The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea

While watching this entry in Disney's endless parade of DTV (direct to video) sequels, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or vomit when I saw what they had done to the movie that first got me interested in Disney movies. I just don't know where to start badmouthing this one.

While watching the movie, I saw that Ariel had developed a non-existent personality. What have they done to her?? I know she's grown up, and I know she's no longer the focus of the story, but that's no excuse to make her dull as dishwater. However, maybe good old Ariel might have been a better protagonist than the one we were given. There was something about her daughter, Melody, that didn't sit right with me at all. Maybe it was her many attempts to try to sound "cool" without ever once failing to sound annoying. "What's shakin'??" Ariel would never, NEVER have said that! Nor would Sebastian, Flounder, or Scuttle acted the way they did in this movie. It's as if they took their humorous parts from the original movie and overemphasized it. I was especially mad that Scuttle wasn't only dumb; it was as if he had received a lobotamy! What was up with him? This isn't the Scuttle that introduced us to the dinglehopper and the snarfblat!! I'd be surprised if this Scuttle knew his beak from his...well, let's move on. The villains were lame! Using Ursula's sister as the villain was an uninspired choice, but she was my favorite of the baddies. Undertow was completely uneccessary. Or maybe he was, seeing as how Cloak and Dagger NEVER SPOKE! Cloak and Dagger were a sorry attempt at redoing Flotsam and Jetsam. F&J were eerie; they sent chills up your spine everytime they spoke or slithered around. C&D were...well, they were there. And speaking of ineffectual duos, let's discuss Tip and Dash. What exactly was their purpose in the movie, other than comic relief that was sorely missing comedy? There are so many other flaws in characters, but I don't want to go into that right now.

Art direction, design, etc. was sorely lacking as it is in all DTV Disney films. The characters looked kinda like their original counterparts, but the coloring was way too bright and garrish. It's as if they threw away the subtle coloring scheme used for "Little Mermaid" (including ariel, the color they invented for Ariel's fins) and traded them for happy little pastels, taking away any depth or realism the look might have had.

Voices, voices, voices. Most of the original cast came back for this one (thank goodness), but the performances didn't seem to have that energy from the first movie. As for the new voices, Tara Charendoff's Melody was rather annoying. She's just great as Bubbles on "Powerpuff Girls", but that doesn't seem to translate well here. Maybe it was just the stupid lines fed to her. Prince Eric's new voice would be okay if it wasn't friggin' Yakko Warner from "Animaniacs"! Don't get me wrong; Rob Paulsen was wonderful on "Animaniacs", but he sounds nothing like the original Prince Eric. (Compliment or criticism? You decide.)

Well, I suppose I should wrap this up now; I'm sure I'm over the word limit and that this is the longest review I've ever written. I'm not really sure why I'm wasting this much space on a movie that's such a waste of space. I suppose I had to defend the honor of the original "Little Mermaid", but the movie can prove itself. I say that we burn all copies of DTV sequels, especially this one and the upcoming "Hunchback II", which looks like it will be another tragically horrible treatment of a Disney classic.

Very few Disney sequels ever come close to the quality of the original, and this is probably why so many of them come directly to video. This film is no exception. The story is okay, but the characters are boring, and you learn to hate Melody after a few really, really stupid moves on her part.

It's not as bad as The Return of the Jafar, but not close to as good as The Lion King II: Simba's Pride or Aladdin and the King of Thieves or even Pocahontas II. Of course, none of these compare to the quality of Toy Story 2, which notably went to theaters and is actually better than the first one.

You can really afford to miss this film.

This direct to video (those were the days) sequel to the mega hit that was 'The Little Mermaid' is not that bad really, though it does rehash a lot of the themes/plot from the original, only now with Ariel's daughter.

With a lot of the original voice cast returning, and some nice songs/moments, this certainly is worth a watch, and not worthy of the bashing it is getting by other reviewers.

Remember the Little Mermaid? The movie that made you believe in Disney again every time you saw it (no matter how awful their current movies were?) If you liked the Little Mermaid in the least bit, do not walk within viewing distance of this movie. I loved the Little Mermaid when it was the first movie I ever saw, I love it now; this movie, which had me excited in the beginning, left me feeling that it was better off never made. Everything in it, from character development, to voices, plot, lame side-kicks, lame villains, general stupidity, everything down to the more cutesy way things were colored and drawn, and the score. The original had a sort of mature feel that also appealed to kids that not a lot of Disney movies generally have, and this movie ended up as a drop in a sea of terrible Disney sequels.

I loved The Little Mermaid, it's one of my all time favorite Disney movies, I grew up with it and I still watch it every once in a while. I just showed it to my 5 year old cousin for the first time since it was recently released on DVD, so she wanted to see the second one when we were at the video store and we just watched it and we over all had a good time. While I wasn't that impressed, it was better than most Disney sequels that are normally lame and predictable.

Ariel and Eric have had a daughter, Melody. Mel is now becoming a teenager and cannot understand why she has such a great love for the sea, but Ariel forbids Mel from going to the sea not knowing when the right time would be to tell Mel about all her family history. But Mel has had it and wants to be a mermaid when Morgana, the evil sister of Ursela, grants Mel's wish, she can stay a mermaid if she steals her grandfather's trident so Morgana can become leader of the sea.

Over all, I would recommend this for a family afternoon, it was a charming cartoon to watch. The Little Mermaid will always be the best, but The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea was a nice follow up that you very rarely see in today's Disney sequels. Again, what freaks me out though is typically they change the voices again and again for the characters, but I think I had a better time excepting it for this film.

5/10