The Little Mermaid (1989 film) The Little Mermaid (1989 film) The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, "The Little Mermaid" tells the story of Ariel, a mermaid princess who dreams of becoming human. Written, produced, and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, with music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (who also served as a co-producer), the film features the voices of Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars,
The Little Mermaid (1989 film) the film's initial release in 1989 – Yahoo! users voted ""The Little Mermaid"" as No. 14 on the top 30 animated films of all time. Later, when Yahoo! updated the list in June of the same year, the film remained on the list but dropped six slots to end at #20. (Only three other traditionally animated Disney animated films - "Aladdin", "Beauty and the Beast", and "The Lion King", respectively - scored above it in the poll even after the update.) In 2011, Richard Corliss of "TIME" Magazine named it one of "The 25 All-TIME Best Animated Films". "The Little