There were several triggers for me to make this proposal. The first one happened when I made proposal on her father half a year ago.
What's The Work?
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is a 2000 animated musical fantasy adventure direct-to-video film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is the second film in The Little Mermaid trilogy, following Ariel and Eric as they raise their daughter.
Who is the Candidate/What Have They Done?
Our candidate today, Melody, is the main character of the film, the daughter of Eric and Ariel, a stubborn, curious, but very brave little mermaid. She loves the sea and is upset that she is not allowed to play there. However, despite all the prohibitions and Sebastian's efforts, she very often collects shells there. She is 12 years old. Having found a medallion that her grandfather, King Triton, gave her, Melody quarrels with her mother, because Ariel warns her daughter about the dangers of the sea, to which Melody replies: "How do you know? You've never been there!" In the end, Melody decides to go in search of someone who will help her learn about the Atlantic.
She is confronted by the Undretow (Morgana's minion, a shark turned into a piranha by Triton on the day Morgana crashed Melody's birthday party) who suggests that she go to Morgana, Melody hopes that she will help her find out the meaning of her name on her pendant and agrees to go to her. Two stingray brothers, Mask and Dagger, pull Melody's boat and deliver her to Morgana's lair at the South Pole. Morgana happily greets the young princess and Melody asks Morgana what her name on her pendant means and regretfully tells her that her mother did not want to explain, thinking that she did not understand her. Recalling her difficult relationship with Ursula and her mother, Morgana sympathetically reassures Melody that she is not the only one who is misunderstood by her mother, and explains to her that the name on her pendant signifies that it contains her destiny as a mermaid, and that she can help her become a part of the underwater world. Morgana takes out a bottle of Ursula's magic potion, which she saves for special occasions, and using it, Melody transforms into a mermaid, and she joyfully sets sail to meet her destiny.
Melody returns to Morgana to thank her, but Morgana explains that the spell is temporary and that to make it permanent, Morgana needs the trident, which she claims was stolen by Triton. Melody decides to help her and sets off on her journey, meeting Tip the penguin and Dash the walrus along the way, who want to become heroes. Eventually, the trio reaches the Atlantic, Morgana sends Cloak and Dagger to ensure that Melody's safe return is not hindered. Melody finds the trident and takes it, but loses her pendant in the process, and then swims away. Ariel and Triton notice the loss of the trident and Melody's pendant lying on the ground, suspecting that Morgana is behind all this, Triton orders the search to be accelerated and all sea creatures involved. Ariel and Flounder follow Cloak and Dagger and reach Morgana's lair, Ariel asks Flounder to warn her father, but he decides to go with her, then they send Scuttle to Eric and Triton for help. Melody safely returns to Morgana with the trident, but when she is about to give it to her, Ariel and Flounder appear, trying to talk her out of it. Melody is very shocked that her mother really is a mermaid, Ariel is also shocked that her daughter still managed to become a mermaid – on the basis of this unexpected revelation, another conflict breaks out between them. Melody accuses her mother of hiding from her the whole truth about the sea world in which she once lived, Ariel tries to apologize to her daughter and explain herself, but deeply offended and feeling betrayed, Melody refuses to forgive her mother and gives Morgana the trident. Having mastered the trident, Morgana reveals her true evil intentions and, taking Ariel captive, throws Melody into an ice cave and seals her there, while mentioning that the effect of her transformation into a mermaid will run out by sunset.
Morgana rises to the surface and begins to rule over the ocean. Eric, King Triton, Scuttle, Sebastian arrive and engage in battle with the sea witch. Morgana brings an iceberg down on Eric's ship, forcing him and his crew to abandon ship, while also restoring the Thug's height to its original size, and then Mask and Dagger drag Eric to the bottom, but Ariel frees herself from Morgana's grip thanks to Scuttle and, together with Sebastian, dives into the water, saving her beloved husband from drowning.
Soon Morgana's spell loses its power and Melody returns to her human form. Having lost her mermaid powers, Melody begins to drown and tries unsuccessfully to escape from the trap, but Tip and Dash help her free herself thanks to the Undertow, who breaks through the ice wall at full speed and carries her to shore. Morgana uses the power of the trident, forcing all the sea creatures, including Ariel, Sebastian, Triton, Tip, and Dash, to bow before her. Melody sees her legs and, realizing that this will allow her to escape the spell, runs to the top of the glacier and takes the trident from Morgana, throwing it to her grandfather. Morgana desperately reaches for the trident, throwing Melody off the top of the glacier. Dash jumps forward and Melody lands safely on him, avoiding death. Triton catches the trident and tells Morgana that she will no longer bother his family, and uses the trident's magic to trap the witch in a block of ice, which falls to the bottom and is buried under the ice debris. Eric carries Melody in his arms and she regains consciousness, reuniting with her family. Melody apologizes to her mother, but Ariel says that she and Eric should be the ones asking for her forgiveness for keeping the truth from her. Melody remorsefully explains to everyone that she did not mean any harm to anyone and did not know what could come of all this, but she believed that she would have been better off as a mermaid than as a girl. Ariel consoles her daughter, saying that it does not matter whether she has legs or a mermaid tail, since she and Eric love Melody for how small she is, but very brave – just like her mother, as Triton said. Melody happily runs into her grandfather's arms, officially meeting him. Triton tells his granddaughter that he understands her desire to live in the sea and offers Melody a choice - to become a mermaid forever and live with him in Atlantica, or to stay with her parents on land. Looking at her parents, Melody says she has a better idea. Melody uses the magic of the trident to destroy the wall separating her home from the sea, and declares that the underwater and land kingdoms will now be reunited and will henceforth live together in peace and harmony.
Corrupting Factors
I remember someone once tried to propose her as Near Pure Good (but that proposal was deleted, as far as I know). But it was said there that she had a scandal with her mother, which kickstarted the entire plot, and also gave her grandfather's trident to Morgana. But the problem is that Melody didn't know that the trident she was giving Morgana belonged to her grandfather (she didn't know she even had a grandfather to begin with). And then, Morgana manipulated Melody into doing it. After realizing what she had done, Melody returned the trident to her grandfather. And as for her scandal with her mother, Melody made peace with her, so that's not a corrupting factor anymore. Not to mention that she did save her parents from Morgana.
Admirable Standard
As for the story standards, it's not that they are too high. Sure, you can think of Melody's mother Ariel, who did a lot of important things in the story, but she has access to various magical objects (which Melody, of course, does not have). You can also think of Melody's father, Prince Eric (whom, by the way, it was me to propose as Pure Good at the time), who defeated Ursula (a villain who was clearly more dangerous than Morgana). But Eric crashed a ship into her (which indicates that Eric knows how to handle a ship, since he was at the helm of a ship when he killed Ursula; Melody does not know how to steer a ship, she only steers a little boat onscreen). So, she has lesser resources than her parents. And yet, she saved more than 5-6 characters from Morgana (just like her father once saved the entire Atlantic from Ursula).
Final Verdict
My vote is Yes.