In 1989, the fairy tale was adapted into an animated film by the Walt Disney studio called The Little Mermaid, after which a TV series of the same name followed, also by Disney, taking place before the movie's storyline, with a few episodes guest starring Mark Hamill of the Star Wars Original Trilogy fame as the original novel's author, Hans Christian Andersen. The film, however, differs so substantially from Andersen's original in so many details (including a happy ending in which the mermaid in fact marries the prince) that it has been said to "betray Andersen's tale while it exploits society's obsession with physical beauty and romantic love.

Finding Nemo is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film. It tells the story of the over-protective clownfish named Marlin who, along with a regal tang named Dory, searches for his abducted son Nemo all the way to Sydney Harbour. Along the way, Marlin learns to take risks and let Nemo take care of himself. The film's use of clownfish prompted mass purchase of the fish breed as pets in the United States, even though the story portrayed the use of fish as pets negatively and suggested that saltwater aquariums are notably tricky and expensive to maintain. The demand for clownfish was supplied by large-scale harvesting of tropical fish in regions like Vanuatu.