The Little Mermaid (TV series)

The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
Genre	Children's television series; Fantasy;
Directed by	Jamie Mitchell; Mircea Mantta;
Creative directors	Ed Ghertner; Ron Dias;
Starring	Jodi Benson; Edan Gross; Samuel E. Wright; Maurice LaMarche; Kenneth Mars; Danny Cooksey; Jim Cummings; Bradley Pierce; Pat Carroll;
Theme music composer	Dan Foliart; Mark Watters;
Opening theme	"Part of Your World", "Under the Sea", and "Kiss the Girl"
Ending theme	"Under the Sea"
Composers	Dan Foliart; Mark Watters;
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	31
Production
Producers	Jamie Mitchell; Tedd Anasti (co-producer); Patsy Cameron (co-producer); Traci Tolman Mars (assistant producer); Donna Smith (assistant producer);
Editor	Elen Orson
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Walt Disney Television Animation;
Distributor	Buena Vista Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Picture format	Color
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 11, 1992 –; November 26, 1994
Chronology
Preceded by	The Little Mermaid
Followed by	The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea; The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning;

The Little Mermaid is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation based on the 1989 Disney film of the same name. It features the adventures of Ariel as a mermaid prior to the events of the film.^[1] This series is the third Disney television series to be spun off from a major animated film. Some of the voice actors of the film reprise their roles in the series, among them Jodi Benson as Ariel, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, Kenneth Mars as King Triton and Pat Carroll as Ursula.^[2] Other voice actors include Edan Gross and Bradley Pierce as Flounder, and Jeff Bennett as Prince Eric.

The Little Mermaid premiered in the fall of 1992, on September 11, with the animated prime time special called "A Whale of a Tale", then moved to Saturday mornings. This series originally appeared on CBS, with an original run from 1992 to November 26, 1994. Some of the episodes contain musical segments, featuring original songs written for the series. The opening theme to the show is an instrumental combination of the songs "Part of Your World", "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl". The overture for the 2007 stage musical of The Little Mermaid is similar to this.

Premise[]

The Little Mermaid television series is a prequel to the movie of the same name. The story is set between the 2008 prequel film The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning and the 1989 film, and follows Ariel's adventures as a mermaid still living under the sea with her father King Triton, Sebastian the crab and Flounder the fish.^[3] Various episodes highlight her relationships with her friends, father and sisters, and usually involve Ariel foiling the attempts of various enemies that intend ill harm to her or her kingdom. Ariel's Beginning contains events that contradict the television series (such as Ariel's youth and first meeting with Flounder), making the TV series and the prequel independent continuities.

Characters[]

From the 1989 film[]

Ariel (voiced by Jodi Benson) – is the youngest daughter of the sea king. She loves singing and going on adventures. She also has developed magic in season 2 (episode 9) to save her world.
Flounder (voiced by Edan Gross, Season 1; Bradley Pierce, Seasons 2–3) – Ariel's best friend, a bright yellow and blue colored tropical reef fish who follows along on her adventures, and can be easily scared.
Sebastian (voiced by Samuel E. Wright) – A small red Jamaican-accented crab who acts as the king's adviser, court musician, a teacher, a scout leader and a baby-sitter-like figure for Ariel.
King Triton (voiced by Kenneth Mars) – is Ariel's father and ruler of Atlantica who protects his kingdom with his magic trident.
Scuttle (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) – is a clumsy seagull who is friends with Ariel. He first appears in the episode "Scuttle". At first Ariel is afraid of him, but they become friends after he helps them rescue Sebastian.
Attina (voiced by Kath Soucie): Attina is one of Ariel's six older sisters
Aquata (voiced by Mona Marshall), is one of Ariel's six older sisters
Andrina (voiced by Catherine Cavadini), is one of Ariel's six older sisters
Arista (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman): Arista is one of Ariel's sisters. She has blond cream coloured hair tied in a half ponytail hair style and has a red tail and red seashells.
Adella (voiced by Sherry Lynn) is one of Ariel's six older sisters
Alana (voiced by Kimmy Robertson) is one of Ariel's six older sisters.
Ursula (voiced by Pat Carroll) is a powerful cecaelian sea witch who occasionally antagonizes Ariel.
Flotsam and Jetsam (voiced by Paddi Edwards) – They are Ursula's green moray eel informers who spy others and show Ursula what they are seeing with their magic yellow eye, they have one eye white and the other yellow.
Prince Eric (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – Ariel's future husband. His first appearance is in the episode "Thingamajigger" and appears occasionally throughout the seasons with his dog, Max, as a puppy. Ariel first sees him saving a dolphin from a net, which technically makes this scene the first time she has ever seen Prince Eric, but does not know who he is. Eric also sees Ariel swimming on the surface for a couple of seconds but no one believed him.

Original characters[]

Urchin (voiced by Danny Cooksey) – He is a young orphan merboy and Ariel's friend. He shares her love for adventure and is unofficially her adopted brother, and at one point starts to develop romantic feelings for Ariel.
The Lobster Mobster (voiced by Joe Alaskey) – A red-violet lobster gangster following the style of the 1920s gangster stereotype. Da Shrimp (voiced by David Lander) is his sidekick.
The Evil Manta (voiced by Tim Curry) – An evil human/manta ray hybrid who repeatedly tries to take over Atlantica. He has a son named Little Evil who Ariel befriends in the episode "A Little Evil".
Pearl (voiced by Cree Summer) – A spoiled, thrill-seeking mermaid whose actions often lead to Ariel, as well as herself, getting in trouble.
Spot (voiced by Frank Welker) – A killer whale calf whom Ariel adopted and secretly raised in the palace.
Gabriella – A mute mermaid who dreams of being able to sing. Gabriella's sign language is translated by her blue octopus friend Ollie (who is voiced by Whitby Hertford). This character is based on a real person who was a fan of the show and died during its first season.
Moray (voiced by Dave Coulier) – A dark green moray eel salesman and con-artist who occasionally sells items to Ariel that alternately help her or get her into trouble.
The Crabscouts (occasionally voiced by J.D. Daniels, Anndi McAfee, Bradley Pierce, Malachi Pearson, and Whitby Hertford) – Crab children, consisting of two boys and one girl, who are under the mentorship of Sebastian in a scout-like troop.
Flo and Ebb (voiced by Kath Soucie and Richard Karron) – Two brown alligator criminals who appear in the episode "Beached".
The Magical Wishing Starfish (voiced by Tony Jay) – A giant starfish with a beard and crown who appears in the episode "Wish Upon A Starfish".
Emperor Sharga (voiced by Jim Cummings) – Ruler of the Sharkanians, the aggressive shark-people who live in Sharkania similar to the merfolk who live in Atlantica. Sharga wishes to take over Atlantica someday.
The Ancient Seaclops (voiced by Jim Cummings) – An ancient one-eyed sea monster whose primary objective is to sleep every 1,000 years and wants to see it through more than anything else. He gets very angry when he is woken up abruptly by any loud noise and appeared in the episode "Calliope Dreams".
Dudley (voiced by Lawrence Montaigne) is an elderly sea turtle who serves as an assistant to King Triton other than Sebastian. He walks on the ocean floor unlike other sea turtles.
Hans Christian Andersen (voiced by Mark Hamill) – A fictionalised version of the author Hans Christian Andersen, who appears in the episode "Metal Fish" where he rides a fish-shaped submarine and sees Ariel, which inspires him to write the story "The Little Mermaid".
Archimedes (voiced by Rod McKuen) – A merman who knows about human things, appearing in "Metal Fish".

Production and development[]

After the success of the 1989 film, The Walt Disney Company planned to produce a children's television series for its Disney Channel cable outlet called The Little Mermaid's Island. The proposed series would feature puppets from Jim Henson's Creature Shop interacting with a "live" Ariel. But after Jim Henson's untimely death along with production difficulties and as the video release of The Little Mermaid soared in sales during 1990 and early 1991, Disney quietly dropped plans for "The Little Mermaid's Island" in favor of a more ambitious plan: an animated weekly series for CBS. The new show would be about the adventures of Ariel and her friends before the events in the film.

Jamie Mitchell, an artist and graphic designer who worked on Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, was named the producer and director of the new series. Patsy Cameron and Tedd Anasti were the story editors and wrote almost all of the episodes for the show's second and third seasons. Their previous joint work included Hanna-Barbera's The Smurfs, the animated Beetlejuice and Disney's DuckTales. Some of the artists and technicians on the feature film also contributed to the TV series. Mark Dindal, chief of special animated effects for the film, was a consultant for special effects on the TV show. Robby Merkin, who worked with Alan Menken and Howard Ashman on arranging the songs for the film, worked as the arranger and music producer for the first season of the TV show.

Conscious of the worldwide acclaim for the film's superior artistry, Walt Disney Television Animation auditioned the best overseas animation studios. In the world of TV animation, farming most of the artwork out to Asian studios is an economic reality due to lower production costs and wages abroad. Studios in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Japan and the Philippines contributed to the series.

Episodes[]

Series overview[]

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
Season		Episodes	First aired	Last aired
	1	14	September 11, 1992 (1992-09-11)	December 5, 1992 (1992-12-05)
	2	9	September 18, 1993 (1993-09-18)	December 11, 1993 (1993-12-11)
	3	8	September 17, 1994 (1994-09-17)	November 26, 1994 (1994-11-26)

Season 1 (1992)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
1	1	"Whale of a Tale"	Jamie Mitchell	Peter S. Beagle	September 11, 1992 (1992-09-11)	1
Ariel becomes friends with a baby killer whale that was separated from his family because of human poachers, but Triton insists that he be sent away once he has been taught how to survive on his own. Notes: This is the pilot episode. The title is a reference to "A Whale of a Tale" from the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Music: "Just a Little Love", performed by Jodi Benson and "You've Got to Be You", performed by Samuel E. Wright.
2	2	"The Great Sebastian"	Jamie Mitchell & Mircea Mantta	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	September 12, 1992 (1992-09-12)	2
Sebastian tells Triton that he is capable of making a deal with the Sharkanians (a race of shark-like merpeople with an attitude to match), but in truth, he is petrified of them and Ariel and Flounder must tag along to help him make the process go smoothly.
3	3	"Stormy"	Jamie Mitchell & Mircea Mantta	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	September 19, 1992 (1992-09-19)	3
Ariel rides a wild sea horse named Stormy against her father's wishes and gets lost in the wilderness with Stormy. Music: "The Edge of the Edge of the Sea", performed by Jodi Benson.
4	4	"Urchin"	Jamie Mitchell & Mircea Mantta	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	September 26, 1992 (1992-09-26)	4
Ariel became friends with an orphaned merboy who has fallen in with the underwater gangster 'the Lobster Mobster' (Note: this is the first appearance of Urchin). Music: "The Lobster Mobster's Mob", performed by Joe Alaskey and David Lander.
5	5	"Double Bubble"	Jamie Mitchell & Mircea Mantta	Marie Sager & Laraine Arkow & David Schwartz	October 3, 1992 (1992-10-03)	5
Ariel babysits two mischievous mertwins. As lively as the twins are, matters are complicated by the Lobster Mobster, who kidnaps the twins to gain their mother's pearl necklace. Music: "Beddie-Bye Blues" Performed by Joe Alaskey and David Lander.
6	6	"Message in a Bottle"	Jamie Mitchell	Lynn Lefler	October 10, 1992 (1992-10-10)	6
Ariel befriends Simon, a lonely sea dragon after she, Sebastian and Flounder discover his message that he sent in a bottle. Music: "Sing a New Song", performed by Jodi Benson.
7	7	"Charmed"	Jamie Mitchell	James A. Markovich & Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	October 17, 1992 (1992-10-17)	7
Ariel puts on a human bracelet, but finds it hard to take it off afterwards. Afraid of how her father would react when he sees her wearing a human thing, she runs away from home and goes off to find the key to the lock of the bracelet. However, the moment that she finds it, a giant whirlpool traps her in a horrible underwater cave.
8	8	"Marriage of Inconvenience"	Jamie Mitchell	Chris Weber & Karen Willson	October 24, 1992 (1992-10-24)	8
Ariel believes her father King Triton is setting her up for an arranged marriage with a snobbish merman-prince of another sea kingdom of Olympia named Prince Thor, and her good friends go to great lengths to prevent this from happening.
9	9	"The Evil Manta"	Jamie Mitchell	Tony Marino & Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	October 31, 1992 (1992-10-31)	9
Ariel accidentally frees a dark figure known as the Evil Manta, who tries to take over Atlantica using deception and lies to turn its merpeople and the sea creatures against each other. To make things even worse, he even tries to turn Flounder against Ariel. Music: "In Harmony", performed by Jodi Benson.
10	10	"Thingamajigger"	Jamie Mitchell	Chuck Menville	November 7, 1992 (1992-11-07)	10
When a pirate's boot falls into the sea, Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder try to figure out what it is, culminating in the Lobster Mobster and the Evil Manta both mistaking it for a weapon. Note: This marks the very first appearances of Ariel's romantic interest and human lover, Prince Eric, and his dog Max (as a puppy) in the TV series. Note 2: This episode was dedicated to Chuck Menville, a writer who passed away before the episode aired.
11	11	"Red"	Jamie Mitchell	Emily Swass	November 14, 1992 (1992-11-14)	11
A magic spell turns King Triton into a young and energetic merboy, and Ariel has to play "mother" to him. Music: "Dis is de Life", performed by Samuel E. Wright.
12	12	"Beached"	Jamie Mitchell	Alicia Marie Schudt	November 21, 1992 (1992-11-21)	12
Before a family trip to the Carnival of Tides on the tide, Ariel and Arista get into a fight and are "beached" (grounded); and Sebastian has to stay and look after them. Two gators attempt to steal the royal treasure. Ariel and Arista not only learn more about each other and have an adventure together, but they also learn to work together and to get along.
13	13	"Trident True"	Jamie Mitchell	Tony Marino	November 28, 1992 (1992-11-28)	13
Ariel looks for the perfect Father's Day gift to give to King Triton, but it leads her to misfortune when a giant octopus traps them in a cave, forcing Urchin to try and steal the trident so that he can save the day.
14	14	"Eel-Ectric City"	Jamie Mitchell	Chuck Menville	December 5, 1992 (1992-12-05)	14
Pearl, a mermaid who is obsessed with partying, takes Ariel and her sixth eldest sister, Alana, to Eel-Ectric City instead of to her house, while Sebastian and Flounder follow. In the end Ariel and Alana are beached (Note: this is Ariel's second time getting beached).

Season 2 (1993)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
15	1	"Resigned to It"	Jamie Mitchell	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	September 18, 1993 (1993-09-18)	15
Sebastian quits his job as King Triton's royal confidant and advisor and tries to make a new life for himself. At the same time, the dreaded Red Tide returns and threatens to consume all of Atlantica. Music: "You Know I Know", performed by Samuel E. Wright and "Never Give Up", performed by Jodi Benson and Samuel E. Wright.
16	2	"Calliope Dreams"	Jamie Mitchell	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	September 25, 1993 (1993-09-25)	16
King Triton wants Ariel to play the sea calliope: an instrument resembling an organ. However, she instead wants to play the new harp she found. The music from the calliope awakens the Seaclops. It is up to Ariel and friends to find a way to put the Seaclops to sleep again (in this episode, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has a cameo appearance). King Triton's paternal grandfather (Ariel's great-grandfather) also appears for the first time and Pearl makes her third appearance.
17	3	"Save the Whale!"	Jamie Mitchell	Dev Ross & Laraine Arkow	October 2, 1993 (1993-10-02)	17
Spot, the killer whale from the pilot episode, returns. Spot and Sebastian get captured by a crazed circus owner, and Ariel has to save them.
18	4	"Against the Tide"	Jamie Mitchell	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	October 9, 1993 (1993-10-09)	18
Ariel rescues a Bad-Luck Creature named Lucky, putting all of Atlantica in a panic, and must make her own luck when Ursula comes after the creature after her potions have been backfiring countless times. Music: "You Wouldn't Want to Mess with Me", performed by Pat Carroll.
19	5	"Giggles"	Jamie Mitchell	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	October 16, 1993 (1993-10-16)	19
A grumpy sorcerer blowfish's magic spell causes Ariel to create sea quakes whenever she laughs, then Flounder and Sebastian turn into a shark, a killer whale, a giant squid and a humpback whale, and then swap bodies. Music: "The Sound of Laughter", performed by Samuel E. Wright.
20	6	"Wish Upon a Starfish"	Jamie Mitchell	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	October 23, 1993 (1993-10-23)	20
A big wave grabs a ballerina music box during a thunderstorm, and Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian try to get it, but it is unable to reach. Ariel befriends a deaf-mute Latina mermaid named Gabriella, and both of them decide to seek out the magical Wishing Starfish (voiced by Tony Jay) to make their dreams come true. (Note: this is the first appearance of Gabriella. Also, the title is a play on "When You Wish Upon a Star" from the Disney animated film Pinocchio). Music: "Daring to Dance", performed by Jodi Benson.
21	7	"Tail of Two Crabs"	Jamie Mitchell	Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	October 30, 1993 (1993-10-30)	21
Sebastian feels threatened by Zeus, an old arch-rival crab who is better than him at everything, while Ursula works on a plan to turn Triton, Ariel, and others into sea polyps by using a magic stone (Note: this episode is a parody of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens).
22	8	"Metal Fish"	Jamie Mitchell	Story by : Thomas Mitchell Teleplay by : Patsy Cameron & Tedd Anasti	November 6, 1993 (1993-11-06)	22
A human explorer-known in the episode as the author of the original The Little Mermaid story, Hans Christian Andersen-boards a primitive submarine to explore the undersea realm, and crosses paths with Ariel when his submarine is damaged and starts to leak. Note: this episode ends with Kenneth Mars, the voice of King Triton, telling children a message that Hans Christian Andersen wrote the original story and to find his books at your local library.
23	9	"T'ank You for Dat, Ariel"	Jamie Mitchell	Tedd Anasti & Patsy Cameron	December 11, 1993 (1993-12-11)	23
Ariel enters a magic cave to become a sea witch and uses her newfound magical abilities to make Sebastian a great big crab. Unfortunately, she is not quite specific about the size she wishes Sebastian to attain, thus causing quite a commotion wherever he goes.

Season 3 (1994)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
24	1	"Scuttle"	Jamie Mitchell	Tedd Anasti & Patsy Cameron	September 17, 1994 (1994-09-17)	24
Ariel meets Scuttle for the first time and must use his help to rescue Sebastian from a gang of pirates. Note: This marks the second appearance of Prince Eric, and Scuttle's original name is said to be Scuttlebutt, but he changed it. Music: "I Just Like The Sky" and "Just Give Me a Chance", performed by Maurice LaMarche.
25	2	"King Crab"	Jamie Mitchell	Tedd Anasti & Patsy Cameron	September 24, 1994 (1994-09-24)	26
Sebastian realizes that his parents are coming to visit and must try to create a huge scheme to make it appear that he is the king of Atlantica like he wrote in his letters to them.
26	3	"Island of Fear"	Jamie Mitchell	Tedd Anasti & Patsy Cameron	October 1, 1994 (1994-10-01)	25
A mad scientist captures Sebastian and tries to use him for sinister experiments, while Sebastian bonds with his young apprentice, and it is up to Ariel, Flounder and Scuttle to rescue him.
27	4	"Land of the Dinosaurs"	Jamie Mitchell	Tedd Anasti & Patsy Cameron	October 8, 1994 (1994-10-08)	27
During a trip to the North Pole, Ariel finds frozen dinosaurs and thaws them with her father's trident. Somehow, they are aquatic and cause chaos before King Triton makes a refuge for them on land.
28	5	"Heroes"	Jamie Mitchell	Tedd Anasti & Patsy Cameron	October 15, 1994 (1994-10-15)	28
Apollo, a great Atlantican hero, comes to visit, and Ariel wants to go on an adventure with him, only to learn that he is not all that he is cracked up to be.
29	6	"The Beast Within"	Jamie Mitchell	Tedd Anasti & Patsy Cameron	October 22, 1994 (1994-10-22)	29
Flounder gets bitten by a howling hairfish and starts to turn into one, and Sebastian and Urchin get into a fight because Urchin broke Sebastian's trophy that King Triton gave to him for his anniversary by the howling hairfish that bit Flounder.
30	7	"Ariel's Treasures"	Jamie Mitchell	Emily Dwass	October 29, 1994 (1994-10-29)	31
Gabriella returns to visit Ariel as she shows her all of her new human things. However, Ursula's spell causes her treasures to go crazy and begin attacking innocent fish and merpeople. Note: Prince Eric makes his third appearance.
31	8	"A Little Evil"	Jamie Mitchell	Tedd Anasti & Patsy Cameron	November 26, 1994 (1994-11-26)	30
The Evil Manta returns and introduces his son, who he wants to be just as evil as he is. Unfortunately, when his son befriends Ariel and goes to the merpeople's school and spends time with her, he starts to get other "good" ideas in his head. Music: "Just Like Me", performed by Tim Curry.

Broadcast[]

The show's broadcast debut in September 1992 was in the form of a half-hour prime-time special, The Little Mermaid: A Whale of a Tale. Its Saturday morning debut came the very next day. The show's time slot was 8:30 a.m., following another new animated series, Fievel's American Tails, based on the animated film An American Tail. The Little Mermaid series drew a fair bit of media attention, including more than one spot on Entertainment Tonight, because it was the first series based directly on a Disney animated feature and was a rare television cartoon concerning a strong female character. The show kept its time slot the following year with its second season.

For the series' third season, the show was moved to the 8 a.m. time period and was the lead-in for a new Disney animated series, Aladdin. The third season was the final season to be produced; CBS elected not to buy another batch of episodes. On October 2, 1995, Disney Channel began rerunning the show seven days a week.^[4]

Disney Channel reran the series from October 2, 1995 to September 29, 2002 and again from September 5, 2006, to July 4, 2010. It was also shown on Toon Disney until January 25, 2008. The series then aired on Disney Junior from the channel's launch in 2012 until 2014.^{[citation needed]}

Home release[]

VHS releases[]

Seven VHS cassettes containing 14 episodes of the series were released in the United States.

Ariel's Undersea Adventures:

VHS Name	Episode Titles	Release Date	Stock Number
Ariel's Undersea Adventures: Whale of a Tale	"Whale of a Tale" and "Urchin"	February 23, 1993	1664
Ariel's Undersea Adventures: Stormy, the Wild Seahorse	"Stormy the Wild Seahorse" and "The Great Sebastian"	February 23, 1993	1665
Ariel's Undersea Adventures: Double Bubble	"Double Bubble" and "Message in a Bottle"	February 23, 1993	1666
Ariel's Undersea Adventures: In Harmony	"The Evil Manta" and "Charmed"	November 5, 1993	2038
Ariel's Undersea Adventures: Ariel's Gift	"Red" and "Trident True"	November 5, 1993	2039

Princess Collection - Ariel's Songs & Stories:

VHS Name	Episode Titles	Release Date	Stock Number
Princess Collection - Ariel's Songs & Stories: Wish Upon a Starfish	"Wish Upon a Starfish" and "Metal Fish"	June 6, 1995	4078
Princess Collection - Ariel's Songs & Stories: Giggles	"Giggles" and "Against the Tide"	June 6, 1995	4079

United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand releases[]

11 VHS cassettes containing 22 episodes of the series were released in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Ariel's Undersea Adventures:

VHS Name	Episode Titles	Release Date
The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventures (Volume 1): Whale of a Tale	"Whale of a Tale" and "Urchin"	November 26, 1993
The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventures (Volume 2): Stormy the Wild Seahorse	"Stormy the Wild Seahorse" and "The Great Sebastian"	November 26, 1993
The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventures (Volume 3): Double Bubble	"Double Bubble" and "Message in a Bottle"	November 26, 1993
The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventures (Volume 4): In Harmony	"The Evil Manta" and "Charmed"	April 1, 1994
The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventures (Volume 5): Ariel's Gift	"Red" and "Trident True"	April 1, 1994
The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventures (Volume 6): Ariel the Ballerina	"Wish Upon a Starfish" and "Metal Fish"	April 1, 1994
The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventures (Volume 7): Saltwater Sisters	"Beached" and "Thingmaijigger"	April 1, 1994

Princess Collection:

VHS Name	Episode Titles	Release Date
Princess Collection (Volume 1): The Little Mermaid - Giggles	"Giggles" and "Against the Tide"	October 11, 1996
Princess Collection (Volume 2): The Little Mermaid - Wish Upon a Starfish	"Wish Upon a Starfish" and "Metal Fish"	October 11, 1996
Princess Collection (Volume 3): The Little Mermaid - Heroes	"Heroes" and "El-ectric City"	March 28, 1997
Princess Collection (Volume 4): The Little Mermaid - Tail of Two Crabs	"A Little Evil" and "Tail of Two Crabs"	March 28, 1997

DVD releases[]

The series has not yet been officially released on DVD. However, four episodes were released as part of the Disney Princess DVD releases.^[5]

DVD Name	Episode Title	Release Date
Disney Princess Party: Volume 1	"Message in a Bottle"	September 7, 2004
Disney Princess Stories: Volume 1	"Wish Upon a Starfish"	September 7, 2004
Disney Princess Stories: Volume 2	"Ariel's Treasures"	February 15, 2005
Disney Princess Stories: Volume 3	"Giggles"	September 6, 2005

Digital release (streaming services)[]

As of August 24, 2018, all 31 episodes of the series are available for purchase on the iTunes Store^[6] and Amazon Prime Video^[7] in two volumes in High Definition (HD).

Since the service's launch on November 12, 2019, the series has been available with the exception of the pilot episode ("Whale of a Tale") through The Walt Disney Company's streaming platform Disney+, but the episodes have been cropped to 16:9.^[8]

Music[]

Songs (in chronological order)

Just a Little Love - (Ariel)
You Got to Be You - (Sebastian)
To the Edge of the Edge of the Sea - (Ariel)
To the Edge of the Edge of the Sea (Reprise) - (Ariel)
The Lobster Mobster's Mob - (the Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp)
The Lobster Mobster's Mob (Reprise) - (Da Shrimp)
Beddie-Bye Blues - (the Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp)
Sing a New Song - (Ariel and Simon)
In Harmony - (Ariel)
In Harmony (Reprise) - (Ariel)
Dis is de Life - (Sebastian)
You Know I Know - (Sebastian)
You Know I Know (Reprise) - (Sebastian)
Never Give Up - (Ariel and Sebastian)
Everybody Cha-Cha-Cha - (Sebastian)
You Wouldn't Want to Mess with Me - (Ursula)
You Wouldn't Want to Mess with Me (Reprise) - (Ursula)
The Sound of Laughter - (Sebastian)
The Sound of Laughter (Repeat) - (Sebastian)
Daring to Dance - (Ariel)
Daring to Dance (Reprise) - (Ariel)
Hail Apollo, Defender of the Sea - (Atlantica's Army)
I Just Like The Sky - (Scuttle)
Just Give Me A Chance - (Scuttle)
Just Give Me A Chance (Reprise) - (Scuttle)
I Go to the Beach - (Sebastian)
Just Like Me - (the Evil Manta)
Let's Play Princess (With Ariel) (opening for Princess Collection VHS)

Music CD album release:

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Reception[]

Common Sense Media gave the series a two out of five stars, writing, "Spin-off sinks for everyone except besotted fans."^[9] The film, however, also received positive ratings, including a 6.8/10 rating from IMDb, and a 8/10 rating from TV.com.

Spin-off[]

The series received a spin-off entitled Sebastian the Crab, which aired as a segment of the TV series Marsupilami. The segments star Sebastian, and are set outside of the sea, taking place after the wedding between Ariel and Eric in the film.

References[]

^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 365. ISBN 978-1538103739.
^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 263. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 508–509. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^ The Disney Channel Magazine (vol. 13) no. 5, October/November 1995: pp. 36, 46, 54.
^ "Disney Entertainment Lists: The Little Mermaid TV Series - Home Media Releases". Disneyentertainmentlists.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
^ The Little Mermaid TV series on the iTunes Store
^ The Little Mermaid: Prime Video
^ The Little Mermaid on Disney+
^ https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-little-mermaid

External links[]

Disney's The Little Mermaid at the Big Cartoon DataBase
The Little Mermaid at IMDb

[Perlmutter-1] Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 365. ISBN 978-1538103739.

[Daytime-2] Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 263. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 19 March 2020.

[3] Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 508–509. ISBN 978-1476665993.

[Disney_Channel_premiere-4] The Disney Channel Magazine (vol. 13) no. 5, October/November 1995: pp. 36, 46, 54.

[5] "Disney Entertainment Lists: The Little Mermaid TV Series - Home Media Releases". Disneyentertainmentlists.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-11-15.

[6] The Little Mermaid TV series on the iTunes Store

[7] The Little Mermaid: Prime Video

[8] The Little Mermaid on Disney+

[9] ttps://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-little-mermaid

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show v t Children's programming on CBS in the 1990s
First-run animated series	Dink, the Little Dinosaur (1989–91) Muppet Babies (1984–91) The California Raisin Show (1989–90) Garfield and Friends (1988–94) Rude Dog and the Dweebs (1989–90) The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy (1988–90) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990–97) Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990–91) Mother Goose and Grimm (1991–93) Back to the Future (1991–93) Where's Waldo? (1991–92) Fievel's American Tails (1992–93) The Little Mermaid (1992–95) Raw Toonage (1992–93) Marsupilami (1993–94) All-New Dennis the Menace (1993–94) Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993–94) Conan and the Young Warriors (1994) Beethoven (1994–95) Aladdin (1994–96) Skeleton Warriors (1994) Wild C.A.T.s (1994–95) Stickin' Around (1994) The Adventures of Hyperman (1995–96) Timon & Pumbaa (1995–97) Santo Bugito (1995–96) The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995–97) The Mask (1995–97) Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–97) Project G.e.e.K.e.R. (1996–97) Franklin (1998–99; 2000-02) Anatole (1998–2000) Dumb Bunnies (1998–99) Flying Rhino Junior High (1998–2000) Birdz (1998–99) Mythic Warriors (1998–2000) New Tales from the Cryptkeeper (1999–2000) Blaster's Universe (1999–2000) Rescue Heroes (1999–2000)
First-run live-action series	Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–91) Riders in the Sky (1991) The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys (1992) Beakman's World (1993–98) Really Wild Animals (1995–96) Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. (1996–97) Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House (1996–97) The New Ghostwriter Mysteries (1997–98) Wheel 2000 (1997–98) Fudge (1997) The Weird Al Show (1997–98) The Sports Illustrated for Kids Show (1997–98) In the News (1997–98)
Rebroadcasts	Inspector Gadget (1991–92) Cyber C.O.P.S. (1993) CBS Storybreak (1993–95, 1996–98) Rupert (1999)
Related topics	Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) Modern animation in the United States

The Little Mermaid

Genre	Children's television series Fantasy
Directed by	Jamie Mitchell Mircea Mantta
Creative directors	Ed Ghertner Ron Dias
Starring	Jodi Benson Edan Gross Samuel E. Wright Maurice LaMarche Kenneth Mars Danny Cooksey Jim Cummings Bradley Pierce Pat Carroll
Theme music composer	Dan Foliart Mark Watters
Opening theme	"Part of Your World", "Under the Sea", and "Kiss the Girl"
Ending theme	"Under the Sea"
Composers	Dan Foliart Mark Watters
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	31
Production
Producers	Jamie Mitchell Tedd Anasti (co-producer) Patsy Cameron (co-producer) Traci Tolman Mars (assistant producer) Donna Smith (assistant producer)
Editor	Elen Orson
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Walt Disney Television Animation
Distributor	Buena Vista Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Picture format	Color
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 11, 1992 (1992-09-11) – November 26, 1994 (1994-11-26)
Chronology
Preceded by	The Little Mermaid
Followed by	The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning