When I was growing up, my mom said that my favorite movie was The Little Mermaid. She told me that I forced her to sing all the songs with her and that I requested to watch it every waking minute. Imagine her excitement when we received The Little Mermaid from Disney Movie Club. She said she only hoped Cecelia bugged me to watch it as much as I bugged her. Well, apparently the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
When I was given the opportunity to review the two movie collection of The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning I jumped at the opportunity (The Little Mermaid disc needed a break). No sooner than I opened that package did Cecelia proclaim “Oh gosh! Let’s watch it NOW!” So, my little and I, along with dad- who happened to be a great sport- sat down to get our Ariel fix for the night.
Let’s start with the “prequel” to The Little Mermaid, first. The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning is all about Ariel before her fairytale romance with Prince Eric. In the prequel to The Little Mermaid we find out exactly why King Triton dislikes humans so much, as well as find out a little more about Ariel’s mom, Queen Athena. Ariel, along with Sebastian and Flounder, make it their goal to bring music back to Atlantic after it was banned by her father Triton, and as we all know from watching The Little Mermaid, music in Atlantica was no longer banned thanks to Ariel and her efforts.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is all about Melody, Ariel’s daughter and her fascination with the sea, which is the direct opposite of Ariel’s fascination with the human world. Melody has no idea that her mom used to be a mermaid and was told she can never go to the sea, however, she sneaks out from time to time (like mother like daughter). Melody’s goal is to break the barrier between the human and mermaid world, and perhaps she can do just that with the help of her family and old friends of her mom, but not without some problems from Ursula’s sister, Morgana.
Along with the two movies in this collection, each movie even has its own set of bonus features:
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning:
1. Splashdance: A Dancer’s Adventure Under the Sea
2. 2 Deleted Scenes
3.4 Sing-Along Songs
4. Mermaid Discovery Vanity Game
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea:
1. Storybook (Which is ready by Jodi Benson who is the voice of Ariel)
2. Deleted song “Gonna Get My Wish”
3. Classic Animated Short “Merbabies”
I have to say, these are great movies, with some awesome bonus features. Cecelia loved both movies and requests to watch it in the car, at home, and even gets upset when she can’t find it on Netflix (It’s not available on Netflix). With Christmas right around the corner, I highly suggest you pick up a copy for the little merhuman in your life.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
Disclaimer: I have received the above product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
My daughter absolutely loves the Little Mermaid. She saw “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea” a few weeks ago at her grandma’s house and really liked it.
This is such a good movie. I like the animation and the story. I want to get this movie because it is a classic!
The Little Mermaid was my favorite movie too! I am sure the sequels are so cute!
who doesn’t love Ariel? she’s awesome. and my fave too!
We love the Little Mermaid – it’s such a classic!
I haven’t seen #2 but I love the premise, that she just wants to get back to the sea! Cracks me up!
I want a copy to add to my Disney collection!
So love this movie!! Definitely a must for the collection.
My daughter’s favorite princess is Ariel. But she has never seen the 2nd one. I have to get for her.
We love Ariel.. and we have this set and my princess can’t stop watching it.. (she has red hair, too..lol).. thanks for sharing, really is a beautiful movie