Isn’t it neat? Disney’s The Little Mermaid was just added to the National Film Registry for preservation along with some other eclectic 2022 inductees. Its inclusion means even more excitement around the upcoming Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, and pressure to live up to the beloved original. The animated film was one of 25 films chosen for the registry. “Selected for their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage, the newest selections include a vibrant diversity of American filmmakers, as well as landmark works in key genres and numerous documentaries,†the press release said.
From the classic Blaxploitation film Super Fly and Nora Ephron’s defining rom-com When Harry Met Sally to groundbreaking LGBTQ+ films, Iron Man, and Carrie, this year’s selections represent a wide array of filmmaking traditions and experimentations. Other notable entries include John Waters’s Hairspray, Haile Gerima’s experimental Black film Bush Mama, and Marlon Riggs’s video essay Tongues Untied. Meanwhile, documentary giant Julia Reichert heard her film Union Maids was being added less than a week before she died from cancer in early December.
“Films have become absolutely central to American culture by helping tell our national story for more than 125 years. We are proud to add 25 more films by a group of vibrant and diverse filmmakers to the National Film Registry as we preserve our cinematic heritage,†Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “We’re grateful to the entire film community for collaborating with the Library of Congress to ensure these films are preserved for the future.†Here’s the full list of the 25 movies added to the National Film Registry:
Mardi Gras Carnival (1898)
Cab Calloway Home Movies (1948–51)
Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
Charade (1963)
Scorpio Rising (1963)
Behind Every Good Man (1967)
Titicut Follies (1967)
Mingus (1968)
Manzanar (1971)
Super Fly (1972)
Betty Tells Her Story (1972)
Attica (1974)
Carrie (1976)
Union Maids (1976)
Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977)
Bush Mama (1979)
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
Itam Hakim, Hopiit (1984)
Hairspray (1988)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Tongues Untied (1989)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
House Party (1990)
Iron Man (2008)
Pariah (2011)