R. Forbes 2009-01-03

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

From an adult perspective, this is just the original in reverse. Ariel wants to live on land, her daughter wants to live in the sea. Ursala is dead, so her sister Morgana plays the sea witch. It's cute, but isn't a truly original idea. I would only give it 3 stars, except.......
From my daughters perspective, it's wonderful. She is 5 and is a huge mermaid fan. She loves this movie (I have sat through it 10 time since Christmas) The movie was made with her age group in mind, so I had to go 4 stars because it hits the mark for the Ariel fans.

Geek Goddess 2008-12-19

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

I usually don't expect much from a direct-to-DVD sequel. Usually, it's just a way to give my three-year-old daughter her favorite characters without having to watch the original movie for the 3,000th time. But, The Little Mermaid II pleasantly surprised me.

The plot is basically a reverse of the original movie. After being threatened by the evil sea witch Morgana, Ariel decides it's not safe to tell her infant daughter, Melody, about her mermaid heritage. Flash forward 12 years and Ariel and Eric have built a wall around their castle to keep the pre-teen Melody from swimming out to the ocean. Of course, Melody disobeys, collects small treasures from beneath the waves and dreams of having fins. When Ariel gets wind of this, she flies off the handle and Melody runs to Morgana for help. Morgana agrees to turn her into a mermaid if she'll steal King Triton's magic trident.

Naturally, Melody gathers some cute animal sidekicks and stages a few impromptu musical numbers. While I won't be rushing out to buy the soundtrack, the music was pleasant - not memorable, but definitely hummable.

I loved that there was no romantic element to this movie. A lot of the romance in Disney films goes over my daughter's head. Toddlers are too young to be waiting for prince charming. Melody is solo throughout this movie, and there are some elements of girl power at work as Melody and Ariel come together to save the day.

Pat Carroll is back as Morgana, Ursula's tentacled sister. She was one of the best things about the original movie and she adds a wonderful quality to the sequel as well. Morgana is the best kind of Disney villian in that she sees herself as the wronged party and I found myself chuckling at some of her better lines.

The animation isn't as refined as in a big-screen feature (we're talking Saturday-morning cartoon quality art), but the story is sweet and very appropriate for small children.

Gregory Ehrbar 2008-12-17

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Animated primarily in Australia and Canada, this is the second in a trilogy of Mermaid movies; the first of course, being the theatrical megahit and the other two made for home video.

Return to the Sea takes no chances with its presold audience by having the daughter of Ariel experience a similar adventure as her mother with perhaps even more intense defiance (Ariel's issue with her father in the first film is freedom, Melody's problem in this film is with Ariel's reluctance to open communication). Without dropping a spoiler, there is even a plot development quite similar to the current Broadway version that does not happen in the original film.

The wonderful Pat Carroll returns -- instead of playing Ursula, she offers a different characterization as evil sister Morgana -- along with Jodi Benson, Buddy Hackett, Kenneth Mars, Rene Auberjonois and Sam Wright. Replacing Ben Wright (who passed away in 1989), Jason Marin and Christopher Daniel Barnes are Kay Kuter, Cam Clarke and Rob Paulsen as Prince Eric, and Flounder, respectively.

Most of all, it should be pointed out to Disney records fans that several very good friends of "Mouse Tracks" were involved with this film: Executive Music Producer Bambi Moé, singer Desireé Goyette and songwriters Michael and Patty Silversher (who wrote all the original songs from the film, "Down to the Sea," For a Moment" and "Here on the Land and Sea." You can enjoy their work in the movie and also if you can get the out-of-print soundtrack CD.

The Special Edition offers the same material as the 2000 release, adding a new game called "The Little Mermaid II Underwater Mar-Venture Challenge." My favorite is a very nice reading of the DVD storybook by Jodi Benson.

The Little Mermaid has proven a very prolific story source. In addition to the movies and various publications, there was an animated TV series. It would be nice to see all those 31 episodes packaged for DVD too.

Bun 2008-12-12

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

My daughter got this movie on VHS a couple of years ago, when she was four years old. She was totally into Ariel & the original movie at the time. She actually liked this movie better than the original, because the story is about a kid who wants to swim in the ocean, not a lovesick teenager. She could relate to it more. While it is clearly not as good as the original, if you have a Little Mermaid fan, they will enjoy this movie.

Dave 2008-12-08

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

This direct-to-video movie was released in 2000, 11 years after the original "Little Mermaid" was embraced by millions of Disney fans in 1989. This sequel is being released in a 1-disc special edition. As others have noted, it is a very similar rehashing of the original tale.

Ariel & Eric are married and have a beautiful dark-haired daughter, Melody. When Ursula's evil sister, Morgana, appears on the scene, King Triton & Ariel must protect Melody by building a large wall around the castle. Forbidding Melody to enter the ocean (thus keeping her away from both Morgana and her grandfather King Triton), Ariel keeps her heritage a secret. Many years later, as a teen, Melody experiences the angst of not fitting in, and wishing she were a mermaid. Morgana seizes the opportunity to exploit Melody's sadness and convinces her to steal her Grandfather's triton stick, which would give Morgana the power over the entire sea. Can you predict the rest? Sure, it's not too difficult. Again, this is an enjoyable film. The animation is not as good as the theatrical original, The Little Mermaid (Two-Disc Platinum Edition), nor as good as the recently released The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Beginning. Still, it is far above what you would typically expect of a direct-to-dvd release. Jodi Benson & Pat Carroll are back on hand to lend their vocal talents to Ariel & Morgana respectively; who else but Carroll could vocalize Ursula's sister? Sebastian and Flounder are also back for comic relief, and there are some new characters as well. Safe for children to watch, although some of the scenes with Morgana may be slightly frightening for the very young ones. Needless to say, these don't last too long!

Technical Specs:
Dolby Digital 5.1 surround for audio (movie) & 1:66:1 video enhanced for 16x9 TVs.

Extras:

* Deleted Song: "Gonna Get My Wish." Fun musical showcase for Morgana, explaining her quest not to be the forgotten child overshadowed by her late sister Ursula. Really not a bad number; most likely trimmed for time.

* 1938 Silly Symphony Short "Merbabies" (8:34). Fun musical romp under the sea that was obviously a precursor to "Fantasia." Ironically, this Disney short was actually farmed out to another studio. Not quite up to the quality of other Silly Symphonies.

* "Little Mermaid II" DVD Storybook: have the story read to you, or read it yourself. Narrated by Jodi Benson (voice of Ariel).

Games & Activities:

* "The Little Mermaid II" Underwater Mer-Venture Challenge Game

* "Little Mermaid II" Trivia Game

* "What Am I?" Sea Creature Game, where the answers provide brief film clips of actual sea creatures. Fun learning adventure for little ones.

None of these 3 games are really out of the ordinary, but might prove slightly amusing for the little ones.

* Sneak Peaks include upcoming 2009's "The Princess and the Frog." The trailer here does seem very fun and sassy; I have been anxiously awaiting this one ever since it was first announced. The setting is New Orleans during the 1920's Jazz Age, and will mark the first traditionally animated feature since 2004's "Home on the Range."