"Whale of a Tale" is the first and pilot episode of The Little Mermaid TV series, originally aired on September 11, 1992.
Synopsis[]
Ariel befriends a Killer Whale and tries to take him in, despite her father's orders.
Plot[]
A young baby killer whale named Spot, swims alongside a pod of killer whales. Their peaceful existence is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a ship on the surface. A man onboard alerts the rest of the crew about the killer whales, causing panic and chaos. Harpoons are fired from the ship, forcing the frightened killer whales to scatter and swim away in desperation. Tragically, Spot becomes separated from the group, feeling helpless and emitting sorrowful cries for assistance.
While swimming, Ariel and Flounder suddenly hear Stop's distressed cries. Concerned, they immediately rush to investigate the situation. Spot, recognizing the danger of a nearby great white shark, hides in the seaweed. Confused by the silence, Ariel and Flounder ponder the source of the sound. Flounder nervously attempts to convince Ariel to ignore it. Despite this, the two friends decide to split up and search for the distressed creature. Flounder unintentionally stumbles upon Spot and is scared by his large eye. Spot is equally startled by Flounder's screams and escapes, swiming quickly past Ariel.
Understanding that Spot is scared, Ariel gently coaxes him out from his hiding spot, demonstrating compassion and care. In a heartfelt moment, Ariel bestows the name "Spot" upon the young killer whale, admiring the distinctive bush-like marking on his tail. Ariel sings to Spot and her soothing voice manages to calm him down. Ariel then decides to bring Spot back home. Throughout song, their trust and friendship grow.
While Sebastian is admires himself in a mirror, he fails to notice Ariel sneaking Spot into the palace. Ariel and Flounder bring Spot into her room, but Spot causes a mess and gives them trouble. A frightened Flounder unintentionally scares Spot, causing him to swim away from the room and accidentally squash Sebastian against the door twice. Sebastian comes into the room to investigate, so Ariel and Flounder conceal Spot beneath the bed covers. Sebastian concludes that Ariel and Flounder are apparently not actually hiding anything in the room and reminds them about the upcoming Spring Celebration. But after accidentally uncovering the bed, Sebastian is startled to see Spot, causing him to panic. Ariel persuades him to keep Spot's precense in the palace as a secret, although Sebastian fears the consequences of Triton discovering Spot, knowing that this will lead to both he and Arielbeing in significant trouble.
After three months, Spot has grow a lot. Ariel and Flounder leave him to join in the Spring Celebration. Sebastian sings in the Celebration and, upon hearing the music, Spot is intrigued and goes to the performance. In an attempt to add some excitement, Sebastian decides to improvise, but Spot unexpectedly crashes the show. Spot's enthusiastic "singing" results in the stage collapsing. This incident makes Triton extremely furious. He scolds Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian for concealing Spot in the palace. Triton emphasizes the potential danger of the situation to the citizens of Atlantica and expresses disappointment at the destruction of the stage. But Triton considers Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian as the true responsibles for the incident since they kept a wild animal hidden. Triton gives Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian a two weeks to train Spot to survive in the ocean. If Spot is not ready by then, Triton will hold Sebastian personally responsible. Despite their utmost dedication, Spot remains unprepared for the challenges of the untamed waters.
Back home, Sebastian insists on making Spot sleep outside, despite Ariel's protests. Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian and Spot all end up sleeping outside of the palace. During the night, three great white sharks are swimming nearby. As morning arrives, Spot is still oblivious to the danger. Suddenly, a school of fish swiftly swims past the group, capturing Ariel's attention and causing her to turn around. To their horror, they discover the three sharks from the previous night ready to attack. Distressed, Ariel desperately urges everyone to swim away from the impending danger.
Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian are being chased by the three sharks while Spot swims away on his own. But when he hears Flounder's cries for help, Spot rushes to the scene. Flounder narrowly escapes from the snapping jaws of one of the sharks but becomes entangled in seaweed. Fortunately, Ariel comes to his rescue just in time to prevent the shark from devouring him. As Ariel herself is being pursued by another shark, who snaps at her fin. This makes Spot become furious and he rushes to their aid.
Together, Spot and Ariel swim towards a large shell with the relentless sharks close behind. Instead of entering the shell, Spot chooses to position himself at the top, knowing that Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian will eventually end up there. Eventually, the group finds themselves trapped, with the sharks preparing to attack. But just as the sharks are about to pounce, Spot bursts through the shell and defeats them, sending the three of them flying away. Ariel celebrates their victory and declares "my father will have to let you stay", as Spot's heroic actions saved their lives.
Spot then hears the cries of killer whales, which turns out to be his old group. Spot decides to swim off to find them, leaving Ariel saddened but she understands that it is best for them to separate. However, before Spot leaves, he returns for one final goodbye. As a farewell gesture, Spot uses his tail to flip Sebastian out of the water, much to Sebastian's annoyance and panic. Spot then swims away with his family.
Cast[]
- Jodi Benson as Ariel
- Edan Gross as Flounder
- Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian
- Kenneth Mars as King Triton
- Frank Welker as Spot
Songs[]
- Just a Little Love - Ariel
- You Got to be You - Sebastian, Crabettes, Chorus
Trivia[]
- "Whale of a Tale" takes place sometime after the events of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning and one year before the events of the first film.
- For unknown reasons, the episode is missing on Disney+, being the only episode of The Little Mermaid: The Series to be unavailable on the streaming service.
- The title comes from the song "A Whale of a Tale" from Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
- This is the first appearance of Spot the Killer Whale, he would later appear for a second and final time in "Save the Whale".
Gallery[]
