Nostalgia Fun: The Little Mermaid TV Series

Amazon.com: The Little Mermaid: Stormy Wild Seahorse

While I should probably keep this to myself, there are two movies that I'm REALLY looking forward to buying DVD this year! "United 93," which I still believe is going to be our next Best Picture winner (thus far), and "The Little Mermaid" Platinum Edition DVD. "United 93" will be on DVD next week, but "The Little Mermaid" won't be here for another month or so. Even though I could watch the entire movie on You Tube, I won't in favor of being able to watch the movie with great picture and surround sound. Two days ago at the local Goodwill store, I found "The Little Mermaid" on VHS for $3 bucks. I didn't buy it, because why waste the money on the tape when I'm getting the DVD in a month (besides, I think I have the tape somewhere in my house anyway).

But I DID find a Little Mermaid item that was worth picking up: "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventures Volume 2" on VHS. Well, THAT was something I wasn't expecting to see there! Some of you may be reading this post with raised eyebrows. Aside from the fact it must be driving some of you guys up the wall trying to figure out why a twenty year old (single) male would logically be waiting for "The Little Mermaid" to come out on DVD, most of you are probably thinking "Disney MADE a Little Mermaid TV show?! Why haven't I heard of this?" That's a good question really. After "The Little Mermaid" became a surprise box office success, Disney wanted to continue what they considered there next "big" franchise. Disney sold a lot of Ariel dolls during the movies release, and they didn't want to see that end.

So they made this TV series to continue watching the money flow. The first thirteen episodes premiered Saturdays on CBS (when CBS aired kids shows on Saturday mornings), and then a second season of thirteen episodes aired before the show got cancelled. I think Disney was expecting the show to last a little longer, but weren't disapointed to see that they could still sell Ariel dolls without a product on the market. So what was the show itself like? To be honest, I didn't remember. I only remember seeing the show once or twice when I was a kid, and then the show disapeared. Keep in mind, this show aired LONG before there was Kazaa and Bit Torrent, so if you didn't tape it, the show was practically lost forever!

However, like all common practice with kids shows back then, Disney did release three tapes of the show with two episodes on each tape. I got Volume Two, though I wonder what the point of numbering these tapes were since they just threw on random episodes. Anyway, the show takes place before the events in the movie, in a time where Ariel *gasp* LIKED living in the sea! The first episode on this tape opens up with Ariel barging into her sisters room and happily singing, "It's a beautiful day outside today. Let's go swimming." Well, I certainly wasn't expecting THAT! Actually, now that I think about it, I wasn't really sure what to expect when I popped this tape into my VCR, but I think it was fair to assume that the characters would at least be acting like themselves. I checked the box again just to make sure I really picked up a Little Mermaid product.

Yes, the depressed Ariel in "The Little Mermaid" that sulked while singing a song about how much she hates her life and wants to live another life is nowhere to be found here. I can't tell you how weird this is. It was nice to see Flounder, Sabastian, and King Tritan all acting the same as they always do (as well as having the same voice actors from the movie), but this certainly is a different product. Ariel does sing a song about freedom in this episode, but it's about freeing a tied up horse. Speaking of which, the first episode revolves around Ariel wanting to ride a horse that would rather kick her teeth out, and the second episode revoles around a kingdom known as The Sharks wanting to detroy Atlantis.

Sheesh, children's entertainment sure was different back then. Watching this tape was a strange experience for me. I don't know whether the feeling I had watching this tape was that of nostalgia, seeing as how I didn't really remember watching the show all that much as a kid, but it did bring me back to 1992, when kids shows really were for kids. I also realized something else that was nice about this show: little girls would LOVE this show! Really, they would. I know this isn't a show I would neccisarly watch if it was on TV today, but girls of the age eight and under would just adore this show. It features a lead character that they could relate to, as well as storylines that aren't too complicated or violent. Kids shows today kind of make me blush.

While I do enjoy watching shows like Spongebob Squarepants, Samuri Jack, and Teen Titans, I'm also kind of bothered by them. The first reason is because almost all the shows on TV are made with boys in mind, and none of the shows are really that friendy to little girls (or little kids in general now that I think about it). If this show had aired today I think it would be a huge sucess. It's an innocent, cute, and adorable show for young girls that is sadly missing from today's kids shows. It's not violent, vulgar, or crude. It teaches good values. I don't think it will hold much attention for older people, but then again, I don't think kids shows have to entertain older people as much as the networks seem to think they do.

That said, watching the show, I couldn't help but wondering what I would have done with it. Well, I guess I would have delved into what exactly happened to Ariel's mother, and questioned why King Tritan is so protective of his daughter (more so then he needs to be sometimes). I would show glimpses that would show why Ariel gets so interested in the human world. If given a heads up, I would even end the show with her craving to be 'part of our world' (the show was cancelled before this lead in was esablished most likely). For $1 dollar, I think this was an interesting purchese. That said though, I can't say I'll watch it much, and it certainly didn't wet my appetite while I'm waiting for the REAL Little Mermaid to come to DVD, but it was fun none-the-less!
Also, since there are no plans to bring the TV series to DVD in season box sets, this might be the only episodes of the show I'll ever own. With that said, only thirty-seven more days till "The Little Mermaid" comes to DVD.

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