Post by ~Elisa Maza~ on Aug 17, 2010 1:06:29 GMT -5
It was over twenty years ago. I was five years old, and my grandmother was taking me to see my first movie at the theater, The Little Mermaid. I loved it then, and I love it now. The characters were unforgettable, the story was timeless, and the music was my introduction to the amazing team of Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman. This movie is what apparently pulled the struggling company out of the deep end and helped it flourish. And why not? Despite the feminist grumblings of some, most of us cherish this Disney classic.
So when a sequel was announced, most of us were probably too young to fully grasp what a travesty this was, myself included. The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies! It'll be so wonderful to see all those great characters again, especially when I'd heard that nearly all of the original cast was going to be back. I think the only two exceptions to that were Flounder (for obvious reasons) and Prince Eric. Actually, the voice actor for Eric now also some voice work in both Cinderella sequels, but considering the quality (or lack thereof) of both those movies, I wouldn't consider those bragging rights.
But I digress. I was looking forward to this movie. Ah, so young and naïve... A bit of that naivety died when I heard the plot line. Ariel's daughter, who dreams of a life in the sea.... Really, Disney? You're gonna go with the role-reversal route? Well, okay. We'll give it a shot.
Well that wasn't so bad. The beat was kinda fun, and it was definitely nice to hear Jodi Benson and Samuel Wright singing again. The animation isn't even that horrible, compared to other sequels.
So after Triton displays his support for gay pride – I mean, his joy at being a grandfather, he gives Melody a shell shaped locket with her name engraved on it.
The locket plays a melody (no pun intended) and an animation of mer-people swimming around Atlantica. But before he can slip it around her neck, a tentacle shoots out of the water and seizes baby Melody from Ariel's arms.
A half octopus half human emerges, cackling as she rides her two manta rays, and Sebastian exclaims “Ursula's crazy sister!”
.................
Really, movie? You're just gonna throw this character at us and expect us to accept that she's Ursula's crazy sister? We're really not going to get a better back story than that? Uh boy, we're in trouble.
Morgana: “I didn't miss the cake and ice cream, did I?”
*record scratches*
Wait just a cotton-pickin minute! Pat Carroll! Fancy hearing your voice again! I mean, wow. I know I said I was really enjoying the fact that the original actors were back, but... this is just a little too much. I mean, I know some siblings sound very similar, but this Ursula's voice actress!
Well, okay. Pat Carroll was after all, very epic as Ursula. Maybe she'll do the same for Morgana here. Let's see, shall we?
She calls to her shark Undertow, which I'm guessing is supposed to be a tiger shark. I really wish the animators could have done a better job with him. I mean, what do you think is more threatening?
This:
Or this:
Good lord, Flounder is actually in the shark's mouth! I'd never noticed that before!
Morgana holds Melody over Undertow's open jaws, demanding the trident. Of course, King Triton agrees to whatever she wants, as long as she doesn't hurt his granddaughter.
Morgana: “Well well, I get the trident, avenge poor, unfortunate Ursula, and gain all the powers of the ocean! And it's not even ten o'clock. Not a bad morning.”
You know, that line was almost funny. But the reference to Poor Unfortunate Souls kinda falls flat.
Before Triton hands over the trident however, Ariel seizes Eric's sword and cuts at one of the ship's ropes which sends one of the masts down, striking Morgana and sending both her and Melody flying. Undertow and Eric both leap for Melody, but a quick zap from King Triton shrinks Undertow down to the size of a harmless goldfish.
Morgana retreats into a ink cloud, her threatening words echoing after she vanishes. Triton tells his subjects that no one will rest until Morgana is found, and he accentuates this point by flashing lighting into the dark clouds.
Unfortunately, finding Morgana proves to be impossible. Ariel sadly tells her father, Flounder and Sebastian that until Morgana is found, neither Melody nor herself will go into the sea. She further states that Melody will not even know of her life and family in Atlantica. Yeah, because it worked out so well when Triton tried to keep you from the surface using pretty much the same tactics, didn't it, Ariel? Triton agrees and tells Sebastian to watch over her. He casts one final glance at his family before dropping the locket back into the ocean.
Flash-forward to twelve years later where we see that a giant stone wall has been built around the castle, blocking the sea. It's Melody's birthday, as the servants are preparing for the party, Ariel is searching through the castle for her daughter. As you may have guessed, she's not in the castle at all, but swimming in the ocean. As Sebastian searches for her, he grumbles about having to babysit another teenager. She's not a teenager, seeing as how Louie clearly stated she was twelve years old mere moments ago, but I might as well let that go now, because it's not the only time Melody will be referred to as a teenager.
It was better when Ariel did it...
Sebastian finally catches up with Melody, who's been swimming and collecting sea shells. He chastises her for being in the ocean when she's not supposed to be beyond the sea wall. Melody has apparently heard this speech many a time before, as she takes over the speech herself.
She jumps back into the water, and finds the locket which is covered with mud from the sea. We suddenly cut to what I assume is the antarctic, where Morgana and her minions have been hiding. She trying to get Undertow back to his original size, but the power of the trident is too much for her. Undertow makes a comment about how Ursula could have done it, which leads to the revelation that Morgana's relationship with her wasn't exactly full of sisterly love, and her motivation for domination isn't so much avenging Ursula's death as it is succeeding at what she failed at. However, before their fight escalates, a viewing globe opens and shows that Melody has found the locket. They dance together as the music swells. I guess there was going to be a song here, but instead, we cut back to Melody, Sebastian, and Scuttle.
Melody wonders what her mother has against the ocean, but before we can get into that, Melody finally remembers that she's supposed to be getting ready for the party. She bumps into a group of kids about her age, and after she awkwardly excuses herself, she overhears them talking about her, saying she's weird, and talks to fish.
For Pete's sake, you're the bloody princess! I'm not saying you have to be all “Off with their heads”, but you're royalty, you don't have to take that disrespect, so call them out on it!
Meanwhile, Ariel is outside in the courtyard with Max. She whispers softly to her father, saying she wishes that they were all together. She glances around to make sure no one is watching before stepping in the water.
I gotta say, I do love the look of content on Ariel's face here. You can really tell that she misses the ocean, and she knows that it's a part of herself.
Melody calls to her from her window, her hair up in a towel and wearing a pink dress. You know, I'm starting to notice a lot of similarities between this movie and the original. The opening shot to both movies showed a seagull flying above the clouds, similar dresses with Melody and Ariel, and both girls realized they were late for a very important date due to someone else making an offhand comment. Heck, even Morgana just said that Melody would be the key to Triton's undoing, while also having the same goal as Ursula. Now, I know Disney is known for little shout-outs to past films like this, but most movies, it's subtle. Like for instance, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, you can see Belle walking through town reading a book while Quasimodo sings 'Out There'. Subsequently, you can also see a figurine of the Beast in Aladdin as the Sultan is stacking his toys. But with Return to the Sea, it's like they're smacking us in the face with these references. Subtlety is better, Disney. Let's work on it.
Anyway, Ariel calls up to Melody, saying she'll be right up. For some reason, this sends Melody and Sebastian into a panic, as she scurries around her room to get some shoes on, put a sash around her dress (tangling Sebastian into her bow in the process) and take her hair down and put a tiara on and declare that she's ready just as Ariel walked in. Here's my question: Ariel clearly saw her daughter not quite ready, I mean, she had a towel on for goodness sake. So why did Melody scramble to get ready? Ariel didn't seem upset that Melody wasn't ready when she saw her, so, what's the big deal?
Oh, and see if you can tell what's wrong with these two shots:
Can you say continuity error? I knew you could.
Ariel helps Melody with her hair after telling Eric that they'll be down to join the party in a few minutes. They talk about growing pains for a bit, and it looks like Melody is about to tell Ariel how much she loves the ocean, when Eric interrupts again. Ariel tells Melody that they'll talk after the party, and that she's going to have a wonderful time. Way to jinx it, Ariel.
Of course this means that it's going to be a disaster. Sebastian is still tangled up in Melody's sash (though how no one saw this is beyond me) and a handsome boy asks Melody to dance.
They don't even make it through the first song when Sebastian decides to pinch the boys finger, causing him to throw his hand up and stumble back. Sebastian sails into the air only to crash into Melody's cake that Louie has just wheeled out. The boy crashes into the punch bowl, and is shocked to see that Melody is asking Sebastian if he's alright. The kids from earlier loudly point this out, and everyone starts laughing. Louie sees Sebastian, and the two old enemies have another chase scene. Melody is horribly embarrassed and runs to her room, Sebastian manages to escape as Carlotta splashes Louie with a bucket of water.
Melody is sobbing in her room as she reaches for her bag full of the seashells and the locket. She picks up the locket, that oddly enough, is still covered in mud, so she hasn't seen her name yet. Why didn't she clean it off when she first found it? I mean, she was sitting there studying it pretty intently at that point, so... I don't get it.
Ariel hesitantly enters, trying to console Melody, but before she can do that, Melody finally brushes the mud from the locket and sees her name engraved on it. She opens it, and the music plays along with the animation. Ariel demands to know where she got it, and Melody admits that she went under the wall into the ocean. Ariel is angry that Melody disobeyed her, and says the sea is dangerous. Melody asks “How would you know? You've never even been in it!” as she snatches her locket back and runs out of the room crying. Eric comes in and tells Ariel that they both knew this would happen eventually, and Ariel agrees that it's time to tell Melody the truth.
So Melody runs away from home, only to meet up with Undertow and the rays, who tell her Morgana call tell her all about the locket. Like a freaking moron, Melody agrees to go with them. She meets up with Morgana, who (big shock) does in fact, turn her into a mermaid, using a bottle of Ursula's magic. How do I know it's Ursula's magic?
Because it has her face on it, and because Undertow says it's her magic. Yes folks, much like the movie expected us to accept that Ursula has a crazy sister, we're expected to believe that said crazy sister kept a bottle of her magic.
We see that Ariel and Eric have begun a search on the surface, and Triton has every sea creature searching under the water. Eric suggests that Ariel join the search underwater, but I really don't understand why. They have no possible way of knowing Melody's been turned into a mermaid, so why is anyone searching for Melody underwater? I guess it's because they wanna keep tabs on Morgana, but they still don't even know where she's hiding. But, whatever the reason, Ariel agrees with Eric, and so Triton turns her back into a mermaid. She eventually reunites with Flounder too, who has heard of Melody's disappearance, and promises Ariel that he'll do all he can to help her.
So we join up with Melody again, who's ecstatic about her new fins. In fact, she's so happy, that she starts to sing the second song in the movie. This one is... eh. Jodi Benson sings, and her part is good, but Melody's... well, the lyrics are weird.
Okay, get a grip, get a hang of this flipper,
it's like slipping two feet into one big huge slipper.
This way is left, but which way is right?
Well now I'll be circling in circles all night
Oh so this is forward, no problem.
Okay, just because you're now a mermaid doesn't mean something as simple as directions change. Right is still right, left is left, and forward is freaking forward.
During the song, we join Ariel as she's in her secret grotto. As she sings about wishing that she'd opened up to Melody about the sea, she looks over all of her treasures from the human world that she'd collected from years before-
*record scratches*
Wait, WHAT?!?!
Something's not right here... I seem to remember a scene... a rather intense and almost frightening scene from the first movie...
THIS. IS. BULLSHIT! This is totally unacceptable, Disney! I demand to know who the hell is responsible for this! Who in their right mind saw this and said it was okay? Did you even see the first movie?! How do you forget something like that? Triton destroyed everything! Everything was blown into smithereens! So how is all of her stuff there? How do you allow such a giant inconsistency in one of the most beloved Disney classics of all time?! I want an answer!
Really? You're not gonna give me one? You're just gonna expect me to accept this and go with it?
Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.
Okay, fine. Whatever. The movie will be over faster that way.
Oh, and here's a video of the song:
So after that.... ugh.... Melody returns to Morgana and thanks her. Morgana makes up a story about how her magic trident which would have the power to make Melody a mermaid forever was stolen by “a madman”, and the potion alone isn't enough to keep her a mermaid forever. She tricks Melody into agreeing to go to Atlantica and steal it for her, and eventually, she comes across the comic relief duo of the movie.
These guys are Tip and Dash, the self proclaimed adventurers/explorers. However, as they are the comic relief, they're a pair of bumbling idiots, and much more annoying then they are funny. Okay, I guess they're not terrible characters, I mean, there have been others who I've hated much more than these two.
They try to rescue a baby penguin that's trapped on a small iceberg, but when they see said iceberg is being circled by a hammerhead shark (cause you know, those sharks are native to the freezing waters of the south pole) they both panic and try to run away, and through what can only be described as a cluster of events, the baby is ultimately rescued, though the other penguins are not impressed with the fact that they tried to abandon the baby and nearly got the rest of them killed. As they dejectedly walk off, they meet Melody, who asks them if they know how to get to Atlantica. Happy at the chance to help a damsel in distress, they join Melody with another song.
These songs are definitely dropping down in quality, but thankfully, there's only one to go after this one.
So they've made their way to Atlantica, and sneak into the throne room. Melody sees King Triton, noting that he looks sad. This sad look doesn't last long, as Triton demands to know why they're wasting time preparing food when they should be searching. I wonder if anyone has ever approached him and suggested anger management classes, or the fact that he's a tad bit unreasonable. I mean, forget the fact that his subjects probably need the basics, such as sleep and food, so that they can better search the oceans...
Melody hides in a plant as Tip and Dash cower under a table. This causes the table to shake as it gets Triton's attention. But before he can lift the table to see what's causing a normally inanimate object to move, he's informed that his daughter has returned, and I guess he just forgets about the fact that moments ago, he was pretty certain that something was likely hiding under the table.
Melody seizes her chance and grabs the trident, but loses her locket in the process. Tip and Dash hurry her out of the throne room, as Triton and Ariel are coming back. Flounder tries to cheer Ariel up, but she realizes the trident is missing. Sebastian states that no one can remove it from the pedestal except Triton himself, or his relatives. Ariel sees Melody's locket, and wonders how it got there. Before she can consider that any further, she sees Morgana's manta rays, who have been following Melody, and recognizing them, she in turn, follows them to Morgana's lair. She tells Flounder to go back and tell her father where she is, but he doesn't want to leave her to face Morgana and her minions alone. Scuttle happens by, and Ariel decides that he can go and tell the others where to find them.
Melody, Tip, and Dash make their way to the ice caverns, but the dynamically cowardly duo flee when they see a shark fin, which obviously turns out to be Undertow. He leads her back to Morgana, and Ariel swims up just as Melody's about to hand the trident over to Morgana. Both are shocked to see each other as mermaids, and feeling betrayed, Melody moves away from Ariel and hands the trident to Morgana, who, much to Melody's shock, laughs evilly and wraps Ariel in her tentacles, revealing her mother had only been trying to protect Melody from herself, and that she had stolen the trident from her own grandfather. Morgana traps Melody and Flounder in a cave, using the trident to create a thick wall of ice, just after saying her time as a mermaid was almost over. So wait a minute, she's just gonna leave her there to drown? That's... really dark.
Tip and Dash are outside deciding whether or not they should live a long life as cowards, or a minute as heroes. They notice the zapping from the trident, and know that Melody is in danger, and make their decision.
Morgana uses the trident to create a castle of ice just as Scuttle arrives, having found both Eric and Triton. She zaps an iceberg, causing it to fall on Eric's ship as he, Max, and the crew barely escape.
Yeah, maybe bringing your dog along wasn't such a hot idea, Eric.
Triton: Release my daughter! Surrender my granddaughter! And I shall spare you!
Morgana: Oooooh, whatcha gonna do? Throw the crab at me?
Okay, that one got a chuckle out of me.
Morgana restores Undertow to his original size as Eric demands to know where Melody is. Morgana says seeing her can be arranged as the rays wrap their tails around his legs, dragging him under. Sebastian dives in after him, and as Scuttle attacks Morgana, Ariel is able to escape and swims after Eric as well. She grabs his arm as Sebastian pinches the ray's tails, and brings him back to shore, and Sebastian, deciding he'd rather not get crushed into a rock, ties their tails together, wrapping them up.
Tip and Dash enter the caves only to be greeted by Undertow. Dash tackles Undertow and tells him to find Melody, but can't really hold him back. Meanwhile, Melody has turned back into a human, and is on the verge of drowning, but through another cluster of events, Undertow, trying to get Tip, crashes through the ice wall.
He's down for the count, but Melody's friends get her to the surface, where Morgana is forcing all the sea creatures to bow to her, including Triton. As she's gloating, this gives Melody time to climb the ice tower and take the trident from her.
Fail.
Melody however does manage to stab Morgana's tentacle and throw it back to Triton. Morgana shoves her off the tower as Dash breaks her fall.
Triton seizes his trident, and I must say, props to Kenneth Mars for the delivery of this line:
Triton: Never again will you or yours threaten my family! There will be no escape for you! Ever!
He freezes Morgana in an ice block, and the sea witch is gone forever as the castle crumbles. Melody regains consciousness as she makes up with Ariel and Eric, who tell her they love her for who she is on the inside, whether she's a mermaid or a human.
Triton offers Melody a choice to either come and live with him in Atlantica, or return to her life on land. Melody decides that rather than choose between worlds, the wall around the castle will go, so that they call all be together, and the the movie ends with one final song.
And as the credits roll, we hear the classic song, Part of Your World as sung by.... That doesn't sound like Jodi Benson....
No, it's Chely Wright. For those of you unfamiliar with the name, she's a country artist. Now, I love country music, it's my favorite genre. But this annoys me. How are you going to have a sequel to The Little Mermaid, have Jodi Benson in it, but not have her sing her character's signature song? It's not like she couldn't have done it, she proved that she can still sing, and that she still sounds like Ariel after nearly fifteen years.
This movie was... eh. It's not the worst sequel Disney has ever produced, but it's definitely not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. I think my one of my biggest problems is it's so hard to like Melody. She strikes me as a brat. For instance, let's take a look at the fight between Ariel and Melody that was the fuel for her decision to leave home and seek the help of a sea witch.
I know that it was similar to what happened with Ariel and Triton, but I feel that Ariel was more justified in going to Ursula. I'm not saying it was a good decision, but I'll break down my way of thinking in this, starting with the main problem, keeping the child away from the world they want to explore.
I refuse to accept Ariel's Beginning as canon, so I'm going to ignore that entire plot line. Triton's fear of the surface world and humans always struck me as irrational. Sure, they eat fish, but I still never thought it to be a good reason for such prejudice, and let's face it, when it came to humans, Triton was very prejudice against them. He had no real reason, no basis to keep Ariel away from the surface. Ariel on the other hand, had reason to keep Melody away from the ocean, because Melody was in danger from Morgana. Now, granted most people would say that for all the times Melody had clearly been swimming in the ocean, Morgana never did anything about it, but it was clear that she was watching her, and waiting for the right moment. And lo and behold, the right moment eventually came, and Melody has put her life at risk and abandoned her family for no real good reason.
Ariel at least had more justification for going to Ursula. Her father had literally destroyed everything she'd collected from the surface, to include the statue of Eric. She was devastated and heartbroken, and let's face it, when you're feeling that way, you don't always think clearly. Melody was upset, yes, but there was no loss of tempers here, the fight wasn't over falling in love with someone outside of your own species, and no fear of seeing someone so blind with rage that they're destroying nearly everything in sight. Both girls were selfish in what they did, but with Melody, it's more simply more akin to a spoiled brat that didn't get their way.
Morgana wasn't very threatening either. Granted, she at least had a decent goal, unlike...
Yeah, we're not gonna talk about him...
I just don't understand why Morgana had this obsession with beating Ursula, and showing her mother that she was just as good as her. We know for a fact Ursula is dead, and judging by the way Morgana refers to her mother, she's dead as well. So why was she constantly trying to prove herself when she had no one to prove herself to?
And of course...
God, I still can't believe they did that. I mean, what's next, are they going to blatantly ignore the fact that Ariel and Flounder where childhood friends, and have the characters meet each other in another crappy direct-to-dvd movie that is said to take place one year before the original film?
…..........................
*1/2 out of *****
So when a sequel was announced, most of us were probably too young to fully grasp what a travesty this was, myself included. The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies! It'll be so wonderful to see all those great characters again, especially when I'd heard that nearly all of the original cast was going to be back. I think the only two exceptions to that were Flounder (for obvious reasons) and Prince Eric. Actually, the voice actor for Eric now also some voice work in both Cinderella sequels, but considering the quality (or lack thereof) of both those movies, I wouldn't consider those bragging rights.
But I digress. I was looking forward to this movie. Ah, so young and naïve... A bit of that naivety died when I heard the plot line. Ariel's daughter, who dreams of a life in the sea.... Really, Disney? You're gonna go with the role-reversal route? Well, okay. We'll give it a shot.
Well that wasn't so bad. The beat was kinda fun, and it was definitely nice to hear Jodi Benson and Samuel Wright singing again. The animation isn't even that horrible, compared to other sequels.
So after Triton displays his support for gay pride – I mean, his joy at being a grandfather, he gives Melody a shell shaped locket with her name engraved on it.
The locket plays a melody (no pun intended) and an animation of mer-people swimming around Atlantica. But before he can slip it around her neck, a tentacle shoots out of the water and seizes baby Melody from Ariel's arms.
A half octopus half human emerges, cackling as she rides her two manta rays, and Sebastian exclaims “Ursula's crazy sister!”
.................
Really, movie? You're just gonna throw this character at us and expect us to accept that she's Ursula's crazy sister? We're really not going to get a better back story than that? Uh boy, we're in trouble.
Morgana: “I didn't miss the cake and ice cream, did I?”
*record scratches*
Wait just a cotton-pickin minute! Pat Carroll! Fancy hearing your voice again! I mean, wow. I know I said I was really enjoying the fact that the original actors were back, but... this is just a little too much. I mean, I know some siblings sound very similar, but this Ursula's voice actress!
Well, okay. Pat Carroll was after all, very epic as Ursula. Maybe she'll do the same for Morgana here. Let's see, shall we?
She calls to her shark Undertow, which I'm guessing is supposed to be a tiger shark. I really wish the animators could have done a better job with him. I mean, what do you think is more threatening?
This:
Or this:
Good lord, Flounder is actually in the shark's mouth! I'd never noticed that before!
Morgana holds Melody over Undertow's open jaws, demanding the trident. Of course, King Triton agrees to whatever she wants, as long as she doesn't hurt his granddaughter.
Morgana: “Well well, I get the trident, avenge poor, unfortunate Ursula, and gain all the powers of the ocean! And it's not even ten o'clock. Not a bad morning.”
You know, that line was almost funny. But the reference to Poor Unfortunate Souls kinda falls flat.
Before Triton hands over the trident however, Ariel seizes Eric's sword and cuts at one of the ship's ropes which sends one of the masts down, striking Morgana and sending both her and Melody flying. Undertow and Eric both leap for Melody, but a quick zap from King Triton shrinks Undertow down to the size of a harmless goldfish.
Morgana retreats into a ink cloud, her threatening words echoing after she vanishes. Triton tells his subjects that no one will rest until Morgana is found, and he accentuates this point by flashing lighting into the dark clouds.
Unfortunately, finding Morgana proves to be impossible. Ariel sadly tells her father, Flounder and Sebastian that until Morgana is found, neither Melody nor herself will go into the sea. She further states that Melody will not even know of her life and family in Atlantica. Yeah, because it worked out so well when Triton tried to keep you from the surface using pretty much the same tactics, didn't it, Ariel? Triton agrees and tells Sebastian to watch over her. He casts one final glance at his family before dropping the locket back into the ocean.
Flash-forward to twelve years later where we see that a giant stone wall has been built around the castle, blocking the sea. It's Melody's birthday, as the servants are preparing for the party, Ariel is searching through the castle for her daughter. As you may have guessed, she's not in the castle at all, but swimming in the ocean. As Sebastian searches for her, he grumbles about having to babysit another teenager. She's not a teenager, seeing as how Louie clearly stated she was twelve years old mere moments ago, but I might as well let that go now, because it's not the only time Melody will be referred to as a teenager.
It was better when Ariel did it...
Sebastian finally catches up with Melody, who's been swimming and collecting sea shells. He chastises her for being in the ocean when she's not supposed to be beyond the sea wall. Melody has apparently heard this speech many a time before, as she takes over the speech herself.
She jumps back into the water, and finds the locket which is covered with mud from the sea. We suddenly cut to what I assume is the antarctic, where Morgana and her minions have been hiding. She trying to get Undertow back to his original size, but the power of the trident is too much for her. Undertow makes a comment about how Ursula could have done it, which leads to the revelation that Morgana's relationship with her wasn't exactly full of sisterly love, and her motivation for domination isn't so much avenging Ursula's death as it is succeeding at what she failed at. However, before their fight escalates, a viewing globe opens and shows that Melody has found the locket. They dance together as the music swells. I guess there was going to be a song here, but instead, we cut back to Melody, Sebastian, and Scuttle.
Melody wonders what her mother has against the ocean, but before we can get into that, Melody finally remembers that she's supposed to be getting ready for the party. She bumps into a group of kids about her age, and after she awkwardly excuses herself, she overhears them talking about her, saying she's weird, and talks to fish.
For Pete's sake, you're the bloody princess! I'm not saying you have to be all “Off with their heads”, but you're royalty, you don't have to take that disrespect, so call them out on it!
Meanwhile, Ariel is outside in the courtyard with Max. She whispers softly to her father, saying she wishes that they were all together. She glances around to make sure no one is watching before stepping in the water.
I gotta say, I do love the look of content on Ariel's face here. You can really tell that she misses the ocean, and she knows that it's a part of herself.
Melody calls to her from her window, her hair up in a towel and wearing a pink dress. You know, I'm starting to notice a lot of similarities between this movie and the original. The opening shot to both movies showed a seagull flying above the clouds, similar dresses with Melody and Ariel, and both girls realized they were late for a very important date due to someone else making an offhand comment. Heck, even Morgana just said that Melody would be the key to Triton's undoing, while also having the same goal as Ursula. Now, I know Disney is known for little shout-outs to past films like this, but most movies, it's subtle. Like for instance, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, you can see Belle walking through town reading a book while Quasimodo sings 'Out There'. Subsequently, you can also see a figurine of the Beast in Aladdin as the Sultan is stacking his toys. But with Return to the Sea, it's like they're smacking us in the face with these references. Subtlety is better, Disney. Let's work on it.
Anyway, Ariel calls up to Melody, saying she'll be right up. For some reason, this sends Melody and Sebastian into a panic, as she scurries around her room to get some shoes on, put a sash around her dress (tangling Sebastian into her bow in the process) and take her hair down and put a tiara on and declare that she's ready just as Ariel walked in. Here's my question: Ariel clearly saw her daughter not quite ready, I mean, she had a towel on for goodness sake. So why did Melody scramble to get ready? Ariel didn't seem upset that Melody wasn't ready when she saw her, so, what's the big deal?
Oh, and see if you can tell what's wrong with these two shots:
Can you say continuity error? I knew you could.
Ariel helps Melody with her hair after telling Eric that they'll be down to join the party in a few minutes. They talk about growing pains for a bit, and it looks like Melody is about to tell Ariel how much she loves the ocean, when Eric interrupts again. Ariel tells Melody that they'll talk after the party, and that she's going to have a wonderful time. Way to jinx it, Ariel.
Of course this means that it's going to be a disaster. Sebastian is still tangled up in Melody's sash (though how no one saw this is beyond me) and a handsome boy asks Melody to dance.
They don't even make it through the first song when Sebastian decides to pinch the boys finger, causing him to throw his hand up and stumble back. Sebastian sails into the air only to crash into Melody's cake that Louie has just wheeled out. The boy crashes into the punch bowl, and is shocked to see that Melody is asking Sebastian if he's alright. The kids from earlier loudly point this out, and everyone starts laughing. Louie sees Sebastian, and the two old enemies have another chase scene. Melody is horribly embarrassed and runs to her room, Sebastian manages to escape as Carlotta splashes Louie with a bucket of water.
Melody is sobbing in her room as she reaches for her bag full of the seashells and the locket. She picks up the locket, that oddly enough, is still covered in mud, so she hasn't seen her name yet. Why didn't she clean it off when she first found it? I mean, she was sitting there studying it pretty intently at that point, so... I don't get it.
Ariel hesitantly enters, trying to console Melody, but before she can do that, Melody finally brushes the mud from the locket and sees her name engraved on it. She opens it, and the music plays along with the animation. Ariel demands to know where she got it, and Melody admits that she went under the wall into the ocean. Ariel is angry that Melody disobeyed her, and says the sea is dangerous. Melody asks “How would you know? You've never even been in it!” as she snatches her locket back and runs out of the room crying. Eric comes in and tells Ariel that they both knew this would happen eventually, and Ariel agrees that it's time to tell Melody the truth.
So Melody runs away from home, only to meet up with Undertow and the rays, who tell her Morgana call tell her all about the locket. Like a freaking moron, Melody agrees to go with them. She meets up with Morgana, who (big shock) does in fact, turn her into a mermaid, using a bottle of Ursula's magic. How do I know it's Ursula's magic?
Because it has her face on it, and because Undertow says it's her magic. Yes folks, much like the movie expected us to accept that Ursula has a crazy sister, we're expected to believe that said crazy sister kept a bottle of her magic.
We see that Ariel and Eric have begun a search on the surface, and Triton has every sea creature searching under the water. Eric suggests that Ariel join the search underwater, but I really don't understand why. They have no possible way of knowing Melody's been turned into a mermaid, so why is anyone searching for Melody underwater? I guess it's because they wanna keep tabs on Morgana, but they still don't even know where she's hiding. But, whatever the reason, Ariel agrees with Eric, and so Triton turns her back into a mermaid. She eventually reunites with Flounder too, who has heard of Melody's disappearance, and promises Ariel that he'll do all he can to help her.
So we join up with Melody again, who's ecstatic about her new fins. In fact, she's so happy, that she starts to sing the second song in the movie. This one is... eh. Jodi Benson sings, and her part is good, but Melody's... well, the lyrics are weird.
Okay, get a grip, get a hang of this flipper,
it's like slipping two feet into one big huge slipper.
This way is left, but which way is right?
Well now I'll be circling in circles all night
Oh so this is forward, no problem.
Okay, just because you're now a mermaid doesn't mean something as simple as directions change. Right is still right, left is left, and forward is freaking forward.
During the song, we join Ariel as she's in her secret grotto. As she sings about wishing that she'd opened up to Melody about the sea, she looks over all of her treasures from the human world that she'd collected from years before-
*record scratches*
Wait, WHAT?!?!
Something's not right here... I seem to remember a scene... a rather intense and almost frightening scene from the first movie...
THIS. IS. BULLSHIT! This is totally unacceptable, Disney! I demand to know who the hell is responsible for this! Who in their right mind saw this and said it was okay? Did you even see the first movie?! How do you forget something like that? Triton destroyed everything! Everything was blown into smithereens! So how is all of her stuff there? How do you allow such a giant inconsistency in one of the most beloved Disney classics of all time?! I want an answer!
Really? You're not gonna give me one? You're just gonna expect me to accept this and go with it?
Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.
Okay, fine. Whatever. The movie will be over faster that way.
Oh, and here's a video of the song:
So after that.... ugh.... Melody returns to Morgana and thanks her. Morgana makes up a story about how her magic trident which would have the power to make Melody a mermaid forever was stolen by “a madman”, and the potion alone isn't enough to keep her a mermaid forever. She tricks Melody into agreeing to go to Atlantica and steal it for her, and eventually, she comes across the comic relief duo of the movie.
These guys are Tip and Dash, the self proclaimed adventurers/explorers. However, as they are the comic relief, they're a pair of bumbling idiots, and much more annoying then they are funny. Okay, I guess they're not terrible characters, I mean, there have been others who I've hated much more than these two.
They try to rescue a baby penguin that's trapped on a small iceberg, but when they see said iceberg is being circled by a hammerhead shark (cause you know, those sharks are native to the freezing waters of the south pole) they both panic and try to run away, and through what can only be described as a cluster of events, the baby is ultimately rescued, though the other penguins are not impressed with the fact that they tried to abandon the baby and nearly got the rest of them killed. As they dejectedly walk off, they meet Melody, who asks them if they know how to get to Atlantica. Happy at the chance to help a damsel in distress, they join Melody with another song.
These songs are definitely dropping down in quality, but thankfully, there's only one to go after this one.
So they've made their way to Atlantica, and sneak into the throne room. Melody sees King Triton, noting that he looks sad. This sad look doesn't last long, as Triton demands to know why they're wasting time preparing food when they should be searching. I wonder if anyone has ever approached him and suggested anger management classes, or the fact that he's a tad bit unreasonable. I mean, forget the fact that his subjects probably need the basics, such as sleep and food, so that they can better search the oceans...
Melody hides in a plant as Tip and Dash cower under a table. This causes the table to shake as it gets Triton's attention. But before he can lift the table to see what's causing a normally inanimate object to move, he's informed that his daughter has returned, and I guess he just forgets about the fact that moments ago, he was pretty certain that something was likely hiding under the table.
Melody seizes her chance and grabs the trident, but loses her locket in the process. Tip and Dash hurry her out of the throne room, as Triton and Ariel are coming back. Flounder tries to cheer Ariel up, but she realizes the trident is missing. Sebastian states that no one can remove it from the pedestal except Triton himself, or his relatives. Ariel sees Melody's locket, and wonders how it got there. Before she can consider that any further, she sees Morgana's manta rays, who have been following Melody, and recognizing them, she in turn, follows them to Morgana's lair. She tells Flounder to go back and tell her father where she is, but he doesn't want to leave her to face Morgana and her minions alone. Scuttle happens by, and Ariel decides that he can go and tell the others where to find them.
Melody, Tip, and Dash make their way to the ice caverns, but the dynamically cowardly duo flee when they see a shark fin, which obviously turns out to be Undertow. He leads her back to Morgana, and Ariel swims up just as Melody's about to hand the trident over to Morgana. Both are shocked to see each other as mermaids, and feeling betrayed, Melody moves away from Ariel and hands the trident to Morgana, who, much to Melody's shock, laughs evilly and wraps Ariel in her tentacles, revealing her mother had only been trying to protect Melody from herself, and that she had stolen the trident from her own grandfather. Morgana traps Melody and Flounder in a cave, using the trident to create a thick wall of ice, just after saying her time as a mermaid was almost over. So wait a minute, she's just gonna leave her there to drown? That's... really dark.
Tip and Dash are outside deciding whether or not they should live a long life as cowards, or a minute as heroes. They notice the zapping from the trident, and know that Melody is in danger, and make their decision.
Morgana uses the trident to create a castle of ice just as Scuttle arrives, having found both Eric and Triton. She zaps an iceberg, causing it to fall on Eric's ship as he, Max, and the crew barely escape.
Yeah, maybe bringing your dog along wasn't such a hot idea, Eric.
Triton: Release my daughter! Surrender my granddaughter! And I shall spare you!
Morgana: Oooooh, whatcha gonna do? Throw the crab at me?
Okay, that one got a chuckle out of me.
Morgana restores Undertow to his original size as Eric demands to know where Melody is. Morgana says seeing her can be arranged as the rays wrap their tails around his legs, dragging him under. Sebastian dives in after him, and as Scuttle attacks Morgana, Ariel is able to escape and swims after Eric as well. She grabs his arm as Sebastian pinches the ray's tails, and brings him back to shore, and Sebastian, deciding he'd rather not get crushed into a rock, ties their tails together, wrapping them up.
Tip and Dash enter the caves only to be greeted by Undertow. Dash tackles Undertow and tells him to find Melody, but can't really hold him back. Meanwhile, Melody has turned back into a human, and is on the verge of drowning, but through another cluster of events, Undertow, trying to get Tip, crashes through the ice wall.
He's down for the count, but Melody's friends get her to the surface, where Morgana is forcing all the sea creatures to bow to her, including Triton. As she's gloating, this gives Melody time to climb the ice tower and take the trident from her.
Fail.
Melody however does manage to stab Morgana's tentacle and throw it back to Triton. Morgana shoves her off the tower as Dash breaks her fall.
Triton seizes his trident, and I must say, props to Kenneth Mars for the delivery of this line:
Triton: Never again will you or yours threaten my family! There will be no escape for you! Ever!
He freezes Morgana in an ice block, and the sea witch is gone forever as the castle crumbles. Melody regains consciousness as she makes up with Ariel and Eric, who tell her they love her for who she is on the inside, whether she's a mermaid or a human.
Triton offers Melody a choice to either come and live with him in Atlantica, or return to her life on land. Melody decides that rather than choose between worlds, the wall around the castle will go, so that they call all be together, and the the movie ends with one final song.
And as the credits roll, we hear the classic song, Part of Your World as sung by.... That doesn't sound like Jodi Benson....
No, it's Chely Wright. For those of you unfamiliar with the name, she's a country artist. Now, I love country music, it's my favorite genre. But this annoys me. How are you going to have a sequel to The Little Mermaid, have Jodi Benson in it, but not have her sing her character's signature song? It's not like she couldn't have done it, she proved that she can still sing, and that she still sounds like Ariel after nearly fifteen years.
This movie was... eh. It's not the worst sequel Disney has ever produced, but it's definitely not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. I think my one of my biggest problems is it's so hard to like Melody. She strikes me as a brat. For instance, let's take a look at the fight between Ariel and Melody that was the fuel for her decision to leave home and seek the help of a sea witch.
I know that it was similar to what happened with Ariel and Triton, but I feel that Ariel was more justified in going to Ursula. I'm not saying it was a good decision, but I'll break down my way of thinking in this, starting with the main problem, keeping the child away from the world they want to explore.
I refuse to accept Ariel's Beginning as canon, so I'm going to ignore that entire plot line. Triton's fear of the surface world and humans always struck me as irrational. Sure, they eat fish, but I still never thought it to be a good reason for such prejudice, and let's face it, when it came to humans, Triton was very prejudice against them. He had no real reason, no basis to keep Ariel away from the surface. Ariel on the other hand, had reason to keep Melody away from the ocean, because Melody was in danger from Morgana. Now, granted most people would say that for all the times Melody had clearly been swimming in the ocean, Morgana never did anything about it, but it was clear that she was watching her, and waiting for the right moment. And lo and behold, the right moment eventually came, and Melody has put her life at risk and abandoned her family for no real good reason.
Ariel at least had more justification for going to Ursula. Her father had literally destroyed everything she'd collected from the surface, to include the statue of Eric. She was devastated and heartbroken, and let's face it, when you're feeling that way, you don't always think clearly. Melody was upset, yes, but there was no loss of tempers here, the fight wasn't over falling in love with someone outside of your own species, and no fear of seeing someone so blind with rage that they're destroying nearly everything in sight. Both girls were selfish in what they did, but with Melody, it's more simply more akin to a spoiled brat that didn't get their way.
Morgana wasn't very threatening either. Granted, she at least had a decent goal, unlike...
Yeah, we're not gonna talk about him...
I just don't understand why Morgana had this obsession with beating Ursula, and showing her mother that she was just as good as her. We know for a fact Ursula is dead, and judging by the way Morgana refers to her mother, she's dead as well. So why was she constantly trying to prove herself when she had no one to prove herself to?
And of course...
God, I still can't believe they did that. I mean, what's next, are they going to blatantly ignore the fact that Ariel and Flounder where childhood friends, and have the characters meet each other in another crappy direct-to-dvd movie that is said to take place one year before the original film?
…..........................
*1/2 out of *****
