17. The Little Mermaid (1989)

Well, maybe sometimes it is all about the music, but not with The Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid brings to the screen one of the great fairy tales, made with love and attention to detail that’s almost impossible to believe. The characters are characteristically wonderful, particularly Ariel (Jodi Benson), Sebastion (Samuel E. Wright) and Ursula (Pat Carroll). Each of them brings emotion to their characters that rivals anything Disney has ever done.

Then there’s the music. The Little Mermaid has two of my top five songs from animated film: “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl.” Both of them were rightly nominated for Oscars and both were sung brilliantly by Wright. Pardon the alliteration.  More importantly the story, the plot and yes the voice acting were all off the charts, phenomenal. I loved Beauty and the Beast but I found myself having more fun and getting more involved, with Ariel. Oh, and Pat Carroll was brilliant as the evil Ursula, one of Disney’s best villains.