The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Beginning
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Movie Reviews of The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Beginning
Movie Review: Was expecting more but it just didn't deliver
Summary: 3 Stars
My daughter absolutely LOVES Ariel and both Little Mermaid 1 & 2 so I figured this movie would be, at the very least, entertaining for her. While she did sit through it the 1st time, when I offered to let her watch it again, she agreed but it didn't hold her interest enough for her to watch it all again (and she has seen the other 2 movies many times each!) It just didn't hold her (or my) attention very well. The annimation, as others have said, IS very good - nothing close to the crappy TV show so no worries about that. The background we get about Ariel's mother is nice, albeit VERY brief...the whole movie is based on the premise that her mother was so into music that her tragic death upsets Triton so much he can't bear to have music in Atlantica anymore. But all we get is ONE very short scene of her singing to her 7 daughters as the are put to bed. And then yeah, we get to see Ariel's look-alike mother making out w/Triton, which IS a little creepy. Still, you get that they really loved each other but seeing as the whole storyline is based on her love of music, I just wish we had seen more. More scenes of the mother w/Ariel. Maybe some mention of the fact that Ariel and her mother look exactly alike - what does that do to Triton...is this what keeps him so protective of her? The background on the other characters is cute (Sebastian and Flounder) and the scenes at the secret nightclub are cute too but overall, the music is pretty terrible. Most notably, the 1st song by Sally Field is pretty unbearable. It's mainly spoken, and not musically. Even a Jodie Benson song (can't recall the exact name) is pretty bad, which is saying a lot. I was pretty excited about the music when I saw the short preview (which is the 1st scene in the movie, w/her mother singing her to sleep) but after this, it pretty much disappoints - sometimes badly. The sidekick to the villianess IS out of place, although I found him to at least provide some comic relief. As for the extras, we really only enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the Broadway show. The pencil drawing "deleted scenes" were not interesting (especially to a 4 year old!) and we couldn't get through the behind the scenes look w/the director - just didn't hold our interest. I liked that they provided the songs in their own feature, until we listened to them again and only found ourselves liking the 1st (mothers's lullaby). To rewatch that Sally Field song was torture! I would have so much preferred a movie where maybe Ariel relays her childhood to her daughter, or maybe even grandaughter. Or possibly has more intimate memories of her mother. Or even just a movie w/her CHILDhood, not necessarily her teen years. I'd say I was most pleased with the fact that the villian doesn't actually get slayed in the end, which is a bit of a switch (although for that song, she should have been!) So, while it will certainly do for little fans of Ariel (can they ever get enough of her?) it just doesn't make the grade.Movie Review: It was Ok
Summary: 5 Stars
not Great but ok! i gave it 5 stars because even if it wasnt Amazing i watched It!Movie Review: Pleasing but really pretty average
Summary: 3 Stars
In the long-standing tradition of direct-to-video sequels, ARIEL'S BEGINNING continues the story of a beloved character without really adding anything new. The music is OK, but doesn't come close to the brilliant exuberance of the original (it's telling that the most inspired musical number, "Jump in the Line," was NOT written for the movie). Likewise, the animation is well-done, but pales in comparison to the theatrically-released original.
Still, young children may find enough to like about the antics of Ariel and her sisters. As sequels go, it nowhere near as awful as The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, but falls short of even the studio's less-celebrated theatrical releases like Home on the Range.
A brief behind-the-scenes peak at Broadway's "The Little Mermaid", a couple of deleted scenes, a profile of the film's director, and the requisite DVD game round out the bonus features.
If you're a completist, or have young children who love The Little Mermaid, this is not a bad addition to your Disney DVD collection.
Movie Review: Good not Great
Summary: 4 Stars
Ohkay, now let me start by saying that I love the original Little Mermaid and regard it as a Disney classic, possibly the best; and let me also say that I hated, HATED, Return to the Sea, I thought it was a poor excuse for a movie and was saddened that my Little Mermaid was reduced to that. But I must say that Ariel's Beginning was very well done. The animation was great! You could tell that they actually put some effort into it, and as far as the plot, not exactly original or thought provoking, but I wasn't bored; it was decent. I laughed quite a few times, mostly because of the Yzma-like Villain and her very strange henchman, and a frantic octopus. The songs were not really all that memorable, but I wasn't annoyed by them. Overall the movie was worth watching, and if you are a Disney Movie collector I deem this one worthy, unlike Return to the Sea, to sit on the same shelf as all the rest. Movie Review: Does very little to answer any questions
Summary: 2 Stars
If you wanted to know what happened to Ariel's mother, the first 5min of this movie will tell you. After that, the movie is a complete waste of time with some pretty terrible music.
Jodi Benson's voice is great as usual. But they give her horrible material to sing to. Why can't they get decent song writers at Disney anymore?
The movie would have been a million times better if it featured Ursula and why she was banished from the kingdom. Instead, we get some new sucky villain who sings sucky songs and has a bizarre relationship with a green monster who looks like it had been playing in nuclear waste.
Ariel's mother strangely is an exact replica of Ariel. Which means, while Triton is romantic with her, it looks like he's getting it on with his daughter. Which is pretty creepy.
2 stars for some good animation, thankfully. But other than that, it's another sequel/prequel that doesn't come close to living up to the original movie.