Sidebar: Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Complied by Allanah Wills

The classic animated film will celebrate 26 years since its release on Nov. 17. Based off the 1837 fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson, the film grossed more than $200 million at the box office, won two Academy Awards, two Grammys and two Golden Globes. Take a look at some fun facts about the film!

1. The protagonist Ariel was animated using the inspiration of Alyssa Milano’s body and the hair of astronaut Sally ride as it waved when she was in zero gravity

2. The villain Ursula was animated to look like drag queen Divine, who had a starring role in the 1988 film Hairspray.
3. The role of Ariel’s dad King Triton was offered to Patrick Stewart, who was too busy with Star Trek: The Next Generation to accept it.
4. The Underwater special effects were some of the most complicated for an animated film at that time. The film’s animator Mark Dindal estimates that a million bubbles had to be drawn.
5. The voice of Ariel, Jodi Benson, recorded the ballad Part of Your World in a dark room to simulate the feeling of being underwater
6. With around 23 million VHS copies sold and an eventual seven million DVDs sold, The Little Mermaid is one of the most successful home video releases ever.
7. The film would be the last time Disney used traditional hand-painted animation. The final wedding scene was the first time they used a computer assisted production technique. The system scanned the drawings and colored them in. This technique was designed by non-other than Pixar, who would eventually partner with Disney.