The Little Mermaid III

Caroline · Post by **Caroline** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:07 pm

are there any fans of disney's the little mermaid here? i have been trying to get some more information about "the little mermaid III" ever since the sneak preview was released on dvd. the most official information is from wikipedia, and it seems to contradict itself. the plot is currently rumored to be a prequel to the original film, but voice actors have been cast for ariel's daughter, melody, and her human friends.

just wondering... thoughts? speculations? i wanna know!

Elfstalker · Post by **Elfstalker** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:33 pm

...I didn't even know there was a second movie.

sailorsv13 · Post by **sailorsv13** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 12:54 am

I do not know anything about the third movie but I am excited, even if sequals are never as good as the originals ^.^

~ Bri ~

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 12:55 am

Would you like to know? I can't think of anything. You think of something.

wELCOME cONSUMER · Post by **wELCOME cONSUMER** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:58 am

I was wondering the same thing after seeing the teaser. I hope it features some better animation than Mermaid II did

Okuni · Post by **Okuni** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:57 pm

Elfstalker wrote:...I didn't even know there was a second movie.

same here..

But, that's Disney for you. Rip a story for as much as you can while making it completely child friendly.

I believe, in the original story, that either the prince or the mermaid died. Probably the mermaid. She loved the prince so much she gave her life to save him or something like that.

wELCOME cONSUMER · Post by **wELCOME cONSUMER** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:26 pm

The original Hans Christian Andersen story? The mermaid dies. She makes a deal with the sea witch that, if she can get the prince to love her, she'll obtain a mortal soul. The spell requires the witch to cut out the mermaid's tongue in exchange for legs. The prince ends up marrying a princess, resulting in the mermaid throwing herself into the sea. Her body dissolves and transforms into sea foam and she becomes a daughter of the air. This way, she can gain an eternal soul by doing good deeds.

It's really kind of ridiculous. Hans Christian Andersen was very unlucky in love and most of his stories tend to have twisted endings. This one in particular kind of goes on and on, a sort of extended epilogue. It's not really a "happy ending." In the original Disney version, the one Walt himself worked on, had a much more depressing ending. The mermaid is transformed into foam and that's it. No "daughter of air eternal soul" business. I think it might've been a concept for Fantasia, since Fantasia was meant to be annual anthology.

Some Disney sequels are clever. Such as Kronk's New Groove. That movie is cute and as amusing as the Emperor TV series. The Lilo & Stitch sequels were well-done, as was the Peter Pan: Return to Neverland movie. Sequels are a good way to make money and keep a property fresh for newer generations, such as Bambi II and Cinderella III. Cinderella III actually has a rather clever plot involving magic. I don't like all sequels, mostly because I feel they dilute the impact of the original film. Plus, the farming out of the animation to cheaper studios in Korea can be annoying. The quality tends to vary, Little Mermaid II looks extremely cheap for example.

HotIce · Post by **HotIce** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:44 pm

I'm not a huge fan of The Little Mermaid... but I might take a guess that if III is a prequel to the 1st one... but the daughter and human friends are in it... it could very well be ariel telling her daughter and stuff the story of her life as a mermaid?

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:44 pm

Under what circumstances?

HotIce · Post by **HotIce** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:45 pm

like a campfire sit around group!

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:45 pm

Interesting comparison.

wELCOME cONSUMER · Post by **wELCOME cONSUMER** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 1:06 am

A campfire under water? hehehe

That's actually an interesting theory Hotice, you might indeed be right.

Caroline · Post by **Caroline** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 6:48 pm

yea, you are probably right. i dunno if i really like that idea, but a prequel would be better than continuing the story. i really disliked melody's character and dont care to see more of her. "the little mermaid" was one of the films that inspired me to pursue animation... so i am loyal to it. the animation in the sequel wasn't *horrible*... there was a lot of reuse. the character designs were really weak and the plot was predictable. but i know some of the artists who worked on the film and they had an extremely talent group.