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It's Probably What you Expect -- An In-Depth Review (SPOILER)
"The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea". Well, just by looking at that title, it's not exactly difficult to tell what sort of sequel it will be. Not just, "The Little Mermaid II", but they added a little hint for you: RETURN TO -- as in, a rerun of -- THE SEA. <
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>Therefore, it's what you would expect from Disney. First off -- technicalities. They've taken some shortcuts and used CAPS animation, so it lacks that old-fashioned Disney look from the original Little Mermaid and the "classics". It doesn't look too bad or too cheesy, though. The colors are only a tiny bit more neon than before, and it's only a bit overly-smoothed. It's not as bad as many would make it seem. <
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>The voices are, with the exception of Eric, kept, and they sound great. My only pet peeve is Melody's voice. Technically, I am YOUNGER than the character, and much younger than her voice actress Tara Strong, but I solemnly promise that I do not sound that much like a hyperactive six-year-old. But, really, what can you expect from the voice of Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls? <
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>The story, if you haven't gathered it yet, is simple: Ariel is grown up. Eric is grown up. They've had a baby girl named Melody, who inherits her mother's contempt of boundaries. Apparently, Ursula the Sea Witch has a younger sister named Morgana, who conveniently shows up at Melody's christening (Sleeping Beauty, anyone?). She attempts to ransom Melody for King Triton's trident, fails, and is (sort of) banished from the kingdom. Ariel decides it's too dangerous for Melody to know anything about the world of merpeople -- including King Triton, Melody's grandfather -- and hides it from her daughter. <
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>It might be nice to mention here that only King Triton or his ancestors/descendents can remove the triton from its holster-like thingie, which is where it is stored when not in his hands. <
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>Melody, however, longs to go in the sea or even be a mermaid (though is not sure they even exist.) When she finds a mysterious golden seashell "locket" -- which, in perfect Disney fashion, is roughly four or five times the size of a normal locket, to get the point across to the younger audiences -- she has an angsty teenage fit at her mother, Ariel, and makes up her mind to run away. Or, technically, rows away in an absolutely tiny rowboat. <
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>Morgana seizes the chance to use a descendent of King Triton, lures Melody into her trust by using Ursula's bottled magic (?) to transform her into a mermaid, and weepily convinces Melody to "recover [her] lost trident". Melody, not knowing any better and only wanting to "belong" as a mermaid, captures the trident with the help of a talkative penguin, "Tip", and a blubbery walrus, "Dash". <
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>Of course, Ariel and Eric are frantic during all of this, searching here on the land AND sea (coincidentally the name of the finale song), which, in effect, causes Ariel to be turned into a mermaid for the purpose of searching underwater for her daughter. If you think about it, Ariel is acting as a sort of tour guide through the original film: her grotto and "Under the Sea" rock are featured during a little musical "duet" she sings with Melody. <
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>Naturally, Ariel and her re-united pal Flounder arrive at Morgana's lair -- strangely made of ice and above water, as opposed to Ursula's bony underwater lair -- at the exact moment that Melody arrives with the trident. Mother and daughter go through the traditional you're-a-mermaid-deal before Morgana reminds Melody that she is still waiting for her trident. Ariel rebukes this and begs Melody to not give the trident to Morgana. Melody, with a new bargaining chip, rubs it in her mother's face that she never told her about merpeople and -- with a dramatic "too late, Mom!" -- hands over the trident. <
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>The obvious happens: Morgana gains command over all the seas, Melody is locked away with Flounder in a quickly-made ocean prison cell to await the loss of her fins and underwater breathing, King Triton's sea-army and Eric's land-army come to defeat Morgana and fail, and ultimately, Melody escapes with the help of Tip, Dash, and Flounder to reclaim the trident and give it to her newly-reintroduced grandfather, Triton. <
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>It could've stopped there, but didn't. After the climatic battle, the first thing King Triton says to his granddaughter is that he'll give her a choice -- come to Atlantica and live as a mermaid with him, or stay with her mother and father on the land. She invents a new option: break down the (literal) wall between merpeople and human people once and for all. Voila! The End! Complete with an exeptionally good-looking teenage mer-boy and a trident-created rainbow! <
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>Though it took a few cues from it's prequel, it was a pretty entertaining story, once you've sprinkled in a few songs: <
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>"Down to the Sea" -- opening scene, Jodi Benson, mostly. Sweet and catchy. Almost as good as one of the originals. <
>"For a Moment" -- Tara Strong and Jodi Benson. Beautiful song, period. <
>"Tip and Dash" -- Tara Strong, Max Casella, and Stephen Furst. I'm sorry to say that this song simply ANNOYED me. It does succeed in getting stuck in your head, however, which may be the point. <
>"Here on the Land and Sea" -- finale, chorus. This is also a catchy song, though not especially moving. A good, solid, happy-ending song. <
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>Characters...what can I say? Ariel has lost her characterizing feistyness, but, unless you refuse to accept a "new" Ariel, it probably won't bother you. She's more motherly than I thought the teenage Ariel could be, but that makes sense, as she is...oh, thirty- or forty-something now. Eric, I'm sorry to say, was a bit wimpy until he brought out his army. And he was my favorite Disney Prince. Tip and Dash, well, I never felt sorry for them or cheered them on. I didn't really dislike Melody until she started using too much out-of-date slang ("Hey, fellas! What's kickin'?") and was selfish and didn't think about consequences. Sebastian...good ol' Sebastian. He stayed just the same. Same with Scuttle. Flounder, on the other hand, has turned into a beady-eyed, deep-voiced obese yellow-and-blue father fish. Morgana was actually very hateable, and I loved her sharp-witted anchovy of a shark, Undertoe. Her pet stingrays, supposedly a replacement for Flotsam and Jetsam, didn't impress me nor scare me. What was really scary about them? They just laughed in this hissy way reminiscint of a toddler or a bat. <
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>Overall, however cynical I may have been, it is a good -- not excellent, but very good -- sequel to the original. It's less epic than the first, certainly, but as the original was based on a long-known fairytale and Return to the Sea was based on the Disney adaption of the long-known fairytale, it's hard to compare them. Kids won't really care about the little characterization flaws or annoying dialogue, and it is, after all, marketed toward kids.