A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Little Mermaid 3D -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

In the commentary, the directors mention that Mickey and Donald (and maybe others I'm not remembering) were placed in a crowd scene that flies by. You'd have to pause it exactly right to glimpse them.

I have never heard that.

I knew about Pumbaa and Belle in Hunchback...but not this.

 

[Timothy James]

This may be a bit off topic, but am I the only one also disappointed with the bluray 3D slip cover? I paid good money for the 3D version and for being a Diamond Edition I was highly surprised in how basic it was. The Lion King 3D Diamond Edition slipcover along with other previous releases all have a 3D card imprinted on the slip cover, what happened with the Little Mermaid lacking this?

 

[Jari K]

I believe 3D is omitted from the European Blu-ray release? I have no idea why.

 

[JoshZ]

This may be a bit off topic, but am I the only one also disappointed with the bluray 3D slip cover? I paid good money for the 3D version and for being a Diamond Edition I was highly surprised in how basic it was. The Lion King 3D Diamond Edition slipcover along with other previous releases all have a 3D card imprinted on the slip cover, what happened with the Little Mermaid lacking this?

Import the UK SteelBook edition. Insert the 3D disc you've already bought into the SteelBook. Problem solved.

 

[geomon]

Disney's response to that particular mistake: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=8118367&postcount=2301 They claim the switch has no impact on the film. I disagree completely. Here's a vid: Ariel now moves her mouth to sing "...wish I could be" long after the soundtrack has passed that point. It also causes a jarring cut that was avoided by having the shot of Flounder in its original place.

Wow, that's kind of disgusting.

 

[Sam Favate]

Watched the 2D blu-ray today with my kids; I thought it looked pretty good. Some colors seemed muted, but I guess they were always that way. I did an A/B comparison with the old (Platinum) DVD, and the blu-ray looks much better. It's an upgrade for sure, albeit not a perfect one.

 

[dshultz]

Disney's response - while outrageous - is quite expected in the immeasurably arrogant world of Bob Iger.

Frankly I'm surprised at the lack of outrage here. The dreaded "West Side Story" opening credits fiasco (which occurs before the film is even underway) is on 42 pages, and 838 replies.

Now clearly nobody's saying this film is on the same level with that one in terms of import, artistry and brilliance - "The Little Mermaid" is hardly the "Mona Lisa" of animated film.

But it's an imporant film in its own right, for its re-introduction of hand drawn animation to film and it's massive, if not downright fanatic audience appeal.

And yet what we have here in principal is quite similar to "West Side:" a flat-out manufacturer-admitted mistake. Not some purposeful creative "enhancement" ("Star Wars"), but an actual error during the mastering process that has rendered this version, however briefly, unable to claim it is an absolute faithful reproduction of the original as seen in theaters.

At least Fox tried (if incompetently) to correct their mistake with a more-than-reasonable trade-in program. Disney's reponse of "Oh get over yourself" is just one more assinine and unacceptable example of the disdain in which they hold their installed consumer base.

Can't wait for the re-release ten years from now in 4K: "Disney presents for the very first time on hi-def video a frame-by-frame accurate rendering of the all-time classic "The Little Mermaid." But only for a limited time, so if you were stupid enough to waste your money on all the different versions of the blu-ray last time (like Dave here purchasing presents for his fanatic friends and family!) - here's your chance to get it right. We finally did - why not you too??!??!!!!"

Sorry folks - Bobby I. cares a helluva lot more about stock price (and I'm a shareholder!).

 

[Mark-P]

But it's an imporant film in its own right, for its re-introduction of hand drawn animation to film and it's massive, if not downright fanatic audience appeal.

Re-introduction? This film predates the first feature-length computer animated movie by six years!

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

If not the only one, this is certainly one of the few Disney films that was neither shot with the CAPS system nor shot on a successive exposure YCM negative, which is one reason it sometimes looks a bit muted compared to other Disney animated features on home video.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Call it the re-introduction of classic hand-drawn animation to film.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Call it the re-introduction of classic hand-drawn animation to film.

Considering that Who Framed Roger Rabbit, My Neighbor Totoro, Akira, and Grave of the Fireflies were all released in 1988, I am not sure if that even works.

 

[Sam Favate]

There's no question that the Little Mermaid is a landmark in animation features. It was hugely successful and got excellent reviews, proving that an animated feature could do both, after a very long time when animated films did neither. It also reinvigorated the Disney brand after a very long time (some would say it was the best since the 50s, others would say the 60s).

 

[dshultz]

Sorry - didn't mean for my post to derail the conversation into a discussion of the history and importance of animation techniques in feature films!! I'll go with the spirit of the posts by Aaron Silverman and Sam Favate (I hope!) in saying that in utilizing the classic animation techniques of hand drawn cells over hand drawn backgrounds, "The Little Mermaid" almost singlehandedly brought Disney back from the brink and was the gateway toward a string of massively successful (if executed much differently) animated films such as "Beauty & The Beast," "Aladdin," and the obsequious "The Lion King" among others. it also paved the way for a return to animated features from other studios as well.

But back to the original point, the error here means this blu-ray is no more faithful to the original than are the now two botched versions of "West Side Story," though again - Fox at least tried, if incompetently, to appear as if they give a dump about their consumer base...

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Considering that Who Framed Roger Rabbit, My Neighbor Totoro, Akira, and Grave of the Fireflies were all released in 1988, I am not sure if that even works.

Call it American classic animation then. (The rabbit only counts half. )

 

[uVSthem]

Does anyone know if the new DVD disc that comes with the bluray has the same editing error and other changes?

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

All versions contain the mistakes 3D, 2D and the DVD copy. I believe most if not all of the digital copies have been fixed with the Part of your World Scuttle jump cut edit issue also.

I don't guess anyone posted on this forum but Disney does have a disc replacement program in place. You call them and let them know you want to replace your copy due to the Part of Your World error and they will send you a form to send back either both your 2D copy and your DVD copy for replacements. No program in place yet for the 3D edition.

Here are the Contact #'s for those interested. If you also want them to try to do replacements for the 3D it is best to be nice and also state you would love Disney to correct the 3D edition also.

800-723-4763 (U.S.) 888-877-2843 (Canada)

 

[dshultz]

Not well known, Powell&Pressburger - thanks for posting!!!!

Though there seems to be some confusion as to just which versions they are replacing:

"...anecdotal evidence from contact with the company today indicates the replacement program is for the standard Blu-Ray only."

One would hope that's entirely inaccurate...

Details of the errors / changes have been posted to UTube, along with a video letter to Disney.

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

When I called last week they asked if I wanted to replace the BLU and the DVD copy and I said I only cared about the 3D Blu and Regular BLU that I never watch the DVD copy. They said they can only replace the 2D Standard BLU or DVD only currently. So I just asked for the BLU to be replaced. I would guess there are conflicting reports though.

 

[Peter McM]

Just watched the 2D blu; has anyone else had the following problem?:

From main menu, I hit play. After slight pause, I got brief "load" animation of Sebastian straightening his shell. Then it goes back to main menu. I did this twice. Finally had to hit scene selection, select scene 1, then movie played normally. (Haven't had this kind of problem since "The Incredibles" DVD.)

I also noticed, on the blu, they fixed the scratch in the upper right when Eric and Ariel jump from giant Ursula into the water--but it's still present on the DVD for some reason.

UPDATE: I checked the disc on my computer; seems my HDTV is overscanning a bit; the blemish IS there. Trying to figure out how to return playback settings to their proper place.

 

[Paul Thrussell]

Please pardon my simple-mindedness, but is it true that something happened to the o-neg for Little Mermaid, or was that just humorous sarcasm about Disney's claims of extensive restoration on a film that's less than 25 years old?