Awesome Music / The Little Mermaid

The Disney Movie

Sebastian managed to make romantic music on the fly.

• The opening/end credits music.
• While the songs in the sequel may not be near as memorable as the songs in the original, the song "For a Moment", a Solo Duet between Melody and Ariel, proves to be quite a feel-good standout, especially since Tara Strong really demonstrates her amazing singing talent.
• Ursula's song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" was the most breathtaking, show-stealing moment of The Little Mermaid. Not to mention the sheer awesomeness that is her Evil Laugh. The French version is incredible too, thanks to Micheline Dax's performance. Howard Ashman's demo is more epic because of Howard singing Tim Curry Style and some great vocal inflections.
• "Under The Sea", the musical number that firmly announced that Disney animation, after years of cultural near-irrelevance, was back. Not only that, but "Under the Sea" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
• "Part of Your World" and its reprise mean so many things to so many people.
• Les Poissons is sinister, catchy as hell, and hilarious all at the same time.
• "Kiss the Girl" is not only fantastically memorable, it's also one of the most unique love songs in the entire Disney canon thanks to Sebastian's Caribbean-esque arrangement, making it a totally different style of romantic from most of the more traditionally orchestral love songs heard in their other movies.
• Destruction of the Grotto. It begins with a hard Mood Whiplash from happy innocence to dumbstruck fear, and the music, symbolizing Triton's Tranquil Fury, only grows in intensity before exploding into a piece of heart-stopping terror. In the Broadway musical, its replacement ("The World Above Reprise") is an epic and emotional yet brief song for Triton—probably one of the only times he sang.

• The singing that Ariel does when Ursula takes her voice - and then uses to seduce Eric. It sounds like a real-life version of Siren song. And it becomes even more awesome when the shell breaks and Ariel gets her voice back.
• From the Screen-to-Stage Adaptation:
  • Ariel gets a wondrous Act I opener in the form of "The World Above", which leads into an extended version of "Fathoms Below".
  • The revised production gives Ursula a new introductory Villain Song, "Daddy's Little Angel", which tells her Start of Darkness backstory and her revenge plot against Triton and his daughters.
  • Ariel's sisters sing the Motown-style number "She's in Love" following her rescue of Eric.
  • "Her Voice" is Eric's answer to "Part of Your World".
  • Scuttle and the gulls have the catchy tapdance number "Positoovity" as Ariel learns to walk as a human.
  • Ariel's Inner Monologue song "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" describes her astonishment with the human world.
  • In Eric's "One Step Closer", the mute Ariel learns dancing as a language.
  • The Eleven O'Clock Number "If Only" is a Distant Quartet where Ariel, Eric, Triton, and Sebastian lament their inability to communicate their desires to one another.
  • The Finale Ultimo, following a Triumphant Reprise of "If Only", gives us a glorious extended triumphant reprise of "Part of Your World".

Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree and Sebastian's Party Gras

• Both of these movies have some excellent covers of famous songs such as "Three Little Birds" and "Hot Hot Hot". You can tell Samuel E. Wright legitimately had a good time singing in them. No wonder Sebastian just wanted to write songs in the first movie.