How many Disney The Little Mermaid movies are there?

In 1989, animated fantasy-musical, The Little Mermaid, arrived in cinemas. The film, loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name, told the story of a young mermaid and her desire to live above the surface of the ocean.  

Upon making its debut The Little Mermaid was both a critical and commercial hit, which not only made a lot of money at the box office (and subsequent home video sales), but also kick-started the ‘Disney Renaissance’ – a series of high-profile, critically acclaimed Disney movies which were released throughout the 1990s. The Little Mermaid also spawned a collection of follow-up films, both animated and live-action.

But how many Disney Little Mermaid movies are there? For all the details and more, keep reading.

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Disney The Little Mermaid movies in order

To date there are five entries in Disney’s The Little Mermaid movie series:

• The Little Mermaid (1989)
• The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
• The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (2008)
• The Little Mermaid Live! (2019)
• The Little Mermaid (2023)

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Are all of The Little Mermaid movies part of the same series?

While all of The Little Mermaid movies centre their stories around many of the same characters, the films are not all part of the same series. Disney’s The Little Mermaid movie series breaks down as follows:

The original movies

• The Little Mermaid (1989)
• The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
• The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (2008)

All three of these movies are animated tales. The Little Mermaid was released first, with Return to the Sea acting as a direct-to-video sequel, and Ariel’s Beginning released third as a direct-to-video prequel.

The musical special

• The Little Mermaid Live! (2019)

This is a feature-length live-action television special, which retells the story from the 1989 animated movie.

The live-action remake

• The Little Mermaid (2023)

This is a live-action remake of the 1989 animated movie.

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Who are the cast of The Little Mermaid movies?

Notable cast members in The Little Mermaid movie series include Jodie Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Kenneth Mars, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Buddy Hackett, Tara Strong, Rob Paulsen, Jim Cummings, Sally Field, Auli’I Cravalho, Graham Phillips, Queen Latifah, Shaggy, John Stamos, Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, and Jacob Tremblay.

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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about The Little Mermaid movie series. For more movie posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.

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