Walt Disney created a magical world for children to lose themselves in, both in the form of the popular amusement parks Disney Land and Disney World, and the charming films with stories that have captured the hearts of million, young and old. One of these films revolves around the Danish story of the Little Mermaid and her curiosity about the human world, and the resulting adventures that spring forth from this curiosity. Originally created by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen, the story become the subject of a Disney film, The Little Mermaid, whose immense popularity among children since its creation in 1989 has led to many books and a Broadway adaptation, among other interpretations. Without a doubt, the travels of a curious little mermaid have become one of the cornerstones of a Disney childhood, one that countless children have experienced and countless more will as the years go by.

Although Disney’s The Little Mermaid is certainly a modern children’s movie, with lovable characters and a happy ending, times were different when Hans Christian Andersen created the tale. Instead of living happily ever after in the arms of Prince Eric, Ariel becomes a spirit of the air after she refuses to kill Eric to become a mermaid again and live out the rest of her life. The ending is technically happy, but it has a macabre twist that would not quite sit well with children of today. In fact, some scholars and critics assert that the happy ending of Andersen’s rendition of the story seems unnatural, and that Andersen only added the last part about become a spirit of the air after finishing the story. Regardless of how the original story went, though, it was Disney’s ability to reinvent the story and make it relatable to children of a completely different generation that made the movie such a success and created a new bastion of Disney’s plentiful world of happy endings.

Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid was created as a film in 1989. Ariel, a mermaid princess, is unsatisfied with life underwater and longs to visit the human world to learn more about their mysterious society. Together with a fish named Flounder, Ariel collects human items in the sea and visits the surface where, against the wishes of her father, King Triton, she falls in love with Prince Eric. Eric, who is celebrating his birthday, is tossed into the sea as a result of a vicious storm which threatens to drown him, but Ariel saves him, brings him up to the beach and sings to him. When he awakens, Ariel dives back into the water, and Ariel and Prince Eric, who imagines that a beautiful girl sang to him, vow to rejoin each other.

A lovesick Ariel turns to the hideous witch Ursula to be turned into a human so that she may pursue Eric, but Ursula warns Ariel that she must receive the kiss of true love or else she will be turned back into a mermaid in three days and also exchanges the favor for Ariel’s voice. Aided by Sebastian the crab and Scuttle the seagull, Ariel slowly learns to walk on land, but when she is discovered by Eric, he discounts her as the one who saved him because she does not have a voice. Ursula attempts to foil everything by disguising herself as a beautiful girl whose voice enchants Prince Eric and makes him fall in love with her. With help from sea creatures, Ariel breaks the magic shell which houses Ursula’s disguise, and although Ursula attempts to become the Queen of the Ocean, a combined effort from Triton, Ariel, and Eric destroy her. Ariel is able to become a human because of Triton’s power and marry Eric, and the two live happily ever after.

Besides its effect on children’s culture, The Little Mermaid was significant to the whole of animation for many reasons. It marked Disney’s return to the musical format of films which had been so popular from the 1930s through the 1970s, creating songs which became very popular among children. The film was also a return to fairy tales for Disney, the first one since Sleeping Beauty. Many special effects were used, the most since Fantasia, Disney’s animated release almost a half a century earlier. The extreme success of the film, which grossed over $200 million worldwide, caused what many refer to as a renaissance in Disney animation, seeing the company expand its animation department hugely throughout the following years. The film won two Academy Awards, as well as many other awards, and its immense popularity lead to the soundtrack becoming a triple-platinum megahit.

The film also spawned two direct-to-video sequels, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning. The former movie revolves around Ariel’s daughter, Melody, who wishes more than anything to be part of the ocean world. Because of the danger that Ursula’s evil sister, Morgana, poses, Ariel must protect Melody from the ocean so that Morgana cannot work her evil magic. The latter is still in development and is slated to be released on August 26, 2008. Although the film was originally scheduled to be released in mid 2007, Disney’s animation department focused much of its effort on other projects in order to ensure a speedier release for them and neglected The Little Mermaid, partially because of John Lasseter’s taking over control of Disney Animation. There is also a discrepancy in what the film will actually be called, because the trailer that was packaged with the DVD re-release of The Little Mermaid simply referred to the upcoming film as The Little Mermaid III.

In a departure from representing the story of Ariel and Prince Eric on film, Disney Theatrical created a musical based on the 1989 film adaptation of the classic story. A pre-Broadway tryout of the adaptation in Denver, Colorado, which ran from July 26, 2007 to September 9, 2007, proved to be immensely successful, as each and every seat of the theater in which the musical was staged, about 95,000 seats, was sold out for the entire six-week run of the show. The official opening of the show on Broadway was pushed back from December 6 to January 10, 2008. Directed by Francesca Zambello and choreographed by Stephen Mear, the production takes several measures to create a believable underwater world. Cast members wear wheel-heeled shoes to replicate movement underwater and the set created in such a way to evoke the sensation of watching events unfold through water. The plot differs in several ways from the plot of the 1989 film, most notably a reworking of Ursula’s plot to deceive Eric, a retelling of the back story of Ursula and Triton, and the movement of some songs from their original appearance in the film. While critical response has been mixed, audience response has generally been positive.

Nothing captures the mind of a child like a well-told story, and The Little Mermaid, as portrayed by the Disney films and the Broadway adaptations, is as good as any. Not only children, though, find themselves enchanted by the magic of the romance between Ariel and Eric, as one of the hallmarks of Disney is its ability to cross generational gaps in its storytelling. Whether one is young or young-at-heart, he or she can always appreciate the magic of The Little Mermaid.