A Modern Day Classic

With Disney's The Little Mermaid taking its turn finding her legs on Broadway very soon, I thought maybe it would be a good idea revisiting the DVD. With Disney's most impressive history of high quality classic films under their belt, to produce a modern day classic is no easy...what's that word again? oh - feat. Yet Disney once again pulls it off with the help of colorful characters, an evil villain and of course an amazing soundtrack by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.


The Plot

The story is based on the original story written by Hans Christian Andersen with a much happier and Disney-like ending about a mermaid who falls in love with a human. The main character, Ariel is fascinated with life above the ocean surface and often collects strange articles (like forks and pipes) from humans and adds them to her treasured collection in her secret cove under the sea. Of course this goes against her father's wishes. Her father is King Triton, and he is well aware of the dangers if Ariel made herself known to humans.

One night, as she and her fishy friend Flounder observe the humans having a birthday celebration on their ship, she notices Prince Eric and his crew and falls in love with the Prince. A hurricane literally crashes the party and the ship is lost as sea, but Ariel manages to save the object of her affection. She sings him a wonderful melody which then Prince Eric cannot forget. Ariel swims back into the ocean before Prince Eric could get her name, but he is determined to find the girl that saved him.

When King Triton finds out about Ariel's recent adventures mingling with the humans, he destroys her cove and forbids her to swim to the surface ever. Ariel then turns to underwater bad guy, or woman I should say, for help. Ariel is swayed in her naivete by Ursula, an evil octopus to become human in order to pursue a relationship with Prince Eric. Of course, there is a stipulation - Ariel must give her voice to Ursula to hold, so that Ariel would be unable to talk and Prince Eric would have to give Ariel a kiss of love on the third sunset while she's human, or else Ursula would own Ariel's soul.

Ariel has a little bit of help from Flounder and Sebastian, a crab who acts as a right-hand-man to King Triton. But to defeat Ursula and her evil plan would take a miracle and the help of everybody.


The Music

Probably the best part of The Little Mermaid are the amazing songs written by Alan Menken and lyricist Hugh Ashman, who died only two years later. Such numbers as Kiss the Girl or Under the Sea are both in an upbeat Caribbean genre which keeps it within the tropical feel that the animated feature emits. In this latest DVD release, the music is finally remixed into a 5.1 soundtrack where the songs (especially these numbers) sound alive and better than ever.

The feature song is Ariel's Part of Your World. The lyrics tell the story of her yearning to live on the earth's surface with the man she loves, and as the music swells it gives the viewer chills. The lyrics are laced with a double entendre that works so well,
"Bright young women
Sick o' swimmin'
Ready to stand"
and they paint a clear picture of the story as we hear Ariel struggle for the right words that they use on earth such as "fire", "burn" or "feet".
Even the wonderful Poor Unfortunate Souls sung by the film's villain is a show stopper and a shoe-in as future and enduring Disney Classic, like the rest of the songs are sure to be.


The DVD

This 2006 most recent release (this is the third release I believe), is presented in a two-disc feature-jammed package. Like I said earlier in this review, the most noticeable upgrade is the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound transfer. The music sounds new and fresh with a layered depth allowing you to hear your favorite songs in a whole new way.

The video is now anamorphic which looks splendid on your HDTV. The colors are more vibrant than before, but it seems that there could be room for improvement, perhaps in the future Blu-Ray release, whenever that may be.

The extras are superb, in fact there is one in particular that can’t get enough of - and I show it off to anyone who is interested. Apparently at one point, there were plans drawn up and models built of a theme park attraction of The Little Mermaid ride. Unfortunately, it never came to fruition, but with the aid of computer magic, there is a special feature that allows you to ride the attraction virtually. It's so much fun, especially with an anamorphic transfer and 5.1 surround sound; it instantly becomes more virtual than ever.


Overall

The characters of The Little Mermaid are now on par with even such Disney classics as Pinocchio, Cinderella, Snow White or Mowgli. Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder entertain the young and old alike with their colorful appearance and their music. But that's not all.

The story is good fun, romantic and even edge of your seat. No matter how many times I watch the animated movie I wonder how Ariel and company are going to escape Ursula's evil clutches. There's no doubt that The Little Mermaid is going to be the subject of future requests in the many years to come as the music, the magic and the songs are timeless.


Trivia

Did you know that Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy are all in The Little Mermaid? Look close in the audience during the fanfare in Atlantica - they are sitting together waiting for the show to begin. I'm not sure but I think that Dumbo is in that same audience too. Perhaps when the Blu-Ray is finally released, the picture will be that much clearer to distinguish this scene even better.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups