"The Little Mermaid" (Flickr)

Disney’s "The Little Mermaid" comes to theaters on September 20. Now children of the 90s can relive the 1989 classic in select theaters.

The film was originally supposed to be a 3-D re-release. But after Disney’s low financial results from continuous 3-D re-releases, the company decided to take a new approach to movie-going. 

The film is the same. Same plot, same characters and the same songs. Only this time, i-pads are added to the equation.

Because of this new technological movie experience, people of all ages—grandparents taking their grandchildren, parents treating their children to a movie day, and other groups of all ages—can join in on what could be the new fad. 

The app, “The Little Mermaid: Second Screen Live” created by Disney allows the film’s audience to interact with the movie and with other members of the audience. The app is free of charge, available at the App store.

The app features games that allow members of the audience to compete against each other and fully interact with the film. This allows the audience to not only be re-experiencing the film, or maybe seeing the film for the first time, but also allows them to feel a part of the animated classic. Many games correspond to the film, so the audience plays certain games as the film progresses.

The film hitting theaters once again works as a promotion to encourage interactive film screenings as well as promoting the re-release of the Disney classic on DVD, available on October 1.

Moviegoers share mixed emotions about this new film revelation. Some may argue that the purpose of a movie is to sit and enjoy the film targeting a new generation of a young audience.

Advocating technology use for children can also be argued on two different sides, but the main concern is the proper etiquette for being in a movie theater. People are constantly checking cell phones, and often answer phone calls while a movie is playing, making other members of the audience angry and impatient.

Others will argue that with today’s technology, this can and should be the new norm moviegoers practice.

Another aspect of the interactive film: the audience is allowed to sing along to the songs. If sing-alongs aren’t for you, wait for the DVD release.

What do you think of this new breakthrough? Be the judge and see the film if feeling nostalgic or adventurous for something new.

Reach Staff Reporter Tanya Mardirossian here.