Disneytoon Studios and Toon City and DisneyToon Studios Australia collaborated on the 2008 American animated direct-to-video fantasy film The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (also known as the working title The Little Mermaid III: Ariel’s Beginning or The Little Mermaid 3: Ariel’s Beginning). The film serves as a precursor to Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989), the third and final part of the trilogy, and the last direct-to-video sequel produced by Disney Animation after John Lasseter became chairman. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale of the same name, as well as Disney’s The Little Mermaid by Walt Disney Animation Japan and Walt Disney Television, this is the first episode in the series’ overarching narrative timeline.
Directed By: Peggy Holmes
Starring: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Jim Cummings, Sally Field
Synopsis:
After the death of his wife, Athena (Lorelei Hill Butters), music is banned by a distraught King Triton (Jim Cummings) in this animated picture. Ariel (Jodi Benson) and Flounder (Parker Goris) try to escape the royal court’s maniacal nanny, Marina Del Ray (Sally Field), after Flounder discovers that the irrepressible Sebastian (Samuel E. Wright) has been singing at an illegal undersea speakeasy in defiance of the king’s decree.