The Little Mermaid (franchise)

The Little Mermaid is a multi-million dollar Walt Disney franchise. The success of the 1989 American animated feature The Little Mermaid led to two direct-to-video sequel films, a spin-off television series, a musical, several video games, and other merchandise.

Films
The Little Mermaid is the original film of the franchise. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and was released to theaters on November 15, 1989 by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman. The Little Mermaid is the 28nd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics and belongs to an era known as the Disney Renaissance. It is based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name.

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is a direct-to-video sequel to the first film. It was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on VHS in the United States on September 19, 2000. It was directd by Jim Kammerud and Brian Smith, and produced by Leslie Hough and David Lovegren. In 2006, the film was bundled together with the original film in the Region 2 release. The original DVD release has been discontinued. A special edition DVD with a deleted song, "Gonna Get My Wish," and a new game was released on December 16, 2008. Return to the Sea is the last film in the chronology of Disney's version of The Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a direct-to-video prequel to the first film. The film was released on Region 1 DVD in the United States on August 26, 2008, and on Region 2 DVD in Europe on September 22, 2008. It was directed by Peggy Holmes and produced by Kendra Halland. The DVD contains special features including deleted scenes, a production featurette hosted by the director, games and activities, and a featurette hosted by Sierra Boggess about the Broadway musical.

Television Series
The Little Mermaid is an animated television series featuring the adventures of Ariel as a mermaid prior to the events of the first film. This series is the first Disney television series to be spun off from a major animated film. The Little Mermaid premiered in the fall of 1992 with the animated prime time special called "A Whale of a Tale," then moved to Saturday mornings. This series originally appeared on CBS, with an original run from 1992 to 1994. It was later shown in reruns on The Disney Channel and Toon Disney. Some of the episodes contain musical segments, featuring original songs written for the series. The opening theme to the show is a combination of the songs "Part of Your World", "Under the Sea", and "Kiss the Girl".

A series of shorts starring Sebastian were aired as part of another Disney Saturday morning series for CBS, Marsupilami, which ran from 1993 to 1995.