regret, he knew he needed to do it but seeing how much it hurt her would have hurt him the same as any good parent would have been

[@KeyleeTamirian]

"He knew he needed to do" Actually "He thought it was what he needed to do"

[@samkresil6011]

Ursula is my favorite character in the entire film. Whenever I revisit this film, its just so I can listen to her voice. Pat Caroll did a great job voicing the character. R.I.P.

[@tranatkikomi6873]

She ate up every second of her performance!

[@PhoenixRising87]

Ursula's my favorite female Disney villain. She's just fun; perfect mix of monster and diva.

[@DanGamingFan2846]

First, Yes, Phylo Barnhart returns! I love this bit. Second, Ah yes, the film that pulled Disney out of it's darkest era, and into a new age of greatness. There are just so many reasons to love this movie. The characters are all great, the animation and music are gorgeous, and the songs are next level Broadway style hits. "Part Of Your World" is just beautiful, "Under The Sea" is a massive bop, and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is still one of the best villain songs Disney has ever made.

[@jacksonteller3973]

Oliver and Company walked so Little Mermaid could run... er swim.

[@FF-tp7qs]

Nothing will ever beat Be Prepared for me

[@onemanarmy2electricboogalo687]

​@@jacksonteller3973 honestly i prefer oliver and company over little mermaid

[@jacksonteller3973]

@@onemanarmy2electricboogalo687 yeah same here.

[@onemanarmy2electricboogalo687]

@@jacksonteller3973 glad im not the only one who appreciates a gem when i see they see it

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: Originally, Sebastian was to have an English accent. It was lyricist/producer Howard Ashman who suggested he speak with a Caribbean accent. This opened the door to calypso-style numbers like "Under the Sea," which won the Academy Award.

[@shaheenahmad90]

And his name wad Clarence 😂

[@monsterhanna6691]

🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️

[@ryansalter2325]

To answer the question on the two shots switched near the end of Part of Your World on the 2013 Blu-ray disc, that was a technical glitch that was eventually fixed when Disney issued replacement discs that fixed the shots. It also fixed the scene transition from Ariel and Flounder escaping the shark to Skuttle on the rock, where it was originally supposed to fade into it, but was a quick cut on the Blu-ray.

[@Snatcher2047]

Hearing Slappy Squirrel as Ariel made my day.

[@ronaldeliascorderocalles]

Now this is a good review. Not only you make jokes about the little mistakes in the movie, but you also interview one of its original animators to make the praising of the great things in the movie more special

[@Logovanni]

Oh my god “the phallus on the palace” had me laughing my ass off. I don’t know if that was an oblique Court Jester reference or not, either way, it’s hilarious.

[@whitelioness87]

OMG YESS!!! Same here…I laughed my ass off with that delivery.

[@nicholewilde4750]

The little mermaid isn’t a complex, groundbreaking movie but the Disney company was injured at the time in both reputation and inspiration. When you are injured sometimes you need to return to your roots for some gentle recovery and as an adult, knowing more about how the company was doing at the time, I tend to think of the little mermaid as a period of healing for Disney.

[@JamesDavy2009]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the time prior, Disney films were being outperformed by those of one of its former animators: Don Bluth.

[@fcv4616]

It is groundbreaking

[@Goat81093]

I love how Ariel was sientificly structured to look like an anime girl

[@JamesDavy2009]

Disney and the anime genre went hand in hand in their histories. Some have said that Bambi inspired the anime eye designs (or was it Snow White?).

[@Sparrows1121]

Except that anime problem is they look too much the same, whereas Disney try to make them look different so you can tell them apart.

[@RogueT-Rex8468]

@@JamesDavy2009dragon ball z was inspired by Cinderella. Not joking. Look it up.

[@JamesDavy2009]

@@RogueT-Rex8468 Just the characters Bibidi, Babidi and Buu. Son Goku was the literal Japanese name of Sun Wukong from _Journey To The West_ with Bulma, Yamcha and Oolong also coming from there. Shenron came from _Nanso Satomi Hakkenden._ Goku's intimidating stare came from Bruce Lee in _Enter The Dragon._ The Cell saga was a practical retelling of _Terminator_ with Future Trunks playing the role of John Connor.

[@RogueT-Rex8468]

Oh I’m aware of theJTTW references throughout. Pretty point blank, but as a whole to dbz becoming a thing was he was inspired by Cinderella to get into drawing. The entire reason he became an artist was because of Cinderella. @@JamesDavy2009

[@johnnysparkle]

Executive Meddling: Jeffrey Katzenberg caused the animators and others working on the film quite a bit of grief. One memorable instance was his insistence that the whole "Part of Your World" sequence be excised from the film, saying that he found it "boring" and also because he saw a child drop a box of popcorn and then struggle to clean it up during that moment in a test screening, which Katzenberg interpreted that it was not holding up the children's attention. Animator Glen Keane eventually persuaded Katzenberg to let them test the film again with a more adult audience and that scene intact with the scene being placed in a different part of the movie, and the positive response convinced Katzenberg to leave it in. He admitted in a 2006 interview that the whole experience was "deeply embarrassing."

[@shaheenahmad90]

Which is pretty much why he's working at DreamWorks & flipping the bird by making Ruby Gillman

[@PandaMonium92827]

I know I'm socially inept but.....does he like have a basic understanding of people? I mean a kid trying to clean up his mess cause he dropped something doesn't mean the song is boring!! This was genx, he was probably going to get his ass handed to him if he didn't!

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

That’s a interesting piece of history

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Jarod-vg9wq Jeffrey Katzenberg also wanted the climax of the film to inspired by Die Hard.

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

​@@shaheenahmad90 I thought he left Dreamworks when he tried to make Quibi a thing?

[@HeisenbergFam]

These lads are the embodiment of "chaotic good" and I respect that

[@ActuallyZee]

you are everywhere, do you have an office worth of people commenting on the same account or something???

[@IamaPERSON]

@@ActuallyZee no, it’s just a comment bot

[@aronthedev3074]

Man you're really trying to ThatOneGuyWithoutAMustache comment your way to a checkmark aren't you?

[@IamaPERSON]

@@aronthedev3074 well it is a comment bot, so it’s not that surprising.

[@dylans.1741]

Pretty crazy to think that at the time of writing this, the majority of the original film's cast is deceased. It's down to Jodi Benson, CDB, the kid who voiced Flounder (I forgot his name), and Edie McClurg at this point

[@nicholasmaddocks7545]

20:06 she turns into human Ariel drowns And the movie's over First, that was hilarious Second, Yeah seriously. If flounder and Sebastian were not there, she would have certainly died.

[@VictorythroughUnity59]

I absolutely adore how absurd these NC Scripts can get with special guest stars and just how onboard those guests are to be portrayed as monsters or psychos. XD I'm glad they have such a blast!

[@dexterwillmon]

This is one of my favorite episodes. You’re keeping to your formula, while also getting an animator that can explain the “behind the scenes.” Brilliant. I can laugh, and learn. Not that you haven’t done that before, but this movie is HUGE.

[@markhouck7834]

I wish you could always have Philo in your videos. His stories are both fascinating and really well told.

[@ernovincze2900]

Editing Slappy Squirrel's dialogue over Ariel's scenes is one of the funniest things ever. :D

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Fun Fact: Before recording "Poor Unfortunate Souls," Pat Carroll asked Howard Ashman to sing the song one more time to get it right. He happily obliged. According to Carroll, he "put on the cloak" and she admits to stealing his body language and two or three adlibs from him ("Pathetic," "Idn't it," "You can't get something for nothing," and "No more talking, singing, zip-pah.")

[@Darkmage1293]

"The Phallus on the Palace, that was really there." - and after all these decades of waiting, hearing the truth is so satisfying.

[@stebsis]

27:38 this reminded me of this really good manga called Mermaid Princess' Guilty Meal, where a mermaid princess starts going to the surface to mourn her fish friends that've been fished and served as food. She ends up eating one of them at a restaurant and loves the taste so much she keeps going back constantly as her friends keep getting fished, convincing herself that it's to mourn them. It's framed in a humorous way but gets pretty dark.

[@otakuwannbe4387]

What the fuck!? 😂

[@tommyclulow8617]

The scene where Triton destroys Ariel's collection and the Statue really scares me even more than the scene where Cinderella's Stepsisters ruin Cinderella's pink dress

[@melindoranightsilver9298]

It was scary however he at least knew he fucked up after he calmed down. He felt guilty over doing it and may have apologised had Ariel not made her deal with Ursula. Compare that to Cinderella's step sisters/step mother who didn't care. They felt 0 remorse over their actions. Also keep in mind, that in the prequel we see why he has a distrust of humans. Additionally, in the sequel Ariel & Eric make similar mistakes with their daughter which causes Ariel go get turned back into a mermaid temporarily to find & save her.

[@RHYD_]

"The phallace on the palace" I nearly cracked a rib laughing at that!

[@AngryLittleAmericans]

As a Student of Animation who wants to truly master the craft, I love these reviews that brings in an actual Animator on these Animated Masterpieces. Its so fascinating to hear how Ariel was made, what goes into production and learning what I can do to make my animation dream a reality

[@acutelilmint8035]

Spotlight on the real talent!

[@babyblue_22]

"The phallus on the palace" is a terrific line lol 😅 25:00

[@MaztRPwn]

They really went all out making this movie and it definitely shows in the final product. Ariel’s always been one of my favorite Disney characters and hearing the story of how they created and animated her is really cool.

[@donjezza10]

Ursula actually had a lot of evolutions during production. She was originally meant to be more like the stereotypical witch and be very skinny and emaciated, and her fish half started out as things like a stingray and a scorpion fish. A bit later, they decided to make her more rotund so she would stand out from the other villains, going from a pufferfish and then to an octopus.

[@JamesDavy2009]

Fun fact: Ursula being part octopus bears a very close resemblance to a creature of Asian and Native American myth called the Cecaelia.

[@deltacharlieecho4732]

Holy shit, you got the actual Philo Barnhart for this. I'm glad I found your channel again a few months ago. Awesome to see how you've grown over the years since I started watching you in 2009.

[@ChannelAwesome]

Philo is the best! Thanks for stopping in again!

[@fyfyi6053]

@@ChannelAwesome Doug I'm not sure if this is you but, if it is, the comment that you made at 3:52 makes you come across as a Moe Run. Not saying you are one but it makes you come across as one. The problem is not the little mermaid, the problem is that they're race swapping every who-aight character. They're even doing it to actual historic figures like Cleopatra the queen of Egypt. And we both know why they do it. Just turn on the news. Or watch the oscars, or the golden globes, or listen to what every member of the blue party has to say about who-aight people. Doesn't take a genius.

[@JamesDavy2009]

@@fyfyi6053 I kind of get the logic behind '23 Ariel being darker in skin tone-humans and demi-humans can still get sunburn in the epipelagic/sunlight zone of the ocean. I also get why she was fair-skinned in the original-a Dane wrote the original story.

[@UrSammich]

This is the start of what true animation is and I want to say it's Ariel's design that helped modernize the "Disney Princess" look. If you think about it, all Disney Princesses ended up adopting bits of her look with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions.

[@Angelique24118]

I love her underwater hair physics

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Just want to take a moment to say Animators aren't paid enough and should get more money because what they do is so amazing and fantastic

[@daniellavaladez7820]

I second this

[@Bmanritchie]

Just like the writers - UNIONIZE! They bring the content - they earned THEIR increases. Record profits mean ‘enough to pay more.’

[@DarkEmissary617]

I'll say cgi is a lot of work and should be rewarded correct especially for saving the market for decades.

[@MrGetwellsoon]

Only Disney underpays its animators and treats them like dirt.

[@BahuschBahusch]

Yes! Absolutely!

[@MetaBro]

25:00 I love how defeated he looks. It's like "Yeah... I remember"

[@aarushiyadav7101]

Ariel is still one of the most beautiful animated characters. Strangely, I always found her to be the most relatable as a teen. Hats off to the designers and animators of the film, and of course Jodi Benson and Howard Ashman.

[@MrNukedDuck]

I am so happy Slappy Squirrel got the chance to shine in this review! It's too brilliant of a reference to not capitalize on!

[@zackrules4797]

Interesting Fact: Robin Williams and Dom DeLuise were originally considered for the role of Sebastian. But it was went to Samuel E. Wright. Plus, Dom did went back to Bluth Studios to voice Itchy in All Dogs Go to Heaven which came out in both the same year and day as this film.

[@ukhistorian]

I am so glad that happened. Robin is the Genie.

[@tranatkikomi6873]

I really cannot picture either of those two singing Under the Sea, great actors as they were, with the same life as Samuel E. Wright did. It just...doesn't feel right. There is always a role that was meant for a certain someone. Sebastian was 100% meant for Wright.

[@Vyndora]

Poor Unfortunate Souls is absolutely where it's at. Ariel is my favorite princess. It was the first movie I remember seeing in theathers and it was with my father, who passed a few years ago. I wore out the first VHS copy I had.

[@JamesDavy2009]

I was barely old enough to remember things when _The Little Mermaid_ was in cinemas and I definitely remember watching the _Part of Your World_ sequence at an old cinema in a city famous for its rum.

[@Vyndora]

@@JamesDavy2009, I love it! That whole day stands out to me because it was totally a father/daughter day. I got to hit up a comic shop, go to McDonald’s, and sit in a theater heavily skewed with 4 to 13 year old girls with my extremely “manly” father to see this movie before getting my first banana split ever. I was trying to sing those songs for days. Then the VHS was released and I believe I became the harbinger of painful insanity in an Ariel nightie singing quite badly. 😂

[@155chipmunkz]

I got the tape back in 1998. Yes, I still have it.

[@Vyndora]

@@155chipmunkz, I approve! Hard approve!

[@joeprovo3627]

I remember someone said that, in regards to Ariel's collection of "human stuff", Ariel only has the grotto in the first place because her father banned his subjects from interacting with anything relating to humanity. This ranges from collecting human things, to going to the surface world, and even interacting with humans (if you're part of the merfolk). So, with that restriction in place, Ariel is left to resort to dangerous extremes just to have her fix. The scene with the shipwreck and the shark is a prime example. Maybe Triton could've tried making Ariel an ambassador for Human/Merpeople relations and build an alliance that way. But, unfortunately, the sea king was to stuck in his ways to see things from a different perspective.

[@Alex_Kill_Joy]

Because Ariel feels so real her obsession with Eric actually makes sense because she is 16 and has this intense crush over this attractive guy she has never met. This happens in the real world all the time with teenagers who think they are in love (with their peer, friend, celebrity, influencer, etc...). Now do most teens go to a magic sea witch to make their true love fall for them? No. But most teens also aren't mermaid princesses (lol). I enjoyed the video! The little mermaid had always been special movie in my heart :)

[@englishatheart]

Ariel isn't "obsessed" with him, for goodness sake. Also, why do people forget that soulmates/love at first sight exists in the animated Disney-verse (Possibly in the real world, too, but love is quickly dying because of how pretentious and selfish everyone is now days)? She doesn't fall in love with a stranger, she falls in love with her soulmate. Their souls knew each other long before their physical bodies met.

[@snittykitty1]

Thanks for the laughs adding in Slappy Squirrel sound bytes, what a treat to see Sherri Stoner's footage too! Philo was a great guest, fascinating to hear about the hard work that was put into this film.

[@Omar-wq9dz]

Definitely an important movie in the Disney pantheon, since it helped start the Disney Renaissance

[@alexiaNBC]

As did the Great Mouse Detective

[@JStryker47]

And yet they're calling it "problematic" now, and calling you racist if you don't like the remake.

[@segevstormlord3713]

@@JStryker47 Yeah, but that's because the company has been taken over by scolds who couldn't write a good story given a great one to plagiarize. See: The Little Mermaid. I don't know if they knew their remake wasn't holding up just from the screenwriting stage, or if they just set out to rub bad product in people's faces, but it's clear from the way they shot the first trailers that, to the Disney executives, the story isn't the important part: it's scoring virtue signaling points by having a black actress play Ariel. Which is a shame, because if they'd just cast a black actress and not made a big deal about it, it might have gone largely unnoticed. Okay, no, it'd be noticed in today's day and age, but that's the fault of the ongoing culture war and the warriors pushing for everything to be blackwashed. Still, it'd be something they could shrug off and say, "No, we hired the best actress, and then built the cast around her." Nostalgia Critic cringes at the "black fish" when "she sings," but that wasn't race baiting; that was cultural reference. On the other hand, the live action Ariel's rendition of the song in the trailer features her deliberately going into "soul music" jazz improvisation - or at least something resembling it - rather than singing the song faithfully to the original. Which, at least with the filter of "oh, right, they're showing off how progressive they are by having a black Ariel," is just more pandering. I find that way, WAY more insulting than having a cultural reference; the whole point they lean on to say they're NOT tokenizing Ariel is that mermaids aren't human and can be any color. So the choice to emphasize cultural elements of "blackness" with her is deliberate, jarring, and puts the lie to their claims. Muppet Wizard of Oz and Hamilton are much more honest about what they're doing: they're using cultural elements that happen to include a stereotype of being associated with black people to celebrate those cultural elements by doing something traditionally not in that style in that style. It's like doing Romeo and Juliet in the style of a NYC gang war between Puerto Rican immigrants and home-grown Brooklynites. This bit of pandering is insulting to those to whom it's pandering, and _deliberately_ insulting to the fans of the original, telling them, "The original wasn't as progressive and enlightened, and so ours is better even if it's worse, and if you don't like it, you're a bad person. So LIKE IT. OR ELSE. Let us serve you crap and force you to pretend it's fillet mignon, peasants!"

[@JamesDavy2009]

@@segevstormlord3713 That's why I make it a point to NEVER watch the live action remakes. Once was enough with _Maleficent._

[@segevstormlord3713]

@@JamesDavy2009 Ugh. They utterly ruined her character. She's not supposed to be the misunderstood heroine! And worse, even if they wanted to keep the sympathetic backstory, it would've been so much more powerful if Stephen had done it _primarily_ to protect her (perhaps the soldiers were almost on top of them), and ... ugh. Not that I liked the "she used to have wings" element in teh first place, but that movie was a mess and even with the stupid plot they wanted to tell, it could've been done so much better if they'd made anybody but Maleficent act like characters rather than stupid or evil morons. Heck, earlier on, they should've shown little Maleficent casting a curse in anger, and the three fairies telling her why she must never do that without a carefully-considered escape clause, because curses, once cast, cannot be taken back. Instead, they have her awkwardly declare "this curse can never be undone!" during the baby-cursing scene. I don't know how to salvage the "she was really the woman who raised Aurora" part without undoing a major plot beat of the movie, but that was also really stupid. The whole point of the original was that she couldn't find her in all that time. The character assassination of not just King Stephan, but especially the three fairies, was just atrocious. I refused to see the sequel. And the worst part is, Maleficent is my favorite Disney villainess! I wanted that movie to be good so, so badly.

[@azazelgrigori9244]

With all the modern criticisms of this character, I'm seeing Ariel as a progressive step. Alongside that, she's really nothing different than what a teenager might be like. I mean, adolescence is a weird time period. You're bored of your environment, so you start taking an interest in someone else's. You become infatuated with members of the opposite gender. You're very vocal and expressive, but you're also uncomfortable and anxious. Ariel may not be what feminists wanted her to be like, but she's pretty normal for the age group she's in.

[@LilyZerep]

😌 Thank you! While Doug and other people are saying Ariel became obsessive and stalker like Eric, I'm here thinking "She's a teenager. Of course, she's going to act like that. Honestly, everyone has been like Ariel at one time. Having a crush on someone, secretly hoping you'd run into them, have them talk to you, sometimes be too shy to talk to them, feel anxious and eager and fantasizing little scenarios about you and your crush. I mean it's not like she actually went and killed Eric or kidnapped him taking him to her world 🙄🤦‍♀️

[@holdencross5904]

Now the modern one has NOOOO FLAWS!

[@englishatheart]

Opposite sex*

[@starrsmith3810]

@@LilyZerepshit she never came off as obsessed to me. Just a teenage girl who’s just gotten her first crush. Which she was.

[@jonnyboy4289]

I never had a problem with Ariel "being obsessive over Eric" because the "love at first sight" cliche is something I've seen many many times.

[@gorrow1990]

It's not amongst my favorite animated Disney movies, but I can definitely appreciate the impact it had for Disney and animation, and the castings of Ariel, Sebastian, and Ursula are flawless. Triton is also one of the better Disney parents. You get why he is acting the way he does towards Ariel and feels horrible when he realizes he drove her further away and ultimately made the situation much worse.

[@EvilCronos13]

Literally laughed out loud at the gym with the "I'm doing you" line!

[@almightycinder]

I've read before that Ariel not being blonde was because of Splash. Jeffrey Katzenberg told them they already made a blonde mermaid movie, so Ariel couldn't be blonde too.

[@danielscott5673]

during the scene of Ariel recovering her voice from ursula, the scene of grimsby's reaction also has the film's directing duo animated cameos: john musker and ron clements. the tall, white-haired one using lorgnette glasses is john. the short, brown-haired mustache one is ron.

[@LaBellesGrace]

I love that you got Philo a part of this discussing the animation creation!! This movie has such a strong and special place in my heart as Ariel was the exact reason I got into art: I drew her over and over again when I was five that eventually the adults noticed - for me at the time I didn't even think that art was my passion, just that I wanted to be Ariel so much. The special edition of the dvds that came with a bonus disc of all the behind the scenes I watched at a young age despite not fully understanding it. Because of it I had such a huge amount of love and respect towards 2D animation. I am not typically a fan of LA and haven't seen one in cinemas since Beauty and the Beast (insult to the creatives everywhere...), but I couldn't help myself yesterday and saw the LA. Ignoring all the pointless reasons why they wanted to "update the film", I thought it was good for what it was. Looking forward to eventually hearing your take on it!!

[@thesamuraihobbit]

I like Lindsay Ellis' view of the story, that it's not really about Ariel, it's about Triton learning to let his daughter forge her own path.

[@gabrielhersey5546]

Lindsay!❤️

[@CptnChan]

Based Lindsey

[@Gundamseeddabest]

Never thought I'd see her name anywhere near Critic's again lol

[@Tenjeen]

@@Gundamseeddabest Well she's the Nostalgia Chick after all. Did she have some kind of falling out with Doug?

[@thesamuraihobbit]

@@Tenjeen Google the Change the Channel/Not so Awesome controversy. It was pretty bad, to put it mildly.

[@JustAnotherPerson4U]

Wait... Ursula was meant to be Ariel's Aunt!? That would mean she's Triton's sister! Suddenly the bitterness towards Tritons makes a whole lot more sense now. And it actually would've kept with the trend of disney's animated villains being the aunts and uncles of the protagonists. A family member close enough to have a relationship with but not too close that it would be sad for the villain to lose.

[@iHeartsNostalgiaPit]

yeah they really should have fleshed that out, she mentions she lived in the palace but she never said why

[@PaulW_ftPAULK]

In the musical adaptation they suggest (pretty much say) that Ursula killed Ariel's mother, not humans.

[@SuperSongbird21]

Her royal heritage was also supposed to be how Ursula got her magic shell necklace - it was originally one of the royal treasures of Atlantica

[@iHeartsNostalgiaPit]

@@PaulW_ftPAULK well that would make alot more sense....I think

[@JStryker47]

One of the deleted scenes is an extended version of the "Fathoms Below" song, where the sailors talk about Triton and say, "He's got seven daughters and a witch of a sister named Ursula."

[@tekno647]

4:34 My God, the crossover I never knew I wanted: "Your seashells....give them to me!"

[@renciz1377]

NC: 1:00 "Oh my god, a puppy". Always makes me smile. ☺️

[@user-ok2lw9cc1z]

When The Little Mermaid came out my mother was stationed in Germany and she watched it constantly on VHS. She loved it so much that she named my middle name "Ariel."

[@monsterhanna6691]

Aww, that's so cute. 🥹🥹🥹💙💙💙

[@burningheart2909]

Ursula's "Poor Unfortunate Soul" solo was so friggin metal 🤘🐙

[@bartsimpson83]

The Little Mermaid was my second ever big screen experience and it blew my 6 year old mind. It's probably THE reason I fell in love with going to movie theaters to see things. For me, when the lights go down and the opening logo starts, it's like going to church. Even a bad movie can be made better just by seeing it that way.

[@JamesDavy2009]

"LIGHTS ARE DIMMIN'! LIGHTS ARE DIMMIN'!" -Fowlmouth

[@Samwise_Ass]

15:47 Never thought I'd see the day where Doug brings up the term Yandere! 😂

[@JamesDavy2009]

It somewhat applies to Ariel.

[@z2yn]

A yandere is someone who goes to extreme for her love, harming others and even the person she loves - best example for this Yuno Gasai, who's killing people who might harm or take her love away; and no matter what her love wants, she'll always be his and he's not allowed to have his own life. Ariel and many displays of romance in media are the fast-forward button pushed to get the plot over faster and not waste time over building a connection or more valid reasons for them to fall for each other

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

A Beautiful Fact: In the Norwegian dub, Ursula was voiced by Frøydis Armand and Sebastian was voiced by Helge Jordal. The two actors were married at the time and had one child.

[@FinallyImIn1]

I thought Anne Grete Preus (a Norwegian rock singer) was the voice of Ursula in the Norwegian dub?

[@FunFilmFare]

@24:08 Pretty sure this inspired the Talokani singing in "Wakanda Forever"

[@shaheenahmad90]

Also fun fact, when Walt Disney was trying to bring the movie to life back in the 40s, he hired a famous illustrator named Kay Nielson whose artwork inspired the storm sequence and you can either Google his work or purchase the Disney postcards

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

A Nice Fact: Pat Carroll realized a life-long ambition with this film. She had always wanted to voice a character in a Disney film and described the opportunity as "an answer to prayer."

[@renji90998]

Despite the criticism that the animated princesses are getting, we will still remember them a lot longer than the live action version.

[@jessicawurm23]

And so much of that criticism is outright lies to bolster up the idea of "we're more progressive than the past". Ariel doesn't just want the boy, Part of Your World is before she ever sees him. She just wants to experience human life and culture. But the live actions want to portray this image of "breaking the misogynistic past", so they lie and paint the movies that they can't even hold a candle to as something they're not.

[@ravenpoe585]

This is the film that made me fall in love with Disney movies as a kid. The songs, the visuals, the characters; absolute perfection. There's no denying this animated masterpiece will hold up for another 35 years, and then some.

[@lazytobi24]

I thought Ursula was based on the Drag Queen “Divine” but they were unable to get them to be their voice as they passed away.

[@holli_jeremy5278]

Cool that you got one of the original animators from The Little Mermaid! Amazing how much goes into animating the characters.

[@daniellavaladez7820]

An absolute classic film that pulled Disney out of its dark age and into a new age of success and one of my childhood favorites! Plus “Part of That World” is one of the most beautiful songs in the Disney canon and in all of animation. Philo Barnhart and the rest of the animators who worked on The Little Mermaid should be super proud of themselves. One of the all-time great animated classics. An enchanting masterpiece for sure.

[@silverdaleks1]

LOL I thought a Quentin Tarantino joke would be used for the famous Ariel toe wiggling scene rather then the scuttle trying to hear a heartbeat in foot scene.

[@ottohuybrechts3472]

17:48 anyway dinner's at 5 don't tell your mother and sisters about your report card an A-😂😂😂😂😂

[@vetarlittorf1807]

I am so sick of people saying that Eric is a bland character or that the romance was surface level. In fact, this movie has more emotional complexity than many give it credit for. Prince Eric is first introduced by the movie narrative as adventurous young man who despite his royal heritage is not above the “dirty work”: the audience is initially exposed to him helping other sailors on the ship as well as showing consideration and concern towards Grimsby in addition to being a good listener and quite an experienced storyteller informed about the subject he takes it upon himself to talk about hence the sailors discussing Triton and the sea with Eric while Grimsby sceptically brushes their theories off. Thoroughness, open mind and a down to earth attitude are established among Eric’s primary characteristics from the get go and not for the sake of forcibly and obnoxiously presenting him as a multi-dimensional morally/intellectually superior protagonist - in fact, he can hardly even be deemed as one seeing as the movie essentially revolves around Ariel and her struggles with inability to obtain independence and fulfill herself outside of a place she feels like she belongs whereas every other character, no matter how significant, plays a part of a supporting cast - but in order to showcase his interests thus, in so much as the first few minutes of the movie we already learn up on not only the hobbies Eric is intensely invested in but the extent of his love for the sea, conflicted relationship with his guardian figure (Grimsby) and are provided with a raw sketch of his mindset and the lens through which he observes the world. All of it could have easily been left out seeing as Eric’s individual emotional investments are not particularly related to Ariel’s story, but those aspects are outlined regardless because Eric isn’t merely a love interest of a fiery red head: he has a personality, a character of his own. Next time Eric comes off as “the guy with a flute”, it being the immediate impression he gives off once Ariel first sees him, confronted with not so much his mesmerizing attractiveness as the way his eyes lit up when he produced music for his own pleasure (poignantly, the same exact way Ariel preferred to go about her musical skills: away from the crowds or pretentious grand celebrations, using a melody for self expression. It’s hardly a coincidence that Melody ended up being a name of her and Eric’s daughter) or when he played with his dog or when he was clearly not impressed with the unspectacular present - the statue - by Grimsby but tried to the best of his ability to not show a glimpse of annoyance, repressing an insuperable desire to have a good laugh at the ridiculousness of said present. Eric, however, was thankful for the attention and love coming from Grimsby regardless of how inexplicably insufficient and misinterpreted the latter’s perception of Eric generally was, which is rather unfortunate given that Grimsby played some sort of a father figure role to him while being entirely unable to get the grasp of how the young man’s mind functioned. Which brings us to another point: according to all the evidence Eric’s parents are most likely dead, considering they didn’t show up on either of his weddings - the fake one with Vanessa and the real one with Ariel - nor were they around when Melody was born whereas Ariel’s entire family came to take a look at the baby. Admittedly, being left in charge of no one other than Grimsby who hardly understood what Eric essentially was about, and having to prepare himself to be a future effective ruler of the Kingdom Eric did a remarkable job maintaining diplomacy, dignity and compassion rather than coming to be spoiled and self entitled due to the lack of parental guidance as well as the luxuries that came together with being born into royalty. Eric is the epitome of a person who built one self up independently, firmly standing his ground confronting the standards imposed on him that he was unwilling to conform to - such as being forced into getting married before determining whether there was a right woman (“the one” as Eric referred to a person he hadn’t yet been lucky enough to meet and want to spend the rest of his life with, not settling for any less) among his suitors for the sake of fitting into a certain ideal of a proper prince. His attitude of a dreamer was a part of his established characterization but he was also exceptionally analytical about his concepts of romance. Having survived a horrific incident Eric sincerely believed he had found true love and his ideology of a dreamer took a strong grab at his outlooks on relationship seeing as he was set out to find a girl with the gorgeous voice at any cost due to said voice being quite literally the only connection to his rescuer. As some people mistakenly imply, Eric did not fall in love with a voice, in fact, at that point his feelings were all over the place and not exactly what stands for actual love, a mature fully formed feeling. Being drawn to the idea of a girl who saved him Eric - genuinely and irreversibly - projects his certitude regarding her being “the one” onto the only representation of her he had been left with so far - her voice. And subsequently his idealistic but slightly immature romantic notions backfire with a cunning irony once he meets a girl who has everything a man can dream of but lacks what he seeks out the most. A beautiful stranger doesn’t talk therefore cannot be “the one” nor would she ever - as he firmly believes - pass for “the one” hence why Ariel’s beauty is essentially irrelevant to Eric. His one and only goal concerning relationship at that point revolves around finding that person he believes to be one in the whole world who is right for him. Not only doesn’t he fall for Ariel’s looks but is entirely indifferent to said looks due to thinking that woman is not the one he needs (frankly, the assumption about Eric being easily smitten with visual appeal is extensively incorrect considering the fact that, due to his royal status, chances quite a few attractive female suitors were eager to have his hand only to be rejected because Eric at one point explicitly stated he wasn’t interested in superficial relationship and was waiting for the right person). Which doesn’t mean Eric is immune to primordial instincts and cannot appreciate physical attractiveness - he does, in fact, acknowledge Ariel’s captivating outer exterior once she dresses up for a dinner but it isn’t until she makes him laugh for the first time in few days by being her overly excited, imaginative and adorably dorky self that he starts taking a more insightful look into her and is willing to take her on a Kingdom tour - while still not being ready to open up to her or let the endearing mysterious girl into his life due to being committed to his unrealistic ideal. Next day Eric spends actual time with Ariel who proceeds to behave excessive and enthusiastic, never failing to amaze him. She is more invested in exploring various layers of the city life rather than paying a consistent attention to him (but… but Ariel totally “left her family behind to be with a man” and had no other agenda, right? Right?!), however, Eric is perfectly content with dedicating time and effort into making her feel happy and content, not being put off by her overflowing craziness in the slightest, but getting more and more intrigued by the unusual, eccentric nature of his accomplice - to the point of becoming largely conflicted hence the boat scene where Eric wants to get to know Ariel while still being unsure of his own feelings and pulling away when she tries to initiate a kiss - because yes, he still takes relationship incredibly seriously and is unwilling to allow himself so much as an innocent romantic interaction without being fully confident that this person is truly the one for him. He challenges himself and his initially established concepts of idealistic romance, gradually deviating from a strong commitment to an image of a girl with a sing song-ish voice he had created in his mind in favor of opening the door into the possibility of forming a bond with a real person regardless of this blooming relationship being enormously confusing, awkward and opposing to everything he had led himself to believe in before. He was GROWING out of exaggerations and teenage angst and exposing himself to a new perspective of building a mature relationship. The segment with him throwing a flute into the ocean is the ultimate representation of his character development. Eric’s love for Ariel was powerful in both dimensions: back when he was an avid dreamer with a controversial concept of romance who invested considerable amounts of emotional energy into the idea of “the one” and when he was no longer a happy go lucky kid indulging in his dreams but a man willing to fight for a person he loves both in a figurative (choosing the real Ariel over the romanticized ideal) and literal sense (once slipping out of the hypnosis Ursula had inflicted him with all of his thoughts and actions were inevitably and directly related to Ariel, to making her feel loved, to instantly accepting the immensely shocking fact of her being a mermaid and to throwing himself into the waves where he couldn’t even breathe at risk of getting killed in order to make sure she doesn’t remain subjected to her captor) - and in neither of those cases was Eric drawn to Ariel’s looks. Prince Eric is the kind of character to represent self awareness, intelligence, ability to respond to emotional challenges rather than cowardly running away from them and giving all of himself to his nearest and dearest and his story contains more than enough of an evidence to back it up.

[@BrcRosa]

Yes! THANK YOU. They develop the characters really well with little screen time needed.

[@patrickhayden7206]

Eric was royalty trying to bang an obsessed, stalker 16 year old that he was under the impression he'd never have to hear complaints from, or tedious conversations.

[@cartoonmaster2401]

You forgot to say "Thank you for coming to my TedTalk."

[@disneyfan94themuppetsforev95]

Eric even says "I lost her once I'm not going to lose her again" as he's rowing into the sea to save Ariel from Ursula

[@patrickhayden7206]

Again...The royal sailor was chasing a white whale-pun intended. One is an obsessed stalker teen throwing herself at the object of obsession she literally has a shrine of to break a supernatural contract within 3 days-the other is a sailor with the horn who can take advantage of her abundant advances and believes he'll never have to hear her speak. Sebastian never had to convince Eric to want her physically, only to "kiss the girl" to nullify said contract&put them both on equal footing. A lot to unpack from watching it as a child& watching it as an adult.