What is the iRankMovies score for The Little Mermaid?

Name: The Little Mermaid
Director: Ron Clements
Genre: animation, family, fantasy
Released: 1989
Duration: 1 h 23 min
Rating: 7.6

The Little Mermaid has an iRankMovies score of 82.3/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Somewhere under the sea and beyond your imagination is an adventure in fantasy.

Release:1989

Runtime:1h 23m

Country:United States

Director:Ron Clements, John Musker

Language:English

Genre

AnimationFamilyFantasy

See the best animation movies →

Keywords

witch PrincessSeaDaughterKingdomFireworksCartoonMermaid

iRank82

The Little Mermaid rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.6/10· 310K votes

Rotten Tomatoes92%

Metacritic88%

TMDb7.3/10· 8K votes

With 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.6/10 on IMDb and 88/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About The Little Mermaid

This colorful adventure tells the story of an impetuous mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and puts everything on the line for the chance to be with him. Memorable songs and characters -- including the villainous sea witch Ursula.

Cast of The Little Mermaid

Jodi Benson
as Ariel (voice)
Samuel E. Wright
as Sebastian (voice)
Pat Carroll
as Ursula (voice)
Christopher Daniel Barnes
as Eric (voice)
Kenneth Mars
as Triton (voice)
Buddy Hackett
as Scuttle (voice)
Jason Marin
as Flounder (voice)
René Auberjonois
as Louis (voice)
Paddi Edwards
as Flotsam & Jetsam (voice)
Ben Wright
as Grimsby (voice)
Edie McClurg
as Carlotta (voice)
Will Ryan
as Seahorse (voice)

The Little Mermaid facts

Budget: $40M
Box office: $211.3M
Collection: The Little Mermaid Collection

Our take on The Little Mermaid

Ron Clements's 1989 animated fantasy follows Ariel, an impetuous mermaid princess who falls for the human Prince Eric and risks everything for a chance to be with him, striking a fateful bargain with the villainous sea witch Ursula. A landmark of hand-drawn family animation, it pairs vivid undersea colour with a batch of memorable songs and characters that made it endlessly rewatchable for generations. The story leans into longing, rebellion and the pull between two worlds, staying bright enough for small children yet emotionally direct enough for adults. If you want warm, tuneful animation with a headstrong heroine and a gloriously theatrical villain, it remains a reliable pick.

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources