The Little Mermaid

[PatrickvD]

well spoken.

I was still young when it came out, but I remember it well. It stood out from all the other animated fare so strongly that it almost made you forget Don Bluth and Spielberg were even attempting to reinvent the medium at all.

The Little Mermaid was, and still is, a revolutionary film. And aside from clear storytelling and fantastic music, we mustn't forget the technological developments that helped Disney make it to the top at the time. More prominently later in The Rescuers Down Under and Beauty and the Beast, so Thank you Pixar

I'm really excited for that new documentary "Waking Sleeping Beauty" which covers Disney's revolutionary years from 1984 to 1994. It looks like a fascinating behind the scenes look at what was really going on. From the success to the eventual power struggle.

But I digress. Let's reflect on The Little Mermaid. My favorite Disney film by far. A true classic.

[eddievalient]

Funny thing, I didn't really like this film as a kid but when the dvd came out, I picked it up to give it another chance. Now it's among my favorite Disney films. Go figure.

[droosan]

The Little Mermaid theatrical re-release in 2013 ..

In 3-D ..

But, at least The Little Mermaid will be back in movie theaters..!

But .. in 3-D.

[EricJ]

Well...what's wrong with that?
(Apart from the fact that we still don't know how early 90's ink-and-paint animateds that weren't made in CAPS computers will adapt to 3-D conversion the hard way, even if they've already got their digital-restoration workprint.)

I haven't seen Lion King 3D in theaters (because the movie still gives me hives), but I caught the opening "Circle of Life" on download, and the system seems to work fine on home video.
They've already seemed to have handled the View-Master Factor nicely, although I'm biased, since I always liked my View-Master, growing up.

[droosan]

I didn't mean to imply there was anything 'wrong' with releasing a 3-D version of The Little Mermaid .. just that I'm a bit torn as to how I feel about it.

The 3-D presentation of Beauty and the Beast played for a week at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, last month. I debated whether I wanted to see it for a few days .. but ultimately decided against it.

I had no interest whatsoever (personally) in seeing the 3-D version of The Lion King; I'm honestly surprised that it did so well in theaters (let alone that it reached the #1 box office slot) --especially considering that its Blu-ray/DVD release was literally a couple of weeks later.

I have no problem with 3-D in movies that were made with 3-D as part of the process of making the movie (IOW, shot or rendered stereoscopically) .. but when it is added after the fact -- whether in live-action or animation -- it just never 'feels' right, to me.

One case in point would be The Nightmare Before Christmas .. the added 3-D often has that layered-multiplane 'ViewMaster' feel. And there's nothing 'wrong' with that .. but -- when compared with anaglyph photos taken during production of the film -- it's obvious that the artificial '3-D' effect falls far short of what an actual stereoscopic version of the movie would have been.

[Ben]

I meant to mention those anaglyph stills in my recent NB4X 3D review, Droo...thanks for the reminder. Yes, I was hoping the movie would look like those, but it did have a ViewMaster feel to it (I did manage to remember to say that though!), which kind of worked but sometimes didn't.

I'm looking forward to seeing LK in 3D on the BD (OK?) if only to see how the film feels now. If anything LK was always very layered anyway - more than B&TB - because they were getting so good with the multiplane capabilites of the CAPS system.

But although LK surprised in reissue, I just can't see the same being for the other announced films, particularly B&TB, which has just come out on Blu-ray 3D and never had the audience-craze for the film that LK did (something that I can appreciate, but don't understand). As for the others, well they didn't work in Imax and that was the last time they were supposed to be "upgraded". What they really need to do is Aladdin...that could look superb...!

[EricJ]

As for the others, well they didn't work in Imax and that was the last time they were supposed to be "upgraded". What they really need to do is Aladdin...that could look superb...!

And seeing as Aladdin was the third movie originally "upgraded" for IMAX, might not be a bad idea.
At least they have the digital print ready for tweaking.
(And good sales might finally shout down all those "Didn't sell on disk!" fan-rumors that I still can't remember whether they were supposed to refer to the US release or the UK release.)

[droosan]

Although the wide theatrical release of The Little Mermaid in 3-D was cancelled, earlier this year, The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood has just announced that they'll be screening the movie for four weeks .. September 20 - October 13, as part of Disney's promotional push for its upcoming Blu-ray.

As I'd noted earlier, I'm less-than-enthused about the '3-D' aspect being added to this film .. but it's reeeally hard for me to resist any opportunity to see The Little Mermaid on the silver screen.

[Whippet Angel]

I'm really disappointed that they cancelled the wide theatrical release.

I'm not a fan of 3D films in general, but it can add an interesting effect to 2D animation. I thought TLK looked great in 3D. B&tB on the other hand... The 3D didn't really do much for it, and after a few minutes I forgot it was even there. I figured that's just because the film is so much darker than TLK, and has a lack of greatly contrasting colors. The Little Mermaid is a much brighter and more colorful film, and the added effect could really make those colors pop.

Eh, it's really not the 3D I care about, so much as the opportunity to see the film again in theaters. I'd enjoy that now just as much as I did when I was six, back in 1989. Why, oh why would you dangle that prospect in front of me only to take it away a year later. Why Disney? Whyyyyyyyyy?????

[EricJ]

Eh, it's really not the 3D I care about, so much as the opportunity to see the film again in theaters. I'd enjoy that now just as much as I did when I was six, back in 1989. Why, oh why would you dangle that prospect in front of me only to take it away a year later. Why Disney? Whyyyyyyyyy?????

Because you didn't go see Monsters Inc. 3D in the theaters. (Probably because you'd already heard it was coming out on disk a month later, so why waste the ten bucks?) THAT'S why.
Which's a shame, as MI3D was actually pretty good for a re-rendered Pixar.

With Jurassic Park 3D being a big hit in theaters during the spring, we'd hoped it'd broken the "only good as your last film" stigma and made 3D re-releases "okay" again, to pay for their conversions.
Maybe being "forced" to show the movie to an audience for promotional purposes will get Disney back on the horse and bring some good graces back again. Then we can all start hoping for that Aladdin 3D again.

[LotsoA113]

Speaking of that...where's my Aladdin blu-ray!?!?

[droosan]

I guess Planes must've 'sputtered-out-of-gas', in Hollywood; the El Capitan Theater has just announced they've cancelled the final week of Planes' run -- and will instead open The Little Mermaid in '3-D' a week early, to take its place..

I've already scored my ticket for the very first screening: 10:45 AM, this Friday, September 13th .. center seat of the balcony's front row!

-----------------------------

According to Cartoon Brew, there will be a 'limited' nationwide theatrical distribution of The Little Mermaid in some cities, starting September 20th .. but Disney's marketing seems to stress its new TLM 'Second Screen' iPad app .. they openly encourage parents and children to bring their iPads to the theaters -- and to hold them up above their heads during the show -- in order to 'interact' with the movie.

There's no mention in the CB-linked Disney promo of whether these limited screenings may be in '3-D'.

So, Whippet Angel .. you might have your chance to see The Little Mermaid in a local theater .. if you can successfully shield your eyes against the glare of a few dozen iPads..!

[EricJ]

Looks like it's either-or: The 3D is the special El Capitan engagement, while the Second Screen is the limited mass-theater release.
(Sort of their way on backing down on doing a 3D re-release after all, but not yet ready to give in on the 3D issue.)

Here, they're trying to sell the interaction as a sort of theme park attraction--"Play the movie at a theater near you"--and trying to push Second Screen as the selling point for their disks, but considering this is in the same theater that warns against cellphone glows, I don't imagine this'll be used a second time.
And every time I see the trailer of kids holding up their tablets during "Kiss the Girl", I keep thinking, "So, what, are we supposed to hold up our iPads and sing 'There's a light, at the Triton palace...'?"

[Randall]

Sequel and prequel coming to Blu-ray in November!

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Littl ... ray/84326/

I never saw either, so I'm kinda looking forward to this disc. I've relented, and now plan to get every Disney animated title on Blu-ray. It's a sickness.

My daughter (then age 6, nearly 7) actually saw the world premiere of TLMIII at Comic-Con in 2008, but I was busy at another panel (my wife agreed to sit with her). She wasn't actually too thrilled with the film, and was more excited to get first looks at new Spongebob cartoons!

[droosan]

Neither sequel is up to the quality of the original, naturally .. but by the same token, neither really 'detracts' from it, either. Of the two, I did enjoy III more -- primarily because it features Ariel's sisters (my favorite Disney 'background' characters, by far..!).

Although it's of somewhat-lesser quality than even the DTV sequels, I'd actually like to see The Little Mermaid Disney Channel cartoon TV series get a DVD release .. even if only 'MOD'. I have noticed that Toon Disney has been re-airing the series recently, in the wee morning hours.