Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6862 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-09-22
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Animated, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 67 minutes

Synopsis
Set several years after The Little Mermaid, Ariel and Prince Eric are happily married with a daughter, Melody. In order to protect Melody from the Sea Witch, Morgana, they have not told her about her mermaid heritage. Melody is curious and ventures into the sea, where she meets new friends. But will she become a pawn in Morgana's quest to take control of the ocean from King Triton?

Customer Reviews

Sequels on the mend
It's true... Disney has delivered a few sequels to their most famous movies which in someways offend the original...

Would be silly to say Ariel's Beginning matches the brilliance of the original movie but it is definitely an improvement on The Little Mermaid 2: Return To The Sea. The animation looks great and it is fantastic that all the original voice cast are back including Jodi Benson as Ariel.

It's a very interesting story with a little glimpse at Ariel's mother. When she is involved in a tragic accident King Triton is broken and Atlanta changes into a boring, military-like kingdom when he bans music. We learn a lot of the backstory of The Little Mermaid... why it is Ariel loves music... why Sebastian becomes the musical director of Atlanta... and how Ariel meets Flounder.

If you liked the other two mermaid films you'll definitely find something to like about this one. The extras which include a glimpse into the making of the Little Mermaid on Broadway are very interesting!

Fantastic!
admitidly its not what I had imagined it would be, just some cheap knock off with some badly thought out plot and poor songs.
well its not! It's brilliantly animated, the plots great and moves fast, it's moving (the openening 10 mins when we learn the fate of Ariels mother is pretty grown up for "just a disney sequell").
Give it a go, you wont regret it!

Actual Plot
King Triton and his wife, Queen Athena, rule over the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, which is filled with music and laughter. They have seven young daughters, the youngest of whom is Ariel. The merfolk are shown relaxing in a lagoon above water, and Triton gives Athena a music box. Suddenly a pirate ship approaches. Everyone escapes except Athena, who is crushed by the ship when she tries to save the music box. Devastated by Athena's death, Triton throws the music box into the ocean and bans music from the kingdom.

Ten years later, Triton's daughters live under a strict routine maintained by their governess, Marina Del Rey and her assistant Benjamin. Marina hates her job and longs to be Triton's attaché, a job currently filled by Sebastian the crab. Ariel is frustrated by their current lifestyle, which brings her into conflict with Triton. One day, Ariel encounters Flounder, a fish, whom she later follows to an underground music club. She is overjoyed by the presence of music, and is shocked when she sees Sebastian performing there. When her presence is revealed, the entire band stops playing and hides, believing Ariel will tell her father about them. Ariel sings a song explaining her love of music and the remembrance of her mother and she joins the club with an oath.

Ariel returns to the palace, and her sisters confront her over her disappearance. She explains where she was, and the following night all seven sisters go to the club to have fun. Marina secretly finds them, and she later reports their activities to Triton. Sebastian, Flounder and the band are sent to jail, while Marina gets the job she wants.

Ariel sneaks into the prison and frees the jailbirds. Sebastian leads them to a deserted place far from the palace where Ariel finds the music box. Ariel and Sebastian decide to return to Atlantica to show the music box to Triton, hoping that it will change his mind.

On the way back, they are confronted by Marina and her electric eels. Marina wants to stop them so she will retain her position of "power", and a struggle ensues. It ends when Marina barrels towards Sebastian, and Ariel pushes him out of the way, getting hit in the process. Triton arrives in time to witness this, and he is remorseful for his actions. He sings the lyrics of "Athena's Song", and Ariel is revived. The film ends with music being restored to Atlantica. Everyone rejoices except Marina, who is sent to jail.