Last month Disney released The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea Special Edition DVD. While I'm generally not a fan of the direct-to-video sequels, I don't begrudge Disney creating them and the ones I see I try to view on their own merits rather than compare them to the original or "mourn" the fact that great characters and movies are being used for lesser direct-to-video films.
It was in that spirit that I watched The Little Mermaid II for the first time last weekend despite its original release being back in 2000. My verdict? Not too bad. The story is essentially a retelling of The Little Mermaid but in reverse with Ariel's daughter Melody trying to go to the forbidden ocean while being pursued by Ursula's sister Morgana. Not too many surprises here but at a breezy 75 minutes it's decent entertainment. As is typical with the direct-to-videos, the songs aren't up to film standards but most are still pretty listenable. The best part for me was hearing so many of the original voice actors again including Jody Benson (Ariel), Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian), Pat Caroll (Morgana, Ursula in the original) and Buddy Hackett (Scuttle). I'm sure there were others but those are the ones I recognized and really appreciated. I also had a slightly different perspective on this viewing because of the pending arrival of Rebekah and my's baby boy next month. I do think the movie has plenty of appeal to younger viewers and if Gideon decides he wants to watch the scene introducing the penguin and the walrus over and over again, I think I'll be all right.
As for the Special Edition – well things are little sparse here. Considering this was originally released back in 2000 and this was the "Special Edition" release, I was expecting a little more. There's no commentary, making-of featurettes or any of the things that usually go into a Special Edition. But here's what there is:
Gonna Get My Wish: A deleted song by Morgana. It's presented fully animated here and I thought it was one of the better songs and I'm surprised it didn't make the final cut.
Underwater Mer-venture Challenge Game: I'm sorry, DVD games just aren't fun for me. I didn't try this out
The Little Mermaid II Trivia Game: Were you paying attention during the movie? I was … I got all but one right.
The Little Mermaid II DVD Storybook: This I really liked and hope it becomes a regular thing on Disney DVD releases (or perhaps it already is). It's an illustrated "book" version of the film that you can either read yourself or have read to you. Rebekah always tells me about the storybook albums she used to listen to as a kid and this seems a logical next step. I know these are available online but what not put them on the DVD as well?
"What Am I?" Game: Another fun surprise. Identify the ocean animal based on a few clues and then learn more about them including video of the real version under the sea.
Merbabies: The old Silly Symphonies cartoon. A nice and appropriate addition but not my thing.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea Special Edition DVD
The Movie: Rating: 4 out of 10 stars
DVD: Rating: 6 out of 10