No, The Little Mermaid isn’t my favorite Disney film. Actually, I’m not a big fan of a teenage girl running away with a guy she literally barely knows. Then there’s the subtext of changing herself to seek approval instead of being true to herself. Alright, that’s enough. It’s a classic and worth watching, but at least I would hope parents discuss the themes presented with their daughters.
While I find major flaws with the motivation of the titular character, the film isn’t without its merits, not least of which is the music. I’ve always preferred “Kiss The Girl” but one can’t deny the power of “Under The Sea” – the music here is great. This is also the film that helped to revitalize Disney as a company and American animation as a whole. It is a very gorgeous and lush production and fitting that this would be the first film of the new Disney ere of animated filmmaking setting the benchmark high for future offerings.
The supporting cast is also quite stellar here. Ursula is one of the best villains in the Disney canon, coming closest in sheer deliciousness to Cruella DeVille. Sebastian is one of the better sidekicks in Disney history as well.
The Little Mermaid tells the story of Ariel, a young … wait for it … mermaid who wants to know what it’s like above the surface of the water even though it’s forbidden. Forbidden by King Triton, leader of the merpeople, who happens to be her father. When she falls in love with and rescues a human from a shipwreck she embarks on a chain of events that sees her giving up what makes her unique in order to win the favors of the opposite sex.
Previously released on DVD a couple of times, the last, 2006’s Platinum Edition, was chock full of special features instead of the bare-bones affair we got initially. Now Disney is offering up the Blu-ray in a new Diamond Edition which brings over pretty much everything of value from the Platinum Edition DVD but also includes a few new extras to make the upgrade worthwhile.
Returning are the deleted scenes, the audio commentary, and the various documentaries that look at the making of the film, Hans Christian Anderson, and more. It will take a few hours to go through all of this, but it really is worth the time. Even if you’re not a fan of the film this is a great insight into the studio.
New for the Diamond Edition Blu-ray area number of extras that fans of the film will certainly want to examine. Perhaps the most interesting is the deleted character of Harold The Merman. This featurette is just a couple of minutes but Ron Clements and John Musker (co-directors as well as screenwriters) introduce an additional deleted scene and character that only helps to underscore Ursula’s evilness.
Then there’s the live action reference footage as well as lyricist Howard Ashman’s lecture to Disney animators (interspersed with some modern interviews). Combined these run less than a half hour. Also interesting is the featurette that looks at animators that worked on The Little Mermaid then moved on to other projects, then moves on itself to the new animators that were inspired the The Little Mermaid. This is interesting, but at just over 10 minutes far too short and superficial. I really wish this were longer. Then there’s a bit about Jodi Benson (Ariel) visiting a Disney theme park and a new music video and some karaoke. These last three bits are disposable.
If you’re a fan of The Little Mermaid or Disney animation in general, then The Little Mermaid on Blu-ray is something you will want to pick up.