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) 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