So it's even hard for me to really know what that might be like cause I didn't really experience that. They could just wear out the whole video. So it really is unique in that respect from any film that came before it in the sense that kids could watch over and over and over again. Mermaid was the first new film to actually go out on home video. And that was kind of a touchstone for our whole generation. You couldn't put a video in and watch it over and over again.īut at least you could see it multiple times, and it became ingrained and a part of you. I mean, for my generation, for the baby boomer generation, there's no real equivalent of that except I would say the Wizard of Oz in the sense that when I was a kid that was shown every year on TV and it seemed like every kid in America watched it. How exciting is it for you to look back 30 years later and realize it's a movie that still holds such a special place for people, and now future generations?Ĭlements: Yeah, it's really cool. GameSpot: This is essentially the film that introduced a new generation of viewers to Disney movies. And if you actually look, just from a box office point of view, you could start to see that upturn until you got to The Little Mermaid and then, of course, we didn't know it at the time, but as it turned out in the end, we really made a big jump from that point of view. So Great Mouse Detective, Oliver & Company. We maybe didn't recognize it at first but we were, things had arguably bottomed out with say Black Cauldron but we had the new regime change and there was an interest in animation. Thankfully, I would say, we were on an upturn. Mark Henn: There was definitely a feeling of, it was our turn now and we wanted to make sure that this film was as good as it could possibly be. GameSpot: Mark, what was the experience like for you as the directing animator? It wasn't necessarily just a totally happy atmosphere because I think everybody felt the stakes were high and still feeling that the whole part was kind of vulnerable, that if we didn't prove ourselves by a certain point that they might stop doing animation all together. So that created a very, I'd say, dynamic atmosphere. But in a certain way, Mermaid was a special film that really was all baby boomers really wanting to prove themselves and just wanting to make the best movie that they possibly could. And we built up to Mermaid with several films leading up to it. A movie that sort of worked on many levels. So there was a hunger within that group to want to do something that you could really, really feel good about. And wanting to sort of see a kind of, everybody wanted to work on something like Snow White or Pinocchio or Bambi or the classic films. That felt like after Walt died that the films just maybe weren't quite what those earlier films were. Ron Clements: Well, I mean, first I'd say, of the generation, like say the new generation that started to coming to Disney in the '70s when they started the animation training program at CalArts, I would say a lot of the people felt that same way. What was it like creating in that environment? GameSpot: When you guys were making this movie, many thought the shine had come off of Disney animation in the '80s. The digital release is out now, with the 4K and standard Blu-ray arriving on February 26. The Little Mermaid's 4K released is loaded with a treasure trove of new special features, including a sing-along cut of the film, giving you the perfect opportunity to scream the lyrics of "Under the Sea" at your television. From creating the film under less-than-ideal circumstances to how legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber nearly composed the movie's music, the tales behind the making of The Little Mermaid are fascinating. To mark the occasion, they sat down with GameSpot to discuss the film's lasting impression on audiences and share a few stories from behind-the-scenes of the production. Now, three decades later, The Little Mermaid co-director Ron Clements and directing animator Mark Henn are celebrating the 4K Blu-ray and digital release of the film. Mermaid, however, was just the film the company needed to turn its cartoon division around. At the time of its production, Disney Studios' animation division was no longer the powerhouse it has once been. It's been nearly 30 years since The Little Mermaid swam into theaters on November 17, 1989, ushering in a new era for Walt Disney animated films.
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