Disney Little Mermaid

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.

Why are you always complaining about classic Disney animated films being cropped?! From 1989 to 2004, Walt Disney Feature Animation's CAPS program animated their features in the 1.66:1 ratio (a compromise between the 1.85:1 theatrical ratio and the 1.33:1 ratio used for home video). Now “The Little Mermaid” was displayed theatrically here in the U.S.A. in the 1.85:1 ratio, and while I cannot speak for how it may have screened in cinemas in other countries of the world, I do not at all find the 1.78:1 aspect ratio on the Blu-ray too tight for this film, and you are not losing anything of importance during this 1.66:1-to-1.78:1 matting process. Now for the Blu-ray itself, it looks and sounds so darn good, but the 3D needs some work.

Disney's "Signature Collection" Blu-ray release features remastered 1080p video and the previously issued 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The bundled supplements are many, with several new additions to the package. The film is terrific, too. It's right at the top of this reviewer's favorite Disney films alongside Beauty and the Beast . Complex characters, simple story beats, and amazing music all contribute to one of the company's true bonafide classics. Disney's UHD is the better option, but fans just can't go wrong with this version, either. Do hang on to that Diamond Blu-ray to keep most of the extras on a physical disc. Highly recommended.

This was/is my favourite Disney movie growing parallel to The Lion King and Fantasia. Extremely happy that I have the Diamond Edition but disappointed with the 3D conversion. Disneys 3D conversion on The Lion King was impressive and Beauty and the Beasts was as good to compare to Avatar or Up. But The Little Mermaids 3D transformation... sucks. There is barely any depth and nothing that sticks out (literally). But all in all I still love this movie very dearly.

There is some controversy about changes that have been made in this Diamond release. A couple of credits have been switched, as have a couple of frames within the film. There was even some color correction. I wish I could say that I’m versed enough in the film to tell you what it all means. Research has been spotty and not entirely reliable. If you have problems with any of this, you still have your earlier releases. I didn’t find anything as distracting as the cut cloud scene in The Lion King . So I’m happy. One thing for certain. You won’t find a better looking version anywhere. You can be happy or not. “The seaweed is always greener in somebody else’s lake.”