Ladies & gentlemen, you know how a couple years ago, I reviewed a couple Disney “sequels” from that smaller Disney subsidiary company called Disney Toon Studios? Well, tonight, we are going to be diving into that film library again. The reason why is because we are going to be talking about one of the very first direct-to-video sequels to be released around the early 2000s. It is one that was from my childhood, and remember liking quite a bit. Watching it again years later, is it as good as I remembered? You shall find out shortly! For now, let’s talk about The Little Mermaid 2: Return To The Sea.
Plot: Sometime after Prince Eric (Rob Paulsen), and Ariel (Jodi Benson) get married, they now have a daughter named Melody (Tara Strong), and celebrate her birth. But the celebration is interrupted when Ursula’s sister, Morgana (Pat Carroll) attempts to harm Melody, and attain King Triton’s (Kenneth Mars) magical trident. Now seeing Morgana as a threat to humans, and mer people, Eric, and Ariel now decide to build a wall around the coast of Eric’s kingdom, and keep Melody safe until Morgana is found, and defeated. Even if it may take time, will King Triton, and his subjects ever find Morgana, and vanquish her for good?
Originally, I had no intention of rewatching this film again anytime soon. However, I changed my mind, and decided to go ahead, and do so for a couple reasons. One was that I had not reviewed a movie that I had put any lower than an A, or even B in a long time. So, I wanted to see if I, or anyone else could have the guts to review something that one could have a mixed, if not fully negative reaction to. Anyway, the second reason was that I’m planning to rewatch another direct-to-video sequel in celebration of a certain TV show, that the DTV sequel is linked to, turning five years old recently, and see how it, and maybe even Little Mermaid 2 compare to each other.
With all that said, how is The Little Mermaid 2: Return To The Sea after watching it years later? Watching it again, it’s sadly not as great as I thought years ago. I mean certain aspects of the story are somewhat interesting, don’t get me wrong. However, The Little Mermaid 2: Return To The Sea is overall not all that good. For one, there’s the animation more often than not. Oh yes, the backgrounds in the animation are nice to look at, whether it be the ocean, sunsets, or the ice around the Antarctica-like area, for example. Other than those few aspects, however, the animation can feel a little too choppy when it comes to the character movements. Okay, maybe that’s not the case entirely, but it certainly seems to be most of the time. Additionally, there’s the whole deal about Ursula having a sister. None of us recall hearing about Ursula having a sibling in the original Little Mermaid film, do we? So yeah, that is a plot hole that can be rather bothersome. Come on! Why doesn’t Morgana show up to help Ursula in the first film? Was she absent, and/or on a big long vacation, while Ursula was left to do the work of destroying King Triton, and his mer folk kingdom? We don’t know for sure either in The Little Mermaid 1, or The Little Mermaid 2. Truth be told, this was not the only direct-to-video sequel that had major plot holes like this. Let’s think about it! In this sequel, Ursula had this evil sister that we knew nothing of until this sequel. Then, Lion King 2 had this thing where Zira, and her evil lion pride were somehow connected to Scar, Lady & The Tramp 2 had this deal about Tramp having this former friendship with a villainous junkyard dog named Buster, and I’m sure the list could go on, but won’t for the sake of not dragging on. Anyway, there’s the characters. Okay, Ariel, and Eric’s daughter, Melody, and to an extent, Morgana, are probably the only somewhat interesting characters that this film have to offer. Aside from then, however, none of them really seem to stand out. I mean except for maybe King Triton, none of the older characters that were in the original Disney film seem to be as interesting, or as memorable this time around. Ariel especially seems to turn into this more strict, and cliched parent that seems to think that hiding the truth about why she, and Eric won’t let her journey into the sea in this case. Oh, and there’s Morgana’s henchmen, consisting of a shark, and two manta rays. Yeah, let’s just say that you’ll find yourself liking the eels, or even Ursula herself better than these villains. What’s more is that none of the creatures, or people that Melody comes across throughout this sequel seem to stand out, or be likable, or memorable. Of course that may be because this sequel is a great example of an animated that may have been way more fast paced than it should have been. You got me! As for the songs, wow, they are forgettable as all get out. Sure, there were one, if not two, that seemed to stand out. In general, however, the songs sounded like something that maybe belonged in a kid’s show that airs on TV in the morning, or something like that. Also, the sequel, overall, can be a little too repetitive of the 1989 Classic Disney film. Now, I know what you’re all thinking! “But Matt,” you may say, “the 2019 live-action/CGI remake of The Lion King kept most of the same parts from the 1994 Disney animated version of that film. Why is this any different?” Yes, the 2019 remake of The Lion King did have many of the same scenes of the original 1994 animated film, The Lion King. However, the difference in that case is that the newer Lion King, while having many of the same revered scenes, at least added some scenes that helped make the remake good. Also, those characters were fleshed out more, and some of the newer dialogue helped make up for what dialogue was not there that was in that original film. Hopefully, that clarified that argument!
Nevertheless, there are at least a couple good things that make this film somewhat entertaining. For one, even if Melody can act rather whiny at times, she does act strong, independent, and courageous. Not only that, but she’s good at sensing when either if her parents are hiding something from her, or when something doesn’t sound right. Oh, and it was great to have some of the original voice cast back, be it Jodi Benson as Ariel, Kenneth Mars as King Triton, or Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, for example. Oh, and how about having Pat Carroll back as well, even if she’s voicing a different villain, instead of Ursula? The climax towards the end, even if a little short, is also a good example of a good moment in a not so great film. Truth be told, that’s probably one of the very rare to few moments that you might find yourself wanting to watch again, and again with this film I’d say you had Disney+, or something like that, and you just wanted to skip to that scene.
Well folks, that’s my review for The Little Mermaid 2: Return To The Sea. It just comes to show that especially in the 2000s, Disney Toon Studios should have maybe just stuck with TV shows, and not made many of these direct-to-video sequels. Granted, there were a few gems in this library, especially from the 1990s, like the two Aladdin sequels, or The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, that were most likely good (though those should probably be rewatched soon to be sure, eh?). The Little Mermaid 2: Return To The Sea is a good example of why the direct-to-video sequels didn’t seem to work all too well, especially when the 2000s. Well, thank God that once 2006 rolled around, and John Lasseter took over even Walt Disney Animation, he said no to future direct-to-video sequels being made, even though the Tinker Bell movies would still be made. I would say that if you haven’t heard of, or seen this sequel, just act like 1989’s The Little Mermaid is a stand alone film, and like this sequel doesn’t exist. Sure the sequel has a few good moments. Still, it’s overall not all that good. Well, hopefully, should I rewatch something like the Aladdin sequels, or Lion King 2 in the near future, I, or anyone else has a better reaction to those than with Little Mermaid 2, you know?
Final Grade: D+
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 