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The Little Mermaid poster

Movies that feel likeThe Little Mermaid (1989)

This colorful adventure tells the story of an impetuous mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and puts everything on the line for the chance to be with him. Memorable songs and characters -- including the villainous sea witch Ursula.

If you loved The Little Mermaid, the closest films we have are Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), The Princess and the Frog (2009) and Arrietty (2010). All three share The Little Mermaid's whimsical and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Boy & the World (2014).

🍅 92% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Ron Clementswhimsicalwarmcozydreamlikewistful
11 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Hulu · Disney Plus

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If The Little Mermaid hit the spot, these will too

Kiki's Delivery Service poster
Kiki's Delivery Service
1989 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
★ 7.8animation · family · fantasyMax

A girl leaves home for a bigger world and must find her own footing

The difference: No villain, no songs — just quiet, unhurried growing up

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

The Princess and the Frog poster
The Princess and the Frog
2009 · dir. Ron Clements
🍅 86%★ 7.2animation · romance · fantasyDisney+

Both are Ron Clements's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Takes it somewhere less wistful than The Little Mermaid does

A waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him.

Arrietty poster
Arrietty
2010 · dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi
🍅 94%★ 7.6fantasy · animation · familyMax

The same mix in both: whimsy, then warmth

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items "borrowed" from the house's human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.

The Nightmare Before Christmas poster
The Nightmare Before Christmas
1993 · dir. Henry Selick
🍅 95%★ 7.9fantasy · animation · familyDisney+

A restless soul sings about wanting a world that isn't theirs

The difference: Ghoulish stop-motion — the warmth comes wrapped in Halloween bones

Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

The Jungle Book poster
The Jungle Book
1967 · dir. Wolfgang Reitherman
🍅 88%★ 7.6family · animation · adventureDisney+

Loose, jazzy songs carrying a kid caught between two worlds

The difference: Ambles from tune to tune — barely a plot pulling it forward

The boy Mowgli makes his way to the man-village with Bagheera, the wise panther. Along the way he meets jazzy King Louie, the hypnotic snake Kaa and the lovable, happy-go-lucky bear Baloo, who teaches Mowgli "The Bare Necessities" of life and the true meaning of friendship.

Boy & the World poster
Boy & the World
2014 · dir. Alê Abreu
🍅 93%★ 7.5animation · fantasy · adventure

Both keep coming back to the same thing: growing up

The difference: Sits closer to adventure than The Little Mermaid does

Suffering because of his father's departure to the big city, a boy leaves his village and discovers a fantastic world dominated by bug-engines and strange beings. An unusual animation with various artistic techniques that portrays the issues of the modern world through the eyes of a child.

Ponyo poster
Ponyo
2008 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 91%★ 7.6animation · fantasy · familyMax

A sea creature aches to be human, against a powerful parent's will

The difference: Dream logic over plot — no songs, no villain, just wonder

When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

My Neighbor Totoro poster
My Neighbor Totoro
1988 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 94%★ 8.1fantasy · animation · familyMax

Cozy and dreamlike in the same breath

The difference: Easier on the wistfulness than The Little Mermaid

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

Tangled poster
Tangled
2010 · dir. Byron Howard
🍅 89%★ 7.7animation · family · adventureDisney+

A sheltered girl defying a controlling guardian to chase one shining dream

The difference: Modern wisecracks replace the earnest storybook sincerity

Feisty teenager Rapunzel, who has long and magical hair, wants to go and see sky lanterns on her eighteenth birthday, but she's bound to a tower by her overprotective mother. She strikes a deal with Flynn Rider, a charming wanted thief, and the duo set off on an action-packed escapade.

The Sword in the Stone poster
The Sword in the Stone
1963 · dir. Wolfgang Reitherman
🍅 65%★ 7.1animation · family · fantasyDisney+

Old-school Disney magic with a scrawny kid destined for more

The difference: Episodic wizard lessons — the story drifts rather than builds

Wart is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for him beyond mere squiredom. He starts by trying to give him an education, believing that once one has an education, one can go anywhere. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs poster
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1938 · dir. David Hand
★ 7.6fantasy · animation · familyDisney+

The original princess-versus-jealous-witch tale, hand-drawn and pure

The difference: A museum piece — slower and simpler than the Renaissance sparkle

A beautiful girl, Snow White, takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen. The Queen is jealous because she wants to be known as "the fairest in the land," and Snow White's beauty surpasses her own.

Labyrinth poster
Labyrinth
1986 · dir. Jim Henson
🍅 63%★ 7.3adventure · family · fantasyHuluPeacock

Common ground: musical

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah, a teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King. Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Little Mermaid’s defining feeling.