The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition DVD Press Release

[Scabbie]

The Little Mermaid is MEGA-HUGELY popular IN ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY and it's getting crappy foreign releases?!

I don't understand it! I have to say, this is really making me appreciate being an American! Why do the other countries get jipped? Is it because Disney movies are American, and therefore other countries don't think their people care about Disney movies as much? I read that recently, China forbid any American or Japanese animation during primetime television because Chinese animation isn't popular. I wonder if other countries are like, "It's from America? Well, let's give it the crappiest release we can!" I read that it is the other countries who decide what they get on Disney releases. Who knows exactly what goes on, how can we stop this madness?

I e-mailed Buena Vista Holland a while ago about the Brother Bear release. They said Burbank decides which country gets what DVD edition. I'm very happy we are one of the (few?) countries in Europe with a 2-disc edition.

[Dottie]

But if Burbank really decides that it just is not fair!!!!
Disney is very, very popular in Europe, too. A lot of the money that the movies make comes from Europe!!

[Disney Duster]

What is Buena Vista Home Entertainment in Burbank's E-mail address? I certainly will let them feel Euro-rage! Maybe if an American complains, they'll actually listen. Then everyone can tell them there feelings, too.

[Dottie]

You can go to the official disneyvideowebsite. There you should find somewhere a link saying "Contact us" or something like "Questions"
I really don't remember the e-mailaddress. I'll see if I can get it.
Thanks for writing to them to help us Europeans.

[Dottie]

I found it!!
There you go!!:
disneyinfo@disneyhelp.com

[Scamander]

Oh, no...that means that it's not ALL Region2 gonna get the same edition!! Here we go again...just like it happened with LatT. Both editions for the UK and France and maybe some other countries too, and the rest of us...the miserable single disc edition!!!! Thank God I've got a friend of mine in London and he's going to get me the 2-disc edition!

As far as I know the UK gets only a single-Disc-Edition, too. On www.amazon.co.uk is just this one edition listed!

[Josh]

I would have gotten the giftset had there only been one.

Is there a Petition we can sign, or any way to contact Disney to make them reconsider releasing a Gift Set. I know this movie is going to be released in only 1 month and 1 week(:D), and it might be too late, but if they've done it for Cinderella, The Lion King and Aladdin, surely they'd do it for The Little Mermaid- which is one of Disney's best movies.

[Jungleprince_55]

I cannot wait til this comes out just so i can watch it in decent quality, I am watching my Limited Issue Edition on my brand new 50" DLP right now and it looks horrible.

[Dottie]

But I thought the Limited Issue had been remastered, too, wasn't it?

[MerXAN]

But I thought the Limited Issue had been remastered, too, wasn't it?

Yes. It has been remastered but the remastering is so cheap.

[Disney-Fan]

As far as I know the UK gets only a single-Disc-Edition, too. On www.amazon.co.uk is just this one edition listed!

It's listed as a Special Edition. The Lady and the Tramp 2 Disc Edition is also listed with that name, so I assume this IS a 2 disc affair. The UK always gets both discs, though it doesn't always get 2 editions to choose from, so odds are the single edition there is indeed the superior one.

[rodis]

I have a question... I just ordered my copy from Amazon.com and got a bit hestitant when it was noted that some "region-free" DVD players may still exprience problems playing this DVD if it requires regional coding. From your expereince, do Disney dvd's have this regional coding thing?

[Wonderlicious]

As far as I know the UK gets only a single-Disc-Edition, too. On www.amazon.co.uk is just this one edition listed!

Well, considering the BBFC have passed most if not all of the Disc 2 features for The Little Mermaid, the RRP is the same as previous 2 disc sets (Bambi, Cinderella etc) and that the press release at DVD Times seems to imply that the UK release will have the same number of extras as the US release, there's no reason to panic.

[Ting Ting]

AHHHH! October 3rd is getting closer and closer but it still feels like it's never going to get here!!!!

[Disneykid]

To those of you who live near a Disney Store, next time you're there, pay attention to the television screens. I was there today doing some early Christmas shopping, and get this: they showed RESTORED footage from the film! First they showed the DVD trailer. I wasn't paying too much attention to the screen, but then I noticed the announcer was talking about the bonus material and the new restoration. My ears perked up since the DVD trailer we're all familiar with didn't mention it. As I looked on the screen, I saw the exact same shots that are on the regular DVD trailer...but they were smoother, brighter, with more pastel-looking colors than the bold ones we're accustomed to. My jaw hung open. Not only was Disney actually using restored footage on one of their DVD trailers for once, but they edited it so that it was almost exactly like the trailer that's been out for a year, only with about 20 seconds more footage regarding the restoration and supplements. It doesn't end there, though. They repeated the trailer again about 10 minutes later, and this time I was able to watch the whole thing and see that they did, indeed, use restored footage for this. Right when it ended, do you want to know what they showed? The ENTIRE "Under the Sea" sequence...restored, as well! I stood there paralyzed with my mouth open looking up at the monitor. My mom thought I was having a stroke or something. It really looked amazing. It's a huge difference over the current transfer. I'd say it's akin to how Beauty and the Beast looked when restored, only Little Mermaid was easier to get used to (Beauty's transfer really changed the original color palette; Mermaid's isn't as dramatic, but has similar pastel schemes). The biggest thing that stood out to me was how Ariel's hair was a softer and less harsh shade of red in the clips. So keep an eye out next time you're at The Disney Store. It's totally worth checking out.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Sorry for getting off-topic, but 45 pages for a press release. Isn't that a UD record?

[Jordan]

I know this should belong to the International Forum but just wanted to say that the French covers were (finally) made public.

2-Disc Special Edition (that should be a digipack):

I think this looks prettier that the US cover even though it's the same artwork, probably the colors, I'm not sure...

Single disc release:


Released on Oct 4, 2006 (1 day after the US)

[Lucylover1986]

Who in their right mind would go out and buy the snigle disc & not the 2-disc. Surprised they're releasing separate editions like that. Did they do that for all the Platinums?

[AwallaceUNC]

Wow, I love that single-disc artwork. I believe I prefer it to the one we're getting.

-Aaron

[MickeyMousePal]

Let's have a UD The Little Mermaid chat party before it's to late....