While watching this entry in Disney's endless parade of DTV (direct to video) sequels, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or vomit when I saw what they had done to the movie that first got me interested in Disney movies. I just don't know where to start badmouthing this one.
While watching the movie, I saw that Ariel had developed a non-existent personality. What have they done to her?? I know she's grown up, and I know she's no longer the focus of the story, but that's no excuse to make her dull as dishwater. However, maybe good old Ariel might have been a better protagonist than the one we were given. There was something about her daughter, Melody, that didn't sit right with me at all. Maybe it was her many attempts to try to sound "cool" without ever once failing to sound annoying. "What's shakin'??" Ariel would never, NEVER have said that! Nor would Sebastian, Flounder, or Scuttle acted the way they did in this movie. It's as if they took their humorous parts from the original movie and overemphasized it. I was especially mad that Scuttle wasn't only dumb; it was as if he had received a lobotamy! What was up with him? This isn't the Scuttle that introduced us to the dinglehopper and the snarfblat!! I'd be surprised if this Scuttle knew his beak from his...well, let's move on. The villains were lame! Using Ursula's sister as the villain was an uninspired choice, but she was my favorite of the baddies. Undertow was completely uneccessary. Or maybe he was, seeing as how Cloak and Dagger NEVER SPOKE! Cloak and Dagger were a sorry attempt at redoing Flotsam and Jetsam. F&J were eerie; they sent chills up your spine everytime they spoke or slithered around. C&D were...well, they were there. And speaking of ineffectual duos, let's discuss Tip and Dash. What exactly was their purpose in the movie, other than comic relief that was sorely missing comedy? There are so many other flaws in characters, but I don't want to go into that right now.
Art direction, design, etc. was sorely lacking as it is in all DTV Disney films. The characters looked kinda like their original counterparts, but the coloring was way too bright and garrish. It's as if they threw away the subtle coloring scheme used for "Little Mermaid" (including ariel, the color they invented for Ariel's fins) and traded them for happy little pastels, taking away any depth or realism the look might have had.
Voices, voices, voices. Most of the original cast came back for this one (thank goodness), but the performances didn't seem to have that energy from the first movie. As for the new voices, Tara Charendoff's Melody was rather annoying. She's just great as Bubbles on "Powerpuff Girls", but that doesn't seem to translate well here. Maybe it was just the stupid lines fed to her. Prince Eric's new voice would be okay if it wasn't friggin' Yakko Warner from "Animaniacs"! Don't get me wrong; Rob Paulsen was wonderful on "Animaniacs", but he sounds nothing like the original Prince Eric. (Compliment or criticism? You decide.)
Well, I suppose I should wrap this up now; I'm sure I'm over the word limit and that this is the longest review I've ever written. I'm not really sure why I'm wasting this much space on a movie that's such a waste of space. I suppose I had to defend the honor of the original "Little Mermaid", but the movie can prove itself. I say that we burn all copies of DTV sequels, especially this one and the upcoming "Hunchback II", which looks like it will be another tragically horrible treatment of a Disney classic.
