The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning - Review of the DVD!
I'm not sure why a number of people have chosen to review or bash a movie that they've never seen, but I for one found this movie to be very well done. Is it worthy of a big screen release? Not necessarily; it is a low-key story, but nonetheless, a VAST improvement over some of Disney's previous direct-to-dvd movies. The story is a prequel to "The Little Mermaid (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)," and explains how King Triton banned music in his kingdom when his wife was killed. We learn how Sebastian became the music conductor for King Triton, and how Ariel & Flounder met. Naturally, it is the full-of-life Ariel who helps bring music back to her father's life. Although the villain is not as fun and nasty as the legendary Ursula, Marina Del Rey (ably voiced by Sally Field) is plenty of fun as the evil governess for King Triton's daughter. Not content to be a governess, she plots to usurp Sebastian's position, even if it...

A fun prequel to The Little Mermaid!
"Ariel's Beginning" is a fun animated feature that had my 3.5 year old daughter asking for more. The story is the prequel to The Little Mermaid - it tells the story of how King Triton lost his beloved wife Athena in an accident [back when Ariel and her sisters were little] and thus banned music and all forms of gaiety in his kingdom, living in seclusion and with darkness within his heart. When the pirncesses grow up, they all chafe against the restrictions imposed by King Triton, especially Ariel who, like her mother, loves music and singing. Ariel starts to dabble in music secretly, much to her father's anger and finally runs away with Sebastian in tow, until Triton realises his folly.

It is in this movie that we find out how Ariel meets and befriends Flounder, and how Sebastian becomes the music conductor in Triton's court. There is also a villain in the form of nanny, Marina del Rey, though she is not as scary or menacing as Ursula, the sea witch in The Little...

Pleasing but really pretty average
In the long-standing tradition of direct-to-video sequels, ARIEL'S BEGINNING continues the story of a beloved character without really adding anything new. The music is OK, but doesn't come close to the brilliant exuberance of the original (it's telling that the most inspired musical number, "Jump in the Line," was NOT written for the movie). Likewise, the animation is well-done, but pales in comparison to the theatrically-released original.

Still, young children may find enough to like about the antics of Ariel and her sisters. As sequels go, it nowhere near as awful as The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, but falls short of even the studio's less-celebrated theatrical releases like Home on the Range.

A brief behind-the-scenes peak at Broadway's "The Little Mermaid", a couple of deleted scenes, a profile of the film's...

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