Looper Survey: The Absolute Best Little Mermaid Movie According To Fans
Sometimes picking out a favorite movie in a franchise is a tricky thing to manage, and other times it is a complete and total landslide as to which particular entry is superior to the rest. With the recent release of Disney's latest live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid," we here at Looper decided to ask fans of the famous fairy tale which one of Ariel's adventures is the very best. When voting was finally concluded, one option absolutely dominated the results.
The options in our exclusive survey were 1989's "The Little Mermaid," 2000's "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea," 2008's "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning," 2019's "The Little Mermaid Live!," and the freshly-minted 2023 live-action adaptation, "The Little Mermaid."
After an amazing 23,000 responses, the 1989 animated film rose to the top, garnering a staggering 88% of the vote. The next runner-up was the 2023 version starring Halle Bailey with 8%, while the remaining options only earned 1% each. In other words, it seems many still prefer the original "The Little Mermaid," though there definitely appears to be a sect that doesn't mind the new iteration.
Fans love the original, but appreciate the new remake
It goes without saying that anytime Disney's "The Little Mermaid" is brought up these days, a conversation is immediately created, and our exclusive survey was no exception. René Astorga Terré said of "The Little Mermaid" movies, "I just saw it yesterday, the original one, after like 25 years that I saw it for the last time, and I see why that movie saved Disney and kickstarted the renaissance era, Ursula is one of the greatest Disney villains, Sebastian steals the show at every turn, and Ariel is one of the most unique characters Disney has created, that on top of some of the most beautiful animations ever made, is not just a Disney classic, it's an all-time classic of cinema period."
Avelino Tuason stated that they don't think it's fair to compare any of "The Little Mermaid" movies against the original 1989 film. Still, they did add that they enjoyed the new live-action movie and that Halle Bailey gave a star performance. Broncojuan also said that the 1989 "The Little Mermaid" is hands down the best one, but echoed the same sentiment as the previous comment, saying that they enjoyed the new take on "The Little Mermaid." They continued and said that the only real issue with this new movie is that Bailey is trying a bit too hard to be like the original voice actor, Jodi Benson. Still, the user said that didn't stop them from considering 2023's "The Little Mermaid" a good movie.
Although the 1989 film seems to have earned a special place in the hearts of many, the new "The Little Mermaid" has its own share of fans.