The Little Mermaid Film Review

The Little Mermaid Film Review

The Little Mermaid is looking good these days, now that she’s ‘out of the vault’ and in high-definition in her Diamond Edition Blu-ray re-release.

With unforgettable characters, thrilling adventures, soaring Academy Award-winning music (1989: Best Music, Original Score, and Best Music, Original Song, Under The Sea.), The Little Mermaid is one of the most celebrated animated films of all time. Now spectacularly transformed for the first time on Blu-ray with digitally restored picture and brilliant high-definition sound!

Venture under the sea where Ariel, a free-spirited mermaid princess, longs to be part of the human world. After bravely striking a bargain with Ursula, a sneaky sea witch, Ariel embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. With Flounder and Sebastian at her side, Ariel will need all of her courage and determination to make things right in both her worlds.

The movie plot is the same, of course (why mess with awesome?), but the colors are a little more vibrant and the video is, well, high-def, which makes it pop on the screen more than the 20-something year old version we've all enjoyed for decades. The 7.1 surround sound only makes Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, even more magical, and brings some of the other sounds of life ‘under the sea’ so close, it makes you feel like you’re right there swimming along with her.

However, it’s not those things that should have you running out for your own copy of  The Little Mermaid Three-Disc Diamond Edition. It’s the three plus hours of bonus materials that make this new version worth every penny. There’s the music video for “Part of Your World” performed by Carly Rae Jepsin.

You get to see a deleted character named Harold the Merman (or check out the video above). There are interviews with the writers/directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, and even a video with the musical director, Harold Samson, recorded when the original movie was created, explaining why he incorporated reggae music into the mix, among other things (this was my favorite part of the entire DVD!).

It’s out in stores tomorrow and I highly recommend investing your money into this all-time favorite. And I highly recommend grabbing a little one to watch it with, and singing along to every fun song (who can resist getting up and dancing to ‘Under the Sea’?).