The Little Mermaid (Animated) (DVD)

Advantages: A great story
Disadvantages: Short like other Disney films

...end well. Ariel is the star of our tale a beautiful young girl of 16. Not any ordinary girl though. Ariel is a mermaid and not just any mermaid either. She is the youngest and most favourite daughter of King Tritan. She is a mer-princess. Unlike all of her many sisters (six to be exact) she doesn't appreciate her position in life. She, being a princess as you can imagine, could have a life of luxury and happiness but this is not so for Ariel. None ...
...a different life the life of a human. To King Tritan and the rest of the mer-folk, humans are barbarians. Bad and dangerous people but that is not what Ariel thinks. Her life consists of sneaking off with Flounder. Her little fish friend in search of ship wrecks. She hunts through them to find objects that humans would use and keeps them all in a little hide out. She finds the things they make beautiful and interesting. So how could the people that ... Read review

Advantages: Won't Wear Out
Disadvantages: No Extras

The Little Mermaid must be one of the best Disney films ever. The story is enchanting and will be enjoyed be people of any age. One thing I particularly like about the Disney version is that they changed the ending to make it happy, making it better than many other interpretations of the story. It is great to finally see it on DVD format, and although it is widescreen, I wonder why it isn't show in the original aspect ratio of 1.75:1. This is the ...
...your video tape, and then having to wait at least another 7 years for a re-release. Although there are no extras, the subtitles can be useful for singing along if you don’t know all of the words. This DVD is great fun for everybody and is definitely well worth buying. ... Read review

Advantages: fun for all the family.
Disadvantages: none really.

The plot. The story revolves around the adventure of an astoundingly beautiful red-headed mermaid named Ariel. Thanks to her inquisitive nature finds the human world a fascinating thing. Her love for the human world is only furthered by the fact that her exploration into the world is discouraged by her father, King Triton. Ariel secretly keeps a hidden store which is full to the brink of random objects that have come from the human world, she guards ...
...rages, a ship sinks into the murky darkness. The crew are fine and manage to get away safely but the handsome Prince Eric is drowning, with curiosity driving her, Ariel swims to him and finds him floating in the sea, she takes him to a beach and as Ariel gazes into Eric’s face she realizes that he is her true love. Eric wakes up and startles her, she dives into the water and all Eric can remember is the glimpse he aught of Ariel’s beautiful face. ... Read review

Advantages: Safe, entertaining, beautiful music
Disadvantages: It has to end

The Little Mermaid. Nothing-fishy here! A favourite Disney classic in which Aerial the Mermaid sings her way through the enchanted underwater kingdom. Released in the cinema in 1990, it was available for a short time on video in 1991. Rated as U (universal), it is 80 minutes long, and is totally suitable for youngsters and the young at heart. It is quite collectable, as it is nearly impossible to order. This wonderful fairytale has been superbly ...
...Prince, (Eric) after venturing to the surface when his ship is caught in a storm, she rescues him and with the help of her friends Flounder and Sebastian the crab. Forbidden by her father King Neptune to venture to the surface again, Aerial trades her voice for legs with Urshula the evil sea witch. In a race against time Aerial and Eric have to destroy the sea witch in order to break the spell and steal her voice back. It is impossible not to sing ... Read review

Advantages: Great entertainment
Disadvantages: None

...you are caught up in the extraordinary imagination of the man, and it makes you want to know more. So, I did--and followed the sad tail of his Little Mermaid. Disney, as they are prone to do, changed his orriginal tale and "child-ized it". Their movie has a happy ending where they all get what they want--except Ursula, of course. But when Disney does something, they do it well. This movie is no exception. From the very first bars of the background ...
...a foggy day, and gradually the prow of a ship comes into veiw through the fog, you know that this is something special. The scenes flow seamlessly into one another, the music rich and full, and you forget that this isn't Anderson's version, this is pure Disney magic. The characters here are filled with life, the music will have you singing for days, and the imagery is pure and rich. You see the undersea world through the eyes of the animators, but ... Read review

Advantages: nice follow on
Disadvantages: not as good as the original

...(who cant sing Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid?), the characters less endearing. But it does benefit from greater animation expertise and the use of many of the original voices. And if nothing else serves as a very good warning of the dangers of falling in love with a land-dweller if you are a mermaid or vice versa. The special features on my version of the disc are limited to some bonus footage, a read a-long, trivia game which kept me entertained for almost 20 minutes (so will probably keep younger children than myself entertained for much longer), and a What am I? Game which for some reason wont play on my DVD player but from memory was quite good fun when I played it on my laptop. The film is 72 minutes long and rated U but as the case tells us has some mild peril in it. All in all this is a brightly coloured fishy tale... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: If you liked Little Mermaid One, it follow on nicely.
Disadvantages: Disney blandness, very much a kids flick

...My children loved the first Little Mermaid cartoon, so I bought this on the assumption it would be as good as the first, and if you are unde ten, then it is. Most of the original cast reprise their voiceover roles, even Rene Auberjoinois (Odo in Deep Space Nine) returns as the french chef. This time around, Ariel is married and older and has a little girl called Melody. To stop Ursula's (the Sea-Witch form the first film) evil sister Morgana from getting at Melody and doing evil sea-witchy things to her, Melody is forbidden from swimming in the sea and is not told of her Mermaid heretige. Needless to say, she disobeys and ends up getting in all sorts of musical, fishy , brightly coloured trouble. The songs are good, high polish Disney quality, the animation is better than the (now quite old) original, and the new characters (a... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Nice story and songs, little Melody looks like a perfect mix of her parents!
Disadvantages: A bit simplistic and not very powerful

...The original Little Mermaid was needless to say a Disney classic with beautiful songs and a touching story. Therefore I was certainly apprehensive when purchasing this second installment as a present. I decided to watch it as well just to see what it was like, and though I wasn't blown away, I was pleasantly surprised. Though nothing can come close to the original, in this film the story shifts to Ariel's little daughter Melody, who though is human is ironically attracted to being a mermaid. This little switch seems a bit contrived but it was sweet to see a very different side to the story where the main song is actually about the wonders of being a mermaid, unlike the original which was about the wonders of being human! All in all, nothing too memorable but a worthy attempt at rekindling the magic of the original, and even better... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful