I
t turns out that The Little Mermaid is a killer flick. Elena and I are loving this trek through classic Disney movies, and we're right now working our way specifically through the 10-film "Rennaissance" of 1989-1999. Many of these I haven't seen in literal decades, and it's been wild going through them with almost completely fresh eyes, and comparing the results to my expectations and half-memories.
The Little Mermaid was one that I remembered the "gist" of, but that had no emotional recollection for me. I was going in expecting it to be middle-of-the-road, clearly "good", but not a masterpiece. I was very much wrong; the movie had me enthralled all the way through. The animation, music, characterizations, purity of storyline, I was completely taken by surprise at the quality. The climax and denouement aren't perfect, but everything else is so stellar that I easily forgive it.
I particularly love that the conflict between Ariel and King Triton is not some giant battle of abstract ideals -- it's just a completely ordinary and believably fight between a teenage daughter and her somewhat overbearing father. Ariel's personality is remarkably well fleshed out; probably the best out of the Disney princesses. I didn't remember the song Part of Your World at all, but I was tearing up halfway through it. I love getting surprised like this, even by movies that I thought I knew.