The Little Mermaid 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

The Little Mermaid 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 3, 2019

Released on the same day as Disney's standard 4K "Signature Collection" combo pack, this limited Digipak edition of Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid is exclusive to Target, both in-store and online. It's an extremely colorful design that should appeal to collectors of all ages and includes a handsome "Gallery Book" with concept artwork and other items (including an abridged storybook), although all of the on-disc and digital content is identical to the standard version. Similarly priced alongside the standard 4K edition, it's a low-risk upgrade that won't last long.

To read my colleague Martin Liebman's take on the film, please refer to his review of the standard 4K edition, originally published on February 13th. His write-up also includes a link to Ken Brown's review of the Blu-ray Diamond Edition from 2013. Please note that the movie rating represents my own opinion of The Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For an evaluation of the video presentation, please refer to the standard 4K edition review.

The Little Mermaid 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For an evaluation of the audio presentation, please refer to the standard 4K edition review.

The Little Mermaid 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release is housed in a colorful fold-out Digipak case with individual hubs for each disc. After removing the outer slipcover (seen in photos #1, #4, and #5 - right side, reverse image), which also includes a descriptive J-card (photo #5, left side), the inside case features four paneled images of Ariel, Ursula, Flounder, and Sebastian. Both discs feature artwork identical to the standard 4K edition, while the artwork behind the disc trays features a landscape image of Prince Eric's castle. Unfortunately, this disc tray artwork was obviously taken from a very low-resolution source and shows obvious artifacts and heavy edge enhancement. This is somewhat disappointing, considering Disney's usually high standards for key art. Luckily, you won't be looking at it very much.

Also tucked inside is a a square-bound Gallery Book with glossy pages (cover seen on photo #4, right side and reverse image on photo #5, center).

• Gallery Book - This 36-page book, sized about a quarter-inch smaller on all sides than the Blu-ray package, is divided neatly in half. The first 18 pages include concept art, photos, and captions about the animation method, key characters, and a few backgrounds. The second half is an abridged storybook that appears to be a reprint of a previously-issued edition. The pages are thick and glossy with terrific artwork and easy-to-read text.

For a detailed breakdown of the on-disc and digital content (all of which is identical to this release), please refer to the standard 4K edition review.

The Little Mermaid 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Disney's The Little Mermaid is a timeless classic. Their 4K edition easily offers the best A/V presentation currently available and a solid collection of extras although, as Martin Liebman mentions in his review, many of them aren't on the actual discs. Target's exclusive limited Digipak release is very colorful and nicely designed (and disc trays are always a plus), even if the Gallery Book isn't terribly substantial and one of the package's background images was obviously taken from a low-res source. This is still a very nice set priced similarly to the standard 4K edition in-store and online...so if you haven't bought it yet, it's a fairly low-risk upgrade that's worth the few extra bucks.