The Little Mermaid: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1989 Disney animated film The Little Mermaid. It contains the songs from the film composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as the film's score composed by Alan Menken. The score was orchestrated by Thomas Pasatieri. The score’s orchestral recording was conducted by J.A.C. Redford, who also contributed much to the music composition. The album has achieved multi-platinum sales and won the Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. The album includes recordings of the music that won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television ("Under the Sea"), the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Under the Sea") and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.

The soundtrack was first released by Walt Disney Records on October 19, 1989, on both CD and cassette tape.CD and cassette tape reference: The album was also included in a four-disc box set entitled The Music Behind the Magic: The Musical Artistry of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice, which was released on November 22, 1994. The box set included work tapes and demos intertwined into the finished original soundtrack. The soundtrack (without the demos and work tapes) was re-released with different artwork, on October 14, 1997, and it was released internationally on October 31, 2000, in a double pack with The Little Mermaid II soundtrack. On October 3, 2006, a new two-disc special edition version of the soundtrack was released to correspond with the two-disc Platinum Edition DVD release of The Little Mermaid. The first disc remains identical to the original release, yet with remastered audio while the newly added second disc is composed of various newly recorded versions of the film's songs by different artists, such as Ashley Tisdale, Raven-Symoné, the Jonas Brothers, and Jessica Simpson. It also included two music videos, as well as new cover art. The Legacy Collection: The Little Mermaid was released as a two-disc album on November 24, 2014, to coincide with the film's twenty-fifth anniversary.

Reception

As of February 2007, the album is certified 6× Platinum by the RIAA. In 2010, Rhapsody called it one of the all-time great Disney and/or Pixar soundtracks.

Track listing

Score composition and orchestration Alan Menken's first songs-and-underscore project garnered him an Academy Award for the Best Score of 1989. This would prove to give him a very high nomination-to-win ratio of awards. Menken was originally hired for the songs only, but after writing an underscore demo for the film's executives, his assignment grew. The following are some details on the film's score overall: The most common key signature in this score is G major (including "Main Titles", the beginning portion of "Happy Ending", "Les Poissons", "Bedtime", and most instances of Ariel's solo aria). "Tour of the Kingdom" alternates between G major and E major throughout. In darker moments, and for Ursula's theme, the key of G minor is prominent ("Poor Unfortunate Souls (Reprise)", most of "The Storm", "Eric to the Rescue" among others). The French horn is used to symbolize King Triton (listen to "Destruction of the Grotto"), the oboe is used to symbolize Prince Eric (the beginning of "The Storm", as well as "Happy Ending" when Ariel is looking at Eric on the shore). Usually, the brass section represents Ursula and the flute almost always portrays Ariel's vocal aria. Clarinets represent Scuttle. Synthesizers and electric pianos are used quite often in the orchestration (namely for the songs, such as "Part of Your World"), but the grand piano is almost never used. Scuttle's leitmotif can be heard in the beginning of "Wedding Announcement", the scene after Ariel becomes a human and was the basis for "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" in the 2007 broadway production. The Scuttle leitmotif is presented in a minor key variation during the Stalling the Wedding scenes. Ursula's leitmotif is most obvious in the track "Flotsam and Jetsam" but it comes from the melody notes for the chorus of "Poor Unfortunate Souls". This theme is also used while Ariel is being transformed, and it is played fast and supported by a harsh brass section.

Cue List The following is a list of the official cue names and numbers as used in the handwritten orchestra score for recording purposes. In the Legacy Collection soundtrack version, some cues were merged into one track (i.e. 9m1, 9m2, 9m2a, 9m3, 9m4 and 9m5 are one track titled "The Truth").

Cue List1M1 Fathoms Below1M2 Opening Credits1M3S Fanfare1M5 Daughters of Triton1M6 Triton (Sting)1M7 Intro Ariel1M7A Shark Chase2M0 Intro Scuttle2M1 Intro Ursula2M2 Triton Reprimands Ariel2m2 Insert2m3 You're Just the Crab2m3 Insert2m4 Sebastian's Dilemma2m5 Sebastian Discovers2m5 Sebastian Discovers (ver 2)2m6 Part of Your World3m1 Fireworks3m2 Gigue3m3 She's Out There3m4 Storm4m1 Is He Dead?4m2 Part of Your World (Reprise)4m3 Ursula Plots4m3a Bucolic4m4 Ariel in Love4m5 Under the Sea4m5a Under the Sea (Tag)5m1 Sebastian and Triton5m2 It's a Surprise5m3 Destroying the Grotto5m4 Flotsam and Jetsam6m1 The Deal (Insert)6M1 The Deal6m1r (To Ursula's Lair)6m1a (alternate)6m1a Insert6m2 Poor Unfortunate Souls (Part 1)6m3 Poor Unfortunate Souls (Part 2)6m4 Poor Unfortunate Souls (Part 3)6m4a Beluga Sevruga6m5 Fife 16m6 She's Got Legs6m7 Sebastian Relents7m1 Eric Finds Ariel7m2 The Bath7m3 Dead Fish (Sting)7m4 Miss Manners7m5 (Louis Singing)7m6 Les Poissons7m6a Can-Can7m7 Button7m8 Crab on the Plate7m9 Bedtime7m10/8m0 Messenger and Triton8m1 Tour of the Kingdom8m2 (Scuttle Singing)8m3 Kiss the Girl8m4 Ursula Transforms8m5 Fife 28m6 Eric Hears Maiden8m7 Wedding Announcement8m8 Ariel Left Behind8m9 (Scuttle Singing)8m10 Poor Unfortunate Souls (Reprise)9m1 The Truth9m2 Wedding March9m2a Almost There9m3 The Attack9m4 Ariel's Voice Returns9m5 You're Too Late9m6 Eric to the Rescue9m6a Ursula Rising9m6b Whirlpool10m1 Peace Returns10m2 Happy Ending

Chart

Weekly charts Year(s) Chart Peakposition 1989 US Billboard 200The Little Mermaid (Original Soundtrack) - Alan Menken - Awards. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Accessed on August 9, 2013.32 1991 2006, 2012 US Top Soundtracks (Billboard)4

Year-end charts Chart (2023) Position US Top Soundtracks (Billboard) 23

Certifications

See also The Music Behind the Magic Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection The Little Mermaid (2023 soundtrack)

References