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Ever since Disney's "sequels" department has been under new management, there has been a HUGE upgrade in quality. There have only been two animated releases so far, Cinderella III and The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. I am not sure if any more sequels are in production.

Consistent between both films is the very high quality animation. TLM:AB keeps CGI to a minimum and much effort has been made to keep the characters close to the original character models (and in many cases, character models have heavily improved over the original). This is probably as good as it will get without the original team of animators.

What saves this film is the fantastic hand-drawn animation in the age of ugly CGI and lazy flash-drawn cartoons. I would go as far as to say that the animation here is on-par or higher than the original 1989 release (the original was plagued with off-model animation). Unfortunately, the story is only so-so. The plot is very weak but effort has been made to develop all of the sisters' personalities, which I really appreciate (they are believable sister to sister relationships). I think Disney recognised that without Alan Menken, the music for TLM would not have charm or beauty. Disney did the right thing for this film by keeping songs short and to a minimum.

This film highly deserves a chance to be seen by many, unlike the rushed and horrible Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea.

This prequel was very enjoyable and charming. I don't think it isn't as good as the classic first film or the series(a childhood favourite of mine), but I do think it is an improvement over the rather average Little Mermaid 2:Return to the Sea. Here, the animation is breathtaking, beautifully fluid and colourful, and fairly true in terms of style to the original. The music, while not as catchy as Alan Menekn's score in the original, is still surprisingly delightful. I Remember was outstanding. And the voice acting is great, Jim Cummings is a worthy replacement of Kenneth Mars as Triton, and Jodi Benson(who also voiced Thumbelina in the Don Bluth movie, Ariel isn't the only role she's done, it's just the role she's best remembered by) is just amazing as Ariel, with a fantastic singing voice that makes me want to sing with her. Remember the song in the series' episode Wish Upon a Starfish, Daring To Dance, amazing song, amazing vocals that reduced me to tears. Marina-marvellously voiced by Sally Field- is an improvement over the bland Morgana, Sebastian is hilarious, there is nice character development and Benjamin is so cute. And the beginning with Ariel's mother brought some poignancy. However, the film is too short, the plot while a wonderful idea is rather so-so in execution and takes time to get going, and Flounder's voice was more teenage than innocent-sounding, the latter suited the character more. Still it is a very charming prequel and well worth the look. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The Little Mermaid is one of Disney's most lovable classics, it's one of my personal favorites, so I did want to see the sequel, which was pretty average. Normally most Disney sequels are lame or a waste of time, but it seems as if Disney is finally getting something right because The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a very sweet movie and was a nice prequel for Ariel to see what her life was like before she met Prince Eric and we learn a little bit about her family and how she came to meet Flounder. This is definitely a must see for the kids, it has fun music, cute characters, and a charming story that anyone could fall in love with. I liked that they chose a different story rather than continuing her life with Eric, I just like the "they lived happily ever after" and that's it, so this was a nice idea to get to know Ariel's sisters and mother.

In this Disney prequel, we explore Ariel's life before she became human, met Eric, met Ursela. Her father is heart broken after her mother is killed by a ship, he forbids music since it reminds him of her and her beautiful voice. Ariel and her sisters grow up in a very boring world with no music or life at all, but Ariel is thirsty for fun, to spice up her life. She comes along with friends who are also trying to make life a little more fun. But a mermaid named Marina is trying to take over the girls and their lives so she can eventually control the kingdom.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a fun Disney sequel and was a pleasure to watch. The songs are a lot of fun and the story just charms it's way into your heart. This isn't my favorite Disney sequel, but it was a huge improvement over the second Little Mermaid. I would recommend this for the family or kids, it's a charming film and of course who could resist Sebastian and his fun crazy life under the sea? He, Ariel, and Flounder bring life to this story and I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well.

6/10

This movie was remarkably refreshing and entertaining. The overall appearance of the film was pleasant. I really enjoyed the character design and animation; the film was very true to the original designs portrayed in the first Little Mermaid, and included just enough of modern 3d animation techniques to give additional depth to the 2d creations without spoiling its 2d nature. The story had a solid plot that supported other Little Mermaid films, as well as giving the viewer a touching glimpse of Ariel's mother and a deeper understanding of King Triton's character. The songs, while not as moving or masterful as Menken and Ashman's work on the first Little Mermaid film, were decent and fit in well with the overall theme of the movie. The movie flowed easily between the musical numbers and non-musical moments.

This is definitely one of those "Movie #3"s that rises well above the awful direction (plot, character, music, etc) that most sequels seem to follow.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008) is the third movie in the Little Mermaid series, a prequel to The Little Mermaid (1989) and it was okay.

Positives for The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008): It was nice to see Ariel back when she was starting to become the rebel she was in the original. The animation looks nice enough. The voice cast does a good job with their performances. The music is good enough for the movie. And finally, the movie has a good pace to the story.

Negatives for The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008): The prequel sose of the story was really annoying. I always have the same problem with prequels as they tend to answer questions I wasn't asking and giving me answers I don't like. The reason for why music is banned in Atlantica is not enough to care an entire story. The new side characters are not memorable or interesting. And finally, the villain of the movie was remarkably forgettable.

Overall, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008) is a fine enough prequel that I won't hate rewatching, but it didn't blow me away.

Cute, about the loss of the mother, the depression and coldness of the father, the serelepe sisters, a lot of adventure, it must please the little ones, I thought it was boring... The Little Mermaid 2 is still the best...

Everyone's favorite redhead, whom we all know and love, is back in a new adventure. You know who I am talking about-it's Ariel, starring in the first Disney prequel, 'cause I wouldn't call it a sequel. Set before she walked on land and married her Prince.

Under the narration of Sebastian, the story starts with King Triton and his wife, Queen Athena, having seven young daughters (the youngest of whom is Ariel). The entirety of the underwater kingdom of Atlantica is filled with joy, music, and laughter. The merfolk are shown relaxing in a lagoon above water, and Triton gives Athena a small music box. A pirate ship approaches, and they attack, stealing the merpeople's possessions. Everyone escapes except Queen Athena, who is crushed by the pirate ship. Devastated by Athena's death, Triton throws the music box away and bans music from the kingdom. Ten years later, Triton's daughters live under a strict schedule maintained by their governess, Marina Del Rey, an original villainess voiced by Sally Field, with no relations to the two witches what so ever. Marina hates her job and longs for Sebastian's, who is the king's attaché. Ariel is frustrated by their current lifestyle, which brings her into conflict with her strict father. During their morning "walk", Ariel tickles her sister Adella with kelp, and she is given the punishment of cleaning barnacles. While carrying out her punishment, Ariel encounters Flounder, a fish who is making music. That night, Ariel sees Flounder outside the window and follows him to an underground music club. She is overjoyed by the presence of music and is shocked when she learns that Sebastian performs at the club. When her presence is revealed, at first all the club patrons flee, but Ariel sings a song explaining her love of music, and she joins the club with an oath. That's all I'm telling you. You will have to see it for yourself.

It's great to finally see Ariel's mother, Queen Athena, who looks like Ariel. But I can see some differences between mother and daughter: Athena's hair is a different shade of red compared to Ariel's and done up almost like a ponytail. And her eyes, I think, are green. Overall, Ariel's Beginning is another excellent Disney OAV (original animated video) and perfect to go with the original film and "Return to the Sea." I love Ariel's sisters, Alana (pink fin), Arista (red fin), and Attina (orange fin).

Jodi Benson, we hardly want to know you anymore. Can you do any movie role EXCEPT Little Mermaid? One is just very curious if you just can't let go. Or maybe Disney Studios can't let go. Whatever the case, this needs to stop.

Ariel is back with a prequel. OK, first I don't really care where Ariel comes from anymore. This should have been covered in the original classic Little Mermaid. But no, we have to wait 15 years later just to give Jodi Benson another job. A job we don't know if she wanted.

The whole film is about the death of Ariel's mother and the subsequent return to music to the underwater kingdom. You can fill in the rest. No conflict, no character development. And nobody really cares anymore.

I want 80 minutes of my life back. "F"

As a child i loved the first Little Mermaid, as well as the second movie...Until this movie came out.

The WORST things from this movie : Marina Del Ray and Flounder. I really hate the villain in this movie, she reminds me of the Kardashian mother, who can't get her own way and a drag queen. the only character i liked in the movie was Benjamin.

As for Flounder, i really hated him in this movie too. He is so annoying, his voice is cringe worthy and is nothing more of a stalker.

I liked the concept of Athena though, but for the rest of the movie, just no.

I am a huge little mermaid fan since i can remember and i was definitely not disappointed it in this movie. It tells us how Ariel came to be and answered a lot of the questions we had in the first one like what happened to Ariel's mother and why King Triton hates humans. It also tells us how flounder and Ariel met but the one thing i did not like about flounder is that he beat boxed and was kind of out of character because he was a lot braver in this one which in the other ones flounder was always scared. I also liked that is showed us the different sides of the sisters because in the first and second ones we didn't really hear much about them only for brief moments but in this one we get to see their personalities. I also liked the music in the movie it was really great. Some of my favorites was Athena's song, Jump in the line, i remember, and i will sing. The only song i did not like was the one mistake because it didn't seem like a song to me just kind of a poem that Sally Fields talked through with background music. It was so cool to see Jodi Benson and Sameuel E. Wright returning as Ariel and Sebastion. I don't think you can have a Little Mermaid movie without them as the characters. All around good movie and i will watch it over and over again like i did the first 2.

While the first sequel to Disney's beloved classic was a cheap rehash of the same exact plot just with switched locations, this was a look back at the very beginning of Ariel's life in Atlantica just as the titles promises. It's not bad, it's just not that interesting even with the more substance to this than the predecessor.

The animation is good for a direct-to-dvd production with the smooth movements being rather impressive. But the core story is weak, because you can guess everthing happening right from the initial set-up. King Triton has expirienced a tragic loss which included music, apparently, and therefore he bans music from Atlantic. But Ariel loves music! You know the drill. The outcomes of the conflicts are kind of rehashing it from the original, but still have slightly more substance than Return to the Sea.

It looks quite good and there is put a little effort into this even if it is a rather unoriginal and predictable story. Harmless, I'd say, and far from the worst of the infamous Disney sequels, but I wouldn't call it a good movie either.

This prequel to the Disney film did well to show at the beginning what had happened to Ariel's mother, Queen Athena and even hinted at why Triton was always worried about Ariel, since she is quite similar to Athena. The good thing is also that it shows how Ariel met Flounder and how Sebastian became the musician in charge of the kingdom. Music is a theme that plays an important role here, as it serves to understand Ariel's passion for music and how it has influenced her to be the angelic-voiced princess we all know. Marina is not a villain at the level of Ursula, but a villain was necessary so that the whole conflict could be resolved. In the end this movie is pretty decent and I rate it 8/10.

A bad prequel.

'The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning' is, unfortunately given the original and sequel are good, utterly pointless. It's just all very plain, most notably with the animation due to its dully done backgrounds. The story is useless, do we really care what happened to Ariel before 'The Little Mermaid'? No, this premise adds extremely little to the other two films - the only plus is that we find out what happened to her mother.

At least the duo of Jodi Benson (Ariel) and Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian) reprise their roles for a third time, though none of the new additions leave a mark. The villains are very boring, Sally Field goes unnoticed as Marina Del Rey and Benjamin (Jeff Bennett) is entirely forgettable.

Some of the songs are decent, but that aside this is a follow-up that doesn't need to exist.