The Little Mermaid--Ariel's Undersea Adventures: Whale Of A Tale

While not quite in the same league as The Little Mermaid the movie, Disney's television series based on the hit film is surprisingly well done. We watched the first of three currently available volumes which each feature two episodes. Whale of a Tale opens with the title story, in which Ariel and her sidekick Flounder, adopt a baby killer whale--over the protests of King Triton's right hand crab, and general worrywart, Sebastian. When it becomes apparent that a killer whale is a little too large of a pet to have around the palace, Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian set about trying to teach "Spot" how to survive in the wild--with comic results. The second episode on the tape is called "Urchin," and follows the story of a mischievous Mer-boy whose grown up on the wrong side of the coral, so to speak. Falling in with a pair of briny gangsters, Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp, the "urchin" makes a raid on the palace during a concert, and makes off with supper. But Ariel sees the Mer-boy and sets about teaching him the error of his ways. Although the musical numbers aren't quite the lavish productions that made the movie shine, they are pretty good, and the animation of the characters is very close to that of the original. Affordably priced and in a class above most cartoon fare, Ariel's Undersea Adventures is recommended. The other two volumes are entitled Stormy, the Wild Seahorse and Double Bubble. (Available from most distributors.)