Hey everyone hope you enjoyed the reaction! Sorry the watermark is a little more visible than normal, copyright issues. And also apologies for how much I kept comparing it to the second movie, was trying too stop once I realized I was doing it a lot haha.
An easy mistake to make, we forgive you! :) If you watch the third movie called "Ariel's Beginning", you'll find out where King Triton's hate for humans stemmed from. Beautiful movie! As for this movie, I was 6 when it was released and Ariel quickly became my favorite. It also sparked my love of mermaids. And my grandparents - may they rest in peace - loved this movie as well. Ariel and Cinderella will always be my top princesses. Love the reactions you do and can't wait to see more! God bless!
Hey man I get it, if I watch a sequel or worse the last film I and realize it I have to stop it from spoiling myself. I once read the last book of a series I was kicking myself for it. Yes watching a sequel/season can draw u in but I prefer the beginning.
Not the WHOLE rest of the movie. It is her voice that breaks the spell on Prince Eric after she breaks Ursula's conch and allows Eric to realize that Ariel is his true love...not Vanessa.
This is often considered the first film of the “Disney Renaissance” era. Disney had been rather directionless after Walt Disney’s death, and they really decided that they needed to really up their game.
We kinda owe Don Bluth the Disney Renaissance too. If they hadn't been so intimidated by him, they might've not been motivated enough to up their game.
@@mickymoist it did, yes, but The Renaissance also meant Disney really wanted to push films out faster. The Great Mouse Detective was still on a further out release schedule.
Fun fact: ‘Under the Sea’ won an Oscar for Best Original Song. Its composer, Alan Menken, also won Oscar for Best Score (feat which he repeated with ‘Aladdin’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, and ‘Pocahontas’).
That Oscar win, while deserved, has a sad story behind it. When Ashman and Menken won the Oscar, Ashman told him they needed to talk when they got home. Menken tried to find out what the issue was right then and there, but Ashman insisted on waiting. A few days later, Ashman told Menken that he was sick with HIV and didn’t have long to live. Ashman passed away the next year, on March 14, 1991 from HIV-related heart failure, at age 40, during the production of 2 films he and Menken were working on. Those were Beauty and the Beast, which premiered on November 22, 1991, 8 months after Ashman’s death, and was dedicated to him, and Aladdin, which premiered on November 25, 1992, over a year after Ashman died.
Watching this as an adult, I really appreciate the relationship between Eric and Ariel. They're both adventurous and caring spirits that laugh and play together. There's romance but there's also a really sweet friendship between them, even though Ariel isn't able to speak. It's a very unique relationship.
In the original fairy tale, the movie was based on, by Hans Christian Andersen, the little mermaid didn’t get a happy ending. Like in Disney, the mermaid hid before she got caught. But rather, a girl from the church was the one whom the prince thought saved his life. The mermaid went to the sea witch, who’s not really a villain and tells it like it is. The witch straight up told the mermaid what she had to go through in order to become human: every step she takes would feel like sharp knives; if the prince married another, then the mermaid would turn into sea foam, the next sunrise. Instead of a ball of light, the sea witch literally cuts out the mermaid’s tongue. Long story short, the prince friend-zoned the mermaid throughout her life as a human and ended up marrying a princess (who was the girl from the church). Before she would die, the mermaid’s sisters gave up their hair to the sea witch in exchange for a dagger to kill the prince. When his blood spills on her feet, she would become a mermaid, again. The little mermaid couldn’t do it, so she threw herself into the ocean and became sea foam. Fortunately, she didn’t and instead became a daughter of the air or air spirit because of her good deed and is given another chance to obtain an immortal soul (her overall goal).
This kid I used to babysit for had a video of an older animated take on the Little Mermaid that was more in line with this (she dies in the end). But I didn't know it when I sat down to watch it with him, so when we got to the end and she died, I was all, "What a minute... she DIED??!" And the kid was like, "Yeah." And I was totally not prepared for that because I thought it would be similar to Disney where the heroine triumphs in the end, so I was sputtering in surprise, like, "Why did you want to watch this? I can't believe she died!" And the kid patted my arm and said, "It's okay. It's only a movie." Lol. Traumatized. :D
I watched the 'anime' vers! It really made me cry alot as a kid. (It was technically the first 'anime' I've watch as kid?? Besides like Pokemon or dbz)
Ursula is such a great villain that she negatively affected the production and budget of the film. Because the crew wanted to give her tentacles fluid animation, it was very expensive to animate her. They originally wanted to make her a manta ray or scorpion fish which would have been a cheaper approach but ultimately decided to do an octopus which is what we have.
Slight correction Ursula is not an octopus she's a squid, because she has six tentacles instead of eight which made her a little less expensive to draw.
@@imogenonscreen8054 Yep couldn't believe it when Ursula's voice actress told the children that when she was reading the little mermaid storybook to them. She's a real sweetheart
When my family went to Disney World in 2018 my mom got sick and lost her voice at the end of the trip. Like, whispering lost her voice. We were having lunch at the hibachi place in the Japan pavilion in Epcot (where the default utensils are chopsticks), and I ordered for her since it was loud and there's no way she could have projected enough to be heard. When the server looked at me a little funny, I told her that my mom had lost her voice. When the server came back with the drinks for the table, she set down a fork in front of my mom, saying "Get it??" She brought her a dinglehopper. 😂 After the meal she brought the check in the little book thing. When I opened it to fill out the tip and such, there was an origami version of Ariel's dress tucked in the pocket, and the back had the writing: _"I hope you get your voice back from Ursula!"_
Love your reaction! Fun fact: the song "Part of Your World" was almost cut entirely from the film! In early test screenings, kids seemed bored, and the Disney chairman decided to cut it. It wasn't until Howard Ashman, the lyricist, said, "If the song goes, I go", that they decided to keep it (and I'm glad they did!) :)
@@alfonsobarroso1820 I think that move was probably for the best because they put it in the credits so you got bitch slapped with feels after the ending.
Animator Glen Keane had done a few supervising animation roles before this movie, most notably to me Ratigan from Great Mouse Detective, but he was absolutely adamant on taking over the animation for Ariel in this movie. The team was like "this is a beautiful girl, Glen and she can't speak for like half of the movie... You sure you're up to it??" 😂 Needless to say, he absolutely aced Ariel's expressions and subtleties when you couldn't rely on the voice. He went on to animate the GORGEOUS eagle Marahute from Rescuers Down Under and then the Beast in Beauty & the Beast. (That final transformation scene? That was all him!!) He's arguably one of the greatest animators in recent history and Ariel was the one to really launch him into that, I feel.
Glen Keane is a Disney Legend in his own right! Bernard and Penny, Professor Ratigan, Ariel, Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, Rapunzel. This man has given life to many Disney characters over the years of our childhood and adulthood. And to have an Oscar in his possession makes him even more prominent thanks to his collaboration with the late, great Kobe Bryant for “Dear, Basketball.”
Just wanted to say that Nick it brings me joy seeing your reaction to these videos. I’ve seen the majority of these films and it makes me smile. Keep moving forward and keep the negativity out of your ears. You’re doing a great job. I see you being a movie and tv critic some day. Never lose your sensitivity... it’s needed in these times 👌🏾🙏🏾
To think that they made this perfect movie with a 82 minute run is mind blowing. Every minute counts when you have this much story to tell. Also, it must have been so exciting to experience 1989-1994 cause every Disney animated movie made was a major success. Every year got better and better.
I was born just 1 year before the beginning of this era, and oh boy ! When you basically start your Disneys experience with that quality level, what an expectation downfall you get with the following eras...🤦♂️
For sure! The bar was set so high with Little Mermaid, beauty and the beast, Aladdin and Lion king that everything afterwards was judged highly. I believe that if these films were made in 2021 they wouldn’t be that amazing!?!?
There's another Little Mermaid movie where the story takes place before the 1989 film that tells the origins about Ariel and her family; it's called The Little Mermaid: Ariel's beginning (2008 film). It's a pretty good movie :) EDIT: P.S. the REAL story of the Little Mermaid is super tragic >_
Ah yes, the rebirth of animation. The Little Mermaid launched a series of animated Disney movies that were all smash hits at the box office (Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Hercules, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Tarzan). And Ariel's and King Triton's voice actors (Jodi Benson and Kenneth Mars) would reprise their roles for Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2.
I heard there’s gonna be a remake of “Hercules” coming out someday. The Russo brothers are directing it, but they aren’t sure if it’s gonna be a musical or not. If it is gonna be a musical, they better keep “Zero to Hero”, and “I won’t say (I’m In Love)” in it, and I hope they cast Liz Gillies as Meg.
"That is so dark for Disney." Nope, pretty standard I'd say. Seriously though, this movie does not have just one of the best romances in Disney history, but also the best father-daughter relationship in my opinion. Sure it's not great at the beginning, but they've both learned and adapted.
I still remember when I was a teenager taking my little sister to Blockbuster (yes, I'm that old) and she picked up this video and said, "What's this one?" I was like, "You've NEVER seen this?" "Nope." "I have failed you as a big sister! I know what we're doing tonight!" Still one of my favorite moments with my little sis.
So sad that there is a generation of chldren...and grandchildren that have never seen this movie or heard these wonderfu songs. All of the Disney animated classics like Bambi, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Pinoccho should be required viewing. Attention all grandparents! Get with it! 😉
@@mattrutherford5764 ah ok it explains everything. Like the music we heard when he fights against Sébastien, it's a music of a dance called " The french cancan "
Please never change Nick. Your open emotional honesty and joy when seeing these movies makes me feel like I’m watching them all for the first time again.
My sisters oldest boy who's five is very emotional boy and we call him a true prince when it's just me and sis we always tell him how proud of him we are . Girls love that boy. He's a romantic kid And he's only five and I love it
Fun fact: the woman who voiced Ursula also voiced Morgana in The Sequel to the Little Mermaid. So in other words the woman voiced both the villains in the both the Little Mermaid movies
I was 8 when this came out and I was so obsessed with the music. I had a cassette tape of the songs I wore it out. Yes I didn't have a cd player yet. Eric is one of my favorite prince.
Yeah, I was 10 when it came out, and I about wore our VHS tape out watching it over and over and over again. (I don't know how my brother put up with me to be honest. *LOL*)
This is such a random factoid but, it's kinda fun: The voice of Sebastian, actually, ended up playing Mufasa on Broadway in the original Broadway production of The Lion King! He had such a great voice and sang a lovely song for the stage version called "They Live In You". (His name was Samuel E. Wright)
A fun fact that connects this movie with Beauty and the Beast. The song, Les Poissons, sung by the chef, is basically Be Our Guest, part I. After Les Poissons worked so well in The Little Mermaid, Ashman and Menken took the main hook of the song, and expanded it into what would become Be Our Guest. If you listen to the two songs, back to back, you will hear the obvious similarities the "les poissons, les poissons, hee hee hee, haw, haw, haw" and "Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test". Although Les Poissons is in 3/4 time (a waltz feel) and Be Our Guest is in 4/4 (straight time), once you know this tidbit of info, you'll never listen to Les Poissons the same! Howard Ashman (the lyricist) passed from AIDS as this movie was being completed, so he saw much, if not all of the completed project. Sadly, he didn't see as much of BatB, but had completed the songs. There's a touching dedication at the end of the credits of Beauty and the Beast, to Howard that reads, “To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul we will be forever grateful.” It always puts a tear in my eye. The man who wrote the music, Alan Menken, has written countless scores to later Disney movies that you've reacted to already. Google him and you'll be surprised at the influence he's had on the Disney music catalog.
I was obsessed with mermaids as a child, and to be fair the second Little Mermaid movie was always my favourite, so don't worry that you watched them in the 'wrong' order haha ;)
Fun Fact: The song “Les Poissons” has the same tune as “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, as well as a little bit of the song “Gaston”, when Sebastian was walking under the Lettuce Leaf.
@@nickflix8657 I don't know if you remember about " The Little Mermaid II " but I noticed during her song (when she's a mermaid) there's a moment where Melody makes the same movement as Ariel in " Part of that world " when she says the line " Ready to stand "
Ahh, the one that kicked off the Disney Renaissance, and the first one to fully showcase the talents of the man who saved Disney Animation. RIP Howard Ashman, truly a one-of-a-kind artist.
Honestly, Little Mermaid was an amazing story. Plus one of my favorite things to do as a child was copy what Ariel was doing on the rock whenever I was at a pool.
Patron: Recommends The Little Mermaid Nick: Gushes about how he loves it Patron: You’re talking about the sequel Nick: *blue screen Also isn’t that sea shanty at the beginning the best?
Interesting bit of trivia about this movie is that Part of Your World was almost cut out because the head of animation at the time thought it slowed the film down but luckily the directors convinced him to wait at least until it was fully animated for a test screening and the audience liked it so it stayed.
@@Amber-hf8uo I know! I heard Howard Ashman (the lyricist) was horrified that they might take it out. He believed it was one of the most important moments in the movie. It's Ariel's big 'I want' song when we find out what her main goal and motivations are.
this has to be one of my favorite reactions you have ever done. I just love your childlike wonder and innocence at all the pertinent scenes; I felt like I was watching a young Nick watching this movie for the first time as a kid haha it also felt like I was watching this for the first time again, which is difficult to do because this is one of my all-time favorite Disney movies and I've seen it countless times already. please keep being yourself Nick and never lose that genuine wonder and kind heart. ❤️
My favorite aspect of watching reaction videos is to see each person's individual perspective, and yours is a rare one on this movie! It's so cool that you get to piece together the origins of the movie you're familiar with from the original you'd never seen before. And one neat commentary I'd once seen pointed out that The Little Mermaid's protagonist isn't Ariel; it's Triton. 'Cause Ariel doesn't really change or go through a character arc, but Triton has his entire worldview rocked by the events, and it culminates in his acceptance of both humans not being evil and of his daughter needing to live apart in order to be happy.
The story about watching the sequel instead of the first movie is hilarious lol. I remember renting this many times as a kid because I was obsessed with mermaids and the ocean. Plus there was a specific Disney World "preview" before the movie that I always looked forward to lol. 🧜♀️🐠🦀🐙
lol It always bugged me that Louis stuffed Sebastian with bread and THEN was gonna boil him... 'cause who would cook something that way? Of course, I know it is because we can't actually have Sebastian die, but still. Learn to cook Louis!
The Little Mermaid is by far one of the most iconic yet beloved classic Disney Princess movies out there. Much like Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast, just to name a few. I also feel overwhelmed by the amount of nostalgia whenever I see people reacting to this movie in particular. It's bringing out those childhood me memories for me. It's just that I used to watch it all the time on CD when I was 6 or 7 years old. It never gets old. At least, for me it doesn't get old at all.
I believe The Rescuers Down Under was released after The Little Mermaid, and I recommend it. The animation is absolutely beautiful and the story is thrilling. Also, I look forward to your reaction to Return to Oz. An excellent 80s film.
I actually gasped when I got the notification for this. Ariel was my absolute favorite Disney princess growing up and the Little Mermaid 2 is probably still my favorite Disney movie. I made the exact same mistake of watching the sequel first with The Jungle Book, though I'm young enough that I can blame my parents for mixing up the vhs tapes.
That was kind of like my situation with The Rescuers. My sister and I for many years had only seen The Rescuers Down Under and then when our mom finally bought The Rescuers. I was so confused. I thought it was the second one and was mad that they made it a prequel. At some point I finally figured out that we had actually been watching the sequel all this time with Down Under and The Rescuers was actually made first.
The best surprise today! My absolute favorite Disney movie and Disney Princess! Seeing someone watch it for the first time is an amazing experience so thank you Nick! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
I get goosebumps just watching you watch this and react for the first time. This is my all time favorite, the first Disney movie I am aware having watched when I was 4. Seeing the beautiful scenery and listening to the songs still touches me.
This is the first time I actually got teary eyed during the fire scene. Little Mermaid was one of the movies I owned as a kid and watched it all the time but seeing someone react to it this way give seeing it again a lot more impact. I always look forward to seeing these reactions to old movies because it feels like a movie night. Especially when it’s cold and rainy outside. 🙂 I also knew Nick was going to hate Ursula when she kicked Max.
Aw. Nick don't feel dumb. I totally get it. The little mermaid, Ariel has and will ALWAYS be my favorite Disney princess and movie! Without getting TOO personal this movie meant A LOT to me in my childhood. Growing up this movie was my comfort movie and helped me through SO MUCH crap in my life. So I personally thank you for the reaction! ❤ Keep it up! 👍
Important to remember that Walt Disney Studios was literally on the brink of being cut up and sold off to the highest bidders. They animated this film largely in temp trailers in the parking lot. There was very much a knowledge that this could be the last Disney film. They poured an awful lot of love into this and it shows. Down to hundreds of thousands of hand animated bubbles, that beautiful water, all drawn by hand. Glen Keane's work on Ariel is so good (later directed Tangled which sort of kick started the 2nd Disney golden period).
Just a little trivia: The Little Mermaid was the last Disney animated movie to be all made traditionally by hand before Disney artist started using CGI at it's earliest.
Fun Fact: Jodi Benson (the voice of Ariel) also voiced Vanessa (Ursula’s human form) in this movie. Really awesome contrast on her part between naive teen mermaid and evil sea witch
Up to that point, 80’s Disney movies like Oliver & Company and Black Cauldron sill seemed to be stuck in the design style of 70’s Disney movies like Robin Hood. But any Disney fan who first saw Mermaid in a theater remembers where they were when that ship first came out of the fog, with “Fathoms Below” on the soundtrack. 😲
Ariel seems so silly and naive now watching this with adult eyes vs when I was a kid 😂 Urusla is such a cool villain tho (although no one can top Hades for me) Also not sure if its been suggested before, but Thanksgiving is coming up and an awesome Thanksgiving movie is Planes, Trains and Automobiles :)
Yes! I absolutely love that movie, Ariel is one of my favourite princesses and their love story with Eric was one of my favourites as well) Oh, Nick, thank you so much for reacting to it)))
King Triton was voiced by Kenneth Mars. Truly a brilliant actor and absolutely hilarious in both Young Frankenstein and the original The Producers. Highly recommend watching them, you won’t believe it’s the same guy, his German accent is so hilarious.
Sorry I’m late posting this comment, but I was at church so here is everything I have to share about the film: 1. Some facts about Little Mermaid when it came out this was when People knew Disney was back on the animation map as while their two previous animated films Great Mouse Detective and Oliver and Company were both well received with critics and box office numbers it wasn’t anything spectacular then this came out and not only did Disney film finally beat out Don Bluth who was competing with them by releasing his films the same time as Disneys with An American Tail being released around the same time as Great Mouse and Land Before Time the same time as Oliver and Company. He released All Dogs Go to Heaven and was blown out of the water by this one, 2. At the time this film had the most sound effects of any film, 3. This film won two Oscars for Best Original Song for Under the Sea and for Best Original Score which made it the first Disney film since Bedknobs and Broomsticks to win an Oscar and the first animated Disney film to be nominated for an Oscar since The Rescuers, 4. Howard Ashman besides working on the songs with Alan Menken also helped with the story such as originally Sebastian was originally supposed to be an English Butler crab named Clarence, but changed to a Trinidadian as well as the name and as a result the whole musical tone also shifted to match that although commonly confused as being Jamaican, Sebastian is actually Trinidadian. Samuel E. Wright confirmed that was in fact the accent he used while voicing by the character. 5. Part of Your World" was nearly cut; Jeffrey Katzenberg felt that it was "boring," as well as being too far over the heads of the children for whom it was intended. At a test screening children were restless during the song which did not have finished animation - in particular one child that sat in front of Katzenberg and spilled his popcorn and was more interested in picking it up than watching the sequence. John Musker, Ron Clements, and Howard Ashman all pleaded their case and begged Katzenberg to let the song stay to no avail. Ultimately, the one who managed to convince him to give it a second chance was the animator of the sequence, Glen Keane. Another screening was set up, this time with an adult audience. It was a greater success (even reportedly moving some members to tears) and so the song was left in the film. Katzenberg later said that he was happy no one listened to him because he couldn't imagine the film without the song. 6. The voice of Grimsby is Ben Wright who was in a previous Disney film as Roger in 101 Dalmatians and while not Disney people will also know him as the lead Nazi Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music and this was his last film released after his death and Disney folks had no idea that he had been the voices of Roger in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and Rama in The Jungle Book (1967). He had to tell them. 7. Similar to Beauty and the Beast during Walt’s life The Little Mermaid had been a Disney property since 1941. Walt Disney planned to include the much darker Hans Christian Andersen version of the tale in a planned anthology film of the fantasy author's works. After a bitter strike by the animators that same year and the increasing focus on World War 2 wartime propaganda shorts, the initial version of The Little Mermaid was shelved in 1943 8. Ariel is the first Disney princess to have biological siblings and Ariel is purposely made to stand out from her sisters. Firstly, she's the only redhead and the only one who wears her hair down. Secondly, she's the only mermaid whose seashell top isn't the same color as her tail. Finally, although all of Triton's daughters have names that begin with the letter 'A', Ariel's is the only one whose name doesn't also end with that letter and she was made a redhead to distinguish her from Darryl Hannah’s live action mermaid in an earlier Disney Touchstone film with Tom Hanks called Splash, 9. One neat easter egg is when in the concert audience in the beginning and Triton is going down in his chariot if you look closely not only can you see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy in the audience, but also Kermit the Frog and I know you haven’t seen the Muppet films yet so I would recommend them and go in release order they are hot connected, but it is a nice progression, 10. The film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker who also did The Great Mouse Detective, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, Princess and the Frog, and Moana, 11. Jodi Benson "Part of Your World" in the dark to get that 'under the sea' feeling. 12. This film was the last to use all hand painted cels for the animation as Disney's next film, The Rescuers Down Under (which is a sequel to a film from the 70’s they did called The Rescuers) used a digital method of coloring and combining scanned drawings developed for Disney by Pixar called CAPS/ink & paint (Computer Animation Production System), which would eliminate the need for cels, the multiplane camera, and many of the optical effects used for the last time in The Little Mermaid. 13. Besides voicing Ursula in this film Pat Carroll also voiced her sister Morgana in the sequel which is why they sound familiar for you and Before recording "Poor Unfortunate Souls," Pat Carroll asked Howard Ashman to sing the song one more time to get it right. He happily obliged. According to Carroll, he "put on the cloak" and she admits to stealing his body language and two or three adlibs from him ("Pathetic," "Idn't it," "You can't get something for nothing," and "No more talking, singing, zip-pah.") 14. The character of Ursula was based on drag performer and John Waters regular Divine. Her personality and some of her actions were also largely inspired by a previous Disney villain, Madame Medusa from Disney's The Rescuers. 15. The animators created the character of Ursula for Bea Arthur, who declined as she was occupied with The Golden Girls. Jennifer Saunders then auditioned for the role of Ursula but was turned down. Somehow in 2002, Steven Spielberg got hold of her tape and insisted to the three directors of Shrek 2 that she be cast as the scheming Fairy Godmother. After Bea Arthur turned down the chance to voice Ursula, Nancy Marchand, Sylvia Sidney, Nancy Wilson, Roseanne Barr, Coral Browne, Charlotte Rae and Elaine Stritch were all then considered with the latter eventually being cast in the part; however, Stritch's style clashed with that of lyricist Howard Ashman so Pat Carroll got the part 16. The dress Ariel wears during her dinner with Eric is actually a combination of different dresses worn by every Disney princess prior to her. The puffy sleeves with the diamond designs are similar to the sleeves on Snow White's iconic dress. The light pink color comes from Cinderella's mother's dress (the one the stepsisters rip apart). The full skirt and draping are from Cinderella's famous ball gown. Finally, the off-the-shoulder neckline and long, pointed sleeves were inspired by Princess Aurora's royal ball gown. 17. Scheduling conflicts with Star Trek: The Next Generation forced Patrick Stewart to turn down the role of King Triton. 18. Sebastian's fanfare was performed by composer Alan Menken on a kazoo. 19. The shot of Ariel reaching out through the skylight of her grotto at the end of "Part of Your World" was the last shot to be completed. It took four tries to get the optical effects just right. 20. Ariel is the first Disney animated heroine to have a bare midriff, as well as the first to display cleavage. 21. In Greek mythology, Triton is the son of Poseidon. Poseidon is the brother of Zeus. Zeus had a son named Heracles, who is the main hero of Hercules. This makes Disney heroes Ariel and Hercules first cousins once removed. 22. When The Little Mermaid earned four Golden Globe nominations in 1990, it not only became the first full-length animated feature film to be nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, but it also became the first animated feature to be nominated for a Best Picture Golden Globe Award, of any genre, in general. Even though it did not win, Disney's Beauty and the Beast would later on to become the first animated feature film to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), two years later. 23. Sebastian's fanfare was performed by composer Alan Menken on a kazoo, 24. Both Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick auditioned for the role of Prince Eric, but Christopher Daniel Barnes who ended up voicing him was only 16 years old when he recorded his voice for Prince Eric the producers felt his voice sounded much older than he really was. 25. Maybe I’m an idiot for not realizing it, but when Ursula disguised herself and is using Ariel’s voice that is Jodi Benson doing the voice since it is her,
Nick Ariel and Eric from this movie are the parents of Melody the protagonist of the second that you already watch, Also the villian of this movie (Ursula) is the sister of the villian in the second movie (Morgana) who transform melody into a human in little mermaid 2 ☺️
I'm so excited that you reacted to this movie! It's one of my all time favorite films, I had three copies of it on VHS and probably drove my family insane watching it 24/7. This movie made me truly love and appreciate the work that goes into making such art, with the music and visuals being so beautiful together.
immediatly yess yess yesss, this was the first movie may parents gave to me. and i loved it. it is still one of my favourites. thanks for reacting to that one.
This one was one of my favorite movies as a kid. The music is great, the characters are fun, there’s great peril and adventure, and the villain is thoroughly entertaining and reprehensible. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is still one of the best villain songs Disney ever made, right up there with “Be Prepared”, “Friends on the Other Side”, and “Hellfire”. And Ursula’s death is still one of the most brutal in *any* movie, not just a Disney film. Also, who else thinks Chef Louie likes his job a LITTLE too much?
Thank you so much for recognizing the beautiful animation. Every scene is it's own work of art. I love how much you understood this movie from the beginning. So many people don't "look below the surface". It's like they are skimming over it and not taking a moment to think about what and why things are happening. There are so many that view it from those shallow mindsets and they completely miss everything. The following rant is not aimed at you but at the void where all of the shallow viewers live. Thank you so so so much for not being one of those people. The subtle facial expressions alone communicate so much in this movie. Every scene helps to build the story and help you understand the characters personalities and motivations. Eric and Ariel are both adventurous, brave, and inquisitive people. They fall in love at first sight but they do get to know one another. When she is with him she isn't just giving him gaga eyes she is exploring. He teaches her things and gives her the opportunity to take the lead. They communicate subtly and it's clear that he sees something in her that he thinks is worth giving up his dream girl to pursue. The scene where he throws his flute away symbolizes letting that fantasy go. Who knows what would have happened without the mind control. He doesn't see her inability to talk as an issue that can't be dealt with. He still wants to get to know her. But he is terribly disappointed when he finds her on the beach because her voice is how he can identify his dream girl. People reference Ursula's fantastic song as proof that the movie is encouraging the thought that no one wants to hear women... But she's the VILLAIN. Her views are shown to be wrong almost immediately. And she didn't believe it either. Ursula took her voice to make the task more difficult. They save each other multiple times and are willing to fight for what they want. This movie is just as much or maybe more about the father daughter relationship as it is about the love story. Triton has a temper but almost immediately regrets it and sees that he was wrong... And Admits It. I've never seen the 3rd movie but you can tell he his issues with humans aren't superficial. He is reacting so harshly due to his desperate fear for her safety. He's so scared to lose her or see her hurt. He is lost and doesn't know how to deal with her and doesn't understand her. But he obviously wants to and feels terrible immediately having upset her. He's interested in his daughter's lives and is over the moon when he finds out Ariel is in love. He sacrifices himself without a thought to take her place. He sees how much Eric and Ariel care for each other and how they fight to protect each other when he is helpless. He doesn't stubbornly stick to his biases he fights his fear and gives her what she needs to forge the life she wants even if that is far away from home. I'm sure they still see each other, her family and friends are all at the wedding, but that sense of loss takes place whenever a child moves out and starts a family of their own. They show so many times throughout the movie that they do have a good loving relationship. But they are going through a rough spot as many parents and children do while each are trying to figure out how to deal with the child growing up. If you can't tell, or if anyone ever makes it this far... I have some strong feelings about The Little Mermaid. That childhood emotional attachment is so strong. I got my first speeding ticket trying to get to a movie rental store before they closed when I realized they had made a 2nd movie. Unlike so many others I was not a fan though. I think I've called it an abomination. Maybe I'll have to try again. I'm usually much more forgiving of movies and try to find things to enjoy. I think my Little Mermaid connection is just too strong. I remember thinking that Eric and Ariel never would have just cut off all contact with the sea and not explain things to Melody. Especially when she feels such a strong connection to it and Ariel values her family so much. Ariel, Eric, and Triton aren't passive wimps. Tritons the king of the sea damnit. I can understand having a knee jerk reaction in fear at first. But to let that fear rule you to the point where it alters your life so much for so long. They'd do anything to protect their family but I just couldn't wrap my head around them not solving the Morgana problem another way. Ursula is way more bad ass and they dealt with her. It warms all the deep dark places in my heart to see someone adore this movie as it should be.
She looks like the villain in the second one because it’s her sister! Morgan’s goes after Melody, Ariel and Eric’s daughter to basically prove herself better than Ursula lol love the second one too but this movie was my childhood. Still my favorite Disney movie! ❤️
Also, Nick, I wanted to say that I sometimes come off as incredulous about how naive you are about movie history and movies in general, but, I hope I never gave you the impression that I didn’t believe you, especially after The Wizard of Oz reaction comments you said. I know from personal experience that people often don’t see movies even beloved classics. I’ll try to refrain from being rude in my incredulity, but I apologize if it came off that way.
Hey Nick, just wanted to let you know that The Little Mermaid II is my favorite of the trilogy; hope you react to it on the channel even though you've already seen it LoL Edit: PLEASE react to The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under; they're great!! 😊🥰
Actually you uploaded this video at the right time…I literally lost my voice so now I’m Ariel lol 🥺 Your empathy definitely helps me being voiceless feel less sad, so keep it up Nick 🥰
Ariel was my favorite Disney princess/heroine growing up. :) And the movie itself does have breath-taking scenery, in fact I think it's one biggest reasons to watch it. So glad you enjoyed this, now you can tie it in with the sequel!
The shark scene gave me a really weird randomly reoccurring nightmare for like, 5 years when I was little. I was a mermaid, and I was swimming through my grandma’s house which was flooded to the ceiling. The water was perfectly clear, and sometimes I’d wake up, sometimes the shark would get me.
I would recommend checking out the documentary "Howard" in your own time if you can. It's about Howard Ashman, he was basically the genius behind this movie and Beauty and the Beast. I feel like after I watched it, I appreciated this movie even more