(This review consists of the three animated The Little Mermaid movies produced by Disney, as the prequel/sequel tend to be forgotten about.)

The Little Mermaid Live Action was an enchanting remake. With the music and voices of live action Ariel (Halle Bailey) and Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), I was truly enraptured by the display. 

While both the original and live-action movies are classics personally, people forget about the sequel and prequels of The Little Mermaid animated movie. I remember watching the entire franchise and thinking, “Wow, we really downgraded and upgraded in a short amount of time!” Honestly, I just remember hating on Melody. 

The Little Mermaid is the “predecessor” of The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning, a story that combines King Triton’s hatred for music after his wife, Athena, died, Flounder finding out that Sebastian has been singing at an illegal speakeasy, and Ariel’s toxic and manipulative nanny. I remember loving this movie. 

Through the movie, we learn more about Ariel’s sisters, and we can actually assign name to faces. Although the animation felt tackier (and somewhat creepier, in my opinion), it was a lovely prequel to a classic. In contrast, the plot felt underdeveloped, and has little to no correlation to the original, as if the writers were like, “Okay, so there’s this teenage girl, right? Right, so she likes to sing, right? Right, and she’s also rebellious — let’s add a controlling nanny and ban music!” This could’ve been a spinoff. 

Personally, I feel like the movie would’ve been better off dealing with King Triton’s story. For one, it starts off with King Triton’s wife, Queen Athena, literally getting kidnapped and possibly eaten by humans. He’s grief-stricken and thus banned music, something that Athena adored. I would’ve loved to see him go through every stage of grief while simultaneously making bad decisions and dealing with the evil nanny. 

And did I mention what they did to my poor Flounder? He’s as if a rebellious angsty teen went back in time. Overall, 6/10 movie. Could’ve been worse, but definitely didn’t tarnish the original too much. 

Now, onto The Little Mermaid II, a sequel to the original. Ariel and Eric’s daughter, Melody, is obsessed with the sea. She is just as rebellious as Ariel was in her teenage years, which causes some wonderful generational trauma. However, Melody finds refuge and comfort in Morgana, Ursula’s sister. 

Suddenly, I have a craving for seafood.  

I mean, it could’ve been worse! Totally. PLEASE. 

Characters were underdeveloped. Their personalities felt as though they were scribbled on a deadline. But what upset me the most was Ariel’s songs. In the original, she had a powerful, emotional, catchy voice!! I MISS JODI BENSON SO MUCH. In the sequel, it felt way too cheesy to be good. 2/10. 

But hey, we got Melissa McCarthy, so I don’t care. I LOVE MELISSA MCCARTHY. 

The Little Mermaid, The Little Mermaid II, and the live action version are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.