Workprints were never meant for public consumption. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, as Disney animation shifted to digital ink-and-paint, vaults were cleared, and several low-quality VHS dubs of a Little Mermaid workprint — made for a foreign dubbing studio — began circulating among private collectors. It is believed that a former studio employee or an overseas post-production facility leaked copies.
The Little Mermaid was the final Disney feature to heavily utilize the traditional ink-and-paint process, where human artists hand-painted the plastic cells. It also served as a testing ground for the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) developed by Pixar, which was used for the final shot of the film. the little mermaid workprint
A "workprint" is an early, unfinished version of a film, typically assembled for internal screenings, test audiences, or small distribution to overseas dubbing studios. The Little Mermaid workprint is a rough cut of Disney’s 1989 animated classic, created before the final theatrical release. It is famous for containing substantial differences in animation, storyboarding, audio, and musical sequences. Workprints were never meant for public consumption