ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

‘Little Mermaid’ Comes To Vinyl In Celebration Of 35th Anniversary

The soundtrack to the animated classic that kicked off a Disney renaissance will be reissued on transparent splatter vinyl.

Published on

Cover: Courtesy of Disney

Get ready to go on a musical adventure from the depths of the ocean to the turrets of the royal castle: The Little Mermaid’s soundtrack is coming to vinyl in celebration of its 35th anniversary. The album, featuring the movie’s original score and classic songs such as “Part Of Your World” and “Under The Sea,” will be released on transparent splatter vinyl on August 23.

uDiscover Rewards Program
uDiscover Rewards Program
uDiscover Rewards Program

Released in 1989, The Little Mermaid kicked off a new golden age for Disney animation. In adapting Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale, directors John Musker and Ron Clements pioneered a winning strategy for Disney, combining the animation style of the company’s ’50s and ’60s cinematic favorites with a modern sensibility.

A huge part of the film’s success was its soundtrack, which earned multiple Grammy and Oscar wins, racked up multi-Platinum sales, and instantly entered into the movie music pantheon. Alan Menken composed the score and teamed with lyricist Howard Ashman on the songs, all of which are included on the new 35th anniversary vinyl reissue.

Jodi Benson - Part of Your World (From "The Little Mermaid")

Click to load video

Menken and Ashman’s background was on Broadway, where they’d worked together on the hit Little Shop Of Horrors, and that experience translated to the silver screen. “They approached it like it was a Broadway musical,” Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel, explained in a recent retrospective. “The characters actually run out of words, can’t express themselves anymore, and it has to come out in song.” Though the duo had worked separately on Disney movies before, The Little Mermaid marked their first collaboration for the studio, a partnership that would continue in the coming years on Beauty And The Beast and Aladdin.

Judging by the success of The Little Mermaid, it’s easy to see why Disney continued working with Menken and Ashman. In 1990, Menken’s Little Mermaid score won Best Original Score at both the 62nd Academy Awards and the 47th Golden Globe Awards. At both the Oscars and the Globes that year, Menken and Ashman’s collaboration “Under The Sea,” sung by Samuel E. Wright in character as Sebastian the crab, won Best Original Song. Meanwhile, at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards, the full soundtrack album won Best Recording For Children and “Under The Sea” was honored as Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Shop for the best Disney vinyl at the Disney Music Emporium. 

Click to comment
Comments are temporarily disabled and will return shortly.
Paul McCartney & Wings - Venus and Mars (50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master) LP
Paul McCartney & Wings
Venus and Mars (50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master) LP
ORDER NOW
Rush - 50th Super Deluxe Edition Box Set
Rush
50th Super Deluxe Edition Box Set
ORDER NOW
Sex Pistols - Live In The U.S.A 1978, Atlanta 5th Jan, 1978 Atlanta, South East Music Hall, USA Limited Edition Red LP
Sex Pistols
Live In The U.S.A 1978, Atlanta 5th Jan, South East Music Hall, Limited Edition Red LP
ORDER NOW
Queen I Collector’s Edition
Queen
Queen I (Collector’s Edition Box Set)
ORDER NOW
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet Picture Disc (Limited Edition)
Bon Jovi
Slippery When Wet Picture Disc
(Limited Edition)
ORDER NOW
The Beatles US Albums In Mono
The Beatles
The US Albums In Mono (Vinyl Box Set)
ORDER NOW
uDiscover Music - Back To Top
uDiscover Music - Back To Top