The Little Mermaid was a landmark film for Disney, both because it revived the studio’s animation department and because it reminded moviegoers that animated films could hold a special place in their hearts. After The Little Mermaid, Disney rode an animated wave that saw such hits as The Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, all of which invigorated the animation market and re-introduced consumers to the Disney magic.
Ironically, since those Disney powerhouse films, the studio has had relatively limited success, save for its movie arrangements with Pixar. Try as it might, Disney just hasn’t quite been able to have the same animated success as the years immediately following The Little Mermaid. So today’s release of The Little Mermaid Special Edition DVD means several things: first, that Disney is reminding people “hey, we’re good,” and second, that the company might be looking to resurrect its animation division, much as The Little Mermaid did when it first appeared in theaters in 1989.
And let me tell you, Disney’s off to a great start. The Little Mermaid Special Edition DVD is phenomenal, although not necessarily for its technical merit. The movie itself has been digitally restored, giving its colors a depth and brightness that those old VHS copies haven’t had for years. The film has also been remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1, which complements the still-toe-tapping soundtrack more than you might imagine. These are nice additions, particularly as high-definition TVs and surround-sound systems become more prevalent. But it’s the bonus content that really carries this two-disk DVD set.
One need look no further than the “Treasures Untold” making-of featurette to see just how important The Little Mermaid was (and is) to Disney. Rather than follow the model of most making-of segments, Treasures Untold really serves more as a documentary of Disney’s management and the philosophical changes that preceded The Little Mermaid and set the stage for the blockbusters that followed it. Sure, the feature follows the steps of producing The Little Mermaid, but the insight it provides into Disney’s creative process is even more fascinating than the movie information itself.
Another bonus feature, a virtual ride called the Under The Sea Adventure, discusses the process Disney Imagineers go through when creating a Disneyland or Walt Disney World attraction, even when that attraction never comes to fruition. Through interviews with various Imagineers and a videogame-like ride-through of the attraction, owners of this DVD set can actually experience at “a ride that never was,” and theme park fanatics (like myself) will feel like true insiders with behind-the-scenes access to Disney’s most creative minds.
These bonus features, combined with the other, smaller elements included in this DVD, make The Little Mermaid Special Edition one of the best Disney DVDs of 2006. And, when you watch a new animated short called The Little Match Girl, it becomes immediately clear that Disney’s animators have found inspiration once again in The Little Mermaid (via this DVD), a fact we can only hope will translate to new, feature-length films that once again lead to an animated film finding a special place in moviegoers’ hearts.
— Jonas Allen
