The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning has ended the trend of straight-to-video Disney sequels on a mediocre note. I might as well start and state that biggest problem is the movie has this unnecessary melancholy tone. This is supposed to be a prequel to The Little Mermaid. Instead of telling an inspiring story to live up the potential of Ariel herself, it would much rather involve a cowardly father that would ban fun altogether over his loss wife. That and it would have addition to almost all the characters with a massive downgrade and some weak songs. However, I wouldn't consider the worst Disney sequel. There actually are some redeeming qualities with great animation. Let's be honest, in the early times of the trend, the animation in those were bad. But at least it has gotten progressively better with the late movies during the timing of straight-to-video Disney sequels. But even so, that won't really make up for this movie for its poor execution. In terms of my recommendation, I will say that if you want to get to know more about the characters under the sea as a prequel, then this could be for you. If you're skeptical about it, then it's best to stick with the original film. While I find it slightly better than Return To The Sea, I just got to say that most of the sequels are soulless. And that's exactly why it is for the best Disney has stopped the trend after this one.
