The Little Mermaid (soundtrack) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Little Mermaid: Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack |
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Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
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Released | October 19, 1989 (1989 Original Release) October 14, 1997 (Re-release) October 31, 2000 (Special Edition Double Pack) October 3, 2006 (2006 2-Disc Special Edition) November 24, 2014 (Legacy Collection) |
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Recorded | 1988–1989 | |||
Genre | Broadway musical-style soundtrack, film score | |||
Length | 43:18 (1989 and 1997 releases) 1:47:13 (Legacy Collection) |
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Label | Walt Disney | |||
Producer | Alan Menken Howard Ashman Robert Kraft |
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Walt Disney Animation Studios chronology | ||||
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The Little Mermaid: Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the official music album from the 1989 Disney animated movie, The Little Mermaid. This album features all the beloved songs from the film, written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It also includes the background music, known as the film's score, which was composed by Alan Menken. Thomas Pasatieri helped arrange the score for the orchestra.
This soundtrack became very popular, selling millions of copies and earning a "multi-platinum" award. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. The music from the album also won other big awards, like the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition for "Under the Sea", and Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (also for "Under the Sea"). It also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
The soundtrack was first released by Walt Disney Records on October 19, 1989, as both a CD and a cassette tape. Over the years, new versions of the album have been released. For example, in 1994, it was part of a special collection called The Music Behind the Magic: The Musical Artistry of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice. This collection even included early versions and demos of the songs.
On October 3, 2006, a new two-disc "Special Edition" of the soundtrack came out. The first disc had the original songs, but with improved sound. The second disc featured new versions of the movie's songs sung by popular artists like Ashley Tisdale, Raven-Symoné, The Jonas Brothers, and Jessica Simpson. This edition also included music videos. Later, in 2014, The Legacy Collection: The Little Mermaid was released to celebrate the film's 25th anniversary.
Songs on the Album
The original soundtrack includes all the songs and background music from The Little Mermaid. All the music was composed by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Howard Ashman.
All music composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. All scores composed by Menken.
No. | Title | Performed by | Length |
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1. | "Fathoms Below" | Ship's Chorus | 1:41 |
2. | "Main Titles" (Background Music) | 1:26 | |
3. | "Fanfare" (Background Music) | 0:27 | |
4. | "Daughters of Triton" | Kimmy Robertson | 0:38 |
5. | "Part of Your World" | Jodi Benson | 3:13 |
6. | "Under the Sea" | Samuel E. Wright | 3:12 |
7. | "Part of Your World (Reprise)" | Jodi Benson | 2:15 |
8. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls" | Pat Carroll | 4:49 |
9. | "Les Poissons" | René Auberjonois | 1:33 |
10. | "Kiss the Girl" | Samuel E. Wright | 2:41 |
11. | "Fireworks" (Background Music) | 0:38 | |
12. | "Jig" (Background Music) | 1:32 | |
13. | "The Storm" (Background Music) | 3:18 | |
14. | "Destruction of the Grotto" (Background Music) | 1:52 | |
15. | "Flotsam and Jetsam" (Background Music) | 1:22 | |
16. | "Tour of the Kingdom" (Background Music) | 1:24 | |
17. | "Bedtime" (Background Music) | 1:20 | |
18. | "Wedding Announcement" (Background Music) | 2:16 | |
19. | "Eric to the Rescue" (Background Music) | 3:40 | |
20. | "Happy Ending" | Disney Chorus | 3:11 |
Total length:
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43:18 |
Australian Bonus Track | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Recording artist(s) | Length | ||||||
21. | "Part of Your World" | Alana De Roma | 3:16 |
The Music Behind the Magic box set track listing | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Recording artist(s) | Length | ||||||
1. | "Fathoms Below/Main Title" (Demo) | Menken, Ashman | 4:41 | ||||||
2. | "Fathoms Below" (Final) | Ship's Chorus | 1:41 | ||||||
3. | "Main Title" (Final) (Score) | 1:26 | |||||||
4. | "Fanfare" (Final) (Score) | 0:27 | |||||||
5. | "Daughters of Triton" | Robertson | 0:38 | ||||||
6. | "Part of Your World" (Work Tape) | Menken, Ashman | 0:45 | ||||||
7. | "Part of Your World" (Demo) | Menken | 0:49 | ||||||
8. | "Part of Your World" (Final) | Benson | 3:13 | ||||||
9. | "Fireworks" (Final) (Score) | 0:38 | |||||||
10. | "Jig" (Final) (Score) | 1:32 | |||||||
11. | "Under the Sea" (Work Tape) | Menken, Ashman | 1:20 | ||||||
12. | "Under the Sea" (Demo) | Ashman | 2:34 | ||||||
13. | "Under the Sea" (Final) | Samuel E. Wright | 3:12 | ||||||
14. | "Sebastian and Triton" (Final) (Score) | 1:43 | |||||||
15. | "Part of Your World" (Reprise) (Demo) | Menken | 1:34 | ||||||
16. | "The Storm" (Final) (Score) | 3:18 | |||||||
17. | "Part of Your World" (Reprise) (Final) | Benson | 2:15 | ||||||
18. | "Silence Is Golden" (Demo) | Menken | 2:37 | ||||||
19. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (Demo) | Ashman | 5:07 | ||||||
20. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (Final) | Pat Carroll | 4:49 | ||||||
21. | "Les Poissons" (Demo) | Ashman | 2:09 | ||||||
22. | "Les Poissons" | René Auberjonois | 1:33 | ||||||
23. | "Kiss the Girl" (Demo) | Ashman | 1:05 | ||||||
24. | "Kiss the Girl" (Final) | Samuel E. Wright | 1:37 | ||||||
25. | "Bedtime" (Final) (Score) | 1:20 | |||||||
26. | "Wedding Announcement" (Final) (Score) | ||||||||
27. | Untitled | 2:16 | |||||||
28. | "Eric to the Rescue" (Final) (Score) | 3:40 | |||||||
29. | "Part of Your World/Happy Ending" (Work Tape) (Final) | Menken, Disney Chorus | 2:34 |
Disc Two (Special Edition) | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Recording artist(s) | Length | ||||||
1. | "Kiss the Girl" | Ashley Tisdale | 3:25 | ||||||
2. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls" | Jonas Brothers | 2:29 | ||||||
3. | "Part of Your World" | Jessica Simpson | 3:29 | ||||||
4. | "Under the Sea" | Raven-Symoné | 3:16 | ||||||
5. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (Music Video Enhanced feature) | Jonas Brothers | 2:29 | ||||||
6. | "Making of "Kiss the Girl" Music Video" (Enhanced feature) | Ashley Tisdale | 1:03 |
Legacy Collection Disc 1 | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length | ||||||
1. | "Fathoms Below" | Ship's Chorus | 1:42 | ||||||
2. | "Main Titles" | 1:26 | |||||||
3. | "Fanfare" | 0:28 | |||||||
4. | "Daughters of Triton" | Kimmy Robertson | 0:52 | ||||||
5. | "Intro Ariel" | 3:12 | |||||||
6. | "Intro Ursula" | 2:38 | |||||||
7. | "Triton Reprimands" | 1:49 | |||||||
8. | "Sebastian's Dilemma" | 0:44 | |||||||
9. | "Part of Your World" | Jodi Benson | 3:31 | ||||||
10. | "Fireworks" | 2:11 | |||||||
11. | "The Storm" | 3:18 | |||||||
12. | "Part of Your World (Reprise) / Ursula Plots" | Jodi Benson | 3:03 | ||||||
13. | "Ariel in Love" | 0:23 | |||||||
14. | "Under the Sea" | Samuel E. Wright | 3:23 | ||||||
15. | "Sebastian and Triton" | 1:40 | |||||||
16. | "Destroying the Grotto" | 1:55 | |||||||
17. | "Flotsam and Jetsam" | 1:47 | |||||||
18. | "Ursula's Lair" | 2:17 | |||||||
19. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls" | Pat Carroll | 4:49 | ||||||
20. | "She's Got Legs" | 1:22 | |||||||
21. | "Sebastian Relents" | 0:28 | |||||||
22. | "On Land" | 2:25 | |||||||
23. | "Miss Manners" | 1:09 | |||||||
24. | "Les Poissons" | René Auberjonois | 2:11 | ||||||
25. | "Crab On a Plate / Bedtime" | 2:20 | |||||||
26. | "Tour of the Kingdom" | 1:26 | |||||||
27. | "Kiss the Girl" | Samuel E. Wright | 2:40 | ||||||
28. | "Ariel Left Behind" | 4:09 | |||||||
29. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls (Reprise)" | Jodi Benson | 0:31 | ||||||
30. | "The Truth" | 1:23 | |||||||
31. | "Interrupting the Wedding / Ursula's Defeat" | 6:44 | |||||||
32. | "Happy Ending" | 3:22 | |||||||
Total length:
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71:18 |
Legacy Collection Disc 2 | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length | ||||||
1. | "Fathoms Below (Work Tape)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 2:15 | ||||||
2. | "Daughters of Triton (Synth Demo)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 0:56 | ||||||
3. | "Part of Your World (Synth Demo)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 3:15 | ||||||
4. | "Fireworks / Jig (Score Piano)" | Alan Menken | 2:10 | ||||||
5. | "The Storm (Score Piano Demo)" | Alan Menken | 2:35 | ||||||
6. | "Under the Sea (Synth Demo)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 4:42 | ||||||
7. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls (Basic Synth Demo)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 5:06 | ||||||
8. | "Poor Unfortunate Souls (Final Synth Mockup)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 5:31 | ||||||
9. | "Les Poissons (Work Tape Demo)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 2:09 | ||||||
10. | "Les Poissons (Synth Demo)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 2:03 | ||||||
11. | "Kiss the Girl (Synth Demo B)" | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | 2:41 | ||||||
12. | "Happy Ending (Score Piano Demo)" | Alan Menken | 2:32 | ||||||
Total length:
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35:55 |
How the Music Was Made
Alan Menken was first hired to write only the songs for The Little Mermaid. But after he showed some of his ideas for the background music, he was asked to compose the entire score. This decision led to him winning an Academy Award for the best movie music of 1989.
Here are some cool facts about the movie's score:
- Many parts of the music use a specific musical key, like E-flat major. You can hear this in "Main Titles" and "Happy Ending."
- For darker moments, especially when Ursula is around, the music often uses a different key, D-sharp minor. This makes her theme sound mysterious and powerful.
- Different instruments are used to represent characters. For example, the French horn often plays when King Triton is on screen. The oboe is used for Prince Eric, and the flute usually plays Ariel's special melody. Clarinets are used for Scuttle.
- You might notice that synthesizers and electric pianos are used a lot in the songs, but a grand piano is almost never heard.
- Each character often has their own special tune, called a leitmotif. Scuttle's tune can be heard during the "Wedding Announcement" scene. Ursula's theme comes from the song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and sounds fast and strong when she's using her magic.
Album's Popularity
The soundtrack for The Little Mermaid was very popular and appeared on music charts.
Year(s) | Chart | Peak position |
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1989 | US Billboard 200 | 32 |
1991 | Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 25 |
2006, 2012 | US Top Soundtracks (Billboard) | 4 |