Leaving its name in the pantheon of animated film productions since the 20th century, Disney has become one of the great highlights among the studios responsible for this style of narrative, not only for its unique plots that are remembered by the public to this day, but also, for through his pioneering performances and contribution to the development of techniques that transformed the history of cinema.
Some of those responsible for this construction of the name disney, are its more than 60 animated feature films, which became part of the Mickey Mouse House production catalog in 1937 with the release of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, the studio’s first feature film, and also, the first adaptation of a fairy tale performed in this format.
The feat became so remarkable that the transformation of stories that appeared on the pages and became adapted for the big screen, soon became the flagships of the studio, which in the years could count on the launches ‘Cinderella’ (1950) and ‘Bela Asleep’ (1959), who, like Snow White, are on the list of the first Disney Princesses.
In addition to these, ‘The Little Mermaid’, animation released in 1989, which adapted the story written by Hans Christian Andersen by presenting the trajectory of Ariel, the mermaid princess of the submerged kingdom of Atlantis, who after saving the life of Prince Eric, decides to risk everything to rise to the surface and live among humans, can also be mentioned as a transformative agent in Disney history.
Why is ‘The Little Mermaid’ so important to Disney?
This is because, the development of ‘The Little Mermaid’ seemed to be a big risk at the time, since Disney had not brought adaptations of fairy tales to theaters for 30 years, since the last among them had been ‘Sleeping Beauty’.
In addition, as e-Pipoca points out, the studio was raising its legacy in other segments, since theme parks and made-for-television movies were becoming the new highlights of Casa do Mickey since the 1950s.
Even so, the adaptation of Ariel’s story was well accepted by critics and the public, becoming a success mainly for bringing a less dark version of the tale of Hans Christian Andersen and for their songs written by Alan Menkena feat that made the film secure two Oscar statuettes, winning the categories of Best Original Soundtrack and Best Original Song with ‘Under the Sea’.
Through its achievements, the feature became largely responsible not only for establishing the musical film format as a standard for Disney animation, but for kicking off the period that is now known as disney renaissance (1989 — 1999), a time when Disney returned to producing successful animated films, as it was through the release of ‘The Little Mermaid’ that releases such as ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘The King Leão’ became possible, making long-lasting animations once again the flagship of the Walt Disney Company.
Source: Recreio
