Original Ariel Star Jodi Benson Guest Star in ‘Disney Jr. Ariel – The Little Mermaid’ Season 2. If you have a toddler at home who can’t stop singing “Under the Sea,” there is some good news. The second season of Disney Jr. Ariel lands on Disney+ this Wednesday, Jan. 28.
The show is a musical prequel to The Little Mermaid. It follows a younger Ariel as she explores Atlantica, a kingdom heavily inspired by Caribbean culture. The new episodes are also playing on the Disney Jr. channel if you still watch traditional TV.
What’s New This Season?
Ariel and her friends are heading to a new spot called the Crystal World. It’s a bright undersea area where they meet a new mermaid named Akiko and her pet crystal axolotl, Axyl.
The coolest part for longtime fans? Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel from the 1989 movie, is showing up later this season. She’s playing a character named Marina Neptina, who happens to be Ariel’s favorite singer.
The Voices and Music
The cast features some big names like Mykal-Michelle Harris as Ariel, Taye Diggs as King Triton, and Amber Riley as Ursula (she was actually just nominated for an Emmy for her voice work on the show)
Since the show is set in the Caribbean, the music isn’t just generic pop. It uses actual Caribbean genres and instruments. Disney even hired a professor from the University of Miami and a dean from Berklee College of Music to make sure the food, language, and folklore in the show stay authentic.
Original Ariel Star Jodi Benson Guest Star in ‘Disney Jr. Ariel – The Little Mermaid’ Season 2
New Music Coming Friday
If your kids like the songs, a new soundtrack titled Crystal Cavern is coming out on Jan. 30. It has 11 new tracks and will be available on all the major streaming platforms.
The show is clearly doing something right—it already has Emmy and NAACP award nominations under its belt. It’s produced by Wild Canary and executive-produced by Lynne Southerland.
