The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008)

Directed by

Peggy Holmes

Genre

musical film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 17m

Rated

PG

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 1,077 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This animated movie is a prequel to The Little Mermaid. It shows a young Ariel living in an underwater kingdom where music has been banned by her father after his wife died. Ariel decides to push back against this rule.

whimsicallightheartedsentimentalmusicalcolorfuloptimisticplayfulfamily-orientedbittersweet

What happens

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (also known by the working title, The Little Mermaid III: Ariel's Beginning or The Little Mermaid 3: Ariel's Beginning) is a 2008 animated direct-to-video musical fantasy film produced by Disneytoon Studios, with the animation production being done by Toon City Animation, Inc. and DisneyToon Studios Australia. This film is the prequel to Disney's 1989 animated feature film The Little Mermaid, the third and final installment in The Little Mermaid animated trilogy, and the last direct-to-video sequel after John Lasseter took over as chairman for the Disney Animation Division. It is also the first in the chronology of the story running through the series, and it is based on the fairy tale The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen and The Little Mermaid animated television series which ran for three seasons. Directed by Peggy Holmes, the film's main events are set a year before the events of the original film, when all music has been banned from the underwater kingdom of Atlantica by King Triton following the tragic death of his beloved wife. Years later, his spirited youngest daughter, Ariel, sets out to challenge her father’s decision and rediscovers the joy of music and love. Jodi Benson and Samuel E. Wright (in his final film role) reprise their roles as Ariel and Sebastian respectively, while Sally Field voices the film's new villainess, Marina Del Rey. Jim Cummings takes over the role as King Triton, replacing Kenneth Mars. The film was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on August 26, 2008. Unlike most of Disney's Classics direct-to-video follow up films and its predecessor, the film received mixed reviews. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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