Iremember it well. My 6-year-old self fidgeted eagerly as I waited for my mom to get home. She had gone to the video store especially for me and rented the VHS tape of “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea.” I was so ready to be transported back to Ariel’s underwater world, and my first grade girlfriends had told me that she had a daughter whom I could not wait to meet.
As the famous Disney introduction music played and the striped Cinderella’s castle logo appeared on the blue screen, my hopes were high. “The Little Mermaid” was my favorite movie, and I trusted Disney to live up to my expectations. However, I was a little let down. Actually, I have never watched “The Little Mermaid” sequel again. It was not that I did not like the movie and the characters. It simply lacked something.
Now, this disappointment did not knock me off the Disney train, or even the “The Little Mermaid” train. I watch the original movie to this day, Ariel is still my favorite princess and I still fully believe I am a mermaid. What it did do was cloud my opinion of Disney sequels.
It is through these clouded eyes I read the announcement of a “Frozen” sequel on March 12 and watched the new “Frozen Fever” short film that premiered before the new live-action “Cinderella” movie. While it was a cute story and it makes financial sense for Disney to keep riding the “Frozen” wave, I just do not know how smart it is for the reputation of the movie.
Looking at other Disney sequels like “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea,” “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride” and “Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World,” Disney sequels seem to suffer when trying to live up to fans’ expectations. It is this problem that makes me skeptical about this “Frozen” sequel’s production.
The question is not if it will make money for Disney because people will definitely go see it and buy merchandise after the hype built up around the original. I think the problems will start for Disney when they begin to receive feedback.
The magic of a Disney film comes from the transportation to a new world with its own music, characters and heroes. In a sequel, you do not really get those things. You are transported back to a beloved world, but it has been changed from what you knew before to compensate for the time that is supposed to have passed and to supplement a new story.
I think that these changes to the worlds Disney creates for us will be what causes problems for fans. I am sure that the movie will be good, but it just will not be as good as the original. Disney, in my opinion, does not really ever turn out a bad project, but it does turn out disappointing projects every once in a while. I think “Frozen 2” could be one of those disappointing projects.
The only Disney sequel that has not disappointed me is “Toy Story 3.” Perhaps it is because it was released to theaters instead of straight to VHS/DVD like most of the others. Perhaps it is because it portrays the love of friends and family as the savior instead of a prince charming. If so, maybe this means that there is hope for the “Frozen” sequel, a film that will most likely have both of these qualities.
I am not shooting down the idea entirely. I do not think it will keep people from buying Elsa costumes or stuffed Olaf dolls. The idea of a sequel just makes me nervous for Disney to ruin something that is already beginning to be overdone for adults and teens. Disney may need to consider taking their own advice on this one and “let it go.”
