DVDizzy Forum

<center>The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning</center>
<center></center>
"The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning" is a prequel to Disney's 1989 classic "The Little Mermaid", coming on DVD on August 26, 2008. Ariel's daughter Melody will not be in it, but Tara Strong (who voiced Melody in "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea") will now voice some of Ariel's sisters.
"Ariel's Beginning" has been well-received by the test audiences who've seen it. It's actually been so well- received that the creators decided to add scenes to punch it up even more.
In the movie's official site, there is a picture of Ariel, Aquata and Adrina staring at a music box, which has two tiny figures of King Triton and another mermaid (probably Ariel's mother) dancing.

Some information about the plot and the characters was revealed in http://www.todcarter.com/gallery/galler ... maid_1.jpg , where a storyboard from the film was presented. It appears that someone has Eric, Ariel and Sebastian hunting for a white whale and Sebastian isn't happy about it. A woman is sea sick just like Grimsby was in the original. It's implied that some talking parrot character will not get along with Sebastian and it's also stated that Ariel and Sebastian are "still angry with Eric".
More information added later revealed that in "Disney DVD Game World: Disney Princess Edition" some questions that the players had to answer were about "Ariel's Beginning". According to the questions and their answers, it is stated that:
Ariel finds Sebastian's Maracas -musical instruments. Sebastian has a music club, named "The Catfish Club". The password to get to his secret club is "Sea Monkey See, Sea Monkey Do". Ariel and her sisters are practicing with Miss Del Rey for "The Lunar Tide Festival". They also give their mother, whose name is Athena, a music box as a gift. There are also two swordfish, called Jag and Pierre.

In an interview with Jodi Benson in www.ytv.com it was stated by her that she finished a new cd, the soundtrack to "The Little Mermaid III". According to what we saw in the movie's "Musical Sneak Peek", a song from the soundtrack will be "Jump in the Line (Shake Señora)".

Product description from DisneyShopping.com:"Every story has a beginning but only one begins under the sea ...Now, for the first time ever, discover the story you never knew in ''The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning,'' an all-new motion picture only on Disney DVD. Returning favorites Sebastian and Flounder join Ariel, her six sisters, and the deliciously wicked new villain Marina Del Rey in this all-new movie filled with spectacular animation in the tradition of the original, and overflowing with new songs from award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori. Long ago, in a kingdom where music is outlawed, King Triton's youngest daughter, Ariel, discovers her love for music in a secret, underground music club. Torn with the choice of whether to hide her passion or share it with her father and risk losing everything, Ariel sets off on a daring adventure to restore music to Atlantica. Rated: Anticipated G (TBD). Available to own August 26, 2008."


Ariel's Beginning will be going to the vault in January of 2009. There will be books featuring the Ariel's Beginning title beginning in May of 2008. The ad campaign will be on par with Cinderella III. The DVD will contain a Set-top game, a Making of featurette, Making of the music and more.


As for the voice cast, this is what's been officially announced so far:

Ariel: Jodi Benson
Eric: Rob Paulsen
Swifty: Rob Paulsen
Alana: Kari Wahlgren
Marina Del Rey: Sally Field
Tara Strong will voice some of Ariel's sisters.

Tech specs:
Presentation: Widescreen
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 enhanced for 16x9 televisions
Sound: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Primary language: English
Dubbed: Spanish, French
Closed captions

Official site: http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/anima ... emermaid3/#
Musical Sneak Peek: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7IRlcLp624
Teaser Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWRMe8XpJEU

That's great news . I wonder what the storyline will be based on.

I personally liked the first sequel to one of my favorite movies. Though it didn't stray far from the general storyline of the original film, I thought it was neato.

But I was wondering...what do people think LM3 will be about?

Here's hoping this won't be a second sequel to trash the memory of a perfect film.

I'm a bit confused. I mean, I know that prequels, are, like, so totally hot and tubular to the max and ultra rad and all that right now, but The Little Mermaid has ALREADY been prequel-ized with a television show. Wouldn't a prequel movie be a bit redundant? (and the Timon and Pumbaa show was more of a spinoff than a prequel, so it's not exactly akin to the Little Mermaid show).

Karushifa wrote:I'm a bit confused. I mean, I know that prequels, are, like, so totally hot and tubular to the max and ultra rad and all that right now, but The Little Mermaid has ALREADY been prequel-ized with a television show. Wouldn't a prequel movie be a bit redundant? (and the Timon and Pumbaa show was more of a spinoff than a prequel, so it's not exactly akin to the Little Mermaid show).

There was talk on here about going further back and seeing Ariel's mom, Ariel's childhood, and how Ursula was banished from the kingdom. These were just our own ideas on what we want the movie to be if it is a prequel.

Lucylover1986 wrote:There was talk on here about going further back and seeing Ariel's mom, Ariel's childhood, and how Ursula was banished from the kingdom. These were just our own ideas on what we want the movie to be if it is a prequel.

That would probably be one of the best Disney sequels, if they followed that format. But unfortunately, it sounds too good to be true. Lion King fans were hoping for the same thing, when the news first spread of a "Lion King III" (a prequel about Mufasa's childhood and his brother Scar aka "Taka", according to unofficial sites. But instead, Disney gave us some comedic "midquel" and one that I'm not particularly fond of.

Oh, I can see it now: "The Little Mermaid 1.5" - the beloved story told from the pov of the Shark!

I know this has been said enough times but...

I H-A-T-E S-E-Q-U-E-L-S


When will Disney learn?

(Faint on keyboard...)

Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe I'll buy this one too since I have all the Disney animated sequels....

If it can improve the mess that was The Little Mermaid II: Role Reversal- I mean, Return to the Sea, I'd welcome it. But IMO, it's just another unnecessary sequel. There's only so many ways to milk a cow, Disney should really focus on other udders, not the one that churns out sequels...

Escapay

juliancarter wrote:When will Disney learn?

(Faint on keyboard...)

When people stop buying them by the millions?

Fact is, people dig the DTV animated sequels or they wouldn't keep buying them. We, the Internet Citizens That Talk of Things, are a very small minority in terms of the average Disney fan.

Personally, I have enjoyed almost all of the sequels. Most people judge the sequels on the first few Beauty and the Beast sequels and the first Aladdin sequel (and maybe Cinderella 2), all of which are pretty dire. However, since then we've had sequels that are not only top-notch in terms of animation, but in story as well.

Lady & the Tramp 2, 101 Dalmatians 2, Return to Neverland, Stitch: The Movie, Lilo & Stitch 2 and Kronk's New Groove have all been excellent, so I think we are slowing moving ahead in terms of averages.

Besides, I often find that the same people who scream outrage over the sequels are the ones that would rush out in droves or call out for the animated TV series based on the films. There is no real difference - when you think about it the Aladdin and Little Mermaid TV series were just extended episodic sequels/prequels.

I look forward to The Little Mermaid 2. The first sequel was ok, but the sequel formula and animation has been improving over the last few years. I think now is a good time to release another sequel, and it is sure to be a bit better than the first one. Besides, I am so keen for any Little Mermaid-related stuff on DVD that I will buy anything with Ariel on it.

Mmmm...redheads.

Can't wait for TLM3. I hope it's a prequel.

A few of you have been hoping for a prequel to The Little Mermaid that tells the story of Ursula, King Triton, and Ariel's mother before Ariel grew up and started loving the human world. The web site littleariel.com actual created a page deticated to working out a storyline just for such a prequel. The web site address for it is http://www.littleariel.com/tlm3.htm, and I was just thinking: Why doesn't someone send that very script/storyline they came up with to Disney? It could even come with a petition with the names of fans who want this prequel to be made. After all, there have been some cases, especially regarding cover art, when Disney listened to the public's ideas(remember when people complained that the new Tarzan DVD's cover was too cartoonish, and Disney made a new one to apease them?).

Disney Duster wrote:Why doesn't someone send that very script/storyline they came up with to Disney? It could even come with a petition with the names of fans who want this prequel to be made.

Because it'd be hard to find the true ownership of that story. You'd have thousands of TLM fans going, "Hey, I thought of that idea!". It's a known fact that Hollywood studios dump unsoliticited scripts (read: scripts sent straight from fans and not via an agent) in the trash without even reading them. They don't want to run the risk of having some fan file a lawsuit when they see "their" idea stolen by the studios for the movie and not getting their due credit.

While their goal is pretty lofty:

Below you'll find comments and suggestions from Little Mermaid and LittleAriel fans, along with some responses from me... and who knows, maybe we could all come up with a brilliant idea that'll knock everyones socks off and Disney will pick it up... maybe?

I can't see it happening. I'm sure if Disney DOES read their scripts and ideas, they won't use them, simply for the copyright issues. After all, what would the writing credit say? Written by: Internet Fans?

Escapay

Oh yes, if Disney makes a prequel about Triton, Ursula, Ariel's mom, and baby Ariel, all will be forgiven. And one of the things that really annoys me about TLM 2 is that it featured Timon & Pumba in sea creature form. I thought it was basically the same story, but happening in the future (although I really shouldn't talk, my favorite series of films is all about that kind of stuff. So...).

Hopefully the new Pixar members go against this and shut down all DTV animation by Disney.

Wishful Thinking?

I realize my two cents isn't worth much, but I desperately genuinely hoped that both/either Iger or Lasseter would have had at least the slightest inkling to be original and creative, and most importantly not continue making sequels. Why did Toy Story 3 get pulled? Well, it was a potentially poor sequel. Why are/were Cinderella 3, Brother Bear 2, Fox and the Hound 2, Dumbo 2, Hunckback 2, Milo's Return, and quite a few others, awful ideas? Well, because their originals were amazing, Classics, Disney Treasures, and poorly continuing/altering the story is just not a good idea, especially after you fire all the incredibly talented animators who made the originals (in some cases). Case in point, "not going to reinvent the 3 little pigs" (not the exact quote). But hey, they didn't ask me, or any of the fans for that matter. I'm as big a Disney fan as they come, and this mild rant comes from grief of bygone animation and creativity than from ignorance towards the animated library or Disney company. Ok, that's enough of that. I won't be buying it, but for those of you who do, I hope you enjoy it.

MouseHouse55 wrote:Case in point, "not going to reinvent the 3 little pigs" (not the exact quote)

I think the quote you were looking for was "You can't top pigs with pigs".

Escapay

Why is there going to be a "Little Mermaid 3"? I have the first two movies and they're okay. Why bothered putting the third one, it would do better than the upcoming "Cinderella 3".

musicradio77 wrote:Why is there going to be a "Little Mermaid 3"?

It's fast and easy money, sadly.

Escapay