User blog:ARTaylor/30 Years of The Little Mermaid

Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the premiere of The Little Mermaid. The film is the twenty-eighth from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Based on the Danish fairy tale from Hans Christian Andersen, the film follows the titular mermaid princess Ariel as she strikes a deal with an evil witch in order to be with the human man she has fallen in love with.

After a long period of middling quality and diminished returns, the film proved a significant success for Disney and is considered the beginning of the era known as the Disney Renaissance, in which Disney's animation saw a major upswing in quality and acclaim. It became a huge financial success at the box office, being the ninth highest grossing film of the year. This came as a surprise as projections for the film were poor as it was a "girl's film." It became the first animated feature to break one-hundred million dollars in its initial run becoming the first animated blockbuster and breaking the record as the highest grossing animated feature. The movie revitalized the animated musical and Disney princess films that the company had been moving away from. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning two, being the first Disney movie to get a nomination in twelve years. The success of the film led to an animated series, direct-to-video sequel and prequel, appearances in numerous Disney video games, several theme park attractions, a live television special, and upcoming live-action adaptation.

The film was written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. It features the talents of Christopher Daniel Barnes as Ariel's love interest Prince Eric, Frank Welker as Eric's dog Max, as well as Ed Gilbert, Charles Adler, Jack Angel, Philip L. Clarke, Jennifer Darling, Anne Lockhart, Patrick Pinney, and Jim Cummings providing additional voices.