Let's go back under the sea!!

Last night I sat down with my two year old daughter, Courtney, and my eight year old son, Nicholas, to watch The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. I was a little weary at first, thinking it couldn't possibly be as good as the original. Boy was I wrong!

First of all, let me tell you about the characters in the movie. Most of the characters from the first Little Mermaid return in this movie. These include Ariel, Prince Eric, King Tritan (Ariel's father), Flounder the fish, Sebastian the crab and Scuttle the seagull. We are also introduced to some new characters such as Melody (Ariel and Eric's daughter), Morgana (Ursala's evil sister), Undertow the shark, Tip the penguin and Dash the Walrus.

The Little Mermaid II is a story about Melody and her attempt at trying to find a place where she feels she fits in. The movie starts out with Ariel and Prince Eric taking Melody (as an infant) to meet her grandfather and the other mer-people for the first time. King Tritan gives Melody a gold locket with her name engraved on it, that when opened reveals Atlantica and the mer-people. He tells her that this locket represents where she came from. While everyone is admiring Melody, Morgana arrives with her side-kick Undertow. Morgana grabs Melody with one of her tentacles and holds her over Undertow's open mouth, demanding that King Tritan hand over the Trident immediately if he doesn't want to see his grandchild harmed. Before King Tritan can respond, Ariel and Prince Eric are able to rescue Melody. King Tritan uses the Trident to shrink Undertow to the size of a guppy, but when they try to catch Morgana she disappears vowing to get revenge.

In order to protect her child, Ariel decides that Melody can never know about Atlantica or the mer-people, including her grandfather. King Tritan has no choice but to take back the locket and throw it into the sea. Ariel and Eric then have a large wall built around their home to further ensure the safety of their child.

Now of course this doesn't work! As Melody grows up she is drawn to the sea. Without her parents knowledge, she finds a way under the wall and explores the sea. Like her mother she collects various items she finds in the sea. On her 12th birthday one of the items she finds is the locket. Before she can open it she remembers she is supposed to be at home getting ready for her birthday party. She stuffs it into her bag and swims home, being careful not to get caught by her mother.

Melody's party is a disaster. In her hurry to get dressed, she unknowingly ties Sebastian up in the bow on the back of her dress. When the boy she is dancing with puts his arms around her waist, Sebastian, trying to get free, clamps onto his fingers startling him. This creates a big scene which ends with Melody fleeing the party.

While Ariel is trying to comfort her daughter, Melody notices that the locket she found earlier has her name on it. She opens it and is amazed to see Atlantica and the mer-people, things her mother had told her were just old fish tales.Melody has many questions, and when Ariel is unable to answer them, Melody decides to find out by herself and runs away.

Would you believe this all happens within the first ten minutes of the movie? It does!! This movie is so action packed that my children did not take their eyes off the television for the entire hour and a half that the movie lasted! That in itself should tell you how good the movie is!

I highly recommend that you see this movie. It is an excellent movie that will entertain the whole family. Go rent it, or better yet buy it today as it is sure to be a movie you will treasure forever!!!