Under the sea
Little Mermaid director and animator reflect on the birth of animated classic
It’s hard to imagine a world in which Disney’s animation arm needed saving. But nearly 30 years ago, it was The Little Mermaid that swam onto the big screen and relaunched a wave of animated films that revolutionized the industry.
As well as being a box office and critical success, The Little Mermaid earned multiple Oscars and spawned a Broadway show.
And like other classic Disney animated films, the story of Ariel — an underwater princess who meets and falls in love with her human Prince Charming — is slated to make its way to the big screen for a live-action revamp.
A special 30th-anniversary edition of The Little Mermaid is now available both digitally and on Blu-ray.
Supervising animator Mark Henn joined co-director Ron Clements to reflect on Mermaid’s enduring legacy.
Q The Little Mermaid has become one of those revered titles in the Disney canon. Did you know that this could become a classic?
Clements I knew it was going to get compared to previous Disney films, but I didn’t really think about it in those terms. We just wanted to do something that would match up and could be on the shelf with those earlier films.
There was a kind of rebirth that happened that started with that movie. That period — Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Lion King — was something we always hoped would happen. But I did not envision an afterlife like the film has had.
Henn We got a sense that what we were working on was kind of special. You couldn’t put your finger on it, but there was a joy surrounding the production. People seemed to be pretty happy. But projecting down the line 30 years, we had no idea how impactful that film was going to be.
Q You both have worked on many, many Disney movies. Ron, you most recently worked on Moana with your Mermaid co-director John Musker. But people may not know that this was the title that restarted a Disney renaissance when it came to animated movies. Was there a lot of pressure going into it?
Clements People may not know now, but at that time, Disney was going through a very rough period. There were even some questions as to whether Disney animation would keep going. I think that weight carried itself over Mermaid as well. In retrospect I think the stakes were pretty high.
Henn Coming out of the late ’70s and early ’80s, the studio was transitioning itself. There was an older generation and newer storytellers and artists that were emerging. Along with The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company, we were on the right path. But Mermaid became our home run. The musical structure set the tone for the next four or five films. It became cool to go see a Disney animated movie again.
Clements People tended to stereotype Disney films as being for little kids. We always thought Disney films would resonate with audiences of all ages and Mermaid broke through that stigma. It became a date movie.It was a movie more for everyone and that’s what we wanted it to be.
Q Walt Disney had early plans for the Little Mermaid. Did you know it had this long history?
Clements I pitched the idea of doing the movie around 1984. It wasn’t until we were a year into making it that one of the storyboard artists let us know that it was planned. There was an idea they were considering that would have seen it be done as a Fantasia-type movie with musical sequences.
Q Disney has given some of its animated films an extended life through live-action remakes. In addition to Dumbo and Lion King this year, there’s talk of a live-action Little Mermaid. What do you think about that?
Clements We’re not involved in those. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who I worked with on Moana, is a key player with the Mermaid remake. He’s hugely influenced by the original film, so I think he’s a good person to be involved with that. I think of these movies as grandchildren. You’re less involved in bringing them up, but it will be interesting to see how it gets reinvented.