I'm not a huge fan of the disney movie sequels (with the exception of The Lion King 2: Simba's Oride), however I thought this was quite an enjoyable one and ten times better and more entertainin than the 2nd one, maybe it cos I found Melody and Morgana really irritating and just rip offs of Ariel and Ursula, but
I really preffered this one. Of course it comes no where near the brilliance of the original but definitly better than most disney sequels (in my opinion)
yes it's better than the 2nd one and a very nice sequel :-) I really like it!
shareI liked the 2nd one better! I don't care if the plot of it was unoriginal or not. It was nice seeing the story of The Little Mermaid be told in reverse by having a girl dream about living life under the sea rather than the other way around. If you really think about it it kinda makes sense that the writers of that movie would go with a plot like that rather than creating a whole new original plot all together. I mean what other plot direction WOULD you have a daughter of Ariel's go in? Lazy rehash or not it made perfect sense to me ?
This movie however was pure laziness at it's finest (right down to the songs of the movie even ). Here the Disney writers had a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the fans who disliked The Little Mermaid 2, and had the opportunity to create a whole, new, original plot for a 3rd movie. They decided to go against that idea and go in the direction of a prequel movie instead. There's already a TV series that serves that purpose, but I thought "Whatever! If the writers want to make a prequel movie that takes place before the start of the cartoon series & the original movie then go ahead!" Unfortunately they also somehow managed to waste that opportunity too as well -_-. Although the plot to this prequel movie is original it didn't feel like a prequel movie to me; it felt more like one of those non-canon Disney Princess movies.
A REAL prequel movie delves into the origins of it's characters who had set personalities, hopes, dreams, and goals during the original movie. I wanted to see Ariel grow up, to see how she became fascinated with humans, to see a reanimated scene of how she became friends with Flounder taken RIGHT from the original scene of how they became friends in one of the episodes of the TV series. I wanted to see the REAL dynamics between Ariel & her sisters in this movie rather than the ones that were portrayed here. Did she always feel like the odd one out amongst them? Did she always feel in her heart like she belonged to another world? Was Ariel even attracted to mermen like her sisters were rather than human men? I mean come on! How can you have a prequel movie entitled "Ariel's Beginnings" and NOT show these things? The writers also should've shown Ursula, King Triton, Morgana, Flounder, and Sebastian's origins as well and interwove them into the main plot of Ariel's. Small cameos of friends and villains who Ariel would later on meet in the cartoon series would've also been a plus :)! The only thing the writers did right in this prequel movie was to finally solve the mystery of what happened to Ariel's mother.
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I agree with you entirely, and I'm only half-way through the movie! But IMO, they didn't even get the mother's death right. Seriously, if she had just forgotten about her replaceable present for 5 minutes, and just frickin' MOVED AWAY FROM THE BOAT instead of *GASPing* for two whole minutes, then she would've lived. The humans didn't even kill her (if they had, then that would've explained Triton's dislike for people), she got crushed? By rocks? By pirates nonetheless? Come on, Disney, you can do better than that.
And this plot, that Triton killed the music? . . .
I don't even know where to begin with that one... I agree with everything you said. They had so much they could've worked with for a good, redeeming plot. At least the plot for TLM2 worked, and it's enjoyable, especially if, like me, you don't own the first movie--it's the 1st in reverse. But, so far, this has nothing to do with Ariel and who she was in the that film.
And the characters so far are very cliche, especially her sisters. But I don't feel like going into that now.
Overall, I like Return to the Sea better than Ariel's so-called "beginnings."
One more thing: the music is horribly lacking in substance and way below par for Disney's other films. I think the writers needed more time to work on everything.
Why did I write? Because I found life unsatisfactory.
*~Tennessee Williams~*
I agree.
sharenope, the 2nd is better because it's a real little mermaid movie, unlike this one which is a parody made for the sole purpose of milking money.
it's about as bad as cinderella 2.(and has about only half the heart of bambi 2)
i am a parasitic worm-johnwilson admitting the truth
I happen to like "Cinderella 2." I thought it was very creative and the idea of exploring multiple stories rather than having a single full film was an idea that worked for me. And Carmen Carter's musical performance in that film is underappreciated.
Ariel's Beginning didn't work for me. Sure, there were certain moments that I thought were very good, but on the whole I felt that there was very little heart or good story. In particular I was unimpressed by the villain and especially her sidekick, who just sort of seemed to bumble along and whose name I can't even remember.
You know what, I agree with the OP. of course you are all entitled to your opinions, but this was a very charming prequel, beautfully animated, sad and sweet in places too. Yes the plot is so-so, and Flounder's voice wasn't as innocent sounding as I would have liked. Little Mermaid 2 i found rather average, the songs were lovely and Jodi Benson does a great job as Ariel, but the villainess Morgana is one of the blandest villainesses I have ever seen in an animation. Ariel's Beginning isn't as good as the stunning original or the series which is one of my childhood favourites, but I did prefer it over the second.
"Life after death is as improbable as sex after marriage"- Madeleine Kahn(CLUE, 1985)
Well, say what you want. I still feel that Return to the Sea was better, if only for the fact that unlike Ariel's Beginning, Return to the Sea does not create a huge amount of Plotholes or make some characters significantly out of character (well, you know what I mean by that [eg, Flounder]).
There were so many loose wires connecting TLM with AB, you could fill the plotholes in a warehouse and still have more leftover. I'm not kidding.
First, Ariel doesn't even seem to be interested in Humanity at all in AB.
Secondly, Ariel never seemed to visit the surface even once in this movie (This is a notable plothole due to this line from Triton:
Triton: Seagull...?! (Flounder panics and hides behind Ariel's hair) ARIEL!! YOU'VE BEEN VISITING THE SURFACE AGAIN, HAVEN'T YOU?!
The "again" part implies that she had visited the surface at least once before the beginning of the Movie.)
Thirdly, Ursula did not appear at all in this movie (this would have been the perfect opportunity to tie up loose ends about Ursula's origins and the reason why she was Exiled. But no..., they had to make some mermaid with no desire for power other than Sebastian's job who is completely unrelated to Ursula and was sentenced for life to Mer-Jail! Wasted Potential, indeed)
Fourthly, Flounder wasn't even close to his personality for TLM (Not only was it a jarring personality, it created a rather large plothole as to how he even became like the wreck he was in TLM)
Fifthly, Ariel's sisters were completely out of order from the original movie. In fact, the only thing they got right with the sisters was the fact that Ariel was the youngest.
Sixthly, Triton didn't seem to even ban going to the surface in this movie (otherwise, Marina Del Ray would NOT have been able to visit the surface and basically make "beach angels")
Seventhly, Scuttle and Ariel never met, which makes continuity errors with their relationship in TLM.
Eighthly, Triton's description of Humanity in the movie implied that Athena was harpooned and eaten by humans.
Lastly, and this is probably the biggest plothole there is in this movie, seeing how Ariel was directly responsible for saving Music in Atlantica, she would have been made Band Leader and founder of the "Daughters of Triton" band. However, in TLM, the Musical number "Daughers of Triton" implied that the band that Ariel had missed was going to be her debut in the band. This alone would make the movie completely incompatable with the Movie it was supposed to be a prequel to.
Don't believe me about the implication that Ariel was going to have her stage debut, read the lyrics:
Ah, we are the daughters of Triton
Great father who loves us and named us well
Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Atina, Adella, Allana
And then there is the youngest in her musical debut
Our seventh little sister, we're presenting her to you
To sing a song Sebastian wrote
Her voice is like a bell She's our sister, Ari--
See the plothole? Why would they actually wait a year for Ariel to join the band if it was because of HER that Music even exists in Atlantica?
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I know she did, but if we have to include this into the lexicon, we have to remove the TV series, as the prequel has different accounts as to what happened. For example, the TV series implied that Ariel and Flounder were friends since she was about eight, and yet the prequel movie has them meeting almost a year before the first TLM movie.
shareAs of right now, the tv series isn't canon.
shareActually, considering how TLM3 has contradicted the original movie by a lot (especially the plot and how it "ties in" to TLM), I'd argue that TLM3 is non-canon.
I mean, think about it, if Ariel had brought Music back into Atlantica, then she would be the band leader/founder of the Daughters of Triton, and not wait a year to join the band (since the song "Daughters of Triton" heavily implies that the concert that Ariel missed was supposed to be her stage debut.). We also have Flounder being quite inconsistent, and no explaination as to how he became a wreck. Plus the fact that there is absolutely no explaination as to how Ariel became interested in humanity (heck, she didn't seem to even HAVE one or even care to gain one, and her interest in Humanity is a pretty big part of her character.). We also have the fact that Ariel does not meet Scuttle in this (even though the first film implies that they knew each other for quite some time), and then we have Ariel not surfacing at all (the original film implies that Ariel surfaced at least once prior to the beginning of the film.).
Not any mentioning of Ursula. King Triton never banishes Ursula because she's never even seen. I'm sure Pat Carroll would've done it again. Hell, she played her sister in Return to the Sea.
shareFirst, Ariel doesn't even seem to be interested in Humanity at all in AB.
Secondly, Ariel never seemed to visit the surface even once in this movie (This is a notable plothole due to this line from Triton:
Triton: Seagull...?! (Flounder panics and hides behind Ariel's hair) ARIEL!! YOU'VE BEEN VISITING THE SURFACE AGAIN, HAVEN'T YOU?!
The "again" part implies that she had visited the surface at least once before the beginning of the Movie.)
Thirdly, Ursula did not appear at all in this movie (this would have been the perfect opportunity to tie up loose ends about Ursula's origins and the reason why she was Exiled. But no..., they had to make some mermaid with no desire for power other than Sebastian's job who is completely unrelated to Ursula and was sentenced for life to Mer-Jail! Wasted Potential, indeed)
Fourthly, Flounder wasn't even close to his personality for TLM (Not only was it a jarring personality, it created a rather large plothole as to how he even became like the wreck he was in TLM)
Fifthly, Ariel's sisters were completely out of order from the original movie. In fact, the only thing they got right with the sisters was the fact that Ariel was the youngest.
Sixthly, Triton didn't seem to even ban going to the surface in this movie (otherwise, Marina Del Ray would NOT have been able to visit the surface and basically make "beach angels")
Seventhly, Scuttle and Ariel never met, which makes continuity errors with their relationship in TLM.
Eighthly, Triton's description of Humanity in the movie implied that Athena was harpooned and eaten by humans.
See the plothole? Why would they actually wait a year for Ariel to join the band if it was because of HER that Music even exists in Atlantica?
That's because this movie doesn't focus on Ariel's desire and passion for humanity. You're thinking of TLM. This is about Ariel's passion for music and how she wants to return music to her kingdom. Keep your movies straight.
That isn't a plot hole. This movie doesn't end right when TLM begins. It takes place a year before those events. Ariel lived for several years without singing. In this, she learned to defy her father when she is passionate about something. That sets the stage for her defying her father because she's passionate about the human world and when she falls in love with Eric.
Again, this takes place a year before TLM. Perhaps Ursula wasn't banished until after the movie, maybe she was banished years and years before. Ursula wouldn't have served a purpose in this film other than to be a cameo. The film really didn't need a villain. Triton was enough of a villain on his own (tyrannical king, borderline abusive father, suffering from PTSD, etc.) Marina was a pretty lame villain but she did get some laughs.
Of your list, this is the only one that holds merit. Flounder really is a completely different fish in AB than he is in TLM.
While I personally always believed the introduction of the sisters in Daughters of Triton put them in birth order, that isn't stated in TLM.
My city bans speeding. However, I drove ten miles over the speed limit just last night. I didn't get a ticket or go to jail. How is that accomplished?! Simple: I didn't get caught. Neither did Marina.
How is that a continuity error? Scuttle never said that he'd known Ariel her entire life or even for several years. This may seem strange to you but I have a friend this year that I didn't know last year. I didn't know someone a year ago but now I know him. How was this accomplished? I met him. Strange but true. Actually, not strange at all.
Which movie? This movie shows how Athena died. TLM and RttS don't even mention Athena.
No, silly, I don't see the plothole. It isn't a plothole. A plothole is an inconsistency that can't be explained away. For example, in King Kong, the native people protect themselves from Kong by putting up a giant wall. The wall keeps Kong at bay. Kong later effortlessly climbs to the top of the Empire State Building, one handed mind you. That's a plot hole.
You're claiming its a plothole because you assume that Ariel is the founding member of the Daughters of Triton Band. None of the movies make this suggestion.
This is a presentation to the court. It isn't a random performance in a club. It's the Royal Court Composer conducting the princesses through a song after which Ariel will be presented to the court for the first time. It could be the band was put together specifically for Ariel's debut to the royal court. She is only 16, the age when young ladies are often presented to society for the first time.
Oh, that's even better than the way I said it. This IS a parody. :-)
shareDefinitely better than the 2nd.
shareReturn to the SEA. Anyway, from my point of view. It is not. The direction is god awful, the story had potential but the script is boring and there are so many plot holes. The only good things are the animation and the music theme.
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