The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning: Difference between revisions
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== Synopsis == |
== Synopsis == |
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The opening prologue is narrated by [[Sebastian (The Little Mermaid)|Sebastian]]. [[King Triton|Triton]] and his wife, Queen Athena, have seven young daughters, the youngest of whom is [[Ariel (The Little Mermaid)|Ariel]]. The entirety of the underwater kingdom of Atlantica is filled with joy, music and laughter. The merfolk are shown relaxing in a lagoon above water, and Triton gives Athena a small [[music box]]. A [[pirate]] ship approaches and they attack, stealing the merpeople's possessions. Everyone escapes except Queen Athena, who is crushed by the pirate ship when she tries to save the music box that was given to her by King Triton |
The opening prologue is narrated by [[Sebastian (The Little Mermaid)|Sebastian]]. [[King Triton|Triton]] and his wife, Queen Athena, have seven young daughters, the youngest of whom is [[Ariel (The Little Mermaid)|Ariel]]. The entirety of the underwater kingdom of Atlantica is filled with joy, music and laughter. The merfolk are shown relaxing in a lagoon above water, and Triton gives Athena a small [[music box]]. A [[pirate]] ship approaches and they attack, stealing the merpeople's possessions. Everyone escapes except Queen Athena, who is crushed by the pirate ship when she tries to save the music box that was given to her by King Triton. Devastated by Athena's death, Triton throws the music box away and bans [[music]] from the kingdom. |
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Ten years later, Triton's daughters live under a strict schedule maintained by their [[governess]], Marina Del Rey. Marina hates her job and longs for Sebastian's, who is the king's attache. Ariel is frustrated by their current lifestyle, which brings her into conflict with the strict King Triton. During their morning "walk", Ariel tickles her sister with kelp, and she is given the punishment of cleaning barnacles. |
Ten years later, Triton's daughters live under a strict schedule maintained by their [[governess]], Marina Del Rey. Marina hates her job and longs for Sebastian's, who is the king's attache. Ariel is frustrated by their current lifestyle, which brings her into conflict with the strict King Triton. During their morning "walk", Ariel tickles her sister with kelp, and she is given the punishment of cleaning barnacles. |
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Revision as of 14:43, 31 August 2008
| The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Peggy Holmes |
| Produced by | Kendra Halland |
| Starring | Jodi Benson Samuel E. Wright Sally Field |
| Music by | James Dooley Jeanine Tesori (songs) |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
Release dates |  August 26, 2008 |
Running time | 77 min. (approx.) |
| Language | English |
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a 2008 Disney animated feature film, and the direct-to-video prequel to the 1989 film The Little Mermaid and the 2000 film The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film (on DVD) on August 26, 2008. The film features Jodi Benson reprising her role as Ariel in a story that is set before the events of the original film.
Synopsis
The opening prologue is narrated by Sebastian. Triton and his wife, Queen Athena, have seven young daughters, the youngest of whom is Ariel. The entirety of the underwater kingdom of Atlantica is filled with joy, music and laughter. The merfolk are shown relaxing in a lagoon above water, and Triton gives Athena a small music box. A pirate ship approaches and they attack, stealing the merpeople's possessions. Everyone escapes except Queen Athena, who is crushed by the pirate ship when she tries to save the music box that was given to her by King Triton. Devastated by Athena's death, Triton throws the music box away and bans music from the kingdom.
Ten years later, Triton's daughters live under a strict schedule maintained by their governess, Marina Del Rey. Marina hates her job and longs for Sebastian's, who is the king's attache. Ariel is frustrated by their current lifestyle, which brings her into conflict with the strict King Triton. During their morning "walk", Ariel tickles her sister with kelp, and she is given the punishment of cleaning barnacles.
While carrying out her punishment, Ariel encounters Flounder, a fish, who is making music. That night, Ariel sees Flounder outside the window, and follows him to an underground music club. She is overjoyed by the presence of music, and is shocked when she learns that Sebastian performs at the club. When her presence is revealed, at first all the club patrons flee, but Ariel sings a song explaining her love of music, and she joins the club with an oath.
Ariel returns to the palace, and her sisters confront her over her disappearance. She explains where she was, and all of them want to go to club as well. All seven sisters go to the club the following night, but Marina secretly follows them and witnesses Sebastian singing. Marina reports their activities to Triton, and the next day Sebastian, Flounder and the band are sent to jail, while Marina gets the job she wants.
Ariel sneaks into the prison and frees the jailbirds. Sebastian leads them to a deserted place far from the palace where they'll be safe. When there, Ariel finds the music box and Sebastian explains that he wanted her to find it. They decided to return to Atlantica to show the music to Triton, in the hopes that it will change his mind.
On the way back, they are confronted by Marina and her electric eels. Marina wants to stop them so she will retain her position of "power", and a struggle ensues. It ends when Marina barrels towards Sebastian, and Ariel pushes her out of the way, getting hit in the process. Triton arrives in time to witness this, and he is remorseful for his actions. He sings the lyrics of "Athena's Song", and Ariel is revived.
The film ends music being restored to Atlantica, and everyone rejoices. Marina is sent to jail, where her assistant, Benjamin, tries to teach her to be nice.
Voice cast
- Jodi Benson as Ariel
- Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian
- Jim Cummings as King Triton and Shelbow
- Sally Field as Marina Del Rey
- Tara Strong as Adella and Andrina [1]
- Jennifer Hale as Alana [1]
- Grey Delisle as Aquata and Arista [1]
- Kari Wahlgren as Attina [1]
- Parker Goris as Flounder
- Rob Paulsen as Ink Spot and Swifty
- Lorelei Hill Butters as Queen Athena
- Jeff Bennett as Benjamin
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Cheeks and Ray-Ray
Note: Lorelei Hill Butters is also the film's production secretary.
Songs
This movie features new songs written by Jeanine Tesori, and some old calypso favorites too. Composer Jim Dooley wrote the arrangements and recorded the instrumentals. The songs are:
- I Remember
- I Will Sing
- Athena's Song
- Just One Mistake
- Jump in the Line (Shake,Shake,Shake,Senora) [2][3]
- Man Smart, Woman Smarter (instrumental only)[2]
Score
The score to the film was composed by James Dooley, who is known for his work on the television show Pushing Daisies. He recorded his score with a 72-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony, as well as a big band, at the Sony Scoring Stage.[4]
Release
Bonus features included on the DVD are:
- Deleted scenes
- "Music and More" featurette hosted by director Peggy Holmes, looking at the production of the film.
- Games and Activities
- "Backstage Disney" featurette hosted by Sierra Boggess, looking at the Broadway musical
References
- ^ a b c d James Plath (2008-08-16). "DVD review of Little Mermaid, The: Ariel's Beginning - DVD Town". DVDTown.com. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b James Plath (2008-08-16). "DVD review of Little Mermaid, The: Ariel's Beginning - DVD Town". DVDTown.com. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Irv Slifkin (2008-08-11). "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning 8/11/2008 Video Business". VideoBusiness.com. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Dan Goldwasser (2008-07-04). "Jim Dooley scores The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning with songs by Jeanine Tesori". ScoringSessions.com. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
