Finally Comes Out Of The Vault -- October 3, 2006!
Walt Disney Home Entertainment Proudly Announces
The Long-Awaited Two-Disc Special Edition DVD Debut of
The Little Mermaid
Huge Company-Wide Initiative Highlighted by
Disney Consumer Products Partnership To Take Retail UNDER THE SEA
With Over 2,000 New Licensed Merchandise Products
BURBANK, Calif., February 6, 2006 – On October 3, 2006 Walt Disney Home Entertainment proudly opens the vault to debut a spectacular new two-disc Special Edition of the most-requested Disney DVD title ever, the Academy Award® winning (1989 Best Song and Best Original Score), THE LITTLE MERMAID. The first time ever on a two-disc DVD, the eighth addition to Disney’s acclaimed “Platinum Collection,” this highly-anticipated release is accompanied by an expansive Walt Disney Company-wide celebration, including a huge continuing partnership with Disney Consumer Products (DCP) that builds on the overwhelming popularity and success of 2005’s Cinderella Home Entertainment and Consumer Products campaign. That partnership saw Cinderella become one of the top-selling DVD titles of the year, with sales exceeding even those of recent theatrical releases with a gross box office of over $100 Million, as combined incremental sales from both entities generated one of the highest values in company history. THE LITTLE MERMAID Special Edition DVD will be one of the biggest entertainment events of the year, with a huge DVD marketing campaign, augmented by DCP licensee campaigns which also drive huge awareness to THE LITTLE MERMAID franchise. Utilizing all the film’s favorite characters including the #1 most beloved Disney Princess (Ariel)*, the consumer products campaign will take retailers and consumers “Under The Sea” with over 1,500 exciting all-new products, across all product categories.
The highly-anticipated THE LITTLE MERMAID Special Edition DVD release is awash with exciting new bonus materials that entertain and enlighten viewers about the world of THE LITTLE MERMAID. Complete and specific details about all the exciting bonus features are forthcoming!
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.
Not available in any form of home entertainment from Disney for seven years, THE LITTLE MERMAID combines music, fun and excitement to become one of the company’s most cherished films. Ariel, the fun-loving and mischievous mermaid, is enchanted with all things human. Disregarding her father’s order to stay away from the world above the sea, she swims to the surface and, in a raging storm, rescues the prince of her dreams. Determined to be human, she strikes a bargain with the devious seawitch, Ursula, and trades her fins and beautiful voice for legs. With her best friend, the adorable and chatty Flounder, and her reluctant chaperone Sebastian, the hilarious, reggae-singing Caribbean crab, at her side, Ariel must win the prince’s love and save her father’s kingdom – all in a heart-pounding race against time!
Drawing from a talented “pool” of vocal talent, THE LITTLE MERMAID’s leading roles went to actors with extensive musical theater backgrounds. As the voice of Ariel, voice-over and Broadway star Jodi Benson supplies the perfect blend of innocence and wide-eyed wonder to the independent young mermaid. Hollywood legend Buddy Hackett turns in a top-flight performance as the squawking seagull, Scuttle, and stage veteran Pat Carroll provides the villainous voice of the crafty seawitch, Ursula.
To create the infectious score and seven original songs that garnered THE LITTLE MERMAID’s two Academy Awards®, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman teamed-up for the first time on a Disney Animated Classic, spending 18 months developing the film’s 1989 Oscar.-winning “Best Original Score,” as well as “Under the Sea,” Academy Award®-winning “Best Song.” Other show-stopping songs from THE LITTLE MERMAID soundtrack include “Part of your World,” which articulates Ariel’s desire to become human; “Poor Souls,” a cabaret-style tune delivered by Ursula following Ariel’s transformation from mermaid tail to legs; “Les Poissons,” a hearty dash of musical slapstick from the palace chef, Louis, and “Kiss The Girl,” crooned by Sebastian and a “doo-wop” chorus of grasshoppers, pelicans, flamingos, frogs, ducks and turtles.
THE LITTLE MERMAID was released theatrically in 1989, grossing almost $180 Million at the domestic box office (adjusted to 2005 dollars). It went on to become one of the top 10 best-selling animated films of all time on VHS.
