Released in the year 2000, “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea” tells us the story of Melody, daughter of Ariel and Eric. Soon after Melody’s birth, the proud parents took her on a ship out into the ocean so she could meet her grandpa, King Triton. But Morgana, the jealous sister of Ursula, shows up, determined to take Triton’s trident and rule the waters herself, hoping to wreak her revenge for Ursula’s death. She takes the baby and makes a deal with Triton: the trident for the child. He’s ready to turn it over, but Ariel won’t have any of it, and steps in to save the baby. Morgana slinks back down to the bottom of the ocean, vowing that she’ll make Ariel pay. That trident will be hers one way or another.
Knowing Melody will never be safe as long as she’s near the ocean, Ariel and Eric agree she must never know that she’s part mermaid. They build a huge wall between their castle and the ocean, and King Triton sends Sebastian to be his eyes and ears, bringing him news of his family. This is the only way they can communicate safely without Melody falling into Morgana’s clutches (or should I say, tentacles) again.
As Melody grows up, she takes after her mother, with an intense love of the water. Just like Ariel did, she goes out and scavenges for treasures in the sea, swimming under the retaining wall to get into the open water. She just doesn’t fit in with the children of the kingdom, and wishes she could spend all her time at sea. I guess if wishes were fishes . . .
Now she’s turning twelve, and on the eve of her birthday, she tries to tell her mother about her love of the water. But her mother freaks out, and won’t tell her why. Melody runs off, determined to find the answer herself. Of course, she meets up with Morgana, who grants her the wish she desires most of all – to become a mermaid. Once Melody has her fins, she’s completely happy, but now Morgana wants her to do something in return.
Ariel realizes she must go back into the sea to save her daughter, and Triton uses his magic to transform her back into a mermaid. Combing the waters, Ariel hopes to find her daughter before it’s too late.
This isn’t a bad movie, although it’s certainly not as good as the original. Some of the animation is a little bit wonky – Ariel’s face goes into some pretty unusual contortions while she’s singing. But it won’t drive you batty and as far as sequels go, it’s probably one of the better ones Disney has done. And if you have any “Little Mermaid” fanatics (or should I say, fin-atics –- okay, I’ll stop now) they should love it.
This film was rated G.
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