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The Little Mermaid

1989 · directed by John Musker and Ron Clements · 83 min
27,137 feet · Prominence
70th of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredThe 70th highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw72

$211m worldwide in 1989 — $562m in today's money.

As released$211mIn 2026 money$562mRank504 of 8,589In 19899 of 125

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise92

Critics 90, awards 31. Half each, so Praise lands at 92.

Critics90 → 45Awards31 → 16

Oscars2 won Original Song, Original Score
Golden Globes2 won Original Score, Original Song
How Praise works

Half critics, half a tiered award record where Picture and Directing carry most of the weight. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since. This film is near critically unanimous and barely registers on awards, so the awards half halves it — which penalises it for the Academy's rules rather than its quality.

Legacy82

Judged directly: Launched Disney Renaissance, Ariel permanently iconic.

Verdict82 of 100IMDb7.6 from 310kWikipedia61k views a monthAge37 years

On the listsNational Film Registryevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 92 of 3,430 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 72 praise 92 legacy 82averages 82, which places it at27,137 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

In these careers — elevation for this film

No scored career runs through this film yet. The people-side engine currently covers 108careers, and this film’s cast sits outside them. Top billing: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Pat Carroll, Christopher Daniel Barnes.