Talk:The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea/@comment-25041621-20140612163515/@comment-1672596-20150428215124

In all fairness, it's pretty difficult to write romance to be deepened and have it not come across as a romantic plot tumor (plus, technically, it's not Ariel's movie, it's Melody's). If done poorly, any "deepening of the relationships" would result in utter disaster. That one of the complaints about the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy after all, especially how Padme Amidala was depicted (especially in Revenge of the Sith), and the fact that Anakin and Padme are at least a decade apart in terms of age makes it even worse. One of the best elements of them actually deepening a relationship actually comes from an ad-lib between Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman (the whole "aggressive negotiations" scene), meaning it wasn't even in the script, by Lucas's request.

I guess you have a point regarding not showing any interactions with humans, though considering just how much of a hazard the ocean is thanks to Morgana, I wouldn't be surprised that even if Ariel considered going out to the nearby town to interact with them, if she has to bring Melody along, she has to tighten security due to the risk of her going into the waterways (and if Flounder can access them, it's likely Morgana could as well, or her minions). Besides, she most likely interacted with humans besides Eric at the 12th birthday party for Melody (it's a party. No point in being at a social gathering like a party if you don't even bother interacting with people).