The Little Mermaid (Platinum Edition) - DVD

I love this movie, except there were a few scary scenes that I still have a hard time watching to this day. Like when Ariel's father gets pissed and destroys her human collection and then she cries, then the scene where Ariel transforms into a human and the climactic battle. All that aside, I love this movie for years. Ariel is one of the most beautiful animated princesses ever created and the story is relatable, even though it's about a mermaid.

I finally got hold of the platinum DVD of "The Little Mermaid". Some cool stuff and some disapointments.

First....the "cool stuff":

The picture is alot better and has been restored from the original. This means Ariel looks more beautiful than ever especially in the close-up shots.

The sound is much clearer. This time, I get to hear all of the dialogue as opposed to barely making out alot of the dialogue in the VHS 1989 copy.

The "boner" scene has been altered. We now no longer see the mysterious lump in the groinal area of the priest's robe.

The special effects are even more elaborate with the newly restored picture.

The colors are alot brighter.

The "disapointments":

Well....pretty much all of the supliments on the first and second DVD were a bit disapointing.

The "Making Of" featurette did very little about the actual movie and spent more time with how Howard Ashman and Tim Rice got their start on the stage, and all this stuff about Disney and the studio....blah-blah-blah....

I wish they did more interviews with the voices of the characters. Jodie Benson and Pat Carol have some clips in there, but not satisfactory enough. It was interesting listening to Benson talk about how she was inspired during "Part of That/Your World" and Pat Carol's inspiration for Ursula....but I also wanted to see Samuel Write and Ken Mars do some insight on the film. That would have been alot more fascinating than seeing John Waters (who made a freaking movie where a drag queen ate dog poop for crying out loud) and Nora Ephron.

I also wanted to see more about how they incorperated Alyssa Milano's features into the Ariel character.

The deleted scenes are a HUGE let down! I wanted to see the actual art work from the movie, but all we get stuck with are a bunch of rough copies, pencil sketches and charicatures with an audio track. Most notable was the alternate ending which had Ursula remaining the same size she always is during the climactic battle scene, and then King Triton making peace with Ariel. The scene where Triton decides to give Ariel her human legs is slightly altered with less dialogue. Instead, Triton is watching Ariel sitting forelorn on a rock looking at Eric and with the music in the background, he uses his trident to transform his little mermaid back into a human. And, this time, instead of just having Ariel emerge from the water in a shimmering sparkly blue dress, Eric awakes, once again, to the sound of her beautiful singing voice, as she is running over to him. Very poignant with the eery piano music in the background, yet....at times a little creepy.

And, the commentary was not as insightful as I'd hoped it would be. They didn't even bother to go into the priest's "erection" during the infamous scene. They did talk a little bit about Ariel's nudity and how they had to obscure it. But, as is the case with most DVD commentaries, there was alot of rubbish about filmmaking and other stuff, like past productions and stuff.

All in all, it is worth the price to see a more crystal clear version of this beloved Disney classic, but don't even waster your time on the supliments.

Equipped with Alyssa Milano and Christie Brinkley's beauty, a supermodel physique and the youthful, yet golden, voice of Jodi Benson, Ariel is quite simply Disney's most beautiful character creation to date. The platinum DVD of "The Little Mermaid" offers a much crisper, clearer version of this timeless classic. There are some cool DVD supliments as well. Featurettes, commentary and some deleted scenes. Even with all of the Disney masterpieces that have come after, "Little Mermaid" remains the most beloved Disney movie of all time. Little girls love it, older women love it...and a few guys might like as well, mostly because Ariel is a hottie, even if she is a cartoon.

This film kind of freaked me out when I was younger. Despite all the lively animation, bright colors and bubbly music, there was alot of dark elements to "The Little Mermaid".

First, there's King Triton's often hostile relationship with Ariel. At first, it seems like the typical angst ridden father/daughter squabble that occurs between a man and his teenage daughter. But, as soon as it is discovered that Ariel has fallen in love with a human prince, the king become enraged, and uses his trident to destroy Ariel's trove of human treasures. His actions boarder on child abuse and cause the fragile young Ariel to cry, and then turn to the evil sea witch, Ursula, for help. In the end, father and daughter make up, but sadly it is when Ariel is being whisked away on her wedding yacht. In the second movie, "Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea", Ariel and Triton's relationship has matured, and there is more harmony between father and daughter. But, this time, Ariel has a teenage daughter of her own, who is as curious about the sea as Ariel was about the human world.

Second, there's when Ariel sells her voice to become human. The scene where Ariel has her voice removed is pretty scary and haunting. Ariel sings in her mezmerizing voice, which lights a small spot in her throat, then we see two magical, clawlike hands reach into her throat and pull out her voice. Next, Ariel writhes around for a bit, then we see her beautiful green tail being pulled apart and turned into human legs. Ariel now is unable to breathe underwater, so Sebastian and Flounder rush to her aide.

Thirdly, oddly enough the previous topid brings me to this topic, we see Ariel in human form....one of many infamous "sexual" eliments in this movie. When she is washed ashore on land, we see her sitting in the water, admiring her new legs. She then stands up, to reveal that the only thing covering her now naked body is her pink seashell bra...but she is wearing nothing below the belt! Nothing too graphic, but there were some words that Ariel's pubic hair made a brief appearance. Aside from this, a priest's knee give an impression that he has a boner and the original video package has something resembling an erect penis, or dildo, among the castle's layers. And, we see Ursula shaking her big boobs a number of times. King Triton's bare chest can also arouse some impure thoughts in us ladies (including myself). And, when Eric awakes to find Ariel singing to him...even that can give the impression of S.E.X.

The second movie I kind of liked better, because I loved seeing Ariel go from teenage troublemaker to nurturing mother. Also, even during the tense moments, the movie never got too dark and is never sexual.

I can only imagine what's in store for us in "The Little Mermaid III"!!

Ariel was my very first crush. I know, it sounds silly, being that Ariel is not only a mermaid...but an animated one at that. But she is the most gorgeous animated character ever created. I know Alyssa Milano and Christy Brinkley were used as models for this beautiful creature. As soon as I heard of this platinum DVD set, I had to get it!! And, thus, my crush has returned. In a world littered with Britney, Paris and Lindsay, it is nice to see someone sweet and kind hearted like Ariel, who is still a cartoon, but a breathtaking one at that. Call it escapism if you will. Anyway, "The Little Mermaid" is a delight. I love the story of a teenage mermaid who is so desperate to live on land, especially after she sees, and then rescues, and falls in love with Prince Eric. But, after her father's violent temper gets the better of him, and drives poor Ariel to tears, Ariel is led away by a pair of eels to meet with Ursula, the evil sea witch. She turns Ariel into a human in exchange for Ariel's golden voice. Ariel is too busy enjoying her new legs and languishing in her time with Prince Eric to even acknowledge that she only has three days to get him to kiss her and fall in love with her, or else Ursula will change her into a sea polyp. So, Ursula attempts to distract Eric by transforming herself into the slinky, seductive, raven-haired Vanessa, who is discovered to be utalizing Ariel's voice. On the day of their wedding, Ariel manages to get her voice back, and is about to kiss the Prince, until she transforms back into a mermaid, and is taken under the water by Ursula. King Triton, Ariel's father, orders Ursula to unhand his youngest daughter, but he learns of Ariel's deal, and winds up sacrificing himself for Ariel's life. Ariel is near tears, and is about to attack Ursula, but she now has the trident and grows into a giant beast. Luckily, Prince Eric kills her off, and the trident is returned, as are all the merpeople who were changed into little polyps, including Triton. Triton is still wracked with guilt over how he has treated his daughter, so he decides to grant Ariel's wish to become a human. Sure enough, she gets her long legs back, and is soon married to the prince. She bids her friends goodbye, and embraces her father, whispering "I love you" with tears in her and his eyes. Soon, they embark on a whole new journey; parenthood, but that's the second movie. This is the most enchanting movie that has ever come out. I love it, even though I'm a hetero guy...and the fact that the mermaid is majorly hot helps.