"The Little Mermaid" is Still Moving Along Swimmingly After 30 Years

Scene from The Little Mermaid (1989

It's hard to imagine a time when Disney wasn't seen as the biggest studio on the planet. In an age where their streaming service gained 10 million subscribers in a day and Frozen II looks to dominate the Fall box office, it's almost laughable to think of anything beating it. However, the 1980s were a rough period for Disney with a string of animated movies that failed to capture the magic of their first 30 years, going into darker territory with The Black Cauldron and The Fox and the Hound. However, by the back half of the decade, things were turning around and they were planning to revive a long-dead market that would work out big for them. With the help of The Great Mouse Detective's co-directors John Musker and Ron Clements and Off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors duo Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, The Little Mermaid was marked as a turning point for the studio. In 1989, a mermaid who dreamed of being "Part Of Your World" became an Oscar-winning phenomenon and set the stage for Disney's comeback, creating the template for every contemporary hit in the process. 30 years later, it's still a masterpiece and high point in a catalog full of them.

Review: "Moana" is One of the Most Fun Films of 2016

Scene from Moana

With each passing year, it becomes more difficult for Disney to keep making new iconic princesses. This is in part because of the limited supply of fairy tales that the studio has pulled from over close to a century. It makes sense then that they hit the high seas to explore South Pacific folklore in Moana: their latest musical that also features the likes of Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, and reliable Disney co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin among others). By exploring a new subject matter, Disney has managed to open up their potential while delivering one of their most electric stories of the 21st century so far. With heart and humor, Moana is another gem from the studio known for going above and beyond. So say hello to one of the best Disney animated films and prepare to have a new soundtrack stuck in your head for awhile. Moana is great.