The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition DVD Discussion, Part 2

[Beastboyravenz]

Sorry I signed it so late, but as you say better late than never.

[MerXAN]

You would get your wish, Dottie!

[Disney Duster]

Wow. Has anyone seen this trailer? I've never seen it on T.V., only online. My friend, who's somewhere on this forum, pointed it out to me. Take a look, and be afraid. Be very afraid:

The Little Mermaid 2-Disc Diva DVD

[Beastboyravenz]

It's funny, but it's strange, I've never seen it on tv.

[Simba3]

Ha ha ha!! That DVD trailer is so awesome. You know I loved that trailer!! Disney villains are so great, and Ursula is one of the very best!! Cool find!

[lord-of-sith]

Now that is an awesome TV spot! It reminds me of that Maleficent trailer when Sleeping Beauty came out on vhs in like 1997. If only I could find that trailer online! I barely remember it!

[cat99]

I don't know if you know this, but if you go to http://www.hiddendvdeastereggs.com/films/2230.html it shows you all of the easter eggs on the new PE of TLM! I think they're cool.

are they only on the R1 dvd?

[xxhplinkxx]

Wow. Has anyone seen this trailer? I've never seen it on T.V., only online. My friend, who's somewhere on this forum, pointed it out to me. Take a look, and be afraid. Be very afraid:

The Little Mermaid 2-Disc Diva DVD

The trailer wont play for me!!

Can I see it anywhere else?

[Disney Duster]

The trailer wont play for me!!

Can I see it anywhere else?

Well, I couldn't find the trailer anywhere else. So, for a very brief time (ha, the same amount of time Disney DVD's stay in print!), I will give you a super-detailed screencap-full synopsis of the trailer, 'cause it's so funny! Luke, I promise I will take the pictures down as soon as xxhplinkxx posts that he has seen them, to save bandwith! So, onto the synopsis:

*THE SYNOPSIS HAS BEEN REMOVED TO SAVE BADWITH*

Please post to let me know when you've read and seen the synopsis! Hope I gave you such a good idea of the trailer, you feel like you watched it!

[MerXAN]

You've provided us an excellent sypnosis Disney Duster! Thank you so much for giving us the link to that WICKED trailer! Ursula's the best!

[xxhplinkxx]

OMG!!! Thank you soooo much Disney Duster!!! I only wish you hadnt done such a good job cause it makes me that much more eager to see the actual trailer!! I cant thank you enough for this, it was awesome!!! ^_^

[Disney's Divinity]

I don't know if it's been answered or put to rest before, but whatever happened to The Little Mermaid Reflections? Was that just a rumor or revealed to be The Little Mermaid III or what?

[xxhplinkxx]

Yea, its a possibilty that it was just a codename for TLM III... or perhaps the animated series collection??? aaah... I wish...

btw, I love your sig!!

[Beastboyravenz]

I don't know if any of you have noticed this. You know when tinkerbell comes out in the beginning of every Platinum Edition dvd? In the bambi dvd and all the previous ones her skin looks natural. But in The Little Mermaids and in The Lady and The Tramp dvd's she looks as if she got a bad tan, She looks orange! Why do you think that is?

[Dottie]

Maybe she got a sunburn during her summer vacation.

[Beastboyravenz]

Good joke Dottie, but seriously you don't know? If anybody can't answer my questions it's alright, I guess it's not that important anyway. But you do notice the diferrence right?

[Dottie]

I did notice it but I never really thought about it.
The only reason I can imagine is that they did a kind of newer version of the logo, and exaggerated a bit with the colors, like the Cinderella restoration.

[Disney Duster]

I don't know if it's been answered or put to rest before, but whatever happened to The Little Mermaid Reflections? Was that just a rumor or revealed to be The Little Mermaid III or what?

Yes, I also love your "Was it worth it?" avatar and signature combo.

Anyway, here's the long, long story of how we got to thinking there would be a Little Mermaid Reflections DVD:

Back in June 25, 2005, Ultimate Disney reported on the site that Playthings.com had some news about "something called Little Mermaid Reflections" coming to DVD in Fall on a page talking about Disney Consumer Products. This page precisely. I shall quote exactly what they said about the Little Mermaid Reflections DVD:

Leading the girls’ category is the next Disney Princess program, driven by the platinum DVD release of Little Mermaid in Fall 2006, and an expansion of content, product, and retail for the hit TV show That’s So Raven. Disney will introduce Little Mermaid Reflections on DVD in fall 2006. Inspired by the reflections theme, Disney created product development portfolios to support cross-category merchandise and retail programs. Little Mermaid will boast a multimillion dollar marketing campaign.

Yea just ignore that "girl's category" bull. Boys love The Little Mermaid.

Theories about the Little Mermaid Reflections DVD abounded, from the TV series being released, to the second sequel, to a bonus disc in companion to the Platinum DVD.

All of those theories were wrong, however. It's not their fault, since the original report was also wrong. Little Mermaid Reflections is no DVD. It's a marketing campaign! A similar report to the first one hinted at this fact:

Following the success of this year’s Cinderella Magical Lights assortment, DCP will introduce Little Mermaid Reflections as a key initiative for the girls’ category in support of the first ever, platinum DVD release. Inspired by the “reflections” theme, DCP has created product development portfolios to support cross-category merchandise and retail programs with multi-tiered distribution strategy to mass and midtier retailers. Developed for girls 3-6, Little Mermaid Reflections leverages the mass appeal of Ariel, a top of mind favorite for girls and the #1 favorite Disney Princess with moms of kids 2-5. Little Mermaid will boast a multi-million dollar marketing campaign comparable to Cinderella: Special Edition and bigger than The Incredibles, and is projected to be among the top 10 videos of 2006.

If that isn't proof enough, there is a witness! Savvy Mommy seems to be able to get in on brandname presentations of upcoming products, and her report spells it out:

Disney Consumer Products will be creating Little Mermaid Reflections utilizing the characters from The Little Mermaid and creating Under the Sea themed products (over 1,000 of them) so little children who don’t really know about The Little Mermaid will be introduced to them and request this DVD as much as their Finding Nemo one. (Although I did hear that Ariel is the #1 Disney princess with moms of children age 2-5 so maybe they are just going to try and target children a little older as well with the products they are creating.)

And then there really wasn't any more mystery to it when the press release for The Little Mermaid 2-Disc Special Edition:

Just as with the overwhelmingly successful October 2005 CINDERELLA DVD and Consumer Products partnership that helped drive Disney Princesses to becoming a $3 Billion Franchise in 2005, the expansive DCP product launch will follow a consistent DVD and licensed product packaging logo and look. Linking THE LITTLE MERMAID DVD with existing products and all-new SKUs licensed in celebration of the DVD release, DCP’s “Little Mermaid Reflections” products will sparkle and shine utilizing an array of fabrics and textures – from pearls and sequins to glitter and iridescent fabrics. Key licensees including Mattel, CDI, Playmates, and Hallmark will begin releasing products in summer 2006 with an increase in September leading up to the October 3 DVD release.

DCP stands for Disney Consmer Products. So there you have it. Everyone got their hopes up for toys...which I do like...

One thing to note, however, is that I have not seen "Little Mermaid Reflections" written on any The Little Mermaid themed products. The closest thing was the Shimmering Lights Ariel Doll, because at least that's similar to the Twinkle Lights Cinderella Doll that was part of the campaign for the Cinderella DVD. Perhaps they chnaged the "Little Mermaid Reflection" idea to "Shimmering Lights", since the reports actually called Cinderella's products "Magical Lights" and could have been changed to "Twinkle Lights".

Yet, it could just be that the products just haven't surfaced yet. Or, I just haven't seen them. The one article about them did at least provide a picture:


And that's the scoop on the Little Mermaid Reflections DVD mystery! Did I solve it?

[Beastboyravenz]

I did notice it but I never really thought about it.
The only reason I can imagine is that they did a kind of newer version of the logo, and exaggerated a bit with the colors, like the Cinderella restoration.

Well actually it is a newer logo, so I guess that's it. But I preferred the milky skinned Tinkerbell.

[Disney's Divinity]

Yet, it could just be that the products just haven't surfaced yet. Or, I just haven't seen them. The one article about them did at least provide a picture:

Maybe the merchandise will release around the same time as The Little Mermaid III. And, if the movie turns out to be a prequel (one can only hope), the young Ariel on that purse (or whatever it is) would go along with it.

Thanks for replying. I didn't see your post.