Customer Reviews

The Little Mermaid

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Listening to this in it's entirety is almost as great as watching the movie. My daughter gets happy when she hears the first couple of notes and runs to the TV thinking the movie is on. I was really planning on buying the original CD that was released in 1988 because there were not many reviews for this new release but I'm so glad I changed my mind. This CD sounds great and is truely a score of the movie. Every song is there. If you end up not liking the second CD, doesn't matter because the 1st cd is worth your money already, I didn't mind the 2nd cd but that's not why I purchased the set anyway. made no difference to me, we just keep the first one on repeat and love every minute of it.

Just as how I expected, this music collection has been published. Because after the special edition of a movie had been published, its soundtrack CD would come along as well. At the beginning, I expected that this CD must be just like other special edition CDs, having recorded all songs from the movie but without scores. But this one is so different, it's really complete.
Disc 1, I can say that, is the soundtrack of "The Little Mermaid". All the songs and scores which are familiar to us are in this disc. It a great difference to any other special edition CDs, all the songs and scores were recorded completely. It's a good chance to those people who haven't collected the initial edition of the soundtrack(The initial edition's cover was more pretty than this one though). It's really worth collecting to no matter who have or not got the initial edition soundtrack CD.
Well, disc 2 is good too. There're songs from the movie sung by other singers. If you have listened to the album "Disney Mania", the 3rd track, "Part of Your World" by Jessica Simpson, won't be unfamiliar to you. It's really the most beautiful version of all versions(except the one in the movie of course) of this song, it impressed me so much. I was a little surprised that "Poor Unfortunate Souls" can be sung in that way, by young men! The tune and style have been changed a lot, then give me very very different feeling. Well, the feeling is not bad! ^^ "Kiss the Girl" and "Under the Sea" were sung by girls, they're very lively though, not so good as the versions in "Disney Mania". However, the tracks in disc 2 are wonderful too. Oh, there're music videos in this disc!
I think this edition of special soundtrack is the best one ever, than any other. The special edition CDs of "Aladdin" and "The Lion King-2: Simba's Pride" made me not very satisfied with them. But this one is quite good in my opinion, it's a great part of my Little Mermaid collection.

Little Mermaid was the first video I ever owned myself. Loved it from the first day I saw it. I don't hold the same view as I did as a child but it's still a wonderful story. And the music is just plain fun. The best part of this special edition is Ashley Tisdale's rendition of Kiss The Girl. Let me start by saying I have issues about Disney's need to turn every actor into a singer and every singer into an actor and the promote them to the ends of the earth. And it's not so much Ashley Tisdale - though she's very talented - that makes me love this version of the song. Whoever revised the arrangement is who I'd like to really thank. I love every thing about how this version was put together. Upbeat. Fun. Totally "sqeeable". But then I'm a hopeless romantic.

by 1989, disney animation was pretty much dead, the department itself was pretty close to getting axed. basically all hopes were riding on the little mermaid. cinematically it is of course a gem and it managed to bring about the renowned disney rennisaince that lasted untill around the mid to late 1990's. musically, this soundtrack jumpstarted the dead musical genre as well. alan menken and howard ashman teamed up for the first time on a disney picture wiht amazing results.

alan menken's first of four academy award winning scores is a musical gem. the intense flourishes on the main titles and in the happy ending finale are truly beautiful but the fun lighter tone that the majority of the score takes on is great to hear. the score really lightens up the piece and gives it an airiness (ironically enough) and allows the whole piece to really take on a fun fresh sound that is crucial for the film to work

SCORE 5 out of 5

as far as the songs go, this may just be the most consistanly good soundtrack all the songs are fun and fresh but advance the story well. no other album really contains as many sure fire hits as this one. menken and ashman made great songs here that utilize the necessary carribean influences that are truly wonderful.

FATHOMS BELOW - this is a fun opener that provides a great sense of nautical mythology and fun. it sets the film up well for the following songs that are obveously meant to juxtapose it. originally, the song was longer, but jeffery katzanberg required that ashman shorten the lyrics, the original extended version can be found on the special edition 2006 dvd.
5 out of 5

DAUGHTERS OF TRITON - this short little snipet introduces all of ariel's sisters. its pretty bland and dry and thankfully its quick. if it were longer it would definately bring the entire soundtrack down, but luckilly its short and over with quickly
3 out of 5

PART OF YOUR WORLD - this is ariel's only real song and it is truly beautiful. her song of longing is emotional and jodi benson's vocals take to a whole other level. many have covered this song, but none have topped benson's heartfealt version that combines longing and real sorrow. A+
5 out of 5

PART OF YOUR WORLD (REPRISE) - here is that trademark mermaid-on-rock scene from the movie and the fact that benson gets to belt out the ending bars makes this a real treat even though its so short, but this definately ranks right up there with the full version, and possibly tops it.
5 out of 5

UNDER THE SEA - this fun song was the oscar winner for best original song and it combines great carribean rhythms and sounds wiht fun fresh and witty lyrics to epitomize the fun and freshness that the little mermaid brought to the screen. the infecteous song is one that jsut stays in your head and wont leave too, but its all ok since this is such a great song.
5 out of 5

POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS - this is ursula's big number and pat caroll is amazing at it. this song is wickidly entertaining and great. the darkly comic tone and cabaret feel make this a great vilian song and a great song in general. the incredable rollar coaster of intensities make this an impressive number that never loses the audience's interest impressively enough.
5 out of 5

LES POISSONS - this song has gotten a lot of credit for its comedic strengths, but really this is the weakest song on the whole soundtrack. it's just too comical and goes too far over the top. it fits well in the film, but feels mildly disjointed on the soundtrack itself.
4 out of 5

KISS THE GIRL - this is the second oscar nominated song and it is possibly the best of all. the combination of soft vocals provided by samuel e wright and the great soft tropical rhythms make this song an unexpected winner. on paper, these combinations are strange for a defining love song, but it all comes together with great ease.
5 out of 5

SONGS OVERALL 5 out of 5

this entire piece brings an impressive combination of airiness and emotion to make a musical soundtrack that is truly spectacular. menken and ashman showed for the first time their true greatness when working together. this piece isn't their greatest, but it was a great starting point that revitilized what a movie musical and disney film could truly be. this timeless classic is a wonder to hear and never gets old or tired.

We actually own the CD that was originally released when the movie was first released. It is one of our favorites. I'm not sure what several others are talking about when they say this one has the origninal score. The CD's have the same exact music, with the exception of the 2nd CD. As for the songs on the 2nd CD, we have heard several on Radio Disney. They are okay once you get passed the whole remake issue. I actually enjoy the Jonas Brothers version of Poor Unfortunate Souls.

i bought this for my 5 year old --who loves ariel and all the princesses---it is great for her she loves to sing and dance to all the songs and she knows the songs inside and out--i recomend this product if your child loves the movie she will love this soundtrack

I have such a soft spot for musicals -- especially Disney musicals. The Little Mermaid is one of my very favorites -- most of the songs are so catchy I can't help but tap my foot and sing along. After a bad day there's nothing better than turning this puppy on full blast. Every song you remember is here, including the wonderful orchestral score.

The bonus songs are terrifying, however. Whoever thought that the Little Mermaid needed to be put to horrific, half-baked pop/r&b and shrieked by children of dubious talent should probably have large rocks thrown at them. Just a suggestion. However, I chose to ignore them, and I rate this disc by the value of the first disc, whose superior quality easily drowns out the second CD's terrifying contributions.

Anyway, just get this CD and enjoy the delightful croonings of Ariel and co! You won't regret it!

Ive always loved the Little Mermaid and was excited to see this set, but I have to say I was disappointed to hear the Jonas Brothers singing Poor Unfortunate Souls. When Ursula sings this song kids know she's one of the "bad guys" but its a strange message that daughters and their friends get when the hottest boy band out today is singing about girls needing to basically shut up and be pretty to get a man. Stick with the originals and skip disc 2.

It has a few songs my girls don't love or recognize, but for the price it was way cheaper than just buying the few that they did.

Excellent CD and Excellent Amazon.com service.

Highest recommendation for this CD - a masterpiece.

I have an earlier version but misplaced it.

I love this CD so much I had to buy another.


Music from one of the best-loved movies ever!