MovieChat Forums > The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000) Discussion > Worst Sequel Ever!

Worst Sequel Ever!

posted 19 years ago by imdb-6674
26 replies | jump to latest

I loved The Little Mermaid. I first saw it on video in 8th grade in school. I saved up and bought it myself, I even ventured 12 miles on public transportation to the nearest Disney store to get the soundtrack when that was the only place you could buy it.

In 1991, I heard there were plans to make a sequel, and it would be finished in 1994 as the animation would take three years.

I was soooo eager for more Little Mermaid! Years past, and I moved on to other things, and the sequel never appeared. I never really watched the series, by the time I had the Disney channel to watch it, I didn't want to come in in the middle.

The sequel looked bad, so I didn't watch it until it came out on tv.

It was so horrible!

What did they do to Ariel! They made her such a worthless person! She became so selfish, lying to her daughter, denying her daughter her heritage, even *knowledge* of her heritage, denying her the opportunity to ever meet her aunts or her grandfather! Sure, it was "to save her life." Bogus! It was shere inept plotting on the part of the writers.

I didn't even see the end (I recorded it and missed the end). Last I remember Ariel changed back to a mermaid to rescue Melody. I didn't care any more. Ariel's character was ruined. I really liked her and she became a selfish and terrible parent.

Bleyaugh.

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] imdb-6674 18 years ago

1. Melody wants to go to the sea, but is told no, never, ever, with no explanation.

2. Melody is told about mer-people, so she wants to go even more, but is also told about Morgana, so she realizes it's dangerous and she can only go when she is in the company of her grandfather, THE KING OF THE SEA WITH THE MAGIC TRIDENT!

Which of these makes more sense? Lie to her, or actually give her what she wants, because what she wants isn't even wrong, but in a safe way?

Ariel is a terrible mother. And no, I wouldn't lie to my child. The danger was Melody going to the sea unprotected, not in *knowing* about it. Knowing about it would have *helped*!

[–] Shemarz7772 19 years ago

Any sequel to a legendary Disney movie will be terrible. And having it go straight to DVD was obvious proof that it wasn't that great.

[–] Cryptfan2 19 years ago

Disney sequels suck, Horror sequels are better well sort of there are sucky ones but they're still better than Disney sequels hell even the prequel Star Wars films are better.

If I can mix Code Lyoko, Anime, Freddy, Jason, Alien, Predator, Marvel and DC together.

[–] polo1984 18 years ago

Well, this sequence was really bad. When I remembered Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" she was such a dreamed, and so determined to achieve her goals. She was not any longer the same cool characted in "Return to the Sea". However, I think the worst sequence is "Pocahontas II - Journey to a New World". John Smith and Pocahontas loved each other so much in the original movie, and it the sequence they didn't even have a real conversatin. They just separated. I totally agree with Cryptfan2: Disney sequels suck

[–] invader_tak16 18 years ago

My main problem with this was it was too damn short. Felt rushed. Other than that it doesn't completely suck but it's not as great as the original. It can be summed up in one word. Meh.

[–] r_bex4eva 18 years ago

Disney sequels as a rule seem to be terrible. This is no exception, sloppy songs, terrible character development and a rushed story with plot holes in it the size of the one that sunk the titanic. When did ursula have a sister??? Why would Ariel the dreamer that she was deny her daughter the sea??? God it made me cringe and the opening sequence was dire. I honestly thought it was someone having a bad dream because i thought that the opening of a disney movie couldn't be so badly contrived. All in all it was a terrible movie.

And i agree about the pocahontas sequel lol. Another terrible sequel. The only decent one they've done was Lion King two.

[–] ocstarlet 18 years ago

well i thought ti was goood

I love the music and yeah it was ok i guess

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bigdas 16 years ago

Talk about saccharin overload, this shipwreck was too cute even for Disney. It was like a bad musical from The Producers. Flounder wasn't the only character that deserved the monikker, and what's with that Crab accent? The only good thing about it is that it made it to the Ice which is a much more solid entertainment surface.

[–] TheLittleSongbird 15 years ago

"Music comes from within, from your heart, and from your soul"

I was very disappointed with Little Mermaid 2, especially that I absolutely adore the first film and the series, the animation was sometimes flat and Morgana was very bland, still the songs actually weren't bad, and the climax was colourful.

However, I did think Cinderella 2 and Jungle Book 2 were worse. Cinderella wasn't Disney's best, but it was realxing to watch, and one of the first films I ever saw. The sequel was cute with the mice, but lacked the sparkle, and this wasn't helped by the uninspired songs and the unimagiantive storytelling. The original Jungle Book is one of my all time favourite films, but while the sequel had some good moments, I did think it was thinly plotted and rather lame. The animation was average, but the songs were forgettable, the voice acting lacked energy and the plot was almost non-existent. I didn't like Return to Neverland and Patch's London Adventure either, and I am probably the only one who doesn't.

I will say that I just wonder whether I am the only one who liked Hunchback of Notre Dame 2. The original is much better thought, very powerful and poignant. HOND2 did fail with the animation, songs and villain, but it was short and sweet and Jennifer Love Hewitt's prescence brought at least some charm to the proceedings. I am probably the only one who liked Pocahontas 2, I know it was bland on the most part compared to the beautiful original, and the ending was questionable, but I didn't think it was that bad. I also really liked Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. Yes, the original is just fantastic, and my favourite disney film, but Enchanted Christmas benefits from a strong voice cast and well above average songs, and I did think Belle's Magical World was inferior.

However, the best of the disney direct to video sequels for me has to be Aladdin and the King of Thieves. While not as good as the fantastic original, it is an improvement over Return of Jafar, which was disappointing but not terrible. Robin Williams makes a welcome return as Genie, the songs are not that bad and the storyline is great, making it a fitting end to the trilogy. In fact my only complaint was Jasmine's animation.

In conclusion, I was disappointed in Little Mermaid 2 but I don't think it is the worst sequel ever.

[–] zakima2 15 years ago

all of you make me laugh with your comments about how bad disney sequels are, however not many of you know that time restraints that were given to the artist.
Picture having only 1 month to come up with a script and storyboard, you could all do it right? Yeah I thought not. The story would have been better if given more time to brew. The sequels were done with in less than 15months and that is animating and coloring.
Don't believe me I have proof

once in a life time means theres no second chance.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] zakima2 15 years ago

How old are you people who watch these movies. You do know that they are usually for children and families and alot and I do mean alot of families and children loved this movie.

I'm always right even when you know I'm wrong

[–] zakima2 15 years ago

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12

Subject Posted by Date
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released morninglory2504 (Tue Feb 19 2008 19:14:05)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released drdoublez (Wed Mar 5 2008 13:34:11)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released morninglory2504 (Thu Mar 6 2008 13:31:04)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released drdoublez (Fri Mar 7 2008 14:05:41)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released Artdude0529 (Sat Mar 22 2008 12:57:09)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released drdoublez (Sun May 18 2008 12:53:48)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released morninglory2504 (Thu Jun 12 2008 22:25:02)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released Vazel (Mon Jun 30 2008 06:25:35)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released drdoublez (Wed Jul 22 2009 13:57:02)
Re: The Hour this Movie Was released
by zakima2 1 day ago (Sun Sep 6 2009 13:33:06)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do any of you actualy know what your talking about when you simply dismissing the animated sequels? Let me give you a bit of knowlege on how the company was run and just why these (crapquels played an important part of 2D history and future.)

First and foremost the 2d animated features that were in theaters were going down hill and fast... such titles like Home on the Range (which was the last 2d Disney film in theaters) was an original however it was not widely accepted and was the last chance Disney was giving 2d films.
Other films such as Tarzan, Mulan, Lilo and Stitch and Brother Bear did well in theaters. However Disney lost tons of money on a poorly promoted Treasure Planet. Treasure Planet was the biggest financial flop in theatrical history up to date....

Here is where the sequels come in:

Disney had several companies in other countries doing films for them. Australia, and Canada were two very well known areas that Disney worked from also Paris..... These were the places where Disney animated classics lived on in such films as Cinderella 2&3 Little Mermaid2 and many others....
Disney saw that there was no longer a market for placing animated films in theaters. People say that all they had to do was come up with a great idea, well let me ask you something... if you are so clever at great ideas why are you not rolling in the dough ?

So to proceed, Disney figured that there was a market for sequels... these are characters that people are familiar with and have come to love over time... yes there were some sequels that didn't live up to their original according to many. However there were some sequels that in my oppinion are better than the original...( example: Bambi2, Lady and the Tramp2, 101 Dalmatians2) But again these are my oppinions only...
Also you need to figure these movies that were getting churned out every year were only taking roughly less than 2 years to complete...(if you don't believe me message me I have proof and I will be more than happy to share it with you)
Picture being an artist and being told you have only a month to complete a script and storyboards. Could you do it? Well thats what the artist did for Pocahontas2 and The Lion King2.... it was shortly after that, that the animation department came up with the idea of placing a preview for a film on a VHS or DVD 2 years ahead of time and saying to audiences coming soon.
This gave the artist a bit more time to complete their work and gave them a bit more of a deadline.... Oddly enough this worked and we started to see better animated sequels. The voices were not always the same and perhaps they changed a few things from what we thought we knew. But durring this time of reigning sequels people were buying them up like crazy which in turn helped produce more films. It was this path that Michael Eisner took to keep 2d animation alive.. Sure alot of you say it was just to milk the people for money but kids thats what this business is all about, making money. Not for saying I made the greatest kids film in the world.
2D lived on in sequels up until John Lassetter took over along with Bob Iger.
The money made from these sequels is what allowed Disney to move forward to bring what we now know as The Princess and the Frog to theaters in December of 2009. I hope that people know when they bad mouth sequels they know that they are bashing the artist who kept this medium alive when everyone else thought it best to forget about it and happily move along to 3d animation.
Don't get me wrong I like Toy Story but did any of you know that Toy Story2 was meant to be a direct to video sequel? It was when there was no holiday film in 2001 that the studio thought to give it a chance in theaters.... it also became one of the top grossing films, it even surpassed its original.

I personally like the sequels and they have a special place in my heart because without them, we really had no hope of getting back to original animation in theaters.

Yet I wonder if the Princess and the Frog does not do well in theaters if Disney will be looking at those long lost sequels thinking hmmmm it brough us in money before and people liked it, right? lol well thats all I am leaving for now. Have a safe and happy weekend.

I'm always right even when you know I'm wrong

[–] ElectricalSphere 15 years ago

Yes I like a lot of them, too!
Which is your favorite scene in LM II Zakima?

[–] zakima2 15 years ago

There are a few different scenes that I like and all the songs.
My favorite in order are

For a Moment
Down to the Sea
Tip and Dash

I like the song Here on the Land and Sea it was really up lifting but I like the song introducing the new sidekicks.

Favorite scenes:

When Ariel and Melody see each other as mermaids.

When Ariel decides not to go back to the sea and picks up Melody and says "sweetie no!" absolutly love that whole sequence.

When Ariel sees flounder again for the first time and he tells her that wild sea horses could stop him. I loved seeing him as a daddy.

When Ariel is talking to Melody and she shows the locket and Ariel gets all huffy with her.

Favorite Quotes:

Tip: I'm sorry I said that thing about the blubber.
Dash: And I'm sorry about the fish breath
Tip: Yeah, wait a minute you never said anything about that.
Dash: Yeah but I was thinkn it.

Undertoe: Hello its still a small world down here!

Triton: Morgana!
Morgana: King Triton
Triton: Release my daughter, surrender my grand daughter and I shall spare you.
Morgana: Oooh whatcha gonna do throw the crab at me?
Sebastian: Hmp

Melody: Melody? It has my name on it.
Ariel: Where did you get this?
Melody: I found it?
Ariel: You went over the wall didn't you
Melody: Actually I went under it!

Sebastian: Melody child how many time do I have to tell you
Sebastian and Melody Simotaniously: It is expressly forbidden for you to be swimming beyond the safety of the castle walls any such swimmin is reckless disregard of the da rules.
Melody: Don'tcha know.
Sebastian: Stop dat

I'm always right even when you know I'm wrong

[–] Miss_Negative 12 years ago

The worst Disney sequel ever is Pocahontas 2, like someone said. But The Little Mermaid 2 is a VERY close second.

Reading The Book Thief made me cry more than Titanic.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] amber-1991 12 years ago

I think it's one of the best disney sequels.

Omg, so Ariel didn't tell her kid the whole truth... Do you tell your kids everything? She did it for her protection, she couldn't have Melody going to the sea when the sea witch was out there. Ariel was not selfish or terrible, she realized she should have been truthful to Melody but she did what she thought was right, what she thought was best for her child, you're really not anyone to judge her parenting techniques (yeah, I know, it's just a movie).

[–] LadyMiraculous 11 years ago

I don't know, I kind of enjoy this one.

Don't get me wrong, it has it's problems. I did think it was foolish and irresponsible of Ariel to keep Atlantica a secret from Melody, maybe she wouldn't have ran away if Ariel had just told her about Morgana in the first place. Speaking of which, why did take so long for King Triton's guards to find Morgana? Did they give up searching for her long before Melody's 12th birthday, or did they just simply forget about her?

Also, while Morgana isn't the "worst" Disney villain, I feel that her overall charater came out of left field. If she's suppose to Ursula's sister, then why doesn't anyone in the movie question the fact that she had a sister? If you ask me, I think Evil Manta from the TV series should've been the villain of this movie, he's been in the franchise a lot longer than Morgana has, and he's known Ariel as a mermaid in the past!

However, despite this sequels flaws, there are still some things I like about it. The mother-daughter relationship between Ariel and Melody was well-done IMO, and the animation looked good for the most part, and I think it was really interesting to see Ariel and Flounder grow up to be parents (even though most TLM fans often disagree with that). It was also nice to see Ariel be a lot more mature, in taking responsibility for her daughter's safety, and even though many people hate Melody, I think she's a lot easier to relate to than Ariel. Why? Well for starters, Melody actually had trouble fitting in with other humans her age, while Ariel was just more of a thrill-seeker than an outcast. Plus, her motive was much more understandable. Rather than running away from home to sell her voice and flirt with a guy she hardly knows, Melody ran away from home because she wanted to know more about her mermaid heritage. Not only that, be she defeated Morgana all by herself in the end, so at least give her *some* credit!

Besides, there are FAR WORSE Disney sequels out there than this, case in point:

Mulan II
Tarzan II
Return to Neverland
Jungle Book 2
Atlantis: Milo's Return
Hunchback of Notre Dame II (now this one's a doozy! )
Fox and the Hound 2 (ditto! )
Cinderella 2 & 3
Pocahontas 2
Lady and the Tramp 2

If anything, this movie is one of the "better" Disney sequels (though certainly not the best).

"A Decepticon never retreats" -Starscream (G1)
[Formerly CosmosX9]

[–] CMAT11530 11 years ago

I for one LOVED TLM II I don't know why everyone is always criticizing it saying its the worst Disney sequel. I LOVED IT! ok its not as good as the original BUT its got likeable characters and a cute story. I can relate to how Melody felt about being an outcast and fitting in at her age. Heck I'm still trying to fit in. 2nd is Ariel wasn't a terrible mother. She was trying to protect her daughter from Morgana. Its not Ariel's fault its Morgana's fault for putting Ariel and her family in danger. Heck if there was a crazy person or sea monster after my child I would do the same as Ariel. Also I disagree about Cinderella II,Tarzan 2,Return to Neverland,Hunchback II,Patch's London Adventure,Pocahontas II and The Aladdin sequels being bad. I Loved em all! Only Disney sequels I hated were Beauty & the Beast: Belle's Magical World,Mulan II,Jungle Book 2 and Kronk's New Groove.Atlantis: Milo's Return I'm not interested in. I know we are all entitled to our opinions and I'm not disrespecting anyone's. Just saying mine.

[–] saikano_75 10 years ago

It's a horrible sequel but I don't agree with your reasons. I'm watching it right now. First time in years and I am realizing the animation isn't as good as the first. Almost all the sea creatures look like something from the loony tunes. They just look too comical and with the first movie the only animal who had that look was Scuttle and yet he still fit in with the movie. But I think they went over the top in this movie.

Plus it's too fast plot wise. In just thirty minutes she is born, turns twelve, finds a secret item, has a fall out with her mom and runs away from home.

Too damn fast. And none of the songs as memorable like in the first movie. It was just awful. There was no need for a second movie.

[–] otness_e 10 years ago

I'm not too fond with TLM2 either (and speaking of Loony Tunes, the songs in that movie plus the Sock Party ad for Kids WB are the reason why I'm currently traumatized by singing), but I wouldn't go as far as to claim it's the worst sequel ever in the present. That award goes to Hunchback II from what I've heard (I'd list Ariel's Beginning as being worse for a variety of reasons, but that's a prequel, not a sequel).

Besides, at least they tried to do some variation with the plot to not make it a true copy paste. And having flash forwards aren't exclusive to this movie even if it does come across as being rushed. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Storm had being delivered to the Dursleys and going to Hogwarts at roughly the same time, maybe even shorter.

[–] AndrewGS 8 years ago

To me the movie actually epitomizes "so bad it's good."