Could The Little Mermaid Be Successful Today?

Disney’s classic animated movies have held a special place in the hearts of the kids that grew up watching them. Everything from Snow White to Aladdin to The Lion King & Frozen have all resonated with audiences around the world. Part of this is because Disney has found a formula for taking classic fairy tales & folklore from cultures around the world & making them easily digestible for kids of all ages, while also adding in aspects of the script or visual aesthetic to keep the parents interested, too. Thus, Disney has become a household staple. The other part of the big picture, however, is that Disney has weaponized the most powerful marketing tool in all of advertising history & made it one of the central pillars of their business: the Disney Princesses!

With all the hype around the Disney Princesses, the one question that has become all but forgotten today is, “are their movies actually good?” Of course their success over time is unquestionable at this point, but if we were to take away the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia & the world-class marketing of the Disney Princess product line, would the movies we are left with still hold the same mantle of success today? That’s the question we will be looking into in today’s edition of Does It Still Hold Up? First up on the chopping block is the highly beloved The Little Mermaid!