The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
DVD cover
Directed by	Jim Kammerud
Written by	Elizabeth Anderson Temple Mathews Elise D'Haene Eddie Guzelian
Based on	The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
Produced by	Leslie Hough David Lovegren
Starring	Jodi Benson Tara Charendoff Samuel E. Wright Pat Carroll Rob Paulsen Kenneth Mars Cam Clarke Buddy Hackett Max Casella Stephen Furst Clancy Brown
Music by	Danny Troob
Production companies	DisneyToon Studios[1] Walt Disney Television Animation[1]
Distributed by	Walt Disney Productions[1]
Release date	September 19, 2000 (2000-09-19)
Running time	75 minutes[1]
Countries	Australia[1] Canada[1] United States[1]
Language	English

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is a 2000 animated direct-to-video musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, and the second installment in The Little Mermaid trilogy. Directed by Jim Kammerud and Brian Smith, the story of the film takes place 12 years after the original, and focuses on Ariel and Eric's daughter Melody, a human princess who longs to swim in the ocean despite her parents' law that the sea is forbidden to her.

Many voice actors from the original film reprised their roles, including Jodi Benson as Ariel, Kenneth Mars as King Triton, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, and Buddy Hackett as Scuttle in his final film role before his death in 2003. Pat Carroll, who voiced Ursula in the first film, returned as Ursula's sister Morgana, the sequel's new villain. Tara Charendoff joined the cast as Melody, with Rob Paulsen replacing Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Eric. Ben Wright, the original voice of Grimsby, died four months before the first film was released and was replaced by Kay E. Kuter. Additionally, Cam Clarke portrayed a now adult Flounder, previously voiced by Jason Marin.

The film received largely negative reviews. In 2008, Disney released a third film, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, which is a prequel to the first film.