6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch, to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.
Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Noma DumezweniFamily | 100% |
Fantasy | 61% |
Musical | 41% |
Adventure | 40% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: Disney sent this Wal-Mart edition of The
Little Mermaid 4K for review purposes, but collectors
should be aware that there
is also a Best Buy SteelBook
and Disney Movie Club edition
available.
Before getting into some specific reactions I personally had
to this production, and after having received some
messages from folks seeing I was
assigned to this release, let me just cut to the chase in terms
of some of the pretty heated
controversy that
Disney's
so-called "color blind casting" for this live action remake has
engendered: we're all entitled to our opinions, yea or nay, but
unless we're the ones
putting up the moolah for the film, does it ultimately matter?
If I may be permitted to haphazardly combine idioms, that
"horse (and/or elephant) of a different color in the
room" may have attracted considerable debate, but kind of
curiously seemingly no controversy has erupted
about what I
consider to be the salient point in
the foregoing description: live action remake. I have
a somewhat irreverent sense of humor about a lot of this,
and in regard to some of
the heated negative reaction to the supposedly "woke"
elements of
this production in particular, everyone seems to have missed
the fact that Disney has long been involved in one of the
most "liberal" activities of all
time (and
here's my irreverent humor
part), namely recycling. Is there any other major studio
which has so relentlessly rejiggered their properties for
ensuing generations? Disney
long
championed the "every seven years (or so) re-release"
strategy for decades, introducing their evergreens to
countless new swarms of kids (and
their
parents, who may have forgotten their own childhood
adventures with various properties). But Disney has also
been rather ingenious in "revisiting"
their legendary catalog to tweak various productions either
for new media (as in various stage adaptations of some of
their films), or as in this
particular case, updating one of their iconic animated
features. And as winning as some aspects of this film may
be, or as provocative as other
aspects of the film may be (at least to some), it's that whole
"live action remake" thing that may be this Little
Mermaid's most pressing
problem, since it never seems to really be able to answer the
central question: Why?.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 version
included with this release.
The Little Mermaid is presented in 4K UHD courtesy
of Disney / Buena Vista with an HEVC / H.265 encoded
2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Arri
Alexa cameras were utilized and a 4K DI provided the source
for this often stunning looking transfer. Yes, in another
example of cutting to the chase,
let's just stipulate that some of the special effects can look
kind of, well, cartoonish, but putting aside that niggling
qualm (and I'd argue that given the
general wonderment of the effects, it is niggling), this
presentation explodes with surprising detail and an
especially ravishing palette. Kind of
interestingly, HDR can both cool and warm various moments
when compared to the excellent 1080 version Disney also
offers in this package. Some of
the very early boat material looks just a bit cooler here than
in the 1080 version, but some of the later undersea material
has a curiously warmer feel
despite the prevalence of such deep blues and greens. HDR
certainly adds some impressive new luster to many of the
scenes bathed in purples (a lot
of the Ursula material) and, again, blues. Detail levels are
really pretty exceptional, especially given some of the
supposed watery
environments. It looks to me like a very light dusting of
digital grain has been applied that is most apparent in some
of the "above the sea" sequences,
as in some of the beachside material in Eric's quaintly luxe
"home town".
The Little Mermaid features an impressive Dolby Atmos track, though I'd argue the differences between this iteration and the superb DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track gracing Disney's 1080 release are not huge. Yes, you can hear clear engagement of the Atmos speakers from the get go with the overpowering wash of the ocean sounds, and a lot of the underwater material kind of humorously provides some verticality, but the Atmos track is really at its best just providing the same nicely consistent engagement of all the surround channels that the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track provides on the 1080 disc. The score is gorgeously handled and certainly provides very substantial surround activity on its own. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.
The 4K UHD disc contains no supplementary material. The 1080 disc in this package offers the following bonus items:
- Wild Uncharted Waters (HD; 4:17)
- Under the Sea (HD; 5:18)
- Kiss the Girl (HD; 6:02)
- Poor Unfortunate Souls (HD; 6:41)
In my "other life" as a musician, I'm just getting ready to music direct a production of an early Alan Menken piece called Weird Romance, and it has a lot of the same melodic invention and rhythmic punch that so much of The Little Mermaid's score provides. Menken's music is an unabashed highlight here, though I'm not sure this live action reimagin(eer)ing really ever does provide a convincing answer to the simple question "why?", but putting that aside, the technical achievements here are in my estimation inarguable, and the film is often visually arresting and aurally sumptuous. This 4K UHD version provides sterling technical merits and appealing supplements on the 1080 disc. Recommended.
2023
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2023
2023
2023
Special Edition
1971
80th Anniversary Edition
1939
2010
2023
2019
2021
2016
DVD Packaging
1977
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2019
Limited Edition Collector's Set
1986
2016
2011
2016
2019
2017
1978
2009
1971
2013
1990