The Little Mermaid 2023 Movie Gets Online Release Date

By Sam Hargrave Updated:
Little Mermaid Ariel Ursula King Triton

Fans now know when Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid will be available on digital, Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD.

The House of Mouse continued its endeavor of remaking its animated classics in live-action with this summer's The Little Mermaid, packed with an all-star cast of Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and more, with Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda assisting on the music and as producer.

2023's Little Mermaid departed from the 1989 animated original in some ways, including changing up the iconic "Part of Your World" and fixing one romantic issue in the classic movie.

The Little Mermaid's Home Release Details Announced

Little Mermaid, Disney
Disney

Per Fandango, Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid will release for digital purchase in the U.S. on Tuesday, July 25, with the distributing platforms including Amazon, Apple, Vudu, and Google.

The 2023 remake will later release in the physical formats of Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on Tuesday, September 19. 

The report also went into detail on the massive selection of bonus features that will be included in the release, the full list of which is explored below:

  • Sing Along Version – Sing along with your favorite songs while watching the movie with on-screen lyrics.
  • Hotter Under The Water – A five-chapter documentary exploring director Rob Marshall and his team's process behind The Little Mermaid.
    • A Tale Of The Bottomless Blue – Join Rob Marshall on the set of one of the most ambitious and challenging films he’s ever directed.
    • I Know Something’s Starting Right Now – Ariel's Halle Bailey, Ursula's Melissa McCarthy, King Triton's Jonah Hauer-King, and more cast members discuss the movie's casting process and the making of The Little Mermaid.
    • Down Where It’s Wetter – Dip your toes into the virtual ocean and learn about how the breathtaking underwater world was created with visual effects, imagination and a lot of talented artists.
    • Explore That Shore Up Above – From Prince Eric’s castle to the beach, explore the above-the-sea locations and the elaborate production design behind them.
    • Do What The Music Say – Discover how legendary composer Alan Menken teamed up with Lin- Manuel Miranda to write new songs to accompany the original classics
  • Song Breakdowns
    • Wild Unchartered Waters – Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, gets his own song, written by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Go behind the song, from the writing to the recording, to the filming on a practical ship.
    • Under the Sea – Get a first-hand look at how professional dancers helped bring director Rob Marshall’s vision to life as they stood in for the various animated sea creatures that sing and dance in this showstopping number.
    • Kiss The Girl – Float along and get a frog’s-eye view of the beautiful set built to film the live-action version of this classic song.
    • Poor Unfortunate Souls – Join Melissa McCarthy (Ursula) as she takes us on the journey of making her character’s signature song.
  • Featurettes
    • The Scuttlebutt On Sidekicks – Dive in and meet Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle, who not only have their own song, “The Scuttlebutt,” but also fresh looks as they work hard to make sure Ariel and Eric kiss before Ursula’s deadline.
    • Passing The Dinglehopper – Ariel met Ariel when Halle Bailey worked with Jodi Benson — the voice of Ariel in the original animated movie — who appears in a clever cameo in the live-action film.
    • Bloopers – Laugh along with the cast as they have the time of their lives making The Little Mermaid.

When Will The Little Mermaid Release on Disney+?

Although Disney has yet to confirm a Disney+ release date for The Little Mermaid, fans can likely expect it to come at least several weeks after the digital release 

The wait for The Little Mermaid's digital release falls around the norm for Disney's latest, dropping just 60 days after it came to theaters - around the same as Marvel Studio's Ant-Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

That being said, the physical release does come an above-average 116 days after The Little Mermaid's theatrical release - a far longer wait than Ant-Man 3 and Guardians 3's 88-day window.

Based on Disney's recent pattern of dropping its theatrical releases onto Disney+ around 90 days after they debuted, The Little Mermaid will likely make its way to the streamer around Wednesday, August 21.

Then again, Disney has recently been making major changes to its home release strategy, as proven by the unprecedented wait for Avatar: The Way of Water. So fans will have to wait for official word from the House of Mouse to know for sure.

The Little Mermaid will release for digital purchase on Tuesday, July 25.

- In This Article: The Little Mermaid
Release Date
May 26, 2023
Platform
Theaters
Actors
Halle Bailey
- About The Author: Sam Hargrave
Sam Hargrave is the Associate Editor at The Direct. He joined the team as a gaming writer in 2020 before later expanding into writing for all areas of The Direct and taking on further responsibilities such as editorial tasks and image creation.