Little Mermaid: Original Disney Motion Picture Soundtrack

Little Mermaid: Original Disney Motion Picture Soundtrack
Before Broadway was Disneyfied and Times Square became a mall, the best Broadway musicals were being written for Disney animated features by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman. Their songs for The Little Mermaid created the mold from which their even more popular work (Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin) would be cast. Almost every tune in Mermaid has its (slightly inferior) counterpart in Beauty, for example. But there's no topping the Oscar-winning calypso show-stopper, "Under the Sea"--in which a Caribbean crab convinces you that "Darlin' it's better/Down where it's wetter." Other songs, just as delightful, are even more impressive in the context of the movie. The rapturous "Kiss the Girl" accompanies a scene in which, despite the whispered urgings of creatures all around, the romantic hero does not act on the title's advice! That's the kind of abstract dramatic (OK, comedic) conceit you'd expect from Harold Pinter rather than Disney. And the gruesomely hilarious "Les Poissons" gives us a fisheye view of a kitchen where the seafood chef is a sort of French Ed Gein--a sadistic murderer who brutally tortures and chops up his victims, then eats them! Who says Disney never did black comedy? "...I stuff you with bread/It won't hurt, 'cause you're dead/And you're certainly lucky you are...." Lyricist Ashman may not have been Cole Porter, but he was the next best thing. --Jim Emerson
Customer Review: ~Enhanced VS Original~
As of The Little Mermaid's rerelease an 'Enhanced' version of the music was also released. And after reading the reviews on the 'Enhanced' version I was inclined to spend my money on the 'Original' for these reasons. 1.) The 'Enhanced' version has been recorded (I personally favor originals) 2.) The 'Enhanced' versions re-recording has been redone with a whole new cast (Not a very good situation for anyone including myself who likes the original) To be fair I have not listened to the 'Enhanced' version because I didn't want to spend $15.00 for something that would end up collecting dust. So I can't say on how 'good' or 'bad' it is. I purchased and just finished listening to the original and I found it to be superb recording identical to the movie and I highly recommend it for anyone (like me) who is an original kind of person. Thank you
Customer Review: The Little Mermaid music delivers!!!
Hats off for Mr. Alan Menken for the breathtaking score for this motion picture. Winner of 2 academy awards, this cartoon movie has excelled and reached heights a lot of other movies wanted to reach.. This soundtrack is kinda short but the music in it is just AWESOME! (and by the way, I added the music to my iPod with no problem)