Anderusen dôwa ningyo-hime
The movie opens in live action Denmark. The narrator talks about Hans Christian Andersen and his authorship of the original story. After a brief shot of a live action ocean and the opening title card (with a mermaid song in the background), the scene dissolves to 2D hand-drawn anime.
Princess Marina, who lives in the undersea kingdom with her father, grandmother, and five older sisters, is playing with her best friend Fritz, a dolphin. On her way home, the Sea Witch conjures a powerful storm. Marina's sisters berate her for being late, reminding her that their grandmother won't give her the pearl hair-pin that signifies adulthood unless she is responsible. Marina and her sisters are then summoned to their father and grandmother and are told to go to bed early because of the storm.
The following day, Marina's sisters go to the surface. Marina is curious, but she is forbidden to go because she has not yet come of age. While exploring a ship destroyed by the storm, she discovers a statue of a human boy. Deciding she is ready to see the world above, she and Fritz sneak away to the surface with the help of Fritz's uncle, Duke the whale. There, she sees the handsome young prince from the statue on a ship.
Suddenly, another storm arises and throws the prince into the sea. Marina saves him and brings him to shore, leaving him there to be found. A raven-haired young woman arrives and cares for him. Marina and Fritz then return home to the palace. Marina's father scolds her, but her grandmother tells the king of the rescue. The next morning, Marina joins her sisters and receives her pearl hair-pin.
Determined to see the prince again, Marina obtains a potion from the Sea Witch which allows her to exchange her tail and her beautiful voice in order to become human. She is warned that if the prince marries another, she will die and turn into sea foam the next morning. Marina drinks the potion and is transformed.
The following morning, she is discovered by the prince on the shore. Marina lives with the prince for one month and they become very close. One day, Fritz visits and informs Marina that if she needs him, she can signal him by raising her pearl hair-pin.
The prince takes Marina horse-back riding the next morning. While riding, the prince's jealous cat Jemmy pounces on Marina's horse, spooking the horse into throwing Marina off. Marina is surrounded and chased by a pack of wolves. The prince comes to her rescue and kills the wolves, enraging Jemmy who then vows to get rid of Marina.
The prince tells her that his parents want him to marry a foreign princess, but he wants to marry the girl who saved his life. Since he cannot find her, he wishes to marry Marina. Jemmy reports the conversation to his parents, and the queen suspects that Marina has bewitched her son.
When the ship arrives carrying the princess his parents intend for him, the prince's father orders Marina's arrest for treason. The next morning, the prince meets the foreign princess and recognizes her as the same raven-haired girl who had supposedly saved him. The prince and princess are soon married.
Heartbroken, Marina summons Fritz so she can say goodbye. Fritz vows to find a way to save her. Marina's sisters, having given their hair to the Sea Witch, give her a magic knife. Her sisters tell her that if she stabs the prince through the heart, she will turn into a mermaid again. Marina accepts the knife. With dawn only minutes away, Marina sneaks into the prince's room but finds that she cannot bring herself to kill him. Marina kisses him goodbye as he sleeps.
As she throws the knife into the sea, the reflection wakes the prince. He rushes onto the deck, calling after her, but she jumps before he can reach her. As he calls her name one last time, he sees that she has left behind her pearl hair-pin and a scale from her tail. As the sun rises, Marina's body slowly turns to foam and ascends into the sky. The prince suddenly realizes that Marina was the girl who had saved his life. He grieves her death as Marina's spirit goes on to Heaven for her self-sacrifice, while a devastated Fritz calls out her name.
fantasy