Did The Little Mermaid get a sequel?

Ahead of the premiere of the live-action version of The Little Mermaid, fans are wondering if the original movie ever got a sequel.

While it’s true not every movie needs a sequel, it’s still fun to think about how the story/world could be expanded upon in another movie.

Disney movies are pretty notorious for getting sequels, either theatrically released or straight to DVD. Basically all of the Disney Renaissance movies got sequels and, with the release of the live-action version of The Little Mermaid hitting the big screen this week, fans have wondered if there’s a sequel they could watch before heading to the movie theaters.

Does The Little Mermaid have a sequel?

Yes, The Little Mermaid got a sequel 11 years after the original film was released.

The original animated Little Mermaid movie came out in 1989 and was an absolute success as it garnering around $235 million total at the box office. Because the movie was such a hit, Disney Studios ordered a sequel for the film during their sequel making era which was around the early 2000s. The sequel is titled The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and it was released straight to video on September 19, 2000.

Disney

The film takes place 12 years after the events of its predecessor, where Ariel and Eric have a 12-year-old daughter named Melody.

Much like her mother, Melody disobeys Ariel’s wishes to stay on land and goes on an oceanic adventure where she becomes a mermaid thanks to Ursula’s sister and has to steal King Triton’s trident to make the spell permanent.

While it’s not the most original plot as it’s just a reversal of the original film’s story, it’s still interesting to see Ariel an authority role as she has to deal with an unruly daughter who she disagrees with.

Return to the Sea saw most of the original cast reprise their roles with Jodi Benson as Ariel, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, and Kenneth Mars as King Triton.

However, in a very fun twist, Pat Carroll returned to The Little Mermaid franchise as Morgana after playing Ursula in the original film. It’s always great to see a cast return for a sequel and a good indicator that the project was made from love and not just money.

The Little Mermaid: Return to the Sea is available to stream on Netflix. To read more Little Mermaid Coverage, click here.