like mother, like daughter

My daughter loves The Little Mermaid, the original. Therefore, it didn't surprise me to find out she would love The Little Mermaid II as well.

I think one of the reasons she loves the Little Mermaid series and movies is because she is named after Ariel, the Little Mermaid. Anyway, her brothers and sister like the movies as well.

Even though the original movie was released years ago, the series has been on Disney Channel. So, my children have been watching Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian for years. They have seen each and every one of their adventures over and over, yet they sit still and watch it.

In Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea, it turns out Melody, Ariel 12-year-old daughter yearns for life in the sea, just as much as her mother yearned for life on the land so many years before. Melody has inherited Ariel's sense of adventure and carefree ways. Also like her mother, Melody feels out of place among her peers because of her love of the sea. Little does she know she is the granddaughter of King Triton, King of Atlantica, and that her mother, Ariel, is a Princess of Atlantica.

Like every preteen, Melody has so many questions and wants more than ever to see why her mother will not let her swim in the sea. But, Ariel was doing what she thought was best, protecting her daughter for Morgana, Ursula's strange sister. Melody, like every child, reacts too quickly upon finding a pendant with her name on it. Before Ariel could explain the circumstances to her, Melody runs away to the sea, in search for answers.

In a way, this movie puts Ariel in her father's place. Just as her father felt years before when Ariel was as adventureous as her young daughter, Ariel felt helpless and wanted so badly to communicate her true feelings with her daughter.

This movie shows that the spirit of adventure can be passed down from one generation to the next. It also shows that no matter what a parent does, children will find their own destiny.