The Little Mermaid helped to spawn the next generation of Princess movies, including Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas (1995), and Mulan (1998). And now Disney is again pinning its hopes on a singing mermaid and her friends.

What Disney movie saved Disney?

The 1940s were no fairytale for Walt Disney. With a war waging, many Americans didn't have the appetite, the heart or the dollars to go to a “picture show.” Hollywood was also worried about a new competitor—television—siphoning more money from movie theaters. And then, like magic, Cinderella to the rescue!

How did The Little Mermaid change Disney?

No parent would take a small child to see an accurate version of Andersen's story. Disney added talking fish, singing crabs, and other fanciful moments that brought extra charm to their retelling. In doing so, Disney improved upon the fairytale, becoming the story's more recognizable version for a good reason.

Does Disney own the rights to The Little Mermaid?

Disney has rights to their own adaptation of the fairy tale. However, Disney does not own the rights to Andersen's original story. Others are still free to use the original work and create their own material or adaptations based on it.

Why is The Little Mermaid important to Disney?

Because the original “Little Mermaid” started it all. The animated feature would go on to change Disney for the foreseeable future, helping hone the direction of animated films for the next three decades and thrusting the company into culture wars over feminism, girl power and what happy ever after looks like.

How The Little Mermaid SAVED Disney Animation

Why is a black girl playing The Little Mermaid?

On the significance of casting a Black actress as Ariel

Sherri Hope Culver: To have a Disney character who is not just a princess but a live-action, real flesh and blood person that children can be inspired by is important. This is because people of color are less likely to see themselves reflected in the media.

Is The Little Mermaid a dark story?

Mermaids Have No Souls In The Fairy Tale

One of the ways that The Little Mermaid's original story is dark compared to the Disney adaptation is that Hans Christian Andersen's story pays particular attention to the souls and the potential afterlife of the individuals in the story.

How old is Ariel?

While Ariel is 16 years old in Disney animated The Little Mermaid film, her love interest is not the same age. The character's voice actor, Christopher Daniel Barnes, was just 16 years old at the time of recording the film, leading to the assumption that the character was intended to be the same age.

Why did Disney change Ariel's dress?

There was no statement by Disney as to why they made the change or where the design of this new dress came from, but it could've been a choice made to better represent her character, since the pink gown was just one that Eric's family had around the palace.

What movie almost bankrupted Disney?

The Black Cauldron. It was nicknamed “The Movie That Almost Killed Disney” because it was a box office bomb in 1985.

Which Disney movie was accidentally deleted?

Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull wrote in his book Creativity Inc. that disaster struck the production of Toy Story 2 when an unnamed employee was doing a routine spot of server cleaning when they accidentally put in a command to delete the root file for the movie.

Which princess saved Disney?

Not only did The Little Mermaid help usher in the Disney renaissance, an era of unparalleled critical and commercial success, it also helped save the studio.

How old is Eric if Ariel is 16?

Ariel and Eric

Ariel was just 16 in The Little Mermaid when she made a deal with the sea witch Ursula so she could pursue Prince Eric, who was 18, on the land!

Is Ariel 15 or 16?

Ariel is 16 years old in the animated film, which certainly lends to her willfully young behavior, but makes her quick marriage to Eric a little worrying. The live-action remake ages the mermaid by two years, noting the change in the production notes by pointing out that Ariel's a "spirited 18-year-old."

Is Ariel permanently a human?

Ariel returns home, where she is unhappy without Eric. On Sebastian's advice, Triton transforms Ariel into a human permanently, and she marries Eric.

Did The Little Mermaid 2023 flop?

The reported box office result of The Little Mermaid 2023 remake is about $560 million. On paper, these numbers look good. The film grossed over $298 million domestically and more than $263 million internationally.

Has Disney lost $900 million?

According to box office analyst Valliant Renegade, Walt Disney Co. has lost nearly $900 million following its last eight studio releases, including box office flops like LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD.

How much did Halle Bailey make for Little Mermaid?

According to Showbiz Galore, she was reportedly paid $1.5 million to don the tail and seashells, though some news outlets reported slightly more modest earnings of $500,000. Despite the online backlash about casting a Black Ariel, this project made Halle Bailey a household name, especially among young Disney fans.

Why is The Little Mermaid 2023 so dark?

While lighting itself isn't all that expensive, darkness can be used to hide a lot of things. Halle Bailey is not actually a mermaid, and so having the scenes be darker makes it easier to disguise the CGI work.

What did Ariel look like in the original story?

In Andersen's fairy tale, the Little Mermaid is described as follows: "her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea." And if you're wondering if Andersen's Little Mermaid had that signature bright red hair that has become synonymous with mermaids, the answer is unclear.

What is the dark version of Cinderella?

That story, called Aschenputtel (Cinderella in the English translations), appeared more than 100 years after Perrault's version in the 19th century. Aschenputtel is a much darker tale. Cinderella's wishes come not from a fairy godmother but from a tree growing on her mother's grave.