I'll swop Ariel! (The Little Mermaid [1990] (DVD))

Name: scuba_angel

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Product:	The Little Mermaid [1990] (DVD)
Date:	14/06/07 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: too many to mention

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At just 4 years old I first saw a film that has pretty much shaped the rest of my life, it was this The Little Mermaid, it was one of the first films I remember and as my Mum reminds me even now I declared at the end of it that I wanted to be a mermaid, a declaration I am still making even now 18 years later (although I am as close as I'm going to get I suspect).

So how exactly did this story of the stubborn mermaid Princess capture my imagination? I suspect it is the Disney magic, a combination of the bright colours, lively fish, catchy songs and of course a glimpse in to a world that Disney has revisited not so long ago with another of my favourite films (Finding Nemo).

Of course an 18 year old animation doesnt have the slick graphics of modern cartoon films, but a large part of its charm is in the odd unnatural movements, out of sync sound and slightly dated appearance. So back to the film..

Ariel, King Tritons youngest daughter is due to preform her first public concert alongside her six sisters (can you imagine 6 sisters!?!) But at the critical moment she is absent, exploring instead shipwrecks with her friend Flounder.

She has an interest in the world above the waves and is seeking new and curious trinkets to 'expand' her knowledge of that world so very different from her own, sadly for her the only one who can name her trinkets is Scuttle the seagull who has no idea what things are nor their uses but does his best to identify them (a dinglehopper for straightening hair - really a fork, or even a snarfblatt for making music - a smokers pipe). But after missing the concert her father is not only angry about the concert but that she has been to the SURFACE!!!!

After this incident Sebastian gets lumbered with the task of supervising her at all times, he follows her to her secret stash of human stuff Ariel begs him not to tell her father - a favourite quote of mine 'Ariel you are under so much pressure here' (Yes i know means almost nothing but amuses me none the less).

She sees the handsome human Prince Eric on his ship at his birthday celebrations, he is given a gift of a statue of himself. Which in the ensuing storm gets lost along with the ship, despite that she knows it is dangerous to do so Ariel takes the rather soggy Prince ashore after the ship has been wrecked, staying with him long enough to be sure he has survived, but in doing so she is risking the humans knowing about the merpeople.

Eric however has seen her and through his slightly addled state remembers little about her except her voice. As she watches Eric from on a rock the evil seahag Ursula see's and begins to plot Ariels downfall.

When offered the option by Ursula she chooses to give up her voice to get legs for three days in an attempt to win the love of Prince Eric, of course in true Disney tradition the enchantment can be broken by true loves kiss.

Found on the beach by Eric and Max, he doesnt at first recognise her without her voice but being the out and out good guy he is, then he takes her home to the Palace to be cared for.

At dinner she amuses Eric by trying to play the snarfblatt Grimsby has lit. As her time on the shore gets shorter her friends begin to plot ways that they can get Eric to kiss her. One of the slower and less memorable songs is Kiss the Girl sung by Sebastian at this point and for me is a low point in the film.

Following this is the section of the film I tend to forget about, Usula knowing that Eric only really remembers Ariel's voice uses it to try and con him in to marrying her instead (disguised as Vanessa). But of course this is Disney and theres no way that the happy ending will be stopped by this intervention.

Oh dear this DVD just told me theres a Little Mermaid 3, why did I not already know this? Why has no one told me? Am very annoyed at now, I must find out about this! Sorry back to the review.

I have the 2 disc special edition so it has many extra features on the second disc as well as the film having been restored so the colours are brighter but also many of the errors in colour have been corrected from the original (try watching it on VHS as spot the differences). There are games to be found on this as well as on The Little Mermaid 2, deleted scenes (some help to explain Ursula's motivation other than being plain evil), a virtual ride which was planned but never built, a DisneyPedia section where they show the real life animals shown in the film, a making of featurette, a sneak peak at the Little Mermaid 3 (IMDB tells me its not due for release until 2008 - how can I be expected to wait so long??). Of course this having a whole separate disc of extras there are alot more to explore but if I describe them all then you'll get bored - if you arent already!

The film is longer than the sequel at 89 minutes long, but still not so long that younger children will lose interest. It is also rated U. If you have never seen this film then why not?? It is well worth taking 90 minutes of your life to give it a try.

Summary: A classic Disney film.