What Worked? What Didn't?

[Zavi]

We have threads like this for the other movies, so why not this one? Just like TLM2 and even the original, TLM3 had specific elements that didn't enhance or detracted from good storytelling. What worked for this film? What didn't? Discuss.

[Aquisha]

What worked:

• The interaction of the Daughters of Triton. This was brilliant. Though those of us familiar with the original order and personalities of Ariel's sisters might have a hard time getting over the changes made (i.e. I will never get over it), they did great job of making strong choices as to who each girl was. And they did an even better job of illustrating these personalities in their interactions with each other. Brava!
  
  
• Seeing the royal Atlantican family all together. This something we all wanted to see and it was great to see it animated and it was really sweet.
  

What didn't work:

• Having Triton hate music, being (again) a pseudo-villain. First, the music box didn't kill Athena, her misplaced concern over a chotckie did the ship did. Why didn't we use this situation to ignite Triton's wariness of humans into full on hatred? Nope, we're just going to turn the Atlantican national anthem into the Atlantica national free verse poem. Second, with the amount of music in the original movie, it doesn't make sense that Triton has only allowed it in the kingdom for two years. I think it was lazy to make music the source of conflict. And third, we see enough Triton/Ariel tension in the original. I feel like they could have done something different.
  
  
• Flounder. He's a guppy in the original. Now he's risking fin and freedom to fight for his right to party? No, no. Way out of character and a little unforgivable with him being Ariel's best friend.
  
  
• Marina del Ray. Again, lazy. She doesn't really qualify as a villain because her bone wasn't with the main character, it was with Sebastian. So you can't really hate her, she's just annoying. Though Benjamin had his strangely entertaining moments, their little duo was on the whole disappointing. Really, we're fearing a babysitter? I don't think so.
  

I would like to point out that though I realize TLM now belongs to a younger generation now, it will always be my (irrational) feeling that the series shouldn't be overlooked. The fact that it was completely ignored is actually my biggest problem with this movie. However, I can't put that on the list because, like I said, this movie was never intended for someone born before 1998 and I recognize this.

[WickedElphie]

I agree with pretty much everything you've said. For my money the best scenes were the first five minutes and the 'I Remember' sequence. I disliked how they essentially wrote out the humans after the opening and never even showed Ariel becoming interested in the human world at all. *is totally not still bitter about the lack of Eric cameo. Really.*

From what I gathered this movie was specifically geared toward the younger kid set (hence the lack of OMGScary villain) and with that knowledge I can deal with Marina. But Captain VonTriton and Punk!Flounder needed to get off my screen.

[Zavi]

I'm with Paige on our not-so-lovely villainess. Maybe it's just my love for Ursula that makes me dislike Marina. It's a me thing. I like scary villains who are capable of harming the protagonists physically or psychologically and have a justified reason for doing it (in their mind). Ursula, Scar, Frollo, Mother Gothel. Marina fit the tone of the film but I feel like they could've had a villain that seemed a bit more threatening. But kids apparently can't handle that.

Word to everything said about Flounder. His personality got completely derailed. In the original he provided some much-needed tension in dialogue and served as a nice foil to our adventurous princess. This Flounder? I feel like he was put there to relate to the younger generation by old folk who've only read about kids these days in books. Because every child born after 1995 enjoys rap music and causing trouble...

I was floored with this film in the first five or ten minutes. I can still remember the waves of squee and adorable fuzzies at seeing all of Ariel's family together. And wee!Ariel! Cuter than a basket of puppies. But the only thing that matched the tone they set up was 'I Remember' and some of the ending.

[Coral]

My issues are the same. What bugged me the most was the total ignoring of Series!Universe. It's cannon, whether they like it or not.

I was so happy that the animation was finally up to snuff that the plot holes and mischaracterization for Flounder didn't bother me on the first viewing.

[Zavi]

The visuals were excellent, especially for a sequel. I wasn't too fond of the color scheme (I'm a sucker for darkness) but it fit the tone of the film so I won't complain.

Ignoring the series didn't bother me too much since DTV sequels hardly ever acknowledge side material and sometimes not even the original *coughFloundercough*. It'd be awesome if they did but I didn't expect them to. But couldn't they have stuck with the birth order, at least? It was implied in the original. I guess they changed it since Attina's design looked more the part.

[faya27]

I agree with everything Aquisha and WickedElphie said. Somehow I don't think that the people who made the prequel saw the original (or the tv series).