It has been ten years since "The Little Mermaid" was released. Back when Disney originally released the film, I was both excited and apprehensive. Excited, because it is one of the best children's stories and one of my favorites. Apprehensive, because I knew Disney would change the ending and give it a happy ending, which is understandable but still unfortunate. When I first saw it, I liked it much more than I thought I would, and after each repeated viewing, I have liked it more and more. I am now convinced this is the second best American Animated film, after "Beauty and the Beast". The music, story, writing, and animation are superb as others have stated, but the villainess, Ursula, is also a major factor in the success of the film. She is the best written and performed of all Disney villains. She is purely evil but totally believable. Pat Carroll, who I have often noticed but never really considered, did a fabulous job with Ursula's characterization. The music and songs are consistantly very good. There is no deep thought to this one, but "The Little Mermaid" is artfully near-perfect entainment.

This is personally one of my favorite movies of all time as well as one of my favorite Disney movies. This came out a year before I was born and yet I still love it today and will show it to my children someday because it is a great movie. The Little Mermaid is the classic battle of good over evil and how love can overcome anything, including a mermaid princess falling for a human prince. It shows how Ariel is willing to give up everything to be with Eric and join the human world. It has many great qualities from the great animation and catchy songs that get stuck in my head, to the unforgettable characters. Though the story is given the happily ever after, that is a characteristic of Disney movies, unlike the sad ending of the original story by Hans Christian Anderson. The Little Mermaid overall is a great family movie.