Wow! Such a good movie.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This is one of the highest ranked direct to video Disney sequels I've ever come across and I'm completely confused as to why! This movie had one of the most shallow villains I have seen in a long time. It's very anti-climatic and it seems silly that King Trident would outlaw music. I will admit I liked some parts. The villain's manatee henchman was pretty entertaining. I felt bad he got put in jail with her at the end. This was a prequel but there was an animated Little Mermaid cartoon that did a better job as that.The best part is easily the beginning of the film where we finally get to see Ariel's mother! Now that was a treat and probably the part everyone likes the most. They don't get that graphic by showing her dying or anything but it's very implied. The animation is actually pretty good for a direct to video sequel. Of course I recognized Jim Cummings' voice. I feel so glad I met that guy. There may have been no celebrity voices, but this was still dull. **

The Little Mermaid is one of Disney's most lovable classics, it's one of my personal favorites, so I did want to see the sequel, which was pretty average. Normally most Disney sequels are lame or a waste of time, but it seems as if Disney is finally getting something right because The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a very sweet movie and was a nice prequel for Ariel to see what her life was like before she met Prince Eric and we learn a little bit about her family and how she came to meet Flounder. This is definitely a must see for the kids, it has fun music, cute characters, and a charming story that anyone could fall in love with. I liked that they chose a different story rather than continuing her life with Eric, I just like the "they lived happily ever after" and that's it, so this was a nice idea to get to know Ariel's sisters and mother.In this Disney prequel, we explore Ariel's life before she became human, met Eric, met Ursela. Her father is heart broken after her mother is killed by a ship, he forbids music since it reminds him of her and her beautiful voice. Ariel and her sisters grow up in a very boring world with no music or life at all, but Ariel is thirsty for fun, to spice up her life. She comes along with friends who are also trying to make life a little more fun. But a mermaid named Marina is trying to take over the girls and their lives so she can eventually control the kingdom.The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a fun Disney sequel and was a pleasure to watch. The songs are a lot of fun and the story just charms it's way into your heart. This isn't my favorite Disney sequel, but it was a huge improvement over the second Little Mermaid. I would recommend this for the family or kids, it's a charming film and of course who could resist Sebastian and his fun crazy life under the sea? He, Ariel, and Flounder bring life to this story and I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well.9/10

I first heard of this prequel at the time of its release and I was intrigued to find out what had happened before Ariel met Eric. However; upon purchasing this in a triple pack with the first two DVDs, it didn't live up to all of my expectations.The animation is mostly fluid and the colours are not overly bright like they were in 'The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea,' but some elements look a little too CGI-ish within a 2D animated environment such as the music box, Marina Del Rey's gigantic hook and the statue of Athena. Further to Marina and Athena, I found Marina a flamboyant villain whose purple colour scheme was pleasing to the eye and she was meaner than Morgana but not as sinister as Ursula while Athena reminded me very much of Ariel and I got an insight of how she looked before a pirate ship unfortunately crushed her to death, thus leading Triton to ban music from the kingdom much to Ariel's dismay. Speaking of Ariel, it was cute to see her and her sisters as little girls and their arguments as they grew older reminded me of arguing with my own sister when we were younger. The best argument between Ariel's sisters involves their possessions such as a hairbrush and an eye mask having the letter A on them since all their names begin with that letter. Like 'TLMII:RTTS,' Jodi Benson and Samuel E Wright reprise their roles as Ariel and Sebastian respectively and they sound exactly as they did in the other two films and TV series. Jim Cummings does his best to recreate Triton's voice the same way as the late Kenneth Mars did. As for the music the background music was upbeat, charming and tense while the songs were pretty good, especially 'Jump in the Line' (sounds like a follow-up to 'Under the Sea') and 'I Remember,' although Marina's song 'Just One Mistake' is rather tuneless despite being accompanied by colourful shots of her wigs and outfits. Another shot of Marina I liked was that of her leaning on a rock with the waves crashing behind her (an obvious reference to Ariel's iconic scene at the end of the 'Part of Your World' reprise) and Scuttle flying near her to which she snarls, "Don't touch me!" Aside the CGI-like elements, the other flaws include the story being predictable after Athena's death, Benjamin being too gentle for Marina's assistant and Triton being stricter than he was in the first two films. I also found the shot of Ariel and her sisters being shown in Marina's eyes confusing because I didn't know if she was watching them from her lair or at the underground club, although I can see why her report of the girls in the club to Triton was brief. The scene where Ariel appears to have died towards the end may be confusing for those who haven't seen the other two films because they may think she has actually died but she regains consciousness upon hearing the music box. The moments of Athena's death and Ariel having a flashback of happier times after having retrieved the music box had just the right amount of poignancy.To conclude, it was an adequate idea of Disney to make a prequel but it wasn't quite as enjoyable as the other two films. 7.5/10 to round up to IMDb's 8/10 rating.

I find this film to be better than the other two and i think that marina del ray is amazing and much better than Ursula and Morgana!I think that Ariel is beautiful in this version and is so much prettier than when she was in the 1st and 2nd film. If you have not seen this version of Little Mermaid well you've just gotta get it as it is brilliant with,better animatian,better plots and magnificent, dazzling animation including never before seen in the other films 3d effects and the director of this film was also known to be a dancer so if you wonder why the dancing is so crazy that its brilliant its because the director who not only did a fabulous job on the film but made her dancing background shine in this all new amazing film!If you have not got this version on DVD well you've just gotta get it as my DVD of it was 10/10 for me and my brothers DVD he said was also 10/10 for him and my friends said the same!!!! JCJ