Ariel's Beginning

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Cartoon

Ariel's Beginning, 2008

The Plot

King Triton has banned music from his kingdom after the death of his wife—who adored music. But unbeknownst to the king, music is still played and enjoyed—only secretly. Ariel discovers this wonderful secret and finds a way to bring music, her people, and her father back together.

Starring

Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Jim Cummings, Kari Wahlgren, Parker Goris, and more.

The Review

Ariel’s Beginning takes place when Ariel’s still a young child. She’s just met her best friend, Flounder and isn’t happy with her kingdom’s state of affairs. Her father’s grief, over the death of his wife, has kept him away emotionally. And while Ariel and her sisters are forced to attend a morning ritual with their father, they’re very unhappy with what transpires. Ariel, being the rebellious tike that she is, is determined to turn things around—even if it means defying her father, King Triton.

After befriending Flounder, Ariel discovers an undersea sanctuary filled with beautiful music, singing, and dancing. It reminds her of the life she had when her mother was still alive and she’s ready to embrace every ounce of it. There’s just one small problem. Her mistress and caregiver, Marina Del Rey, is tired of caring for Ariel and her sisters and desires a more prestigious position within the kingdom. In fact, she covets Sebastian’s job and will stop at nothing to get it—even if it means discrediting Sebastian, destroying the When Ariel’s life ends up in jeopardy, thanks to Marina’s meddling, King Triton steps in to save his daughter. It’s at that moment that he notices she’s in possession of his wife’s music box—the one she went back for when she died—and realizes just how silly he’s been by forbidding music in his kingdom. As he embraces his daughter in his arms, they sing his wife’s favorite song and he promises to restore music to his kingdom.

To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Could Disney pull it off? Could they give Ariel a life before she meets her Prince Charming and would it be worth watching? I’m happy to say yes to both accounts. It was fun to see how Sebastian became the Music Composer, how Ariel met Flounder, and how her rebellious ways once brought her family together.

But as cute as the storyline line is, there is still one disturbing fact: they brought in a new villain that really kept me wondering, “What? Where’s Ursula? I thought I’d finally figure out how she turned evil, why she hates King Triton so much, and what caused her to get banned from the kingdom in the first place.” They could’ve made the piece a lot stronger if Ursula had returned as the mistress/caregiver and the storyline included her story, too.

Your Task

Ariel rebelled against her father’s wishes and almost got herself killed in the process. Parents have rules in place for a reason. Some kids don’t always like to follow their children’s rules, especially when they don’t understand them. Take the time today to explain why your family rules are in place. Stop saying, “Because I said so” and starting saying, “because I want to keep you safe…”