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Released in 2008, this was another straight-to-video movie.
Jodi Benson returns again as Ariel - yay!! But this time around we have Jim Cummings as Triton. Some of you might know that name as he's done everything. But this is the voice of Pete from Goof Troop, we're talking about. He makes a terrible King Triton.
Anyways, the plot of this one revolves around music being banned from the kingdom. And you can re-read that sentence as much as you; it ain't gonna change. Yes, King Triton bans music. Why? Because, one day whilst out with his family, up on the surface, enjoying life, love, etc, etc, his beloved wife Athena is killed by pirates.
Make sense? No? Ok, lemme try explain. It was their anniversary, and Athena loved music and singing more than anyone else. Triton had a very special music box made for Athena, and gave it to her that day. When the pirates came, and started stealing the merpeople's treasures, Athena was determined to save her precious gift. In doing so, she became trapped (somehow - I still don't know why she failed to dive and swim downward) between some rocks and the ship, and was crushed.
Make sense yet? No? Ok, so, when Triton listened to the music box, it made full of sadness. So he tossed the music box away, and outlawed all music.
Make sense now? No? No... I didn't thin so either. ¬_¬
Before this music banning bullshit, I actually thought this would be used to explain Triton's hatred of humans, and his banning merfolk from the surface. In directly, I guess it does. But there's actually no mention of it through out the entire film.
Annnyways. Triton becomes a complete asshole and makes all the mistakes he made (or will make) in the original film. I guess he learnt nothing from any of this then? *sigh*
The animation in this film is sooo much better than the 2nd. They clearly put more time and effort into this one, and, despite the stupid story line, I really enjoyed it. The songs are pretty cool too. Alot of fun!! =D
One of the things I really enjoyed though, was seeing more of Ariel's sisters. They had such a tiny role in the original film, and even less in the sequel. Here, they're actually given their own personalities, and seeing them all together is great.
Also, the villain in this movie, Marina, is brilliant! She's their governess, and she's voiced by Sally Field, who does a wonderful job. She wants Sebastian's job, and after years of getting nowhere, starts to think of how else she can go about it (including sabotage). She's actually a great character and it's shame Disney only came up with her after screwing up on the last first. But hey, nevermind, that movie never happened. Right? ;p
There are some continuity issues, but they're mostly small and explainable. Except for Ariel having no interest in humans. In the original film, she has a whole cove full of human treasures, which would've taken a long time to build up. But there's no mention of her interest of humans at all.
The sisters' hair, and the layout of their room is different, but there's no reason these couldn't have changed over time.
Probably the biggest continuity error of all, is the lack of Ursula. She's not even mentioned, despite the fact she used to live in the palace before her exile.
Overall, I would recommend seeing this sequel if you've nothing better to watch. It's not a "must watch", but it's worth seeing. And baby Ariel is the cutest thing I have ever seen!! X3
