Arielle the mermaid

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Ariel the Mermaid (disambiguation) .

Movie
German title	Arielle the mermaid
Original title	The Little Mermaid
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1989
length	83 minutes
Age rating	FSK 0
Rod
Director	John Musker Ron Clements
script	John Musker Ron Clements Roger Allers
production	John Musker Howard Ashman
music	Alan Menken
cut	Mark A. Hester
synchronization
chronology
Successor  → Arielle, the mermaid 2 - Longing for the sea

Ariel, the Mermaid (original title: The Little Mermaid ) is the 28th full-length animated film from Walt Disney Studios and was released in 1989. It is based on the motifs of the fairy tale The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen . It was the last Disney cartoon made with the help of electrophotography .

With him, the Walt Disney Company returned to the musical film format introduced in 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , the previous reintroduction of which was successfully tested with Oliver & Co.

On November 2, 2006, Ariel, the Mermaid, was released as a special edition on DVD. In 2000 Disney produced a second part under the name Arielle, The Mermaid 2 - Longing for the Sea , which was only animated for video sales. On September 11, 2008, the third part, Ariel, the Mermaid - How It All Began in the USA was released on DVD.

action

Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton, ruler of the sea people, is dissatisfied with her life in the sea. She longs to be human one day and often gets into arguments with her father about these "barbaric fish-eaters". Often his court musician Sebastian, the Krabbe , the enterprising Arielle and her friend Fabius, a doctor fish , have to spy on to ensure that Arielle does not swim to the surface of the sea against her father's instructions.

Unnoticed by everyone, the sea witch Ursula observes the goings-on of Arielle and her friends and sees in her the perfect chance to take revenge on King Triton, who once banished her from the kingdom.

One evening Arielle and Fabius watch fireworks on the surface in honor of Prince Erik, who is celebrating his birthday on a ship. Unfortunately for him, the ship gets caught in a storm and Erik is swept overboard. Arielle comes to his aid and falls in love with the prince. But when he wakes up, she disappears and Erik has no memory of her, except for her beautiful singing.

When Ariel's father learns that she saved someone from drowning and fell in love with him, he is furious and with his golden trident he destroys Ariel's secret hiding place with his own hand, where she kept her souvenirs from the human world.

Now Ursula sees her chance and promises to transform Arielle into a person for three days. During these three days she has to be kissed by Erik, only then can she stay human forever. If she doesn't make it, she turns back into a mermaid and her soul belongs to Ursula. The witch receives her vote as “payment”, because she knows that Erik can only recognize Arielle by her voice.

Sebastian and Fabius quickly bring Arielle, transformed into a human, to the surface, where she immediately meets Prince Erik on the beach. As planned by Ursula, he cannot find out who she is and where she comes from. Ariel's friends try to get them to kiss, while Ursula tries exactly the opposite. She maliciously goes ashore as the beautiful Vanessa and beguiles Erik with Ariel's voice. Erik believes he has found his lifesaver in Vanessa, and the wedding is set for the evening when Ariel's arrangement with Ursula expires.

Now Erik's dog Max and the seagull Scuttle take all possible precautions so that the wedding does not take place as planned. So it happens that the wedding party is attacked by sea birds and Max finally clears up Ursula's false identity by biting Ursula's rear end. With this, Arielle regains her voice and Erik realizes that she is the girl who once saved him. He wants to kiss her, but it's too late. When the sun goes down, Ariel transforms into a mermaid again and Ursula, transformed back, takes her into the depths of the sea.

Now King Triton intervenes, although he cannot break the deal, but sacrifices himself for his daughter with Ursula by exchanging his soul for the Ariels. Ursula takes Triton's crown and declares herself ruler of the seas. Arielle causes Ursula to accidentally kill her two pet moray eels , and now Arielle is about to be eliminated too. Out of sheer anger, she turns into a giant octopus and pulls Erik, who has sailed here, towards the seabed in a huge vortex. But he surpasses himself when Arielle gets caught in the vortex. Ursula towers over Arielle and wants to kill her in revenge for the death of her moray eels. She fires fatal lightning bolts at the mermaid, who can dodge. When Ursula wants to destroy Arielle, Eric rams Ursula the ship's bow right into the heart.

With her death, all her former victims, including Triton, will become marine life again. When the King of the Sea realizes how unhappy Ariel is as a mermaid and how much she loves Erik, he finally gives in and gives Ariel a life as a human.

production

Emergence

The foundation stone for Arielle was laid in 1985 when Ron Clements , co-director of Basil, the great mouse detective , came across a book with some stories by Hans Christian Andersen in a bookstore . While he was reading the fairy tale of the little mermaid , the cornerstones of a film idea were already solidifying in his head. He liked the whole thing so much that he wrote a short, two-page script for it shortly afterwards. Disney's CEO Michael Eisner and the then head of Walt Disney Pictures , Jeffrey Katzenberg , were very impressed and gave Clements the green light for a possible publication according to Oliver & Co.

The idea of ​​a cinematic implementation of Arielle at Disney was by no means new. As early as the end of the 1930s, the plan had been made to create a Silly Symphony on this subject, but this was abandoned after some concerns. However, there were already some finished images for the Arielle cartoon that animators used as inspiration in the 1980s.

After Ron Clements received the blessing of the studio bosses, he and his friend John Musker set about working out the short script and changing some of the basic ideas. So the originally planned role of grandmother Arielles was dropped entirely, while Ursula and Triton were given a much larger role. In the end, the script was around 20 pages long before Clements was completely satisfied. He planned to start implementing it as soon as possible, but Disney's attention at the time was almost entirely on Wrong Play with Roger Rabbit and Oliver & Co.

In 1987 the project received new impetus through the participation of composer Howard Ashman , who was hired as a producer. He was responsible for some of the most important changes, including making the English crab Clarence, invented by Clements, a Jamaican-themed one and also changing the songs he performed accordingly, which can be seen most clearly in Under the Sea . He also planned with Arielle the return of the Disney films to the classic musical style, which had proven extremely popular in the films during Walt Disney's lifetime. To achieve this goal, he brought Alan Menken on board, with whom he composed seven different songs. In this respect, the film not only marks the return of the musical, but also the beginning of an extremely fruitful career for Menken at Disney, which brought him several awards.

Another tradition that Disney revived with this film was the use of real actors to act out certain scenes from the film in order to make the animators' work easier. Jodi Benson and Sherri Lynn Stoner served for example. B. as a template for Arielle.

Originally the Multiplan camera was supposed to be used again in this film, but it was in terrible condition at the time, and so it was not used. Instead, the first use of CAPS digital technology can be admired in the wedding scene. It is a special invention that makes it possible to color digitally. She can also be found again and again in the following Disney films.

In addition to the original studio in Glendale, California , Disney's new studio opened in Florida, which was integrated into the MGM studios of Walt Disney World . Although the park did not open its doors until the following year, work in the studio began as early as 1988. A few sequences for Wrong Play with Roger Rabbit and also for Arielle were completed there .

The longer it took to work on the film, the faster the budget grew, and the film turned out to be considerably more expensive than the rest of the films of the time. For this reason, Ron Clements was forced to make some restrictions and reductions. For financial reasons, most of the air bubbles occurring were drawn by Pacific Rim Productions, a company from China with headquarters in Beijing .

The high cost of the film is also due to the many special effects that were staged so numerous and lavishly in Arielle that had n't happened since Fantasia . According to the effects person, Mark Dindal , a total of over a million air bubbles were used, and it took ten artists a year to paint the storm scene alone.

synchronization

The first German dubbing from 1990 was done by Berliner Synchron GmbH; Klaus-Peter Bauer wrote the dialogue book and directed the dialogue. Andreas Hommelsheim was responsible for the musical direction .

The second German dubbing from 1998 was commissioned by FFS Film- & Fernseh-Synchron GmbH, Frank Lenart was responsible for the script and direction. Quirin Amper took over the musical direction .

role	Original speaker	German speaker (1990)	German speaker (1998)	Austrian speaker (1998)
Ariel	Jodi Benson	Dorette Hugo	Anna Carlsson	Caroline Vasicek
Ariel (vocals)		Ute Lemper	Naomi van Dooren
Prince Erik	Christopher Daniel Barnes	Frank Schaff	Jan Josef Liefers	Sascha Wussow
Ursula	Pat Carroll	Beate Hasenau
Sebastian	Samuel E. Wright	Joachim Kemmer	Ron Williams
Fabius	Jason Marin	Tobias Thoma	Denis repentance	Alexei Solovjov
King Triton	Kenneth Mars	Edgar Ott	Jochen Striebeck	Kurt Sobotka
Scuttle	Buddy Hackett	Jürgen Kluckert	Hartmut Neugebauer	Michael Mohapp
Grimbsby	Ben Wright	Helmut Heyne	Thomas Reiner	Erich Padalewski
Flotsam and Jetsam (1989) Scum and Meerschaum (1998)	Paddi Edwards	Lutz Riedel	Oliver Stritzel
Carlotta	Edie McClurg	Hannelore student	Uschi Wolff	unknown
Seahorse	Will Ryan	Santiago Ziesmer	Erwin Nowak	Hannes Muik
Louis	René Auberjonois	Victor of Halem	Walter von Hauff

In 1990 Arielle, the mermaid appeared in German-speaking cinemas in the dubbed version with Dorette Hugo as speaking and Ute Lemper as singing voice for Arielle . The role of Triton was cast by Edgar Ott , who was known in Germany as the voice of Benjamin Blümchen , while Benjamin's counterpart, Otto, is voiced by Frank Schaff , who takes on the role of Erik here .

For the re-edition in 1998, however, following an international project by Disney, the German version was also re-dubbed, which is still rejected by the large fan base of the 1990 version and is now closer to the English original. According to a statement by an employee of Buena Vista Switzerland, the reasons for the current insistence on re-synchronization on the part of Disney are at the Buena Vista parent company Disney Burbank, which made the decision for "creative reasons". Re-dubbing of Disney films had previously taken place in the 1970s.

The discussion about the old Disney dubbing started again with the new version of Arielle . In contrast to the falsifying re-dubbing of the classics, the new version of Arielle sticks more closely to the English original. However, fans complain about the awkward dialogues and lyrics as well as the poor cast. According to many fans, the new version does not come close to the previous one.

Since Ariel and other Disney films were re-dubbed not only in Germany but throughout Europe, Disney fans have launched an international online petition with their own website. This is committed to the republication of all old Disney synchronizations that are archived in London and Los Angeles. As in the 1970s, however, the Disney group was unimpressed by this for a long time. On the other hand, the online retailer Amazon received negative reviews for the newly dubbed Disney films. This gained public notoriety through some articles in newspapers and magazines. Both the DVD re-release of the film in 2006 and its sequels, Ariel, the Mermaid 2 and Ariel, the Mermaid 3 , received the new voices. In September 2013, a new release was finally released which, in addition to the new synchronization, also contains the initial synchronization.

Buena Vista has produced an extra synchronization for Austria , in which some characters speak with an Austrian language coloring . The Austrian actress and musical star Caroline Vasicek sang the female lead.

reception

Gross profit

Although Ron Clements was completely satisfied with what had been created, there were some fears beforehand that the film could fail and drag the studios deep into a crisis. But already on the opening weekend, Arielle dispelled the last doubts with a gross profit of 10 million US dollars. A total of around $ 111 million was recorded in the United States and another roughly $ 99 million around the world. The film turned out to be a real gold mine and with its widespread success outshone the previous Disney films by far. The box office profits were so high that Disney brought the film to theaters again in 1997.

In addition, Arielle ushered in what many Disney fans call the Golden 90s . From Beauty and the Beast to Aladdin and what has long been the most successful animated film, The Lion King , all of the films were huge successes and brought several awards in addition to a windfall.

The aftereffects of the success include the 31-part television series Arielle, the Mermaid, which was shown for the first time in 1992, and the resulting sequels for digital television , for which fans are less enthusiastic. On September 19, 2000 the film Ariel, the Mermaid 2 - Longing for the Sea celebrated its premiere, which tells the adventures of Ariel's daughter Melody. Arielle, the Mermaid - How It All Began was released on DVD in Germany on September 11, 2008.

A radio play series by Karussell was also released in Germany in 1992 , but its story potential was exhausted after only two episodes. In surprises and Ursula's Revenge is reported of how it is with Arielle after their wedding. She misses the sea world so much that her father uses a magic spell to transform her into a mermaid every night of the full moon. At the same time, the witch Ursula, believed dead, returns and swears revenge for what was done to her. In both episodes she kidnaps Arielle, who can be saved by her friends in time before she can be transformed back.

Awards

While the previous Disney films did rather badly at Oscar awards, Arielle was able to take home two Oscars , one for the best film score and one for the best film song . The 28th Disney film was also given generous consideration at other awards. In addition to a Grammy and two Golden Globe Awards also jumped the BMI Music Film Award for Alan Menken out. The awards at a glance:

Grammy Awards 1991

• Grammy for Best Song for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (" Under the Sea ")

Golden canvas 1991

Golden Globe Award 1990

• Golden Globe in the Best Movie Song category for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman ("Under the Sea")
• Golden Globe in the Best Score for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman

BMI Film Music Award 1990

• BMI Film Music Award for Alan Menken

Oscar 1990

• Oscar for Best Score for Alan Menken
• Oscar in the Best Song category for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (" Under the Sea ")

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award 1989

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film

Reviews

source	rating
Rotten tomatoes
critic
audience
IMDb

The film received mostly positive reviews, earning a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 65 reviews.

“An equally turbulent and amusing cartoon based on motifs from a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, which outweighs the sentimentalities with a lot of comedy. In the studio's first fairy tale film since 1959, the excellent songs (including 'Unter dem Meer') are the basis for a rousing, imaginative film, which admittedly has little to do with Andersen's deeply melancholy original - right up to the surprising happy ending. (New start in 1998 with new synchronization.) "

- Lexicon of international film

Publications in German-speaking countries

• Ariel the Mermaid - Walt Disney Masterpieces, VHS 1991 (1989 version)
• Ariel, the Mermaid - Walt Disney Masterpieces, VHS 1998 (re-release)
• Ariel the Mermaid - Walt Disney Masterpieces, DVD 2000 (1998 version)
• Ariel, the Mermaid - Special Edition, DVD 2006 (Version 1998)
• Ariel, the Mermaid - Diamond Edition, DVD / Blu-ray Disc 2013 (dubbing 1990 and 1998)
• Ariel, the Mermaid - Collectors Edition, Blu-ray Media Book, limited, 2013
• Ariel, the Mermaid - Disney Classics 27, DVD / Blu-ray Disc 2017 (both soundtracks)
• Ariel, the Mermaid - Disney + , Video-on-Demand 2020 (dubbing 1998)

Songs

The titles according to the old and new dubbed version:

• Fathoms Below / In the heart of the deep blue sea (English: Fathoms Below) - The song of the sailors on Prince Erik's ship at the beginning of the film
• Daughters of Triton / Triton's daughters (ger .: Daughters of Triton) - The Song of Ariel's sisters at the concert. Arielle is supposed to join the song later, but is not present.
• Ariel's Dream ( Part of Your World) - Sung by Arielle. In her secret hiding place, she dreams of being human and living on land.
• In your world (Ein Mensch zu sein Reprise) (Part of Your World (Reprise)) - After she has saved him, Arielle falls in love with Erik and one day wants to live as a person by his side.
• Under the sea / bottom of the sea (ger .: Under the Sea ) - Sung by Sebastian to Arielle by the thought of Erik distract and to convince them of the beauty of the sea.
• Ursula's Magic / Poor Unfortunate Souls - Sung by Ursula while she persuades Arielle to trust her and sign her contract.
• Les Poissons (English: Les Poissons) - Sung by Chef Louis.
• Kiss her / Just a kiss (English: Kiss the Girl ) - Sung by Sebastian and the inhabitants of the lake on which Arielle and Erik go by boat. (The 1989 film, however, has a different text than the newly filmed 2006 film.)
• Happy Ending / In Your World (Finale) (English: Happy Ending) - Sung by the sea dwellers during the wedding of Arielle and Erik.

There are numerous pop versions of the songs in the film.

literature

(in chronological order)

• Elmar Biebl, Dirk Manthey, Jörg Altendorf: Walt Disney. The magical world of animation. 2nd Edition. Publishing group Milchstraße, Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-89324-117-5 .
• Walt Disney's Ariel, the mermaid. Franz Schneider Verlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-505-08186-8 .
• Disney's Ariel, the mermaid. Egmont Schneider, Munich 2003, ISBN 978-3-505-11996-5 .
• Michael Quandt, Yvonne Hoffmann: Arielle, the mermaid. (= Part of the series The original Disney film comics ). Schneider book Egmont, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-505-12807-3 .
• Disney (ed.): The great golden book of the princesses. Carlsen, Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-551-28011-4 , pp. 69–98.
• Arielle the mermaid. (= Part of the series Disney film classics Premium ). Carlsen, Hamburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-551-28026-8 .

Web links

• The Little Mermaid at the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Arielle, the mermaid on AllMovie (English)
• Ariel, the mermaid in the online film database
• Arielle, the mermaid at Fernsehserien.de
• The Little Mermaid atrotten tomatoes(English)
• Ariel the Mermaid on Disney Wiki

Individual evidence

1. ↑ German synchronous index: German synchronous index | Movies | Arielle the mermaid. Retrieved February 23, 2018 . 
2. ↑ German synchronous index: German synchronous index | Movies | Arielle the mermaid. Retrieved February 23, 2018 . 
3. ^ Quoted answer to Fabius from a Buena Vista employee . Retrieved July 24, 2009.
4. ↑ Fabius fan campaign for the re-publication of the old Arielle synchronization . Retrieved July 24, 2009.
5. ^ Description of the differences on Fabius . Retrieved July 24, 2009.
6. ↑ Song-text comparison on Fabius . Retrieved July 24, 2009.
7. ^ Online petition for the republication of the 1990 synchronization . Retrieved July 24, 2009.
8. ↑ Amazon online article on the Arielle DVD released in 2006, including buyer reviews . Retrieved July 24, 2009.
9. ^ Ariel, the mermaid in the Disney dubbing archive
10. ↑ ^{a b c} The Little Mermaid (1989). Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved March 3, 2015 . 
11. ↑ Arielle, the mermaid in the Internet Movie Database (English)
12. ↑ Ariel, the mermaid. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 24, 2018 .