For over 100 years, Disney has reigned as one of the most dominant forces in popular culture. Founded by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney, the company began with experimental animated shorts before transitioning into feature films, both animated and live-action. Today, Disney is recognized around the world thanks to the stellar and high-quality stories they have produced, most of which target family audiences, ensuring that they will remain timeless and delight the children and grandchildren of those who saw them on release.
Disney has released many sequels; originally, they released sequels for their live-action films, but over time, Disney also released theatrical and straight-to-DVD follow-ups of their animated classics. Some of these sequels get overlooked, but they’re actually a pretty good time.
10
‘The Lion King 1 1/2’ (2004)
While watching The Lion King in a home theater, Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) argue about whether they should start from the beginning or fast-forward to when they show up. Ultimately, Timon decides to tell the story about how he and Pumbaa first met and discovered Hakuna Matata. It involves Timon leaving his meercat colony when he repeatedly fails to fit in, and the two of them stumbling their way through the events of the first movie.
The Lion King 1 1/2 is a very unique idea for a Disney sequel, combining elements of Mystery Science Theater 3000 with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. This combo works surprisingly well and results in some good fourth-wall breaks while still developing Timon and Pumbaa’s friendship. Regarding new characters, Julie Kavner is respectable as Timon’s concerned mother, and Jerry Stiller is having a lot of fun as his cynical and eccentric uncle Max.
9
‘Fantasia 2000’ (1999)
Fantasia remains Disney’s most ambitious film, combining beautiful classical music with high-quality animation to create a unique visual and auditory experience. Though Walt wanted to make a series of films like it, the production was too expensive to justify a sequel, though he continued to experiment with music and animation during the package films of the Wartime Era. The idea was revisited in the 1990s with Fantasia 2000, but though they combined new techniques to make sequences never imagined in 1940, history repeated itself, and the film underperformed.
The worst part about the movie is the in-between sequences where celebrities like Steve Martin, James Earl Jones, and Penn & Teller appear, which feel forced and not nearly as informative as Deems Taylor in the original film. However, the sequences are beautiful, with a mixture of hand-drawn and CGI segments led by some of Disney’s best animators. Some of the standout segments include “The Pines of Rome,” which features flying whales, and “The Firebird,” which depicts the forces of creation and destruction clashing over a forest.
8
‘The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride’ (1998)
The Lion King originally entered production as a B-team film meant to tide audiences over until the release of Pocahontas, which Disney hoped would win them the Academy Award for Best Picture after Beauty and the Beast was nominated. Instead, it became one of Disney’s most beloved films thanks to its epic scale, compelling story, and fantastic music, while Pocahontas was seen as rather bland on release, and time has done little to change that. Naturally, this meant The Lion King would be getting a sequel, which took inspiration from Romeo and Juliet.
The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride feels like a natural continuation of the first movie, focusing this time on Princess Kiara (Michelle Horn and Neve Campbell) and Kovu (Ryan O’Donohue and Jason Marsden), the chosen heir of Scar, and their attempts to prevent a war between the Pride Lands and Scar loyalists called the Outsiders. This results in an interesting story about love and legacy, both through Kiara and Kovu’s attempts to repair broken bridges while falling in love, and Simba (Matthew Broderick) trying to be a good king while escaping the shadow of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones). It also features a stellar villain in Zira (Suzanne Pleshette), a lioness fanatically loyal to Scar who is willing and eager to shed as much blood as possible to fulfill his legacy.
7
‘Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time’ (2007)
In the 1990s and 2000s, Disney created a series of home-release sequels to their most popular movies. Most of them are pretty bad and exist just to squeeze money out of nostalgia, but some manage to be entertaining or even good movies in their own right. One of the best examples is Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, in which the writers decide to thrust Cinderella (Jennifer Hale) into an adventure involving parallel timelines and take full advantage of the premise.
The film’s biggest strength is how much it develops the characters. Cinderella gets to have an active role in ensuring her happily ever after, the Prince (Christopher Daniel Barnes) is given his own wants and aspirations, Anastasia (Tress MacNeille) gets a redemption arc, and even the King (Andre Stojka) has some tender moments that explore his romantic side. It also gets pretty creative with its animation and sequences, especially during the climax, when Cinderella has to escape a pumpkin carriage driven by a transformed Lucifer (Frank Welker).
6
‘High School Musical 3: Senior Year’ (2008)
In 1983, Disney launched the Disney Channel, which aired both original programs and movies made by Disney. One of their most successful films was 2006’s High School Musical, which combined teenage relationship dramas with catchy musical numbers. It was followed up by another Disney Channel sequel in 2007 and a theatrical film in 2008 that saw the students in their senior year.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is easily the best-looking of the movies, as the higher production value allowed the filmmakers to get more creative with their sets and visuals, especially when the musical numbers were used to delve into the characters’ psyches. Speaking of musical numbers, they include some of the best in the franchise, such as “Scream,” which sees protagonist Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) torn up over the uncertainty of the future. The character writing might still be a little shallow in places, but the visuals, memorable music, and effective display of the confusing transition from high school to the adult world make the film the strongest in the franchise.
5
‘Muppets: Most Wanted’ (2014)
Created by Jim Henson in 1955, The Muppets delighted audiences for 40 years with their charming personalities and fun sense of humor. Under then-CEO Michael Eisner, Disney bought The Muppets in 2004, but it wouldn’t be until 2011 that they would return to theaters with The Muppets. Its success led to a sequel, Muppets: Most Wanted, which followed in the tradition set by The Great Muppet Caper, where the sequel to a more serious Muppets film would be a lot sillier.
If you’re looking for a film that’ll entertain you with catchy songs and silly jokes, Muppets: Most Wanted has you covered. The plot kicks off when Ricky Gervais’ character, the aptly named Dominic Badguy, becomes the Muppet’s new tour manager and convinces them to go on a world tour. From there, we have doppleganger Russian frogs, mass burglary, and a prison show, all of which add to the film’s absurdity and fun.
4
‘The Rescuers Down Under’ (1990)
During Disney’s Dark Age, their most profitable film was The Rescuers, based on the books by Margery Sharp. Thus, when Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg came to the company, they chose it as Disney’s first animated film to receive a sequel and set it in the Australian outback. It was also the first movie to make use of Pixar’s new CAPS system, allowing the programmers to digitally color the animator’s pencil drawings, which made The Rescuers Down Under the first animated movie to be fully created digitally. Sadly, it was sandwiched between The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, which resulted in the film underperforming at the box office.
The movie improves on The Rescuers in every way, from its animation to its sense of scale and character work. Bernard (Bob Newhart), in particular, has an effective arc about finding his courage to propose to his partner, Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor), while John Candy delivers a hilarious performance as the comic-relief seagull and George C. Scott puts his all into making the poacher McLeech a hateful yet charismatic villain. The digital animation allowed the colors to pop in ways cell shading couldn’t capture, which, combined with the fluid animation and gorgeous backgrounds, makes the movie feel grand and epic, and created some of the most immersive flying scenes ever made in 2D.
3
‘The Tigger Movie’ (2000)
Disney first adapted A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories into a trio of shorts released between 1966 and 1974, which were then combined into the theatrical film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1977. It received a shot to the arm in 1988 with the television show The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which led to a string of straight-to-DVD films. However, one Pooh film was released in theaters, The Tigger Movie, for which they even got The Sherman Brothers back to do the music.
The film made the bold choice to focus on Tigger (Jim Cummings) and Roo (Nikita Hopkins) rather than Pooh (Jim Cummings), showing that the franchise can tell compelling stories without him as the main character. Both of their stories are really compelling: Tigger’s story touches on themes of family and belonging, and Roo undergoes his own coming-of-age journey as he tries to help. Tying this all together is the stellar animation, which continues the sketchbook style of the original movie and adds a timeless, nostalgic feel to the story.
2
‘Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin’ (1997)
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was beloved by children and adults thanks to how mature its writing was: it never talked down to kids and wasn’t afraid to touch on themes like loss, depression, and identity, but always presented them in ways the kids could understand and apply to their lives. It also introduced the world to perhaps the best cast to play these characters, with Paul Winchel and John Fiedler returning as Tigger and Piglet, and Jim Cummings, Peter Kullen, and Ken Samson joining as Pooh (and later Tigger), Eeyore, and Rabbit. Their first venture into Pooh movies (and Winchel’s last theatrical performance as Tigger) came in 1997’s Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, which saw the character venturing into the unknown and confronting their insecurities to rescue their missing friend.
The film is honestly one of the best underrated animated films to come from the 1990s. This is thanks to how the film handles its emotional moments, often dedicating lots of time to slow moments of introspection as the characters wrestle with self-worth and the fear of losing those they love. As for the animation, it’s almost theater-worthy and boasts some of the most detailed and fantastical backgrounds in any Pooh film, fitting the larger-than-life and mysterious atmosphere the film is going for.
1
‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’ (2007)
When Disney announced that it would be adapting their Pirates of the Caribbean ride into a theatrical film, there was a healthy dose of skepticism, thanks in no small part to the failure of other films based on rides like The Country Bears. However, thanks to fantastic directing by Gore Verbinski, excellent production design that combined real sets with groundbreaking CGI, and Johnny Depp’s iconic performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl became a smash hit and spawned a franchise that currently consists of five movies, with Verbinski coming back to finish his trilogy. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was, at the time, the most expensive film ever made, and while at the time it was divisive due to its length and plethora of subplots, the film has only gotten better with time and should have been the point where the franchise found its ideal ending.
For one thing, the film does a great job capturing an epic and legendary tone as the main characters travel to the land of the dead and fight against overwhelming odds to prevent any one man from having control over the sea. This leads to one of the greatest climaxes in any action film, as the Black Pearl faces the Flying Dutchman in the middle of a maelstrom, with multiple smaller narratives and battles all intertwining with one another while never losing track of the narrative. While the story can be a little long in the tooth in places, it explores a lot of interesting themes, such as love vs. duty, the price of immortality, and the inevitable erosion of time, alongside the character study of the franchise’s best villain, Davy Jones (Billy Nighy).
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