The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (also known as The Little Mermaid III) is a 2008 American animated direct-to-video fantasy film produced by DisneyToon Studios, and a prequel to Disney's 1989 animated film "The Little Mermaid". Directed by Peggy Holmes, the film's story is set before the events of the original film and acts as a pilot to the television series, "The Little Mermaid: The Series", when Ariel is still young, and where all music has been banned from the underwater kingdom of Atlantica by King Triton, and Ariel attempts to challenge this law. Jodi Benson
The Little Mermaid (musical) this version is the basis for subsequent productions. Disney Theatrical had success with stage adaptations of its animated musical films "Beauty and the Beast" in 1994 and "The Lion King" in 1997. Thomas Schumacher, head of Disney Theatrical, proposed another adaptation, this time of the 1989 film "The Little Mermaid", approaching songwriter Alan Menken, who had composed the music for the film, to be part of the production team. Schumacher initially brought on director/choreographer Matthew Bourne to helm the musical, but Bourne left when their visions on the project differed. Schumacher then approached Francesca Zambello, telling her that "We haven't