"The Little Mermaid," as we all know, is the 1989 modern Disney classic that pulled the company out of hot water (pun intended), but also offered a simple yet fun story. There has been one sequel (ugh) and an animated series (hit and miss), so needless to say, "The Little Mermaid" is one of Disney's most popular films.
I have made no attempt to disguise my dislike of "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea." I mean no offense. In fact, I may very well be too close-minded and cynical, and may have held impossibly high standards for the sequel when I first saw it. Nevertheless, the film does have its high points, with Melody's steadfast and spunky demeanor being one of them.
Naturally, I was annoyed when I learned that there would be a prequel... wait, I'm basically ripping off Kris. My bad!
Okay, I'm just gonna jump right into it. This movie has one of the most confusing titles ever for a sequel. You have "The Little Mermaid," and you have "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea." That's pretty easy, but what is this movie called? "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning." Couldn't the subtitle alone work? Of course it could, if "The Return of Jafar" has any say in it (although lately, Disney renamed the film to "Aladdin: The Return of Jafar." How creative). Going from "The Little Mermaid" to "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea," only to end with "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning" is unnecessarily confusing, in my opinion, but the title is the least of this movie's problems, and, sadly, the problems found in this film are numerous. (Yes, I am aware that "Ariel's Beginning" is a prequel, but it is still confusing to have "The Little Mermaid" in the title.)
But speaking of the movie's title, take a look at this screenshot, which was taken immediately when the film opened.
Uh...What gives? Could this opening title be any more static? Why is "Walt Disney Pictures" on the very top? It should have faded into view before the film's title. Maybe I'm just orthodox, but this is not aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I mean, the film could have opened with just the title, a la "Pirates of the Caribbean." Ah, well.
The film opens with narration from Sebastian, who tells us viewers about a huge bummer moment that happened in the past. King Triton was married to Queen Athena, and the two had, as we all know, Ariel and her daughters. How do we know Athena is Ariel's mother? Because
she looks exactly like Ariel.
On a Sunday, riding my bike/I notice, I notice different things that look alikeTo be honest, I don't know why I find this very disturbing. It is true that some offspring look remarkably similar to their parents, but I... I don't know. I just find it creepy that Athena is literally Ariel with a bigger chest, and that's
it. Couldn't there have been some variation? Ariel's sisters are all very diverse in terms of appearance, so why is it that Athena is Mama Ariel? Yeeeaahhh... no further comment regarding Athena.
Well, just one more. Athena dies. Oh, snaps.
SPOILER: ARIEL'S MOTHER DIESYes, Athena dies. Alas, how she is killed is unintentionally humorous: she is crushed by a ship. No, I'm not kidding; Athena dies because she is literally caught between a rock and a hard place. Couldn't there have been a different way to die?
"How was your mother killed?"
"She was shot by a hunter."
"My father was murdered by my uncle."
"My mom got squished by a ship."
Snicker, snicker. Sucks to be you, kid! To be less heartless, Athena's death is nothing short of traumatizing, and because Athena's death was the result of her going after an endangered music box that happened to be Triton's gift to her, King Triton feels guilty, and as a result... bans all music from Atlantica.
"I thought you'd like to know what your music does. It kills people. You made her happy, and it killed her."Now, let me get this straight. Triton feels that music was responsible for Athena's death, and so he banishes music everywhere, and imprisons anyone who so much as hums "The Magic of the Wizard's Dream"? Sorry, but that's a weak plot. I commend you, writer(s), for trying to set a somber tone, but that plot is as ludicrous as me banning the color green should Amanda be crushed by Paris Hilton's ego.
When Sebastian gives you the stink eye, you'd best listen!Jump ahead in time ten years later. Triton is a Nazi of a father, forcing his daughters to participate in daily routines, mostly overlooked by Marina Del Ray, the film's antagonist. Her assistant is an obviously simple designed character named Benjamin, who is more timid than Marina. More on her later. Ariel is so bored with the boring, soulless life that she could spit, and she longs for light, happy music. I can sympathize with Ariel; just imagining going through life without any music makes me want to cry, so hard, so very hard.
Eventually, Ariel meets Flounder--hold the trumpet! Ariel
meets Flounder? Those two were childhood friends! What gives? Even if one doesn't take the animated series into consideration, Ariel and Flounder have obviously been friends for a long time, and they're inseparable. Are we really expected to buy this film, and consider it cannon? Wait a minute... Triton banned music for ten years. That can't be right. So, no. I'm not buying. Anyway, Ariel meets Flounder, and Flounder unwittingly leads Ariel to a super secret, underground music club, featuring none other than Sebastian, who ironically is big stickler to His Majesty's decrees.
The characters sing "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)". There are three glaring problems with this song's inclusion: 1) It was featured prominently in "Beetlejuice," and therefore you are a poser if you include it in any other film; 2) This song should not exist in the "Little Mermaid" context, end of story; and 3) This is the best song in the film, but only because it has existed for many years, and is a part of pop culture.
This movie is horrendously filled with anachronisms, and they're all infuriating. Why the hell does Flounder beatbox? I absolutely hate beatboxing in general (bikichabikichaoomoomboomboombow), so to hear a well-known Disney character beatbox is nothing short of devastating. It's even worse than Lucifer wearing a Rastafarian hat in "Cinderella II: Dreams Come True." Wait, actually, they're about even. While some anachronisms, whether dances or lingual slang, existed in the original "Little Mermaid," they were not nearly as bad as what is found in "Ariel's Beginning."
They are SO gonna have some finny fun tonight!Ariel tells her sisters of this music club, and eventually succeeds in bringing her hot siblings to the joint, where they behave... laughably. Marina, being Sebastian's rival, discovers the music club (read Kris's spoiler alert, because I entirely agree that this is a plot inconsistency), and informs King Triton, who hastily grounds his daughters for eternity, and sends Sebastian and his friends to the dungeon. Being thrown in jail just for singing and dancing, those monsters.
Obviously a nod to the first film. Or, if unintentional, similar to the concert from the original film's opening.Ariel decides to swim away, and busts Sebastian and his bland, stock friends out of jail. Sebastian, who obviously knows of something, suggests that they all follow him to a new home. Oh, and Flounder beatboxes all the while.
Marina takes Sebastian's job, and shows her ecstasy by singing. Actually, she doesn't sing, so much as speaks with several octaves as background music plays. These songs, in a word,
suck. The "Money is Such a Beautiful Word" song from "Tom & Jerry: The Movie" looks like Alan Menken-and-Howard Ashman-at-their-finest material, compared to the songs found in "Ariel's Beginning."
Triton is ultimately informed that Ariel, Sebastian and the whatever group are missing, and he sends his guards to find them. Marina, realizing that she's actually supposed to be a villain and not a Sally Field-voiced character who's just kinda there, goes out with her vicious, electric eels to hunt Ariel and her friends. Benjamin is unhappy, but doesn't do anything.
LOOK! HAR HAR HAR!! I'M MAKING FUN OF THE FIRST MOVIE!! I'M SO WITTY AND CREATIVE!! HAR HAR HAR HAR!
This movie owes me an apology. "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," this ain't.Sebastian led Ariel and company to a far-away place for a reason: Ariel ultimately finds the music box that Triton made for Athena. Sebastian then explains to Ariel why Triton banished music, and how after all these years is still heartbroken by Athena being crushed by a ship. .... Heh.
Then Marina and her eels come in, but she and her eels are taken care of, and Triton discards his law and allows music to return to Atlantica. A happy ending, of course, but this movie really is not a good tone-setter for the classic that is "The Little Mermaid."
I am
so happy that this is the last. Sure, we still have Pixar sequels to deal with now, but this is the last direct-to-video sequel to Walt Disney's 2D animated classics. Honestly, "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time" would have made a better 'final' picture than "Ariel's Beginning." While "Ariel's Beginning," like "A Twist in Time," does feature superior animation and an at least somewhat original plot that isn't a complete rehash like the preceding film, "A Twist in Time" is still a superior film. Of course, that's not saying much; that's just like saying, "My last hangover was more pleasant than this doozy."
Do I dislike "Ariel's Beginning"? I don't, actually. In truth, I hate it. I just could not like this film at all. Yes, I have noticed the superior animation, and I commend the writers for trying to do more with Ariel's backstory, Triton's personal anguish and Ariel's siblings, but the truth is Ariel's backstory is flawed and inconsistent with other properties of the franchise, Triton's inner turmoil isn't played out well, and the sisters... well, honestly, I always wanted to see more of Ariel's sisters, but unfortunately they are goofy in "Ariel's Beginning." Us role-players have and still do handle them better.
The animation may be superior than what was found in "Return to the Sea," but it is still miles short of "The Little Mermaid." The excessive use of CGI is ugly, and sometimes the animation has the fluidity of an Internet Flash animation.
The songs are outright dreadful, but the score music is satisfactory and on rare occasions pleasant. Let me guess, Joel McNeely did the score. Wait, he didn't? Wow. Kudos, James Dooley!
Regardless of my opinion of the film, at least it has Jodi Benson. Jodi, you really do have that unique youthfulness in your voice, even if you're twenty years older than you were when "The Little Mermaid" wrapped up production. Although the songs in "Ariel's Beginning" are bad, Jodi Benson could still make anything she sings bearable. Not only could she sing the phone book, but she could also sing "Hotel Mario."
Samuel E. Wright returns to Sebastian at long last. He hasn't voiced the character since "Return to the Sea," for some reason, but it's wonderful to hear him again, even if his voice is noticeably aging.
Most perplexing fact of all, though, is that Kenneth Mars is absent in this film, for some reason. He has voiced King Triton in
everything "Little Mermaid" before: the animated series, the sequel, and even "Kingdom Hearts." So, why is it now that is MIA? Either way, Jim Cumming has replaced him. His take on Tritron is decent, but it's just not Triton. Don't get me wrong, I love Jim Cummings, to the point where if he stopped at my house, I would keep him a la Stephen King's
Misery, but King Triton
is Kenneth Mars. Imagine Ariel voiced by Jennifer Hale instead of Jodi Benson. You get the picture.
Unfortunately, I have to criticize Jim Cummings on one particular scene: when everyone believes that Ariel was killed. His delivery of King Triton borders on David Duchovny proportions: "Oh, no. What have I done? [yawn]" While I understand that King Triton is soulless and introverted throughout the story, in this scene he's just robotic. Actually, I've seen audio animatronics convey more emotion, so maybe "robotic" is an inappropriate term.
Marina Del Ray may look like a bland, boring, one-note, forgettable Disney villainess, but don't let that fool you: she actually is a bland, boring, one-note, forgettable Disney villainess. I do admire Sally Field, and I think of her performances in "Forrest Gump" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" admirable, but... she really couldn't bring Marina to life. Marina is just lame. Morgana is a total rip-off of Ursula, and even she manages to be more memorable than Marina. Marina can wear anachronistic clothing all she wants--including camo in the film's climax [!]--and she can try and sing all she wants, but the truth is I sincerely want to shove an acid pie to the face of whoever created that character.
Flounder is spectacularly out of character in this film, and therefore doesn't deserve attention.
Ariel's sisters could've been utilized so much better, but sadly they are a bunch of ditzy airheads, and, even though they barely had any screentime in the original film, they were at least more developed and likable in said original film.
My favorite character in this film, actually, is Benjamin. Although Benjamin did nothing when Marina's insanity surfaced, he had a personality that was both sardonic and well-meaning. Although I never once laughed at this film, the only times I've smiled were when Benjamin spoke.
Unfortunately, when it all comes down to it, I just flat-out hate this movie. It's just not a good movie, in my opinion, or even a decent one. I also more or less dislike "A Twist in Time," but at least that film was far better than "Dreams Come True." This film, however, is in my opinion roughly in the exact league as "Return to the Sea." They have some commendable aspects, but overall I dislike them, and I admit that I am not their targeted audience.
I give "Ariel's Beginning" * out of **** stars. The nightmare, I'm elated to say, is finally over.
Unfortunately, this prequel brings up another question. Why the hell is Ariel so interested and infatuated with human life, even with the fact that Athena was killed by homo sapiens?
I withdraw my statement that whether a movie is good or bad is up to the watcher. After watching "Titanic: The Animated Movie," I have seen the light. Bad movies do exist, regardless of supporters and detractors.[/b]
So, it ain't over until the fat lady sings. Let's end this with a
good song from a likewise
good movie!
:B
; That's another thing...in the series it implied that Triton was the redhead of the family (his nickname as a kid was "Red"), aside from his youngest daughter, and that he was just as mischievous as Ariel, perhaps moreso, when he was young. But that, like the whole thing about Ariel and Flounder being best friends since they were kids, was thrown (unfortunately) out the window and into the proverbial crapper. 
