The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
Year: 2000
Directed by: Jim Kammerud
Starring: Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Tara Charendoff & Samuel E. Wright
Runtime: 75 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 14/03/22
Directed by: Jim Kammerud
Starring: Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Tara Charendoff & Samuel E. Wright
Runtime: 75 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 14/03/22
I was kind of surprised to see how long it took Disney to make a sequel to The Little Mermaid. I mean since Disney started making their animated sequels we’ve had two Aladdin sequels, two Beauty and the Beast midquels, and even a Winnie the Pooh film as well as sequels to The Lion King and Pocahontas…so why was The Little Mermaid not higher on their priorities? Whatever the reason may be, I’m sure the extra time this had to be cooked up at Disney TV Animation did wonders for it because it’s definitely one of the better animated sequels produced by the studio.
Following the birth of Ariel’s (Jodi Benson) daughter Melody (Tara Charendoff), Ursula’s sister Morgana (Pat Carroll) attempts to steal King Triton’s (Kenneth Mars) trident and kill Melody. Triton thwarts her plans but Ariel deems the ocean too dangerous for Melody whilst Morgana is still out there and blocks off the palace from the sea.
Twelve years later, Melody frequently disobeys her mother and journeys beyond the walls of the castle to swim in the sea. When she discovers a locket with her name on it, she is drawn into Morgana’s sinister plan to claim the trident and rule the oceans.
Following the birth of Ariel’s (Jodi Benson) daughter Melody (Tara Charendoff), Ursula’s sister Morgana (Pat Carroll) attempts to steal King Triton’s (Kenneth Mars) trident and kill Melody. Triton thwarts her plans but Ariel deems the ocean too dangerous for Melody whilst Morgana is still out there and blocks off the palace from the sea.
Twelve years later, Melody frequently disobeys her mother and journeys beyond the walls of the castle to swim in the sea. When she discovers a locket with her name on it, she is drawn into Morgana’s sinister plan to claim the trident and rule the oceans.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea definitely plays things a little too safe, as it’s pretty much a rehash of the original films plot. Girl disobeys overbearing parental figure, is tricked by a sea witch into doing her bidding and come the end everybody learns to better communicate with each other and respect each other’s wishes and desires. It’s not exactly ground-breaking, and it does tread a lot of familiar ground. But despite this, The Little Mermaid II does manage to succeed in being a reasonably competent film because it relies on the structure of the original film so much. It doesn’t put too many steps wrong because it follows the first film so precisely.
I would go so far as saying The Little Mermaid II is the baseline that these animated sequels should be aiming for. It never tries to do anything spectacular, but it also doesn’t treat the audience with the level of contempt that films like Belle’s Magical World and Return of Jafar did with low quality animation and storylines that could barely remain coherent.
The quality of animation, though obviously not as high as the original films, is a step above the usual animated sequel fare (though not as good as Lion King II or Pocahontas II), and the voice acting is perfectly decent with all involved turning out a good performance. Whilst I’m glad Pat Carroll got to return as she’s a great voice actress, the fact that she’s basically just doing Ursula all over again is a small gripe because I would have liked Morgana to be slightly more distinguishable from her sister.
Whilst The Little Mermaid II wont blow you away, I can wholeheartedly say that if you enjoyed the first film then you’ll enjoy the second. It may play it safe with the story, but it is at least well made which is more than be said of most of the animated sequels created by Disney TV Animation. It feels like a natural continuation of the original film and that’s really all you could want from a low budget, straight to home video sequel.
I would go so far as saying The Little Mermaid II is the baseline that these animated sequels should be aiming for. It never tries to do anything spectacular, but it also doesn’t treat the audience with the level of contempt that films like Belle’s Magical World and Return of Jafar did with low quality animation and storylines that could barely remain coherent.
The quality of animation, though obviously not as high as the original films, is a step above the usual animated sequel fare (though not as good as Lion King II or Pocahontas II), and the voice acting is perfectly decent with all involved turning out a good performance. Whilst I’m glad Pat Carroll got to return as she’s a great voice actress, the fact that she’s basically just doing Ursula all over again is a small gripe because I would have liked Morgana to be slightly more distinguishable from her sister.
Whilst The Little Mermaid II wont blow you away, I can wholeheartedly say that if you enjoyed the first film then you’ll enjoy the second. It may play it safe with the story, but it is at least well made which is more than be said of most of the animated sequels created by Disney TV Animation. It feels like a natural continuation of the original film and that’s really all you could want from a low budget, straight to home video sequel.