Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning Blu-ray Movie Review

Flounder raps while Disney jumps the mermaid.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 2, 2014

It's nowhere near as awful as The Little Mermaid II: Return To the Sea, but The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning frequently gives it a run for its money. Another direct-to-video outing in the popular The Little Mermaid franchise, Director Peggy Holmes' (The Secret of the Wings) prequel Mermaid film sees music banned in the underwater kingdom and some rogue creatures rapping and bopping in secret. Mayhem ensues and anger reaches a boiling point but happily ever after ultimately rules the day. For a movie with so much rhythm, Ariel's Beginning lacks much of a pace, coming across as rather slow footed and incapable of carrying a dramatic beat. While the first film certainly steps all over this one, the littlest of fans should at least find some toe-tapping good times with what is, ultimately, a cut-rate pre-story that accomplishes little more than splashing a few favorite characters across the screen for one more adventure under the sea.

In trouble.

When King Triton's (voiced by Jim Cummings) wife is killed by pirates, all that he has to remember her by is a music box he gave her moments before her demise. Distraught over the loss and heartbroken whenever he hears music, he bans it throughout his underwater kingdom. Ten years later and the waters of Atlantica remain eerily silent. Ariel (voiced by Jodi Benson), one of Triton's daughters and the most rebellious of the bunch, one day stumbles into a secret underground dance hall. When she's caught humming her favorite beat, Triton doubles down on enforcing the law and places his daughters' power-hungry governess, Marina Del Ray (voiced by Sally Field), in charge of making sure it never happens again.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is, in essence, a Musical about the unifying power of music, a power that can make new friends, heal old wounds, and bring families closer together. It's not at all novel, but it does, at least within its tender bookends, find a spark of the satisfyingly dramatic and the recognizable Disney magic. The open is very well done, establishing a certain mood centered on music and shattering it with a suddenness and sullenness that's heartbreakingly effective but that fails to set the tone for what becomes, sadly, a tedious middle stretch that lacks interesting character construction, character depth, and catchy tunes. The film pushes along through several forgettable and predictable scenes. Its villain lacks the charisma of Ursula and the heinous presence of Morgana. When it reaches the predicable yet sweet conclusion, it finds momentary reprieve and at least allows its audience to walk away from the movie with a smile; it's just a shame the rest of the picture is such a drag.

In short, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning means well but does't work very well. The classic strings and stirrings captured in the original are largely lost here -- beyond the typically gorgeous Disney animation -- and replaced with oddly constructed and performed "popular" music underneath which can be heard the faint sound of cash registers clinking and clanking in every store around the world. A few tunes are catchy -- certainly more so than the forgettable drivel that defined the series' middle entry -- but lack anything even remotely resembling the quality of classics like Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl. The voice acting isn't quite so insipid as that found in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, yet a rather flat script and substandard pacing keep the performances sounding rather dry, anyway. The film is at least visually bright and cheery and enjoys a good selection of front-and-center new and newly defined characters, but never does it even come close to comparing to the power and grace of the original classic in any way.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning's 1080p transfer is everything one would expect from a top-end Disney Blu-ray release. Colors are cheery and vibrant. Even if there's a lack of color diversity and subtlety -- reds, blues, and greens are all presented as very basic shades here -- they're unmistakably bold and jump off the screen at every opportunity. Details are pleasing. The high definition resolution allows the image to remain stable even on large display surfaces, and viewers will appreciate both clean, even lines and the ability to see with tremendous clarity every animated detail that went into the making of the film. Very light banding pops up along a few backdrops and represents the only real downside to an otherwise pristine transfer.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning swims onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's perhaps slightly more aggressive and spacious in comparison to the track that accompanies The Little Mermaid II: Return To the Sea. Here, music is naturally flowing and richly clear, enjoying fine front-end spacing and a subtle and welcoming surround support. Several action effects are appropriately hefty, particularly the pirate "attack" heard near film's start. The track features some welcome and active surround support features, notably inside the underground dance club. An empty club and strummed or tapped instruments result in a quality reverberation through the back, and large crowds inside yield a pleasing din. Dialogue is presented accurately and naturally from the center. Overall, this is a high end soundtrack from Disney.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning contains the following extras:

• Splashdance: A Dancer's Adventures Under the Sea (480i, window box, 7:23): Director Peggy Holmes leads a brief behind-the-scenes journey through the making of the movie, with an emphasis on the voice acting and the musical theme.
• Deleted Scenes (480i, window box):Sebastian Waking the Girls (1:43) and Ariel Follows Flounder (3:58). Director Peggy Holmes introductions are included.
• Sing Along with the Movie (1080p, 1:17:30): A version of the movie that allows viewers to sing-along with the tunes. Essentially, subtitles turn on only for song lyrics.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning fares a bit better than The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, but fans of the classic original film will nevertheless walk away sorely disappointed. It's a good idea, and the movies shows a lot of promise in a strong open, but a dull middle stretch, a poorly defined villain, and a substandard pacing keep the movie sinking rather than swimming. Disney's Blu-ray release of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning features gorgeous 1080p high definition video, terrific lossless audio, and a few supplements. Skip it.