<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $40 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $211.3 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures . Based on the Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid tells the story of a Ariel, a mermaid princess who dreams of becoming human . Written, produced, and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, with music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (who also served as a co-producer), the film features the voices of Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Buddy Hackett, and René Auberjonois . </P> <P> The 28th Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid was released to theaters on November 17, 1989 to largely positive reviews, garnering $84 million at the domestic box office during its initial release, and $211 million in total lifetime gross worldwide . After the success of the 1988 Disney / Amblin film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid is given credit for breathing life back into the art of Disney animated feature films after a string of critical or commercial failures produced by Disney that dated back to the early 1970s . It also marked the start of the era known as the Disney Renaissance . </P>

When did the original little mermaid come out