Michael Scott

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The Little Mermaid: 30th Anniversary Edition


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Movie: :4.5stars:
Video: :4.5stars:
Audio: :4.5stars:
Extras: :4.5stars:
Final Score: :4.5stars:



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Movie

The Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorite Disney films for many many years. As a child I would sing along with the songs (it has some of the catchiest songs in the Disney arsenal) and loved the big fight between Eric and Ursula at the end. However, as an adult my absolute adoration of the film was tempered just a bit when I started to realize the original meaning of the Grimms fairy tale, as well as the elements of that bleeding over into the sanitized Disney version. The original story didn’t have Ariel as the hero. In fact, it was a children’s warning to obey their parents, as Ariel was impulsive and rebellious, going against her father’s wishes and ended up paying a terrible price for her foolishness. The Disney version sanitizes it just a bit by having Ariel be the true hero of the film, but there’s still the element of her being a rebellious teenager that just grates against the adult in me. Especially when some of it is intentionally lionized because “she’s in love”. Well, old man grumpiness aside, The Little Mermaid is really a great Disney animated film. It has great voice acting, some fantastic songs, and a classic adventure/romance that transcends the decades. I can still sing along to every one of the songs today

Ariel (Jodi Benson) is a 16 year old mermaid, daughter of King Triton (Kenneth Mars) and the favorite daughter of said king. She has everything that she could ever want as a princess, except the one thing that she truly desires. The ability to go out and on her own and explore freedom. King Triton forbids Ariel from going anywhere near the surface world, and his heavy handedness seems overly unfair to the 16 year old (to be fair, any parent telling a 16 year old “no” seems heavy handed and unfair to said 16 year old). Unbeknownst to her father, Ariel has collected all sorts of memorabilia from sunken ships, as well gotten a few trinkets from her bird friend Scuttle (Buddy Hackett). However, King Triton’s wrath is swift and vicious when he finds out about her stash, destroying them all in an instant and finally pushing Ariel to the limit. Making a deal with Ursula (Pat Carroll) the sea witch, Ariel trades her voice for the ability to be turned into a human so that she can go be with the hunky Prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes), whom she has admired from afar for so long.
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The thing with witches and spells, there never is any free lunch. Not only does Ariel give up her voice to Ursula in order to gain legs and walk, she also has only a few days to woo Prince Eric and make her his, or Ariel’s lack of voice is permanent. Ursula figures that Ariel is going to fail miserably without her lovely voice so it’s a win/win situation for her, but against all odds Ariel begins to woo the young prince and love is in the air. Livid at the change in her careful plans, Ursula changes HERSELF into a human as well, giving herself Ariel’s voice and damning the young mermaid to a life of slavery if she can’t pull off her mission.

The Little Mermaid has a fantastic cast of voice actors and some of the best side characters in Disney history. Sebastian the Crab, Flounder the….flounder, and Scuttle the Seagull are hilarious to watch. In fact, they almost take over the show with every scene they’re in, and that’s a big feat considering how well Jodi Benson does as Ariel. I’ve always been a little irked at the lionization of rebellion in the film, but if you put that little niggle aside, The Little Mermaid is a blast to watch as a Disney classics. I’ve actually grown more ameniable to the film over the last 6 years when I rated the movie a 4/5, and have to say it’s back up to a 4.5/5 to me. This is a fantasy fairy tale, and while it’s does have some issues with making Ariel the unabashed hero, the blending of song, characters and action is unparalleled in Disney history, making it one of the more engaging Disney classics.




Rating:

Rated G By the MPAA




Video: :4.5stars:
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Now you’re probably wondering WHY you should upgrade your old discs to this new edition, especially since Disney is notorious for recycling the Diamond Edition transfers for these newer Signature Editions and just tweaking the extras just a bit. HOWEVER, this one is a little bit different. Instead of recycling the Diamond Edition transfer Disney has created a new remaster for this Blu-ray and 4K UHD release and there is a distinct upgrade. The upgrades aren’t shocking or drastic, but it pushes an already solid transfer into a really great one. I made some comments back in 2013 that the picture was a little soft, the colors a tad faded, and the lines not perfectly drawn (part of that is the animation style, so nothing you can do there). This new edition has a richer color palette to it, with deeper blues under the sea (now just try and get that song out of your head), no color banding like the original, and fantastic detailing with the backgrounds. Now the detail levels aren’t head and shoulders over the last release (kind of like squeezing blood out of a turnip as the old animation style isn’t excruciatingly detailed to begin with), but the deeper blacks, more precise color timing and less artifacting makes this the really great transfer that the Diamond Edition SHOULD have been 6 years ago.




Audio: :4.5stars:
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While the video encode is brand new, the 7.1 DTS-HD MA audio mix is the same one that Disney used for the Diamond Edition 6 years ago, and that’s NOT a bad thing in the slightest. The 7.1 mix was great back then, and it is still great today. The track just pulses with energy and a robust sound design with the musical numbers. Dialog is centered right in the middle channel with some solid panning effects for merfolk, and the dynamic range is simply fantastic. One moment Ariel and flounder are having a discussion under the sea, only to have the next moment rip the doors off with a gale that shakes the entire listening position with LFE and 360 degree immersion. The surrounds are utilized to the max, with the swirling sounds of the storm pulling the listener in to the heart of the chaos, and even the more quiet sequences have little ambient sea noises in the background (listen to Ursula’s minions whispering and shrieking in the background). The LFE is dead on accurate, with deep percussive waves for the crashing of the storm, or the humming low end of the score, but not overly hot or aggressive. While I love musical accompaniments for any movie, I have to really hand it to The Little Mermaid, as the songs and musical arrangements for this film really make the movie for the listener. The catchiness, the fun, the childhood memories, they’re all just magical to listen to in full 7.1. Amazing track.








Extras: :4.5stars:
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• Sing-Along Mode – Sing along to the movie in this sing-along version of the film.
• Alan Menken & the Leading Ladies Song – From the voice of a mermaid to the tunes of a muse, the music of Alan Menken has scored the soundtrack for some of Disney's most iconic leading ladies. Join Alan, Jodi Benson (Ariel), Paige O'Hara (Belle), Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas Singing Voice), Lillias White (Calliope) and Donna Murphy (Mother Gothel) as we celebrate the music of their films in honor of the one that started it all … "The Little Mermaid." In this discussion, the ladies will share their memories of musically creating their characters with Alan, discuss what it means to be part of the Disney Princess/leading lady legacy and create new memories as they sing with Alan around a baby grand piano.
• "What I Want From You…Is YOUR VOICE" – Enter the recording studio and get an inside look at the cast of "The Little Mermaid" in their original recording sessions.
• Stories From Walt's Office – Gadgets & Gizmos – Like Ariel, Walt Disney was a collector of many different things from miniatures to early mechanical characters that inspired the invention of audio-animatronics. We take a look at some the collections that Walt kept in his office in the third episode of this series.
• #TreasuresUntold – Join Ruby Rose Turner and Olivia Sanabia from the Disney Channel Original Series "Coop and Cami Ask the World" as they take a deep dive to explore some hidden treasures and fun facts about Disney's "The Little Mermaid."
• DCapella "Part of Your World" Music Video
• Classic Bonus Features – revisit four exciting bonus features from previous releases including:
- Deleted Character: Harold The Merman
- Under The Scene: The Art Of Live Action Reference
- Howard's Lecture
- Audio Commentary With Ron Clements, John Musker and Alan Menken






Final Score: :3stars:


The Little Mermaid is a classic Disney film, and one of their crown jewels in their catalog. This 30th Anniversary Edition really does boost it up a little over the top from the previous Diamond edition. The new transfer on Blu-ray changes the film’s visuals from “very good” to “fantastic”, and the new extras are really fun to pore through as well. If you’ve got the equipment though, I would suggest checking out the 4K UHD release of the film (first Disney Classic on 4K UHD), as the added HDR accompaniment really is superb and is THE version to get (again, if you have the 4K equipment, otherwise this is a very solid upgrade over the Diamond Edition). Like usual, we lose a few of the classic extras, so the true collectors among us will want to keep their Diamond Edition for good measure, but Still. This is a nice step forward for the film’s home video presence and a great watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Rene Auberjonois , Christopher Daniel Barnes, Buddy Hackett
Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker
Written by: Ron Clements, John Musker
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 7.1, Spanish , French DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
Rated: G
Runtime: 83 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 26th, 2019







Recommendation: Great Watch

 

tripplej

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Thanks for the review. I agree, this is a great movie. :)
 

Todd Anderson

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Classic flick. I saw it dozens of times when my daughters were little.
 

Asere

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A classic indeed. I will be getting this one for my daughter.
 

Grayson Dere

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Great review, Michael! I remember this film very well growing up : ) It's nice to see Disney still going through its archives to make sure the picture/sound is even more enjoyable for current viewers.
 
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