The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008)

Good movie but grossly overrated

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I am a huge little mermaid fan since i can remember and i was definitely not disappointed it in this movie. It tells us how Ariel came to be and answered a lot of the questions we had in the first one like what happened to Ariel's mother and why King Triton hates humans. It also tells us how flounder and Ariel met but the one thing i did not like about flounder is that he beat boxed and was kind of out of character because he was a lot braver in this one which in the other ones flounder was always scared. I also liked that is showed us the different sides of the sisters because in the first and second ones we didn't really hear much about them only for brief moments but in this one we get to see their personalities. I also liked the music in the movie it was really great. Some of my favorites was Athena's song, Jump in the line, i remember, and i will sing. The only song i did not like was the one mistake because it didn't seem like a song to me just kind of a poem that Sally Fields talked through with background music. It was so cool to see Jodi Benson and Sameuel E. Wright returning as Ariel and Sebastion. I don't think you can have a Little Mermaid movie without them as the characters. All around good movie and i will watch it over and over again like i did the first 2.

Jodi Benson, we hardly want to know you anymore. Can you do any movie role EXCEPT Little Mermaid? One is just very curious if you just can't let go. Or maybe Disney Studios can't let go. Whatever the case, this needs to stop.Ariel is back with a prequel. OK, first I don't really care where Ariel comes from anymore. This should have been covered in the original classic Little Mermaid. But no, we have to wait 15 years later just to give Jodi Benson another job. A job we don't know if she wanted.The whole film is about the death of Ariel's mother and the subsequent return to music to the underwater kingdom. You can fill in the rest. No conflict, no character development. And nobody really cares anymore.I want 80 minutes of my life back. "F"

Everyone's lovable red-head we all know and loved is back in a new adventure. You know who I am talking about - it's Ariel and starring in the first Disney prequel, 'cause I wouldn't call it a sequel. Set before she walked on land and married her Prince.Under the narration of Sebastian, the story starts with King Triton and his wife, Queen Athena, have seven young daughters (the youngest of whom is Ariel). The entirety of the underwater kingdom of Atlantica is filled with joy, music and laughter. The merfolk are shown relaxing in a lagoon above water, and Triton gives Athena a small music box. A pirate ship approaches and they attack, stealing the merpeople's possessions. Everyone escapes except Queen Athena, who is crushed by the pirate ship. Devastated by Athena's death, Triton throws the music box away and bans music from the kingdom. Ten years later, Triton's daughters live under a strict schedule maintained by their governess, Marina Del Rey an original villainess voiced by Sally Field; no relations to the two witches what so ever. Marina hates her job and longs for Sebastian's, who is the king's attache. Ariel is frustrated by their current lifestyle, which brings her into conflict with her strict father. During their morning "walk", Ariel tickles her sister Adella with kelp, and she is given the punishment of cleaning barnacles. While carrying out her punishment, Ariel encounters Flounder, a fish, who is making music. That night, Ariel sees Flounder outside the window, and follows him to an underground music club. She is overjoyed by the presence of music, and is shocked when she learns that Sebastian performs at the club. When her presence is revealed, at first all the club patrons flee, but Ariel sings a song explaining her love of music, and she joins the club with an oath. That's all I am telling you. You will have see it for yourself.It's great to finally see Ariel's mother Queen Athena, who looks like Ariel. But I can see some differences between mother and daughter: Athena's hair is a different shade of red compare to Ariel and done up almost like a ponytail. And her eyes I think are green. Overall, Ariel's Beginning is another excellent Disney OAV (original animated video),and prefect to go with the original film and "Return to the Sea." I love out of Ariel's sisters Alana (pink fin), Arista (red fin) and Attina (orange fin).

I just picked this movie up today, of course wanting to hear Jodi Benson's gorgeous voice yet again. I had to wait a while before I was able to watch it, but it was worth the wait. It became an awesome movie that tells the "tail" of young Ariel. Personally, I love anything with mermaids and music in it. This movie did justice like the other one, "Return to Sea". Ariel's got six headstrong sisters, how they slept in the same room, it almost appeared as a sea-dormitory, and her father, Triton look so cute when he was younger. Even her mother, Athena, looked much like an older Ariel. Flounder himself was awesome, it was neat how both Ariel and Flounder met. This movie hadn't disappoint me at all, loved just about over %100 of fun, laughter, and music in this fine piece of brilliance. I always wondered what happened to Ariel's mother. But seeing a younger adult version of Triton was even just as unique. I also admired how Sebastian was into music heavily himself. I could watch this movie over and over again! Probably going to watch it in a few minutes, because that's how great it was! Awesome work, Disney! Ten stars is what I gave this comment for, it was brilliantly made, and it's a movie that I also recommend to anyone who's in love with the first two "Little Mermaid" & "Little Mermaid: Return to Sea" movies. As said before, you won't be disappointed...