DVDizzy Forum

Having watched the film a few times this past week, I was wondering what kind of 'treatment' it is going to get. I don't exactly know the difference between the restorations of Snow White and Beauty & the Beast... Or even Sleeping Beauty... I think the film could use some clean-up here and there, nothing serious...
So I went through the reviews of the BB DVD (I know, it's crazy, but we don't have a DVD yet lol) on Amazon and got a bit worried... It seems many people thought the restored version lacks the original's depth (the picture looking flat in other words).

Back to my question how is Mermaid gonna look on DVD? And is it possible that if the IMAX version is all set and ready (and let's say it won't be released to IMAX theatres) it will be included on the DVD? (Like BB and LK).

I think TLM could use A LOT of "cleanup". It was one of the first DVDs I ever bought and I remember thinking how grainy and dull it looked, compared to other releases. I'm all for a digital restoration as long as the integrity of the original is not compromised ... and I think we all understand what that means.

There's an online rumour that the Little Mermaid will have an extra scene. It won't be musical, but in it the shark from the beginning returns and chases Ariel and Flounder to the boat (when they try to stall the wedding).

indianajdp wrote:I think TLM could use A LOT of "cleanup". It was one of the first DVDs I ever bought and I remember thinking how grainy and dull it looked, compared to other releases. I'm all for a digital restoration as long as the integrity of the original is not compromised ... and I think we all understand what that means.

Yeah, it certainly didn't seem like a lot of effort was put into the first DVD of Mermaid. Perhaps it's because Disney knew they will rerelease it again anyway in the future. I remember when renting it, I thought there just wasn't a lot of difference compared to the original version.

What's a digital restoration? the same one that BB and LK got?? Sorry, I'm not too good with these things

rodis wrote:What's a digital restoration? the same one that BB and LK got??

Yes, that's what it is. All of the grain, or dirt, is cleared off the film, color is usually improved, and in general, the print looks much more pristine and eye-popping.

However, BATB and TLK had changes in animation and backgrounds - this is not normally part of a digital resortation. This was something Disney did to jazz both films up for an IMAX release, and this is the print that appears on their DVDs.

I expect TLM to get the exact same treatment as the aforementioned films (since the rumor is that all of the work had already been done to it), even if the IMAX version ends up not being released to theaters.

Prince Adam wrote:There's an online rumour that the Little Mermaid will have an extra scene. It won't be musical, but in it the shark from the beginning returns and chases Ariel and Flounder to the boat (when they try to stall the wedding).

I thought the new scene was going to be a song called "Sunshine only Shines on Land"

Mermaid Kelly wrote:

Prince Adam wrote:There's an online rumour that the Little Mermaid will have an extra scene. It won't be musical, but in it the shark from the beginning returns and chases Ariel and Flounder to the boat (when they try to stall the wedding).

I thought the new scene was going to be a song called "Sunshine only Shines on Land"

What's this?

It was posted on the forum a while ago, I think by Tangela, and then a few more people did internet reasearch and they too, found rumors of it

Prince Adam wrote:There's an online rumour that the Little Mermaid will have an extra scene. It won't be musical, but in it the shark from the beginning returns and chases Ariel and Flounder to the boat (when they try to stall the wedding).

Yeah, I heard that too; it sounds stupid, though. I would VERY much like them to insert a new scene but it just doesn't sound appropiate to add the shark in that particular moment. Totally pointless. And besides, we already have the shark chasing Ariel & Flounder in the beginning...
I think they should add something between "Part Of Your World" and the fireworks/jig scenes...
I wonder how a new animated sequence would fit in, since The Little Mermaid was painted mostly by hand (I adore its looks, the film looks marvelous).

Ahhh, here we go http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... hines+land

I've heard the shark chasing rumour too. It was supposed to be in the film, but was removed because of the budget or something. I think it could be very exciting, but then again, only Glen Keane is left to animate it... everyone else is...layed off... ...

However, BATB and TLK had changes in animation and backgrounds - this is not normally part of a digital resortation. This was something Disney did to jazz both films up for an IMAX release, and this is the print that appears on their DVDs.

That's because altering details isn't RESTORING them, it's changing them. It annoys me Disney advertises "restoration" on The Lion King DVD because it's not.

As for The Little Mermaid, I got the impression all the work for an IMAX release had been completed (just like work on Pocahontas has been completed) so I expect the now customary IMAX minor animation changes to be on the DVD.

I agree..There is a lot of cleanup work that could be done. I am really looking forward to it coming out. Hopefully they will do a nice job on it.

Mermaid Kelly wrote:Ahhh, here we go http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... hines+land

Going through that thread, I couldn't help but wondering why people want the exact same versions that were played in theatres... We have those already. We've seen them a million times...

As soon as I put my hands on the restored version, I don't look back at the original Even with the new sequences! I know I'm in the minority here, though.

rodis wrote:

Mermaid Kelly wrote:Ahhh, here we go http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... hines+land

Going through that thread, I couldn't help but wondering why people want the exact same versions that were played in theatres... We have those already. We've seen them a million times...

As soon as I put my hands on the restored version, I don't look back at the original Even with the new sequences! I know I'm in the minority here, though.

Yeah, you are certainly in the minority with that! I don't mind special editions, but the original version should be included as well. Many people fall in love with movies they way they were originally presented, so that version should be there for those fans and also to show the history of the film. On the other hand, movies like BatB SE looked fantastic, I watched my laserdisc version and compared the two and I agree that the newer one looks much better, so I see where you are coming from.

I have heard about the shark thing as well....So must be true or we have the same crummy sources! Haha..

"So I went through the reviews of the BB DVD (I know, it's crazy, but we don't have a DVD yet lol) on Amazon and got a bit worried... It seems many people thought the restored version lacks the original's depth (the picture looking flat in other words)."

They are complaining about the picture quality. The DVD has *three* versions of the movie on it, and so there are a lot of compression issues with the picture. It's still miles ahead of the last VHS and Laser releases.

2099net wrote:That's because altering details isn't RESTORING them, it's changing them. It annoys me Disney advertises "restoration" on The Lion King DVD because it's not.

I wholeheartedly agree (if I gave the impression otherwise, I didn't mean to). It pisses me off how they label it as an "original theatrical version" that is "restored", when as you said, it actually goes beyond restoration and involves changing the film.

2099net wrote:That's because altering details isn't RESTORING them, it's changing them. It annoys me Disney advertises "restoration" on The Lion King DVD because it's not.

If you're talking about the waterfalls in TLK... The artists wanted that waterfall to be better in the original but they didn't have time to make it look better than the original waterfall. I think it's the right of the ORIGINAL artist to decide that he changes stuff in the movie to make it BETTER. (in your or in the artist's opinion)

But it's not restoring. To restore something is to return to its original state. Not to improve, or alter to match the original intention.

I used to mind about the IMAX version being on the DVD, but it doesn't really bother me too much now. What does bother me is how they claim it is "restored" and "original". I would be perfectly happy if, somewhere on all the Lion King DVD packaging they had a little disclaimer stating the "original" version was how it appeared on IMAX screens (or similar wording).