In response to “The Little Mermaid” co-director John Musker, working alongside the storyboard artists enhanced Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s artistic course of:
“[T]hey had visible concepts that then they may affect the lyrics or the orchestrations in some case, the place they might say, ‘Okay, let’s give this line to the bass and we’ll do a visible on that.’ So it was very collaborative forwards and backwards which made it extra seamless.”
You’ll be able to see simply see the synergy of their partnership on display. In “Below the Sea,” a fast-paced montage showcases a rainbow of vibrant and distinctive sea creatures. The brilliant colours intensify the music’s spirited rhythms. The digicam strikes shortly to the beat of the full of life calypso tune, and the association of the bouncing fish in colourful traces and patterns matches the music’s raucous vitality. Menken’s use of metal drums and marimbas additionally provides a tropical taste to the bouncy scene.
“A part of Your World” is a beloved music the place the digicam strikes with fluid grace, swirling round Ariel as she swims by means of her secret grotto. It expands to disclose an increasing number of of her human treasures and thingamabobs. The close-ups of her craving face — significantly the long-lasting shot when she reaches her hand by means of the highest of the grotto, illuminated by the tantalizing mild of the human world — are stunning. Ariel’s want for the world above turns into much more highly effective by means of her heightened animated feelings and Jodi Benson’s hovering voice. The animators give Ariel’s expressions — starting from curiosity, despair, and hopefulness in a single music — an depth that accentuates the passionate lyrics.
By working so carefully alongside the artists, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman have been capable of create the right concord of music and animation.