Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Little Mermaid Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 17, 2023

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?.

I'm going to assume that most people are already familiar with the general outlines of this (fish?) tale, so I'll just mention that Halle Bailey portrays Ariel, Javier Bardem portrays King Triton, Jonah Hauer-King portrays Eric, and Melissa McCarthy portrays Ursula in what I'd personally call the focal quartet of the piece. There have been a number of tweaks to things, including certain interrelationships, but I'd say the real difference in this version is the amount of time and space given to Eric's story and the context of his royal land loving (and sea fearing) community. In fact, the whole "color blind casting" element plays into this aspect as well courtesy of Eric's stepmother Selena (Noma Dumezweni), something that at least subliminally either intentionally or unintentionally reinforces what some of the supplements state is the purported subtext of this entire piece, namely that people (and/or mercreatures) of different backgrounds need to learn to co-exist.

Another major and perhaps more troubling "update" is the removal of some of Howard Ashman's work and either the emendation to existing pieces or outright new material by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Even Miranda himself seems daunted by this task, as evidenced by some of the supplements included on this disc, and to that point I'd mention a song Miranda himself honors as the "greatest 'I Want Song' of all time," Part of the World. Ashman's lyric is so brilliantly character specific but instantly conversational that it's a model of form meeting function, and I have to say I don't think Manuel's efforts quite reach that same level. Vis a vis that song in particular, though, it's interesting, at least for those of us who are inveterate musical theater geeks, that this particular 'I Want Song' comes first in the song score.

While there is an unavoidable artificiality to some of the visuals, they're often quite striking, and the effects team really did some remarkable work notably in terms of getting undersea characters who are at least half human to move and behave believably. There's also some rather intelligent underscoring at work which utilizes some of Alan Menken's memorable themes in new guises (including a kind of cool minor key rendition of Part of Your World). While a production this gargantuan dependent upon so many interrelated crafts necessitates what I imagine is an almost overwhelming amount of planning, that may have resulted in a film that feels like every melisma, every CGI creature's movement, and every attempt at creating real emotion is a bit over controlled and prefabricated.

The Little Mermaid Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Little Mermaid is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista with an AVC encoded 1080p 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. While things are arguably improved in terms of both overall detail and the nuance and saturation of the palette in Disney's 4K UHD version, you're not going to go seriously wrong with this often incredibly beautiful 1080 rendition. Fine detail on all of the gorgeous costumes and even on some of CGI underwater creatures is frequently very appealing, and as mentioned the palette continually explodes with both bold primaries and some gorgeous interstitial tones. The 1080 version may suffer from just a tad of shadow detail deficiency in some of the darkest undersea material like some of the Ursula sequences, but I'd argue not by much. A very light dusting of digital grain, most apparent in the land locked sequences, is probably a bit more subliminal in this version than on the 4K UHD disc.

The Little Mermaid Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I can sometimes try to give myself a little "wiggle room" when comparing a 1080 presentation's 5.1 or especially 7.1 track to a 4K presentation's Dolby Atmos track, but I have to say the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on this disc is certainly as enjoyable a listening experience as the 4K's Dolby Atmos track is. Yes, the Atmos speakers come into play relatively consistently, but I just don't think there's much cause for concern in terms of a markedly different listening experience between the two versions. Side and rear channels here are effectively engaged throughout the presentation, both with a wealth of ambient environmental sounds (including both overt and kind of more subliminal "watery" effects), as well as nicely clear directionality in dialogue and even sung moments as characters move through the frame. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

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

• Hotter Under the Water (HD; 26:15) is a fun multi-part piece that has a ton of backstage footage, along with some rather touching interviews. Some of the looks at how the special effects were created is especially interesting.


• Song Breakdowns offers some interesting background and production data on the following songs:

  Wild Uncharted Waters (HD; 4:17)

  
  

  Under the Sea (HD; 5:18)

  
  

  Kiss the Girl (HD; 6:02)

  
  

  Poor Unfortunate Souls (HD; 6:41)

• The Scuttlebutt on Sidekicks (HD; 6:49) features Awkafina and Rob Marshall discussing the character she voices.


• Passing the Dinglehopper (HD; 3:55) features original Ariel Jodi Benson and Halle Bailey.


• Bloopers (HD; 2:00)

Disney sent their Wal-Mart Exclusive 4K UHD release for purposes of this 1080 review, but it looks like the 1080 release also offers a DVD and a digital copy.

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

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 Blu-ray provides sterling technical merits and appealing supplements. Recommended.