The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Beginning

We now have finally arrived at “The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning,” released in 2008, which doesn’t have the warm energy of “The Little Mermaid,” and the songs aren’t nearly as memorable. However, the animation, while obviously cheaper, is as animated as ever, and in the world of Disney direct-to-video sequels, one out of three isn’t bad.

Actually, as the title tells, “Ariel’s Beginning” isn’t a sequel to Disney’s classic work, but a prequel, revealing an early adventure of Ariel. (David Cornelius said in his review, “There's no telling where this fits in with the 1992 "Little Mermaid" TV series, itself a prequel, but it doesn't really matter here.”) The story opens when Ariel is just a little mermaid; her parents are happy rulers of Atlantica. However, Disney can’t go a year without killing off one of the parents, so really soon the queen, voiced by Lorelei Hill Butters (speaking) and Andrea Robinson (singing), is killed when a pirate ship crashes. (Cornelius informed, “Don't worry, parents: it's delicately handled off-screen.”)

Strangely, this is the last we’ll see of the pirates, that gives no other importance of the story. Instead, we watch as King Triton, voiced by Jim Cummings, heartbroken over the loss of his beloved wife and desperate to hide himself from anything that will remind him most of her, orders the music is banned from the kingdom.

Fast forward a few years. Ariel, voiced by Jodi Benson, is a rebellious teen, the most problematic of the king’s seven daughters (Tara Strong, Jennifer Hale, Grey DeLisle and Kari Wahlgren). The manipulative Marina Del Ray, voiced by Sally Field – a sort of downgraded Ursula – is the princess’ nanny, a job she hates. She’d rather kick the beloved crab friend Sebastian, voiced by Samuel E. Wright, out of the kingdom and take over as Triton’s representative. At Marina’s side is Benjamin, voiced by Jeff Bennett, a soft-spoken manatee who’s friendlier to be a villainess’ right-hand man.

With Ariel, she sneaks out one night, meets our favorite fish friend Flounder, voiced by Parker Goris, and finds an underground nightclub that Cornelius says, “where music thrives, a sort of speakeasy where tunes are the vice of choice. A hip calypso/jazz band tears up the joint, and surprise: Sebastian's the lead singer!” Ariel tells her sisters, who also want to enjoy the music. This, for a Disney cartoon, is very rebellious in its own little way, with girls sneaking out to do some dishonest excitements – especially since we’ve seen the original movie and know Triton will eventually allow music back in the kingdom, meaning the girls are right to convince their father that this isn’t wrong.

The actual story is quite slim: the girls get caught; Ariel and Sebastian run away, Marina gets power hungry, etc. Cornelius said, “What a movie like this needs, then, is a collection of great songs to keep pushing us through the so-so story. Unfortunately, what we get instead is a series of bland originals (for the life of me, I can't remember how a single one goes, let alone leave the movie humming); the only real keeper here is a cover version of the old school calypso favorite "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)," which is peppy and fun, even if the movie repeats it throughout the feature, as if to dilute its kicky glory.”

Screenwriter Robert Reece previously worked on “Cinderella III,” while co-scripter Evan Spiliotopoulous helped write “The Lion King 1½.” For all their mistakes, both those films delivered a nice amount of in-joke play, and that sense of for-the-fans fun is in here. “Ariel’s Beginning” works best when it lets go with the flashing humor, as in one excited part where Marina struts her stuff, allowing the filmmakers to parody an iconic shot from “The Little Mermaid.” This sort of knowing goofiness is much welcome, and it prizes the intelligence of kids who will excite the chance to spot the references. Cornelius credits, “Better still, first-time director Peggy Holmes has a knack for quick-paced physical comedy, as she fills the screen with mugging characters, appealing visuals, and a nice, steady flow.”

Cornelius goes on to say, “But that goofiness often gets buried too often underneath a blah story that's much too run-of-the-mill to allow the emotional oomph of the characters' plights to truly impact.” Triton’s sadness is less about character and more about plot, which is good enough if you just want to make a harmless movie collection of video shelf filler to make a few dollars until the next direct-to-video work comes around, but not enough if you want to allow your project to transcend the dreary expectations of the genre. There’s enough going on in “Ariel’s Beginning” that works – kids will enjoy it enough while parents won’t object a lot – but there’s just not enough to make it memorable.

Most Disney direct-to-video sequels are terrible, this we know. “Ariel’s Beginning” goes into the second category, the sequel that’s watchable yet not completely memorable. Cornelius ended his review by saying, “Most grown-up fans will do fine to merely Rent It, but, keeping parents in mind, I'll add that kids will want to rewatch it enough to make a purchase worthwhile. Factoring in the solid transfer and decent extras, I'll call it Recommended.”

In the end, if you didn’t like the second movie, this prequel is for you. I personally thought this was better, but I can see why all the critics would say that Marina is a cheap follow up to Ursula, one of the best Disney villains. However, I say check it out because it’s actually enjoyable and you will love it, especially if you have little kids.

Check in tomorrow when I talk about “The Lion King” pilot movie to their new cartoon series, which will be the final pilot movie in “Disney Sequel Month.”