QDB’s review published on Letterboxd:
Disney direct-to-video sequels are hit or miss by their very nature and unfortunately the latter category is much more common. There are 30ish or 40ish Disney direct-to-video sequels depending on what you think counts (I say 34) and out of that list there are only 6 films I actually consider good in their own right, 4 are a mixed bag, and the other 24 range from barely passable to god-awful most of which can be skipped. This film is a unique case because it falls into the 3rd category and although there is more bad then good here, I feel obligated to point out there was potential even if it ended up wasted.
Lets start with the many negatives:
*The film's plot is lazily recycled from the first film.
*The villain, who admittedly has a few good lines, is a slimmed down version of the villain from the last film. Also the line "Ursula's Crazy Sister" is the worst character exposition in film ever!
*Characters from the original are wasted in this film.
*The entire plot of the film could have been avoided because apparently Ariel forgot how her father's parenting style failed (then again maybe you could chalk this up to real life?)
Now the few positives:
*I like the music and while it doesn't come close to matching up to the original film, most movies couldn't match "The Little Mermaid" in the music department, and for what this is it does a decent job.
*This was the only Disney property as far as I know that's pounced on the idea of a Disney princess having a kid.
*Speaking of which, I really liked the heroine of the film Melody and maybe that's because she's pretty similar to Ariel but even taking that into consideration I was still invested in a character that was birthed from a direct-to-video product. I think that's worth pointing out.
Even though I like a few things in this film I wouldn't blame fans of the original preferring to forget it ever happened and I wouldn't encourage anyone to seek out and purchase this unless you were a big fan of animation.
Click here for my review of Belle's Magical World.
Click here for my review of The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride.
Click here for my review of Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.