Disney's amazing undersea classic lives on in an all-new story bursting with the same captivating musical style, unforgettably colorful characters, and brilliant animation that made the original film an Academy Award(R)-winning favorite. After rejoicing over the birth of their daughter Melody, Ariel and Eric must face a new threat from Ursula's revengeful sibling Morgana -- a threat that forces them to hide Melody's true mermaid heritage. Melody, a young princess curious about her roots, ultimately ventures into the sea against her parents' wishes. There, she meets new friends, and in her dream to be a mermaid becomes a pawn in Morgana's plot to gain control of the Seven Seas. Ariel must reunite with her childhood friends Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle to rescue her daughter and restore harmony to her family. An all-star cast returns, including Jodi Benson (Ariel) and Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian), for a remarkable adventure teeming with surprises and four phenomenal new songs.
Ariel and her husband, Prince Eric, have a little problem with their daughter, Melody, in the sequel to Disney's landmark The Little Mermaid. Melody is threatened by Morgana, the evil sister of the sea witch Ursula (both voiced by Pat Carroll). Before you can say "Briar Rose," Melody's parents decide to keep their daughter's roots a secret, forbidding her to learn about the ocean while Morgana is around. Now the budding teenager secretly frolics in the sea with Ariel's old friends, Sebastian and Scuttle. When she learns the truth from Morgana, Melody becomes an unknowing pawn in her scheme--and Mom has to take to the sea again to help.
As with Disney's other made-for-video sequels, The Little Mermaid II looks and sounds wonderful (and reunites much of the same vocal talent). Four- to nine-year-olds who grew up with the original will certainly enjoy seeing the friends again. A new set of artists has come up with four catchy tunes and some fun new characters, including Tip and Dash, a pensive penguin and his blubbery walrus friend. Yet, where Beauty and the Beast had a deliberate Christmas-themed sequel, and Pocahontas told the tale of her historical trip to England, the plot here is very forced. It is pretty much a rehash of the first film with different characters. Tip and Dash are a reincarnation of Timon and Pumbaa, and Morgana is exactly like her sister, except thinner. Besides the stellar music, this unneeded sequel also misses another important aspect of the original--heart. --Doug Thomas
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Great!:
Arrived in timely mannor, my daughter loves it! Now I find out they are coming out with this on DVD in December 08! Thanks :-)
Predictable, but good:
I have the orginal "Little Mermaid" On VHS, and I grew up loving Ariel and wishing I was her. The twist is a reversal of the first, but its nice to see my favorite characters together. I really love it that all (at least I think) came back to do the second. A good sequel in my opinion is when all the orginal voices come together again. Its probably why I didn't care for "The Return of Jaffar", cause Genie's voice wasn't the same. Anyways, there are new characters, which add humor to it. I would only... more info
Refreshing:
This is a fun movie and all little mermaid fans will love. It has great depth and care to the story. Heartwarming.
A must for young Ariel lovers:
My daughter is a huge Ariel fanatic. While I cannot speak to the artistry, musical score, visual effects, etc, what I do know is that my daughter loved this movie so much that for 2 years in a row she wanted to be Melody for Halloween. She also used to sneak downstairs and watch the movie early in the morning (we have the VHS). We got this when she was 4 and she is 6 and still enjoys it quite a bit.
