After last year’s 3D re-releases of Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and Beauty and the Beast failed to do as well as The Lion King, Disney cancelled plans for a 3D re-release of The Little Mermaid… or, at least, so we thought. This week it has been revealed that Disney is still bringing the 1989 animated movie back to select theatres this month to help promote the Diamond Edition of the film on Blu-ray. While it’s unclear if the movie will be in 3D or 2D, there is a unique twist to the release that is sure to divide moviegoers: Disney has created a special iPad app for the movie and they are encouraging kids to download it and play along while they watch. Is this a brilliant marketing gimmick or yet another affront to the moviegoing experience?

According to Variety, Disney has announced the release of Second Screen Live for The Little Mermaid, which hits select theatres on Sept. 20th followed by a DVD and Blu-ray release on Oct. 1st. They describe it as “a new way to watch movies with your friends and family where you become part of the story,” or in other words, an app that allows kids to play games, compete with other audience members and sing along with the movie. While Disney has put out similar apps for home video releases, this is the first time they have done it for use in theatres.

Obviously this idea will throw up all kinds of red flags for the discerning cinephile. With cell phone use clearly still a major problem in theatres, do we really need to be teaching kids to use mobile devices while watching a movie? Also, while it seems like a way to enhance a movie that many people have seen before, what’s to stop Disney from doing it for new movies as well? On the other hand, this is a movie aimed at kids and it does sound like something that they could have a lot of fun with. What do you think, is the Second Screen Live app a terrible idea or should people give it a chance? Will this stop you from going to see The Little Mermaid in theatres?