Frequently
Asked
Questions
 

SECTION 1: MERCHANDISE QUESTIONS

  1. Where can I get:
  2. Can you make video/DVD copies of ... for me?
  3. Do you know when ... will be released in the theatre / on DVD?
  4. Can make a full copy soundtrack of ... for me?

SECTION 2: WEBSITE QUESTIONS

  1. Can I suggest a movie to become a minor shrine?
  2. There's this movie / tv show that I think you'll enjoy, can I let you know about it?
  3. I have an idea for something you can do, or how can you improve your site. Are you interested?
  4. Can I request a specific song to be the next Song of the Moment?
  5. How do you choose your next Song of the Moment, anyway?
  6. Why do you only provide mp3 samples on the Little Mermaid's music page, but not the full songs?
  7. What program do you use for editing your mp3s?
  8. Can I contribute fanfic / fanart / photoshop art / a fan essay to your site?
  9. I think you've missed out on something / made a mistake?
  10. I can't seem to download a particular page / picture / file?
  11. Can you link my website?
  12. Can I link your website?
  13. I have a website. Can I affiliate with you?
  14. Can I copy some of your stuff for my website?
  15. Can I copy some of your pictures for my website?
  16. Where did you get all these pictures?
  17. What program do you use to edit your pictures or creating your banners?
  18. When will you update next?
  19. How do you make your website?
  20. Where did you get all the videos in your video galleries from?
  21. How did you get the videos into the computer? What programs do you use?
  22. Do you have better quality versions of these videos?
  23. Can I share the videos on my site?
  24. Can I use your videos to make a music video of my own?
  25. Can you tell me more about this "video capture card"?
  26. I tried downloading a video, but the page is expired. What do I do?
  27. I emailed you, but you haven't responded! What do I do?

1. Where can I get:

Disney's The Little Mermaid DVD/VHS/merchandise/magazines?

The Platinum Edition of the Little Mermaid DVD has was released in most places over the world last last year (2006). Earlier DVD editions have have been discontinued and can only be bought second-hand; ebay is a good resource. I don't have any of the earlier editions and so can't tell you what their extras were.

The sequel Return to the Sea is in print, and should be available at good DVD stores.

In the UK and some parts of Asia, a The Little Mermaid+Return to the Sea 2-DVD-pack has been released. I don't know if this pack is available in the US.

A few episodes of the Little Mermaid series are available on VHS in the following combinations:

A Whale of a Tale + Urchin + Stormy + The Great Sebastian
In Harmony + Charmed + Red + Trident True
Double Bubble + Message in a Bottle
Wish Upon a Starfish + Metal Fish + Giggles + Against the Tide
The above videos are available through amazon, ebay and well-stocked movie stores that still sell videos.

Some of the series episodes are available in the various Disney Princess DVDs, but since I don't have any of them, I can't tell you which DVD has what episode.

There are a number of soundtracks but the easiest one to find is the official movie soundtrack. Earlier editions of the original soundtrack have been discontinued and in certain parts of the world removed all together, but the American pastel-coloured-cover version and the latest 2-disc special edition are the easiest to find. All the other soundtracks are rarer, I'd recommend trying your luck at amazon or ebay.

Quite a number of songbooks, story books, comics and novelisations are available, but these are found quite sporadically in bookshops. Currently the Disney Princess line is producing quite a number of Little Mermaid-related items, and these are much easier to find.

The Swan Princess DVD/music/merchandise?

All three Swan Princess movies and the Sing-a-Long are available on both DVD and video. In certain parts of Europe the movies and Sing-a-Long are available together in a 2-disc set. I've seen evidence that an American trilogy set has also been released, but I don't know exactly where these are available. I've listed out the major releases on this page.

The soundtrack for the original movie is in print, and should be available in good music stores. In certain parts of Europe, non-English soundtracks and English soundtracks for the sequels are also available, but I have no information on where they may be purchased.

There were dolls, novelisations and colouring books for sale around the time the movie was released, but these are extremely difficult to find.

Thumbelina DVD/music/merchandise?

Thumbelina has been released on DVD and can be found quite easily in good movie stores in Europe and Asia, but for whatever reason seems to be more difficult to find in America. Once again, I'd recommend amazon or ebay.

The Thumbelina soundtrack is still in print, and can be found through good music shops. It used to be available through Barry Manillow's official website, but I'm not sure whether it still is.

I don't know whether there was ever any other Thumbelina merchandise made.

Pocahontas DVD/music/merchandise?

Pocahontas had a 2-disc Special Edition re-release in 2005, it should still be available in good movie stores. Older releases have been discontinued, but old stock can still be found in some stores and online. The soundtrack is also in print, and should be easy to find in good stores. The same can be said of the sequel.

There was quite a lot of Pocahontas merchandise released back when the movie first came out. A lot of it is still on the market, but I'm not a collector and I can't advise anyone where to look.

The Little Mermaid and Swan Lake anime?

Officially, both these movies have been discontinued in most parts of the world. However, certain distributors are still selling official factory-sealed videos through amazon and ebay. The Little Mermaid, for example, is up for sale here. Be cautious when buying online, because movies can be labelled incorrectly and there are people who are selling pirated copies that they claim are original.

There were soundtracks released for both these shows, but they are extremely rare, and I don't know where they can be found.

Fluppy Dogs?

As far as I know Disney has never released Fluppy Dogs on video, and has no plans to release it on video or DVD any time soon. I'm still hoping they will, since they've started releasing Disney afternoon classics lately.

Cinderella's Wonderland / Once Upon a Time / Mario und Bello Blue?

This movie (in its original form) used to be available through the official Rolf Kauka website, but not anymore. The English-dubbed version can be found here.

Hugo the Hippo?

Original VHS copies of the English and Hungarian versions have been seen on ebay. The movie has not been released on DVD but home-made DVD copies made from VHS-transfers are being sold on ebay.

Mermaids, the 2003 live-action film about three mermaid sisters?

I have the movie on DvD, but I obtained it purely by chance from a thrift store in the UK. My searching has revealed that for whatever bizarre reason, it is not available on the regular internet-shopping places like amazon. I don't know why this is the case, but if I find a proper source, I'll update this space.

2. Can you make video/DVD copies of .... for me?

If the movie is still in print, the answer is no.

If the movie is out print, I'd seriously recommend trying ebay or amazon. I can occasionally make exceptions.

3. Do you know when ... will be released in cinemas or on DVD?

There are other much better websites with up-to-date info on movie releases, including Keyframe, Disney DVDs and Ultimate Disney.

4. Can you make a full copy of ... soundtrack for me?

I won't burn CD copies for people, but I'm open to discussion. Join my yahoogroup if you have further requests.


SECTION 2: WEBSITE QUESTIONS

1. Can I suggest a movie to become a minor shrine?

Yes, you may, because I like to know what people would be interested in seeing added to my website, but at the end of the day it'll depend on whether I have the movie in my possession, and whether I like it enough to make a minor shrine for it. I can't respond to all requests, but if you like a movie enough for it to be reviewed, you can write up an article yourself, and submit it in to me. Details for submissions are HERE. I'll add it to the website.

2. There's this movie / tv show that I think you'll enjoy, can I let you know about it?

Please, by all means. I've gotten to know quite a few obscure shows because people told me about them.

3. I have an idea for something you can do, or how you can improve your site. Are you interested?

Always. Let me know in the yahoogroup or forum. If you want to make our exhange private, then .

4. Can I request certain songs to be the next Song of the Moment?

You can suggest songs, but it'll depend on whether I actually have it. Join the yahoogroup or email me to let me know.

5. How do you choose your next Song of the Moment, anyway?

I don't have a specific pattern or system; I just choose whatever song I happen to like at that particular moment. The only "unspoken" rule I follow is that once I have chosen a song from a specific movie or tv show, I will NOT feature any other songs from that movie or tv show. For example, if you look at the Previous Songs of the Moment, you'll see I have already featured a song from The Aristocats, so I will not be featuring any more songs from the movie. Maybe one day I'll run out of the movies or tv shows, but that hasn't happened yet.

6. Why do you provide only mp3 samples on the Little Mermaid's music page, but not the full songs?

This is because mp3 sharing is against the law, and I will get into serious trouble if I do that. Before you ask me why I then provide the full mp3 for the Song of the Moment feature, that's because that file is only there temporarily. I will take it down after a month. This is also why I don't make previous Songs ofthe Moment available to download.

7. What program do you use for editing your mp3s?

I use Audacity, which can be download free from HERE.

8. Can I contribute fanfic, fanart or a fan essay to your site?

Yes, I love contributions! Check out the submission guidelines page.

9. I think you've missed out on something / made a mistake.

Then tell me. Additional info is always appreciated, and will be credited duly. This site has become surprisingly big over the past few years, so I can't keep track of everything on my own.

10. I can't seem to download a particular page/picture/file...

There could be a few reasons for this. Either your connection is bad, my host is acting a little wonky or I've made a mistake somewhere. Whatever the case, please let me know so I can check what's going on.

11. Can you link my website?

Sure, no problem! Just about your site.

12. Can I link you?

Please do! Choose a banner, if you like.

13. I have a website. Can I affiliate with you?

As long as your website is somehow related to animation, then yes I'd love to. Please .

14. Can I copy some of your stuff for my website?

If you mean copying some of the lyrics, or the script, yes you may, because I don't own those items.

But if you mean copying full pages of text I wrote myself, such as the minor shrine articles, or my commentary on various characters, or even bits of the moments page, then the answer is no. Not because I'm stingy or mean, but because I believe that if you want to make a good website, you have to put your own energy into it and believe me, when people read stuff that is really your own, and recognize you for it, the feeling of satisfaction you get is amazing.

Clear Black Lines may just be a hobby for me, but I've spent a long time on it, and I get disheartened when other website or blogs copy full pages, paste it straight on to their own website or blog, and then make no mention where they got it from. That's not just lazy, that's rude.

However, if you're only taking small chunks, and then clearly stating where you got the text from and linking back to my site, then that's fine.

Please, give credit where credit is due. This is true no matter what you're doing, even in real life.

15. Can I copy some of your pictures for my website?

The title graphics and fanart are off-limits, but everything else is okay, though please keep it within reason. For example, if you take full galleries, which took ages for me to screencap, sort and organize, that's not really nice. I appreciate it if you link back to my site, but it's not compulsory.

I have ONE rule that is applicable to EVERYTHING on my site: NO HOTLINKING.

If you don't know what hotlinking is, that means you take the URL (or address) of a picture that I have on my site, for example http://cbl.orcein.net/misc/annied-doll.png and you use that address on your blog, website or even forum. This is VERY WRONG. I pay money for my webspace, meaning that I pay to make all these pages and pictures available for you, the visitor. When you link straight to a picture on my website, that means you are direct linking to something on my paid space without my permission. You can link to PAGES, but not to pictures or sound files.

A lot of people on myspace, xanga and forums are hotlinking to my pictures. If you're one of those people and you're reading this, please stop and remove the links. If you want to use the picture, please download it off my website, and then upload it on to your OWN website or webspace, such as photobucket or flickr.

16. Where did you get all these pictures?

I have three sources:

I, myself. Most of the screencaps used throughout this site were taken by myself from my DVD using a DVD-rom or video using a video capture card. (For more info about what a video capture card is, go to question number 25.) Other pictures were scanned in with a typical scanner.

II, shareware. These are pics that can be found throughout the 'net from "official" sources, and are not exclusive to any particular person or site. The only shareware images I use are from The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas.

III, submissions. These include fanart, pics and screencaps (eg. in the Thumbelina gallery and Kissing Place gallery), which were sent in to me by various extremely helpful people, and have been duly credited.

Except for an extremely few instances where specifically stated, I don't take graphics from other people's sites.

All images are copyrighted to the studio owners and strictly cannot be used for financial profit.

17. What program did you use to edit your pictures or create your banners?

I used Paintshop Pro, which I bought on CD.

18. When will you update next?

I try to update once a week, usually on Sundays, unless I'm away on holiday or busy with real-life things. Join the yahoogroup and you'll be the first to know when the site gets updated.

19. How do you make your website?

Back when I first started, I used Netscape Composer. Nowadays, I just write the HTML code myself in Notepad. There are other more thorough websites that can teach you how to make a site yourself.

20. Where do you get all the videos in your video galleries from?

All the music videos and video clips that are currently available in the video gallery were obtained either from DVDs I own, or were recorded from television by me.

21. How did you get the videos into the computer? What programs do you use?

If the original source was a video tape, I used my video capture card to transfer the video into my computer. For more info about what a video capture card is, go to question number 25.

If the original source was a DVD, I used a DVD-converter program to save the movie in my computer. The program I use most of the time now is DVD Ripper. Once the movie is in my computer, I edit is using my Pinnacle Movie Studio editor, which I bought on CD.

22. Do you have better quality versions of these videos?

No. Once I've uploaded the lower quality clips, I delete the source material from my computer.

23. Can I share the videos on my site?

You may, but please link back to my site.

NOTICE: I do not own any of the videos on this site; they are all copyrighted to their respective creators and owners. These clips are meant as samples only, and have been reduced in quality. Please support the creators of these films and buy them on video or DVD.

24. Can I use your videos to make a music video of my own?

Yes, you may. I don't own the videos, so I have no problems about anyone else using them.

25. Can you tell me more about this "video capture card"?

A video capture card is a piece of hardware that connects my computer to my video player. A cable links my computer to my video player, so when I play videos, I can watch them on my computer and capture pictures or video clips. The current video capture card I'm using is the Pinnacle 700-PCI. My video capture card lets me transfer my videos to DVD, which has been very useful.

A video capture card is NOT the same thing as a video card.

26. I tried downloading a video, but the page is expired. What do I do?

Please let me know, either in my yahoogroup, or by emailing me. I'll re-upload as soon as I can.

27. I emailed you, but you haven't responded! Why?

I am a very active person online, and receive massive amounts of email daily, including spam. So either my inbox bounced your email back, or my spam filter removed it. A way to avoid this would be to include a specific subject header, eg. "The Little Mermaid info", "Question about Thumbelina pics", that sort of thing. Please be specific.

Any other questions / comments / etc go to .

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This page was last updated on August 26th, 2007.