The Little Mermaid series on Disney Junior

[UmbrellaFish]

Well, no the show isn’t good. It’s not really meant for adults. But I will give the show credit for fleshing out the world of Atlantica. And if you watched it as a child, it’s a nostalgia rush. I mean just the theme song alone.

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, I mean, a person could make the same argument of "It's not meant for adults" about every single thing related to Disney if that's their excuse for something being subpar or outright bad, not just this particular TV show. Which is why that argument is nonsense--Disney products have always been for the entire family and consumer base even if children are the primary audience. Sort of ironic to see that kind of insult and/or dismissive aside used on a Disney fan board where everyone are adult fans of Disney products of all places, you'd only be insulting yourself really..

Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure is aimed for an even younger audience than this show, I'd say, and it's better than this one (even if TLM film runs circles around the Tangled film), I feel that's objectively undeniable. The Aladdin series was the best back when of the film-based series, but The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was pretty good as well. The best episode for me was the one where Ariel gets stuck in the whirlpool because she can't get the gold bracelet off and she's afraid to go home; the animation in that was is incredible and there's quite a bit of horror there, an element that I like because it's also present in the original film (mostly with Ursula and the polyps, but even the scene where Triton destroys her grotto and the shark scene). There's also a bit of horror in "The Evil Manta"--strictly referring to the beginning with the creepy voice asking to be released--as well as ones like the episode with the Red Tide, the one where Ursula nearly takes over with that weird magic box, Ariel being cursed to cause calamity when she laughs, etc. I also like "Calliope Dreams," "Red," "Stormy," "Trident True." "Marriage of Inconvenience" is an interesting episode because it introduced some other kingdoms, even if overall it's not very good. Same with "Ariel's Things" and Ursula using Atlantica's hatred of humans to help herself, it's an interesting idea not executed very well. There are a few episodes that are merely light-hearted fluff that are still quality as well (like "Whale of a Tale").

That said, I always loved the episode with Ursula and the bad luck creature even if I know it's not that great. I mean, the plot is a little stupid. Not the part with the merfolk hating an innocent creature because of old wives tales and myths, that's the best part, but the idea of Ursula being enraged by the creature is a little silly. I do like that she stopped by Atlantica and showed her lack of fear of Triton in that scene though, and that they give us a glimpse of a "thin" Ursula. And I always liked Urchin and Gabriella as well, even if some of the episodes they're in are on the weak side. I guess really, as I'm looking over the episode list, most of the worst ones are in the last season. It's not just the animation quality, but the stories that aren't great other than "Heroes" and "Ariel's Treasures." Maybe I'd have had a fonder impression of the show if the show had only had the first two seasons, I guess?

@D82: I never watched much of The Emperor's New School. It's another one like BH6 where the animation is so bad... I kind of wanted to since I think Yzma was featured on the show, right? (Not sure if voiced by Eartha Kitt, but still.) The only TV series I regret now not watching was the Lilo & Stitch one. I was very cold on L&S (the film) other than Nani and the Grand Councilwoman characters (and the animation is great, too) for the longest time, and the show came out around that period in high school when people sort of make you feel ashamed of liking anything Disney--I'm sure we've all been there--or, if you're a guy, of liking anything that's even vaguely "girly" because of... IDK, the colors used being pink / purple or most of the characters being female or romance being involved, there's singing, whatever, it's all garbage. Only recently did my opinion shift on the L&S film a few years back, so I kind of wish I could see the TV series now. I watched the sequels back when my opinion first shifted and I thought they were okay.

[Patricier21]

I also remember this, which never made sense to me:



Yes, they are underwater, they somehow have both a jacuzzi and a pool, and for some reason they need lifeguards....

Anyway, some of the better episodes (mostly the ones where Ariel sings) are:

1. Whale of a Tale
2. Stormy
3. Urchin
4. Double Bubble
5. Message in a Bottle
6. The Evil Manta
7. Red
8. Eel-Ectric City
9. Heroes
10. Wish Upon a Starfish

I only included one episode with Ursula because that was the only episode where her appearance makes sense (she and Ariel don't interact).

The show isn't that good, and I have issues with how they infantilized Ariel to appeal to younger children, but I prefer the show over the sequels which I find completely unnecessary and that Ariel is completely out of character in them. I also don't like the animation of the third one where the characters are off model and move too fast.

Well to be fair, there are sections of water that are beneath oceans that can be warmer etc.Same with a “pool”, which to them could be something different like a wave pool/section of ocean/currents where it’s a lot rougher and more like with a pool would be in real life to us etc.And would therefore need some kind of lifeguard to look out for them if it is indeed such a thing as it would be dangerous, EH?

As for the “retcon”mentioned above,Well if you actually look closely at the “dinglehopper” in the movie it has a very peculiar and different looking tips to it then an actual fork. I’ve actually always wondered why they never actually acknowledge that the “ dinglehopper” actually looks like Triton’s Trident, which Tip actually does in Return to the Sea (another reason you may want to actually be considerable and value of that movie So maybe, considering that the “dinglehopper” looks a little bit different than what they’re using as little Tridents/forks to eat with, and since it was found on a human ship, Ariel and Co. would actually think that it’s something different. You can also see a dinglehopper in the episode “Ariel’s Treasures” (where Sebastian actually does indirectly use it as a trident , but of course since she lost all of her treasures in that episode, she simply rediscovered it on the ship and just didn’t get around to figuring out what it was. This could also be subtly proven by the fact that they consider a pipe/“snargalof” to make music, despite not immediately knowing what it is, because it actually looks like one of the musical instruments they use under the sea.

Also as for Ursula interacting with Ariel “not making any sense” while it actually ironically makes more sense then any of these other points mentioned here. In the movie, how does she know to be wary of Ursula, EH? She had very little interactions with Ursula in the series, but she knew enough that she would be dangerous, and even from the interaction she had, she knows that Ursula can do things some things that could be permanent or if not at least close to that. She was at an all time low in the movie, so naturally even though she knows Ursula is dangerous, she figured that she would be her best bet towards achieving her dream. Yes,
it doesn’t “not make sense” in any kind of way at all no matter what no matter how otherwise it may seem

[Disney's Divinity]

The Hercules series has the same problem, as far as Hades interacting with Hercules despite Hades being supposed to not know he's even alive at that point.

I feel like the Hercules show is not one of their best for different reasons than TLM. Well, the poor animation in later episodes is similar--even more damning considering the kind of designs Hercules has that look very, VERY bad low quality--but also... IDK, it's a mixed bag kind of thing. I feel like TLM show has better original characters that recur as far as Urchin, Gabriella, and the Evil Manta--Icarus, Cassandra, and most of the other high school characters in Hercules are very annoying. But I think Hercules was better as far as giving decent action plots / conflicts the way Aladdin, Pooh, etc. (and non-film-based series like DuckTales, Gummi Bears, and so on) did.

[DisneyFan09]

Well, to tell my own experiences with this show, I happen to like it even more as an adult than I did as a kid. Mainly because I`ve come to realize it`s strengths: How mesmerizing and enchanting it is. As a kid, I liked some episodes, but I was never gaga for the show. Mostly because I found the tone to be a little darker compared to the movie. But now as an adult, I`ve come to love the series and I find it to be a worthy addition to the legacy of Mermaid. Despite how it`s somewhat surprising how the score doesn`t incorporate themes from Alan Menken`s original score.

[Patricier21]

Well, to tell my own experiences with this show, I happen to like it even more as an adult than I did as a kid. Mainly because I`ve come to realize it`s strengths: How mesmerizing and enchanting it is. As a kid, I liked some episodes, but I was never gaga for the show. Mostly because I found the tone to be a little darker compared to the movie. But now as an adult, I`ve come to love the series and I find it to be a worthy addition to the legacy of Mermaid. Despite how it`s somewhat surprising how the score doesn`t incorporate themes from Alan Menken`s original score.

Well, besides the theme music, you hear occasional bits of the main “part of your world” instrumental score especially during the second and third season

[blackcauldron85]

most of the worst ones are in the last season. It's not just the animation quality, but the stories that aren't great other than "Heroes" and "Ariel's Treasures."

In the beginning, the show was animated by Walt Disney Animation (Japan), Inc., but later on, Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. was doing the animation.

[Disney's Divinity]

Interesting. Thank you, that does explain it. I wonder if the first company closed down or Disney simply chose the other company for the third season (deciding to spend less $$$ on it or something).

[Farerb]

The issue with the '90s shows is that they are episodic and at some point they just repeat themselves and it's boring.

Aladdin ran for too long in my opinion. In the end it was really just fine, mostly thanks to a big enough cast of interesting characters.

Hercules had some good episodes and I liked that they played it like a '90s sitcom - Hades is great, Cassandra is great, but Lisa Kudrow as Aphrodite was the best (she even has a theme song). Icarus was annoying and I hated everytime he was on screen.