ему не понравилось

he didn't like it

→ он

phrase Uncommon #15,765

he didn't like it Used with a masculine experiencer in the dative case: literally, “it was not pleasing to him.” The thing that was disliked is the grammatical subject, while ему means “to him.”

RU: Ему не понравилось это новое место.

EN: He didn't like this new place.

Это ему не понравилось, и он полез в драку.

He didn't like this and he got into a fight.

— Семь Самураев (1954)

Ему не понравилось, как она говорит.

He didn't like the way she spoke.

Ему не понравилось быть бедным.

He didn't like being poor.

Ему не понравилось, во что та превратилась-в огромную машину для убийства.

He didn't like what she had become—an enormous killing machine.

— Человек с Земли (2007)

Ему не понравилось.

He didn't like it.

— Королева (2014)