Happily living on land, Ariel and her cardboard Prince, Eric, are celebrating the birth of their first child named Melody. But when the evil Morgana (sister to Ursula, the octopus sea witch who tangled things up in the first movie) discovers the new mer-human, she vows to make life miserable for King Triton and his progeny. Fearing for her daughter's safety, Ariel decides Melody must never know of her fishy genetics. As an extra precaution, Eric has a huge wall built around the castle to keep her off the beach.

Twelve years later, Melody, on the brink of teen-dom, appears to be following in her mothers fin prints by yearning for everything she doesn't have. Getting past the wall, she discovers a locket (a discarded gift from her Grandpa) that presents a way-cool holographic image of animated mermaids when opened. Convinced life under the sea would be much better, Melody sets out to discover the depths, to her mother's despair. Meanwhile the evil Morgana, conveniently viewing Melody's actions, is only too happy to help the impetuous child, knowing this is an opportunity to capture Trition's powerful trident giving her rule of the seven seas.

Of course, Melody's mischief leaves Ariel with only one choice--dust off the clamshell bikini and rent a tail from Daddy. With help from her old friends Sebastian and Flounder (along with some new characters to keep the toy companies happy) Ariel sets off on her latest adventure, though not with quite the same style and charisma as her first.

Animated by Disney's television department in Canada and Australia, the visual quality of The Little Mermaid 2 is equal to its predecessor, but the story is bland and the music forgettable, although Morgana is a more rounded bad guy than Ursula. Suffering from little sister syndrome, she would likely come around if only someone would invite her over for dinner or remember her birthday.

But in most children's movies there is no time for compassionate acts towards archenemies, and this title is no exception. While this sea-quel has little objectionable content to concern parents, it certainly won't make waves for creative ingenuity either.

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Talk about the movie with your family...

Melody has little respect for her parents' wishes that she stay out of the ocean. Her parents have good reason to be concerned for her safety, yet they keep them a secret. Could much of their conflict have been avoided if they had talked honestly to each other about their feelings and concerns?

Children and parents who struggle with their communication skills make common story lines for movies. Check out our reviews of Aladdin, Pocahontas, Harriet the Spy, and Fly Away Home.

Rod Gustafson

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