Sweet Sea is a 1985 cartoon special produced by TMS Entertainment, based on the short-lived toys of the same name by Tomy. While produced and animated in Japan, it was written by Americans to air on US TV and is considered an international co-production.
The story concerns the young, beautiful mermaid Princess Sweet Sea, who lives in the Coral Kingdom with her parents, King and Queen Neptune, baby sister Baby Brooke, and friends, including Sea Star the seahorse, Mudpuppy the dogfish, Star Fishy the starfish, Goldie the goldfish, and Purrhsa the catfish. Sweet Sea is given the Royal Necklace, the most powerful artifact in the kingdom, as a sign of her growing responsibilities, and promises to take good care of it.
Unfortunately, the evil Sheeba the Sea Serpent and her sidekick Squidney have designs on the necklace, planning to rule the Coral Kingdom with it. When Sheeba steals the necklace, it's up to Sweet Sea and her friends to get it back and set things right.
This special contains examples of:
- Animesque: The special was animated by TMS, and on a clearly higher budget than a good deal of their other American work.
- Apparently Human Merfolk: Unlike his wife and children, who have mermaid tails, King Neptune has human legs.
- Awesome Underwater World: The story takes place in the "underwater wonderland" of the Coral Kingdom, where mermaid princess Sweet Sea and her family live happily. The kingdom includes shops, a ballet studio, and an underwater windmill, and is kept safe from Sheeba the Sea Serpent by the Royal Necklace.
- Big Eater: The walrus brothers who run the sweet shop are their own best customers, especially when it comes to saltwater taffy.
- Caged Inside a Monster: Squidney uses his tentacles to form a cage around Sweet Sea and Sea Star to take them to Sheeba.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': The special starts with Sweet Sea briefly shirking her royal duties to play water polo, and her father's none too pleased.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Sheeba is proud of being the meanest creature in the ocean and vows to destroy the Coral Kingdom because she despises its peace-loving inhabitants.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Sweet Sea's friends eventually decide to help her get the Necklace back instead of leaving with the other citizens, arriving just in time to save her.
- Dark Reprise: The opening song is reprised in a minor key and with altered lyrics as Sweet Sea cries over the ruined kingdom and everyone leaving once Sheeba takes over.
- Easily Conquered World: Once Squidney steals the Royal Necklace for Sheeba, King and Queen Neptune give up on the kingdom being restored and sadly lament Sweet Sea's lost future as princess, while the inhabitants pack up and leave for friendlier waters.
- Expository Theme Tune: The opening theme describes Sweet Sea, her kingdom, and the magic necklace she must protect.
- Fisher King: When the Royal Necklace is with Sweet Sea, the kingdom is happy and bright, and when in Sheeba's hands the kingdom falls into disrepair and darkness.
- Horrible Judge of Character: After Sweet Sea's caught shirking her duties to play water polo, King Neptune arbitrarily decides she's worthy of custodianship of the only thing keeping the kingdom from falling apart. Unsurprisingly, she takes it off for a dance performance—for some reason—and Squidney steals it.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Squidney does the legwork both in stealing the necklace and impeding Sweet Sea and her friends, while Sheeba waits in her lair and gloats.
- Mirror-Cracking Ugly: After retrieving the necklace, Sheeba models it in front of a mirror, which immediately cracks into pieces.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Squidney can turn his tentacles into many different things, including a human hand, cages, and simply elongating them to steal things.
- Non-Mammalian Hair: Sheeba, a reptilian sea serpent, has a shock of curly pink hair.
- Scenery Porn: The special effects, hair movements, and painted backgrounds are very pretty to behold.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Sheeba obtains the Royal Necklace, the inhabitants don't want to live under her rule and leave the kingdom, including Sweet Sea's friends.
- Toyless Toyline Character: Sweet Sea's parents, baby sister, Sheeba, and Squidney didn't get toys made.
- Villain Song: Sheeba gets a short song praising her status as the meanest creature in the sea.
