The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)

Awesome Movie

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is in my opinion, one of the worst direct to video sequels ever made.The Bad: 1. The characters are not as likable as they were in the original. Melody is an atrocious character. I think she is an infantilised version of Ariel, in terms of both personality and appearance, also very annoying and unlikable, Ariel plays as a boring and generic mother figure, Morgana is a pale imitation of Ursula, and Eric goes from a fairly likable character to a boring character, Flounder plays as a boring and generic father figure, King Triton served no purpose in the film and Tip and Dash are a blatant rip-off of Timon and Pumbaa, the list goes on. 2. The music, both the score and songs are terrible. Unlike the original, where Alan Menken provides a beautiful film score and some good songs, with Part of Your World being the best song in the original. 3. The story is way too similar to the original, only differences being story told in reverse and being dumbed down for younger audiences.The Good: 1. The only characters in this film I like and am interested in are Sebastian and Undertow. They both give me a chuckle. 2. The animation is at least pretty good, but that is not saying much. Ariel is still very beautiful, just like in the much superior original and prequel and television series, her character design has always got a good balance of youth and maturity, and that is the reason why I think she is gorgeous. Keep in mind that I said "beautiful", not "hot", since "hot" has a sexual connotation to it, which I do not like or condone the use of the word and think it is inappropriate. And this is coming from a male who is a supporter of gender equality. Just because I commented on one female character's appearance does not mean I condone anyone to catcall other women, which I don't, because it's wrong. But I digress. 3. The voice acting is solid, with Jodi Benson reprising as Ariel, Kenneth Mars as King Triton, Edie McClurg as Carlotta, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, Buddy Hackett as Scuttle, Rene Auberjonois as Chef Louis and Pat Carroll as Morgana as returning talents, all do a decent job. New talents include Tara Strong as Melody, which is OK, I guess, Clancy Brown as Undertow is hilarious, Max Casella as Tip, Stephen Furst as Dash, Cam Clarke as Flounder, Rob Paulsen as Eric and Kay E. Outer as Grimsby all do a solid job. Not enough to save the movie, sadly. 4. The best part about this film is that it is much better than any of the English-language dubs of Studio Ghibli, which are highly nationalised versions of Japanese animated films, as well as capitalising on the fame of Hollywood movie stars, the salt in that particular wound. But with The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, being a direct to video film at least keeps it true to its identity, as well as trying to entertain me, even if it fails to do so. Also, watching it in English, the original language, has international cohesion to it, which is a good thing, but that is not enough to save this movie, unfortunately. So overall, watching Studio Ghibli films in the English dubs is much, much worse than watching this movie. This movie still sucks, nonetheless.Overall, this an awful direct to video sequel that I do not recommend to anyone. Watch the original film, prequel or television series. They are much better than this pile of garbage.

The Little Mermaid II is honestly turning into one of my favourite movies in a very serious way. There are too many abominable reviews of it out there and I've been meaning to try and redress the balance for a long time, especially since it hit blu-ray where it looks astonishingly better than it ever has. The story seems similar to the first movie on the surface - Ariel's daughter Melody wants to be a mermaid, like Ariel wanted to be human, but Ariel fears the dangers of the sea, like her father feared humans; particularly Morgana, sister of Ursula, the octopus witch of the original. But the way this is framed is important. Perhaps the reason Melody is drawn to the sea is that her parents, after the first hint of a threat from Morgana, built a giant wall separating land from sea - the very union that was the resolution of the first movie. We're drawn to the mysterious, that which we're told is forbidden - some of us, least - and Melody and Ariel are absolutely this kind of person, but they don't realise how alike they are. This is a movie about the need to label and divide passing from generation to generation and being considered okay as long as it's called something else, and - ironically - dividing us even more.It's Melody's 12th birthday and just like Ariel at 16 she's not really au fait with such occasions, preferring to frolic beyond the forbidden wall with Sebastian the crab (okay, they don't explain why she's okay with the fact he can speak yet doesn't question the rest of her parents' bullsh*t lol… but hey I guess it's what you get used to that you believe…), exploring the ocean. After her party goes awry (a bit of slapstick with the old French chef from the first movie), there's a scene that resonated particularly strong for me on this viewing after some personal stuff this past weekend. Ariel tries to comfort Melody, making what to the audience is just a bad joke but when you actually think about it is actually incredibly cruel - "I was a regular fish out of water," she says, and follows up by saying, "you can tell me anything" which we know simply isn't true, and she should too, having hidden that statue etc from her father 12 years previously.So it's understandable and actually a little exciting when Melody not only runs away, like Ariel did in the first movie, makes a deal with Ursula's sister and becomes a mermaid, but also then steals her grandfather's trident for the new witch. The fact is this family hasn't learned their own lesson yet, and it's exhilarating to see this little girl sticking it to them. Repetition is a form of insanity - this movie isn't recycling a story for the sake of making a little more money, it's actually using that cliché to say something about the fact we do this ourselves every day.There is a simply incredible scene at the end of this movie. Ursula's sister is defeated in a similar fashion (a little rushed and easy if you ask me, but it's not exactly crucial to the reason I love the movie). King Triton tells his granddaughter Melody, "I don't blame you for wanting to join us merfolk…" (in the same condescending tone Ariel said "You can tell me anything…" if you ask me) and he gives her a choice - same as it seemed the rules were in the first movie - she can be a mermaid or a human, he'll wave his trident and make it so. "I have a better idea," Melody says, and in the next shot, she holding the trident, breaks down the effing wall.I've been going through a whole kind of self-analysis thing, well, most of my life, but particularly recently about gender binary, identity, the way these things pass down through generations, the way people do things because they feel it's what they're supposed to do, because who of us really knows better etc. But I'm focussing too much on my own obsessions. On the most basic level this movie is about absolutism in all its forms - any system that says there are only two choices and that one is right and one is wrong. The wall erected between land and sea is the wall between any two extremes you feel are pulling you to choose between, when you actually feel like you lie somewhere between and they both have their good and bad points. There are assholes and angels in both mer and human kingdoms and the wider you cast your net the more angelfish you're gonna catch (sorry that was awful lol). I really think this aspect of this movie has been severely overlooked - it might be the best message I've seen in any Disney movie. But still, really, as per my initial response, it had me at Melody and the incredible song "For a Moment"… for those two elements alone, it is worth it. If you haven't seen it yet, see it - if you have seen it, please… watch it again

The Little Mermaid had always been my favorite movie ever since I was a kid. When I heard that there was a second one I was so excited. So, I went to watch it and I was highly disappointed. It will NEVER be anything compared to the Original. The plot had absolutely NO thought or creativity in it being made. It's basically the same plot as the original but reversed. *SPOILER* So sweet, naive, adorable, curious 16 year old Ariel gets turned into a dull, boring, no personality mother. Her child, Melody,grows up to be a little 'adventurer' and wants to explore the ocean. But, evil Morgana, Ursulas "Sister" that we never recalled her even having, tricks the her into stealing the Trident then all hell breaks loose.The Penguin and the walrus are just franchised versions of Timon and Pumba. Flounder, cute silly little flounder,is turned into some fat, nasal congested blob. Prince Eric sounds a hot mess and he is absolutely USELESS. The girl,Melody, is such a freaking nuisance.And may I advise you to wear some shades the animation is too bright, and colorful. There's just no magic in it as the first. This isn't even a sequel its the original movie is what's real. The new people in Disney are just unskilled, uncreative gold-diggers.Please don't give them the satisfaction. Don't waste your money.

When I was 10, I watched this movie for the first time and loved it. This is because I was 10 and was entertained by any animated movie. You could have shown me a 90 minute cartoon solely about talking garbage cans and I would've thought it was great.The other day I was babysitting some girls, and they wanted to watch a Disney movie, so I pulled out an old box consisting of several Disney classics and this one. They picked Little Mermaid 2, so I thought that this would be a good excuse to relive some childhood memories. At the end of the movie, I realized that the sequel that I used to think was awesome was actually a nauseatingly bad piece of...ship. The old characters have no personality, and Ariel and Eric have been reduced to cardboard cutouts. Melody, their daughter, is supposed to be the lovable misfit, but she is far too sickening and and perfect to be lovable. The plot is extremely similar to the original, except that Melody wants to be a mermaid whereas Ariel wanted to be a human. The songs lack any of the first movie's charm, and it feels like the creators just stuck them in there for the sake of putting songs in. The animation is flat and boring, lacking the subtleties in the first movie (noticing a pattern here?). Flounder is not nearly as adorable, Scuttle has become so dumb that it hurts to hear him speak, and Morgana, the new villain, is like a much less intimidating version of Ursula. Morgana's sidekicks are not especially menacing either- her pet shark is more oafish than frightening. Two new characters, a penguin and walrus duo, are forced comedy relief. Their shtick is that they are cowards who aspire to be heroes, and at the end of the film they finally get to become heroes. Very original. The day after I watched this, I watched the original to remind myself that The Little Mermaid is, in fact, a great Disney movie with great characters, memorable music, and beautiful animation, unlike the travesty I've just lambasted.Naturally, the girls I babysat for loved it.