It is the year 2018 and Disney owns practically every intellectual property you can think of. But believe it or not, things weren’t always so sunny. In 1989, Disney had just suffered a string of critical and commercial failures (The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective), and Don Bluth’s hits like An American Tail were starting to corner the animation market. So Disney went back to its roots, brought out a fairy-tale-based animated musical they’d been working on since the 1930s, and opened up the era now known as the Disney Renaissance. The Little Mermaid, the story of a teenaged mermaid princess and her quest to find her true place in the world — was an enormous smash hit for Disney. The characters and music from the film still fill our hearts with wonder and joy.