"Fathom's Below"
"Daughters Of Triton"
"Part Of Your World" ***
"Under The Sea" ***
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" *
"Les Poissons" *
"Kiss The Girl" ***
October 10, 1989
The Little Mermaid (1989) ****
Delightful Disney animated fairy-tale about a headstrong mermaid, Ariel, defying her father, King Triton, and falling in love with a handsome prince, Eric. It's a very loose adaptation of a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The animation is superb, colors are lively and the musical score (by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman) is both imaginative and appealing. The film has several outstanding musical numbers, including "Under The Sea", a Busby Berkeley-inspired extravaganza featuring dancing crabs, singing octopies, choruses of shrimps and an amazing variety of colorful, exotic fishes. There is also an evil squid witch Ursula, who tricks Ariel into a scamy deal, and Louis, a wickedly funny French chef, whose desperate attempts to capture (and cook) Ariel's friend Sebastian the Crab, is the comic highlight of the film. Songs include:
