Ariel (The Little Mermaid) some publications such as "Time" criticize her for being too devoted to Eric whereas others, such as "Empire", praise the character for her rebellious personality, a departure from previous Disney Princesses. Ariel was based on the title character of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid", but co-director and writer Ron Clements felt that the mermaid in the original story was too tragic and rewrote the character, resulting in Ariel. Jodi Benson, who was predominantly a stage actress, was chosen to voice Ariel because the directors felt "it was really important to have the same person doing the singing and speaking
The Little Mermaid (1989 film) in box office earnings outside the United States and Canada between both releases, resulting in a total international box office figure of $211 million. "The Little Mermaid" received largely positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film has a 92% "Certified Fresh" score based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's consensus reads ""The Little Mermaid" ushered in a new golden era for Disney animation with warm and charming hand-drawn characters and catchy musical sequences". Roger Ebert, film critic for the "Chicago Sun-Times", was enthusiastic about the film and wrote that,