DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID [1989]

Hey there I am back with another movie blog entry! This time we are going “UNDER THE SEA” as we take a look at the original animated 1989 classic “THE LITTLE MERMAID”

Here is a little bit of information about song CO-WRITER HOWARD ASHMAN’S [1950-1991] involvement with this film:

Although he was initially hired just to co-write the songs alongside composing partner ALAN MENKEN, HOWARD ASHMAN became a CO-PRODUCER and CO-WRITER on the film, introducing much of its elements of romanticism and camp. At least three key scenes in their entirety have been credited to him: The scene where “SEBASTIAN” takes pity on “ARIEL” and decides to help her rather than report her, a scene with him 'tutoring' her on the art of flirting, and the dialogue between him and “KING TRITON” at the end where the king decides to set her free to become the human she's always dreamed of.

[ASHMAN]

Originally, “SEBASTIAN” was to have a british accent and a “stuffy” personality. It was ASHMAN who suggested he speak with a CARIBBEAN accent. This opened the door to CALYPSO-STYLE numbers like "UNDER THE SEA", which won an ACADEMY AWARD for “BEST ORIGINAL SONG”. His name was also originally going to be “CLARENCE”!

Did you know that the song “PART OF YOUR WORLD” started a DISNEY musical tradition?

ARIEL’S rendition of "PART OF YOUR WORLD" set a precedent for subsequent DISNEY animated musicals where the protagonist would vocalize his or her desires early in the film. The song was referred to by ASHMAN as "THE I WANT SONG". See also "BELLE" in “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” [1991], "ONE JUMP AHEAD" in “ALADDIN” [1992], "I JUST CAN’T WAIT TO BE KING" in “THE LION KING” [1994], "JUST AROUND THE RIVERBEND" in “POCAHONTAS” [1995], "OUT THERE" in “THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME” [1996], "GO THE DISTANCE" in “HERCULES” [1997], "REFLECTION" in “MULAN” [1998], "STRANGERS LIKE ME" in “TARZAN” [1999], "I’M STILL HERE" in “TREASURE PLANET” [2002], "ALMOST THERE" in “THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG” [2009], "WHEN WILL MY LIFE BEGIN?" in “TANGLED” [2010], "FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER" in “FROZEN” [2013] and "HOW FAR I’LL GO" in “MOANA” [2016].

And speaking of that song:

Did you know that “PART OF YOUR WORLD” was almost cut from the film?

The song was nearly cut because the then Chairman of THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS JEFFREY KATZENBERG felt that it was "boring," as well as being too far over the heads of the children for whom it was intended. At a test screening children were restless during the song which did not have finished animation - in particular one child that sat in front of KATZENBERG and spilled his popcorn and was more interested in picking it up than watching the sequence. ASHMAN along with Directors and Producers JOHN MUSKER and RON CLEMENTS all pleaded their case and begged KATZENBERG to let the song stay to no avail. Ultimately, the one who managed to convince him to give it a second chance was the animator of the sequence, GLEN KEANE. Another screening was set up, this time with an adult audience. It was a greater success (even reportedly moving some members to tears) and so the song was left in the film. KATZENBERG later said that he was happy no one listened to him because he couldn't imagine the film without the song.

[KATZENBERG]

[KEANE working on a drawing of “THE BEAST” from “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” - 1991.]

Do you know about the hidden “MUPPET” and DISNEY character cameos?

In the opening scene when King Triton arrives at the arena, “MICKEY MOUSE”, “GOOFY”, “DONALD DUCK” and “KERMIT THE FROG” can be briefly seen in the crowd of sea-people as mermen when he passes over them.

[Look at where the arrow is pointing!]

[From top to bottom: “GOOFY”, “DONALD DUCK” and “MICKEY MOUSE”.

Do you know exactly what mythical species “URSULA” is?

Many merfolk appear in the film, but Ursula is a lesser-known type of mythological creature known as a CECAELIA: A creature that has a human upper body and an octopus lower body.

Did you know that another studio animated all of the bubbles for the film?

Disney estimated that around a million bubbles appear in The Little Mermaid. At the time, the company had limited resources, so to help them cope with this, the bubbles were done by Chinese animation studio called PACIFIC RIM PRODUCTIONS [not to be confused with the “PACIFIC RIM” movie/T.V. franchise - 2013-present - in case anyone made that assumption].

Every single bubble in the film is completely unique, and drawn by hand.

Next time you’re watching, please pay attention to those bubbles, because people worked very hard on them!

[Notice all of the bubbles in this screenshot.]

Did you know that a “DISNEY LEGEND” also starred in this movie?

The voice of “GRIMSBY”, “PRINCE ERIC’S” devoted steward, was provided by British actor and radio star BEN WRIGHT [1915-1989]. WRIGHT, a veteran of WWII, was an expert in accents and provided a wide range of voices on US radio, including “SHERLOCK HOLMES” [“THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES” and other “SHERLOCK HOLMES” titles from around this time - 1939-1950] and “SINBAD THE SAILOR” [for the 1947-1954 series “ESCAPE”]. He was also renowned for playing the Nazi “HERR ZELLER” in “RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S THE SOUND OF MUSIC” in 1965.

Wright had previously voiced two other DISNEY characters: “ROGER” in “101 DALMATIANS” [1961] and “RAMA” in “THE JUNGLE BOOK” [1967]. Despite this, he was reportedly not recognized as a “DISNEY LEGEND” by “THE LITTLE MERMAID” creators, who only made the connection after he was hired. WRIGHT passed away after heart surgery in 1989, four months before “THE LITTLE MERMAID” was released.

[WRIGHT]

Just like “FROZEN” [2013] “THE LITTLE MERMAID” was also in production limbo for a very long time.

"The Little Mermaid" had been a Disney property since 1941. WALT DISNEY planned to include the much darker HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN version of the tale in a planned anthology film of the fantasy author's works. After a bitter strike by the animators that same year and the increasing focus on WORLD WAR 2 wartime propaganda shorts, the initial version of this film was shelved in 1943.

It would remain shelved until CLEMENTS approached the idea sometime in the ‘80’s. DISNEY was working on a sequel to the popular live-action mermaid comedy "SPLASH" (1984) when CLEMENTS pitched "THE LITTLE MERMAID." CLEMENTS told YAHOO in 2016 that THEN-DISNEY Execs KATZENBERG and MICHAEL EISNER temporarily nixed his idea because they thought doing two mermaid movies would be too much. But they later returned to "THE LITTLE MERMAID" when they realized it was "a fairy tale [DISNEY] hadn't done."

When the film entered active production, the staff chanced upon the original story and visual development done at the studio back in the 1930s. Many of the changes made by the staff back then to ANDERSEN’S original story were coincidentally the same as the ones that the Disney writers were making in the 1980s.

[A statue of ANDERSEN in ODENSE, DENMARK.]

[EISNER]

One of the original DISNEY artists, a man named KAY NIELSEN [1886-1957] had even made some concept art that made it into the ‘89 film version.

NIELSEN was born in COPENHAGEN, DENMARK. In 1939 NIELSEN left for CALIFORNIA and worked for a couple of HOLLYWOOD companies. A personal recommendation from Artist, Writer and DISNEY LEGEND JOE GRANT [1908-2005] to WALT secured NIELSEN a job with THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, where his work was used in “THE NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN/AVA MARIA SEQUENCES OF FANTASIA”[1940]. NIELSEN was renowned at THE DISNEY STUDIO for his concept art and he contributed a lot of artwork for many DISNEY films, including concept paintings for a proposed adaptation of ANDERSEN’S “THE LITTLE MERMAID”. The adaptation was to be part of a package film containing various segments based on ANDERSEN’S fairy tales. The ‘89 film was made over 50 years after his involvement with DISNEY. Nielsen worked for THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY for 4 years, from 1937 to 1941 before being let go as his work was seen as too dark. He was brought back briefly in the 1950s for “SLEEPING BEAUTY” [1959].

[A Concept Drawing by NIELSEN for “THE LITTLE MERMAID” - 1941.]

[NIELSEN]

Did you know that this movie was a major first for DISNEY?

In a then-atypical and controversial move for a new DISNEY animated film, “THE LITTLE MERMAID” was released as part of “THE WALT DISNEY CLASSICS COLLECTION” line of VHS, LaserDisc, Betamax and Video 8 home media releases on May 18, 1990, six months after the release of the film. Before “THE LITTLE MERMAID”, only a select number of DISNEY’S catalog animated films had been released to home media, as the company was afraid of upsetting its profitable practice of theatrically reissuing each film every few years. “THE LITTLE MERMAID” became that year's top-selling title on home video, with over 10 million units sold (including 7 million in its first month) and 13 million units by OCTOBER 1993. The home video release, along with box office and merchandise sales, contributed to “THE LITTLE MERMAID” generating a total revenue of $1 billion. This success led to future DISNEY animated films being released on home video soon after the end of their theatrical runs, rather than delayed for several years, making “THE LITTLE MERMAID” the first DISNEY animated feature to be released on home video 1 year after its theatrical release.

[The original VHS cover.]

Controversy arose regarding the artwork for the film's original VHS release when consumers noticed an oddly shaped structure on the castle, closely resembling a certain human male body part. DISNEY and the cover designer insist it was an accident, resulting from a late-night rush job to finish the cover artwork. The object does not appear on the cover of the second release of the film. Another allegation is that “THE CLERGYMAN” presiding over the wedding between “ERIC” and “URSULA” (the latter disguised as “VANESSA”) is seen to have an erection. The object in question is actually the short, stubby-legged man's knee. The combined incidents led an ARKANSAS woman to file suit against THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY in 1995, though she dropped the suit two months later.

[There’s the VHS cover controversy!]

[The wedding scene controversy with the “edited version” in a split-screen comparison with the VHS cover because this was the only image that I could find!]

Did you know that “THE LITTLE MERMAID STATUE” makes a cameo appearance in the film?

[The statue in COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.]

the small and unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since its unveiling in 1913. In recent decades it has become a popular target for defacement by vandals and political activists.

MERMAID is among iconic statues that symbolize cities; others include: The statue of PANIA OF THE REEF in NAPIER, MANNEKEN PIS in BRUSSELS, THE STATUE OF LIBERTY in NEW YORK CITY and CHRIST THE REDEEMER in RIO DE JANEIRO.

The statue was commissioned in 1909 by CARL JACOBSEN, son of the founder of CARLSBERG, who had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale in COPENHAGEN’S ROYAL THEATRE and asked the ballerina, ELLEN PRICE, to model for the statue. The sculptor EDVARD ERIKSEN created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on August 23, 1913. The statue's head was modelled after PRICE, but as the ballerina did not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor's wife, ELINE ERIKSEN, was used for the body.

[This is the only image that I could properly download! I could not get it without the text underneath. For anyone who is curious it says “THE LITTLE MERMAID [1989]: One of the last scenes in “THE LITTLE MERMAID”, when “ARIEL” is watching over “ERIC” after he had washed on shore is based on “THE LITTLE MERMAID” sculpture located in COPENHAGEN, DENMARK. The sculpture was commissioned in 1909, sculpted by EDVARD ERIKSEN, modeled by Prima Ballerina ELLEN PRICE and ELINE ERIKSEN, and completed in 1913.” It is basically the same thing that I just told you!]

Did you know that “ARIEL” has met ANDERSEN at one point in “THE DISNEY CANNON”?

Chances are that you have heard of “THE LITTLE MERMAID” T.V. series that aired from 1992-1994. There is an episode where “ARIEL” rescued the famous author from his damaged submarine. The episode is called “METAL FISH”. This has nothing to do with the movie. This is just something that I have always found to be very interesting!

[From left to right: “HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN” - voiced by MARK HAMILL -, “FLOUNDER” and “ARIEL”.]

Here is some information about our beloved “LITTLE MERMAID”:

“ARIEL’S” body type and personality were based on Actress ALYSSA MILANO. The effect of her hair underwater was based on footage of astronaut SALLY RIDE [1951-2012] in weightless conditions.

During a 2013 appearance on WENDY WILLIAMS’ talk show, MILANO told the host that KEANE, the Lead Animator of the character, created “ARIEL” in her likeness.

He used photos of the actress from when she was younger to perfect “ARIEL’S” facial features, but MILANO said she didn't know she was the inspiration behind the character until the company asked her to host "THE MAKING OF THE LITTLE MERMAID" [1989] T.V. special.

[MILANO when she was younger.]

[RIDE]

SALLY RIDE became the first American woman to launch into space on June 18, 1983 on the space shuttle Challenger.

Some more inspiration for “ARIEL” would come from KEANE’S wife, LINDA HESSELROTH. DISNEY also brought in actress and writer SHERRI STONER, who would swim in a tank so animators could recreate her movements and mannerisms.

[STONER acting out a scene from the movie.]

(VANESSA LAINE BRYANT, KOBE BRYANT [1978-2020], HESSELROTH, and KEANE on the red carpet of the 90th Annual Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theater on Sunday March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. I could not find a shot of HESSELROTH by herself.]

Did you know that “ARIEL” was originally going to have blonde hair?

KEANE had something to say about the decision to change the color “ARIEL’S” hair. KEANE: [The Directors] wanted “ARIEL” to have this fiery personality. Originally she was blonde, but we switched to redhead. One of the executives was saying “Mermaids have blonde hair, I mean look at [DARYL HANNAH’S blonde hair in] “SPLASH.” I said “Well, yeah, but there’s no such thing as a mermaid anyway, so they could have purple hair, they could be anything.” I always think the hair of a character reflects something going on inside that character in the arc of the story. “ARIEL’S” hair is a constant reminder of her fiery personality.

[HANNAH along with her Co-star TOM HANKS from “SPLASH”.]

[Here is a little bit of concept art with a “BLONDE ARIEL”!]

Before the movie came out, TYCO TOY MANUFACTURING COMPANY (later acquired by MATTEL) had some very specific complaints about “ARIEL’S” new ‘do. here is what CLEMENTS had to say about the issue.

Clements: [THE TYCO COMPANY was] horrified and they said that their toy research confirmed that redheaded dolls didn’t sell. We said “Well, she’s gonna be a redhead, sorry,” but they were so panicked that the very first “ARIEL” dolls that were on the market at the time when the movie came out in ‘89, she was not a redhead. She had strawberry blonde hair. They actually had to remake those dolls because little girls wanted her to have the same hair color she had in the movie.

[An image of the original “STRAWBERRY BLONDE ARIEL” doll.]

And let’s not forget about “ARIEL’S” voice actress, JODI BENSON!

[BENSON and all of the characters that she has voiced over the years!]

Did you know that BENSON got the part because of ASHMAN?

Here is what BENSON said about the audition - BENSON: “HOWARD was so kind that when [the BROADWAY musical] “SMILE” tragically closed so quickly and we were all out of a job, it was nice [of HOWARD] to invite us” [the female cast members] “to audition for “THE LITTLE MERMAID,” she shared about the experience of auditioning for DISNEY. “I just came up with a voice. I went to the ladies room, where all great things can happen, in the restroom, go figure… I made sure no one was in there with me and I looked in the mirror and read some of the lines and came up with something that I thought sounded like a sixteen-year-old.” A year went by and she completely forgot about the audition when her agent called to tell her she booked the part. “Needless to say, [it was] a huge blessing and a big surprise.” The memory of the audition is a little hazy, but she believes she was given a piece of “Part of Your World” to sing. “I don’t remember if I just sang it acapella… I don’t remember singing the whole song for some reason, but it’s not like I had an accompaniment track or anything… That was the original audition and it was just incredible.”

Did you know that BENSON has a brief cameo appearance in the 2023 live-action remake?

Benson appears onscreen when “ARIEL” [HALLE BAILEY] is exploring the island together with “ERIC” [JONAH HAUER-KING], on her second day of being human. While the prince leaves the carriage to help move some goats off the road, “ARIEL” follows the sound of music and happens upon a market—where everything she sees is understandably a source of wonder and amazement for her.

Between eating a flower and looking at some hats, “ARIEL” hears one of the market vendors offering her some of the island’s typical food. When the camera moves to said vendor’s face, we can see that it’s none other than BENSON, who then proceeds to offer “ARIEL” a tool that should help her with eating the food she has just been handed. Of course, forks aren’t something that “ARIEL” is familiar with—but “DINGLEHOPPERS” are, and our little mermaid proceeds to twist her hair with it just as “SCUTTLE” [voiced by AWKWAFINA] taught her. Considering how the “DINGLEHOPPER” is one of the objects that is immediately associated with “THE LITTLE MERMAID”, it was very nice to see 1989 “ARIEL” hand it over to her 2023 incarnation—a sort of thematically spot-on passing of the baton.

[BENSON with a “DINGLEHOPPER” in the remake.]

[BENSON sharing the “DINGLEHOPPER” with BAILEY!]

BENSON also has some fond memories of her time recording the song “PART OF YOUR WORLD”!

One of her strongest memories from the recording process on the film was recording “Part of Your World” with ASHMAN. “Recording ‘Part of Your World’ with HOWARD ASHMAN right next to me. That’s very vivid,” she shared about her strong memories of the recording session. “In fact, when I sing the song, I think of that.” She shared that he came into the booth and lowered the lights and talked her into the right mood to get the emotion just right. “I have wonderful, magical memories about recording that song.”

[BENSON and ASHMAN recording “PART OF YOUR WORLD”. You all know how it goes by now: Not the best quality, sorry!]

Did you know that there was one shot of the “PART OF YOUR WORLD” sequence that keane used to hate?

KEANE 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.

The shot of “ARIEL” reaching out through the skylight of her GROTTO at the end of "PART OF YOUR WORLD" was the last shot to be completed. It took four tries to get the optical effects just right.

Now let’s learn some more about our favorite “SEA WITCH!”

Did you know that “URSULA” got some inspiration from ASHMAN?

Before recording "POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS," PAT CARROLL [ 1927-2022 - the voice of “URSULA”] asked 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.")

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."

Do you know who the Animators also got the inspiration for “URSULA” from?

It’s always fun to learn where DISNEY Animators find their inspiration. Sometimes it comes from the most unexpected of places. That’s certainly the case when it comes to “URSULA”. Much of her look was patterned after the appearance of the former DRAG QUEEN Performer known as DIVINE, real name HARRIS GLENN MILSTEAD [1945-1988], best known for working with Filmmaker JOHN WATERS in features like “PINK FLAMINGOS” [1972-not for children!], “POLYESTER” [1981] and the 1988 musical “HAIRSPRAY”. Sadly, MILSTEAD passed away in March of 1988, more than a year before “THE LITTLE MERMAID’S” release, meaning he never got to see the character he inspired.

[A split-screen comparison of “URSULA” - with one of her eel henchmen and DIVINE.]

Divine wasn’t the only inspiration for the look and mannerisms of “URSULA”. “NORMA DESMOND” (portrayed by GLORIA SWANSON - 1899-1983), the antagonist of BILLY WILDER’S 1950 masterpiece “SUNSET BOULEVARD” played a role in shaping the character’s physical gestures.

[SWANSON]

But early sketches of “URSULA” were also based on “DYNASTY” star JOAN COLLINS. As with most animated characters, it took a few tries to nail the perfect “URSULA” look. The design based on DIVINE’S appearance better suited the film.

[COLLINS]

Did you know COLLINS wasn’t just inspiration?

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than CARROLL voicing the charismatic villain, but DISNEY bosses initially approached several other Hollywood stars. ASHMAN envisioned “URSULA” as someone who was more akin to a “JOAN COLLINS-STYLE” character from one of the actress’s big US soaps. DISNEY got as far as approaching COLLINS herself, only to be turned down by her agent. Other actresses, including “THE GOLDEN GIRLS’” BEA ARTHUR, were approached or auditioned, but none could match the energy of CARROLL, especially when it comes to the character’s signature song, ‘POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS’.

Did you know that the previously mentioned song has gotten a life of it’s very own?

While the song has become a musical theatre classic with over 60 million streams on Spotify alone, CARROLL credited Songwriter ASHMAN for inspiring her delivery, after he sent her a video of himself performing the track. ‘He gave me that performance! Come on, I’m honest enough to say that,’ she said in the book “MAKIN’ TOONS: INSIDE THE MOST POPULAR ANIMATED SHOWS AND MOVIES” BY ALLAN NEUWIRTH [2003]. ‘I got the whole attitude from him: his shoulders would twitch in a certain way, and his eyes would go a certain way. I got more about that character from HOWARD singing that song than from anything else.’ The song has since been covered by the likes of THE JONAS BROTHERS, QUEEN LATIFA, TITUSS BURGESS,REBEL WILSON and MELISSA McCARTHY. An extended reprise of the song was written specifically for the BROADWAY musical adaptation of “THE LITTLE MERMAID”.

And there you have it folks! That was our voyage through the making of DISNEY’S 1989 animated masterpiece “THE LITTLE MERMAID”! I hope you guys enjoyed this journey as much as I have. I will see you again soon, bye!