The Little Mermaid (Disney)

The Little Mermaid (Disney)

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid tells the story of a beautiful mermaid who dreams of becoming human. Written, directed, and produced by Ron Clements and John Musker, with music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the film features the voices Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Buddy Hacket, and Rene Auberjonois.

The 28th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, The Little Mermaid was released to theaters on November 14, 1989 to largely positive reviews, garnering $84 million at the box office during its initial release, and $211 million in total lifetime gross.

After the success of the 1988 Disney/Amblin film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid is given credit for breathing life back into the art of Disney animated feature films after a string of critical or commercial failures produced by Disney that dated back to the early 1970s. It also marked the start of the era known as the Disney Renaissance.

A stage adaptation of the film with a book by Doug Wright and additional songs by Alan Menken and new lyricist Glenn Slater opened in Denver in July 2007 and began performances on Broadway January 10, 2008.