Some Disney sequels are as good as the original, others miss the mark. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks of the best and worst animated sequels from Disney and Pixar.
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00:00He's big! He's blue! He's black!
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks of the best and worst animated sequels from Disney and Pixar.
00:12Watch out for spoilers!
00:13Show yourself! Let me see who you are!
00:21Number 5. Missed the Mark, Cinderella 2, Dreams Come True.
00:26Anthology movies can be hit or miss, and this Cinderella sequel is definitely the latter.
00:31The film is comprised of three short stories, light, comic, and mostly pointless.
00:37The jack-lit anecdote, Tall Tale, is especially bland.
00:41Maybe we could make another book!
00:43We can count the stories!
00:44And make the drawings!
00:45Yeah!
00:47Oh, what an excellent idea!
00:49Oh, no! Wait a minute! Who'd want to read a book made by mice?
00:54It's not all bad, though.
00:56It's fun to see Cinderella finding her feet around the palace,
00:58and Anastasia's budding romance with the baker is actually adorable.
01:02He's sweet!
01:04She's wonderful!
01:05He's romantic, and we are going to the ball together!
01:10The red-headed stepsister gets some interesting character growth,
01:13and an even bigger role in the next movie.
01:15Cinderella 3, A Twist in Time, is a bizarre but entertaining time travel caper,
01:20and a vast improvement on the second film.
01:22Now there is finally someone to love me.
01:27He'll show me a world that I never knew.
01:31Number 5. Just as good, Incredibles 2.
01:35There may have been a sizable time gap between Incredibles 1 and 2,
01:38but when it comes to quality, that didn't affect it.
01:41Fast-paced storytelling, engaging characters, and fantastic animation
01:45leave us with few complaints about this action-packed sequel.
02:01With Elastigirl bringing home the bacon,
02:03Bob Parr has been recast as a stay-at-home dad,
02:06dealing with the problems of his super-powered offspring.
02:09This now includes Baby Jack-Jack,
02:10whose newfound skills provide some of the movie's funniest moments.
02:23There's a lot of slapstick in this one, and it's a real treat.
02:26However, as in the original, there's also warmth,
02:29wit, and plenty for the adults to enjoy as well as the kids.
02:39Number 4. Miss the Mark.
02:42Pocahontas 2, Journey to a New World.
02:45On the surface, Journey to a New World is decent as Disney sequels go.
02:49It takes the characters in new and interesting directions,
02:52and some of the songs are great.
02:54However, both Pocahontas and its ill-advised sequel
02:57become extremely problematic when you dig into the real life of the heroine,
03:01whose tale was ultimately a tragic one.
03:03It capitalized off a tragic story that completely ignored the reality
03:07of a courageous native woman who suffered way too cruel a fate.
03:11The original movie was criticized for its historical inaccuracies,
03:14as well as for creating a fictionalized bromance with John Smith.
03:18This one takes things a step further by romanticizing
03:20Pocahontas' relationship with John Rolfe,
03:23who was the real-life Pocahontas' husband.
03:25Disney's Rolfe is set up as a foil to the adventuring ignorant Smith.
03:38He's depicted as a nice guy who learns to respect Pocahontas' culture
03:42and her independent spirit.
03:43Sadly, this was reportedly far from the truth.
03:564. Just as Good – The Little Mermaid 2 Return to the Sea
04:03Okay, maybe it's not as good, but it would be a shame to exclude
04:07The Little Mermaid 2 from this list,
04:08as it's one of the most ambitious Disney sequels.
04:11And it mostly works.
04:22Kids love a child protagonist,
04:24and the success of the later Descendants franchise
04:26has proven that Disney fans can't resist a next-generation story.
04:30This was the first sequel to turn a Disney princess into a parent,
04:33and it's fun to see how Ariel's daughter turned out.
04:36You deliberately disobeyed me.
04:38I never want you going out there again, do you hear me?
04:40It's dangerous in the sea.
04:42How would you know?
04:43You've never even been in it.
04:45Is Melody just a little bit annoying?
04:47Yeah.
04:48But her dreams of becoming a mermaid were far more relatable back in the day
04:52than Ariel's desire to be human.
04:53After all, why would you want legs when you could be a mermaid princess?
04:57I mean, how could there be anything wrong with something so wonderful?
05:08Disney sequels love to show us what happened after the happily ever after,
05:11but couldn't Mulan 2 have focused on something other than
05:14the heroine's relationship problems?
05:16This assignment has made it clear we are very different people.
05:22Maybe too different.
05:24The movie's thin plot follows a newly coupled-up Mulan and Li Shang,
05:28who are tasked with taking the emperor's three daughters across the country
05:31to meet their future husbands.
05:32Mulan is conflicted because she doesn't approve of arranged marriages.
05:36Shang thinks they should just get on with the job.
05:38This mostly involves keeping the girls away from mission escorts Yao,
05:42Ling, and Chen Po, because they're clearly irresistible.
05:45The Chen Po here has always had a dream.
05:49A dream?
05:50A dream?
05:51A dream.
05:52But I don't...
05:54Oh, that dream.
05:56Meanwhile, Mushu, no longer voiced by Eddie Murphy,
05:59is trying to break up Shang and Mulan for convoluted plot reasons.
06:02It's awful, but there are a couple of fun songs.
06:14Number 3.
06:15Just as Good – Inside Out 2
06:18The best sequels let their characters grow and change,
06:21and Inside Out 2 is a perfect example of this.
06:23What do you think you're doing?
06:25Riley's life is more complex now.
06:26It requires more sophisticated emotion.
06:28In the first movie, we're inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley.
06:32In the sequel, our heroine hits her teenage years.
06:35You aren't packed yet?
06:36I'm the worst!
06:40Well, that's a preview of the next 10 years.
06:42The anthropomorphized emotions that we've grown to know and love –
06:45joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger –
06:47are joined by some new friends, and they really change the game.
06:51Ennui, envy, embarrassment, and anxiety are on a mission
06:54to befriend the popular kids and keep Riley afloat at camp.
06:58But will she lose herself along the way?
07:00It's a moving and clever exploration of being a teenager
07:03that will appeal to the little ones, too.
07:05Boy, are we so lucky we ran into you guys!
07:08Number 2.
07:09Miss the Mark – The Return of Jafar
07:12Take the first five episodes of a planned Saturday morning-style kid show,
07:16remove Robin Williams as the Genie, and add more of the comedy parrot,
07:20then stitch it all together and release it as Disney's first direct-to-video sequel.
07:24I've got sand in places I didn't even know I had.
07:28Spare me your prattling, Iago.
07:30Are we out yet?
07:32Are we out yet? Are we out yet?
07:34Yes, we're out!
07:35No wonder The Return of Jafar was a dud.
07:37Following fallout between Robin Williams and the studios for his Aladdin contract,
07:41Homer Simpson actor Dan Castellaneta stepped into the breach as Genie.
07:45Okay, maybe my powers aren't what they used to be.
07:48Let's say they're semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic.
07:50But don't sell me short.
07:52I may be free, but I still have some magic in me.
07:55He does his best, but the script doesn't help matters.
07:58It's not serving anybody.
07:59In fact, except Iago, who is difficult to build a whole movie around.
08:03Williams did return for the third film, King of Thieves,
08:06which explores Aladdin's relationship with his estranged father
08:09and is much more entertaining.
08:11Congratulations, Bob!
08:12You've joined the club and everybody here agrees.
08:17We've got the finest blend of nearly honest men.
08:20Welcome to the 40th!
08:22Number 2.
08:23Just as good.
08:24The Lion King 2 Simba's Pride
08:27It's a bold statement to suggest that any Disney sequel could measure up to The Lion King.
08:32I've never done this before.
08:34But this is definitely one of the best of the bunch.
08:36It's a tale of star-crossed lovers that follow Simba's daughter, Kiara,
08:40and Scar's adopted son, Kovu.
08:42The story tackles prejudice, overprotective parents,
08:45and love across social divides,
08:47but it's the songs that set it apart from its competitors.
09:00It's not often a Disney sequel has more than one decent tune,
09:03but The Lion King 2 has plenty.
09:05He Lives in You, One of Us, We Are One,
09:09Upendi, Love Will Find a Way, and My Lullaby.
09:12Are all genuine earworms that we can still hum to over 25 years later.
09:22Before we unveil our top picks,
09:24here are a few honorable mentions.
09:26Just as good, or better, The Rescuers Down Under.
09:29The first film is cute, but the sequel is glorious.
09:33Well done, mate.
09:34Come on, Mara, who did?
09:36What's alcohol?
09:38Missed the mark.
09:39Cars 2
09:40Was this Pixar's first real disappointment?
09:42What are you doing?
09:43Trying to turn back time.
09:48If I can just reverse the polarity.
09:51Just as good, Ralph Breaks the Internet.
09:54This one was worth it for the princess's scene alone.
09:56Ugh, long me had lumbered me a moose nail,
09:59me had gotten away a teardrop in his eye.
10:01He she back me lassie?
10:04Uh-huh.
10:05What did she just say?
10:06We don't know.
10:07We can't understand her.
10:08She's from the other studio.
10:11Missed the mark.
10:12Cronk's New Groove.
10:13Yes, we all love Cronk, but did he really need his own movie?
10:16Those old people will buy anything you tell them to.
10:19So you want me to sell this to them?
10:22What do you say, Cronk?
10:24Help me to help you to help them?
10:26Just as good, Frozen 2.
10:28The animation is still gorgeous, and there are some fantastic new songs.
10:39Holding on tight to you.
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10:58Number 1.
10:59Missed the Mark.
11:00Beauty and the Beast, Belle's Magical World.
11:03From Bambi 2 to The Lion King 1 1⁄2, Disney loves a midquel, or interquel if you prefer.
11:10These strange little movies slot in chronologically somewhere between the original film's beginning
11:14and end, preserving the characters at their most recognizable stage.
11:18Bambi stays a fawn, Timon and Pumbaa are still hanging out in the jungle,
11:22and the Beast remains a beast.
11:24You made a Christmas wish last year.
11:28Is this what you wished for?
11:31The Enchanted Christmas was the first of its kind, and the beginning of a slippery slope.
11:36Belle's Magical World is at the bottom of that slope.
11:39Hold on, Lumiere.
11:41Considering the option, I have no intention of doing otherwise.
11:45One problem with the midquel is that any character development from the original movie
11:49has been speedily reversed.
11:51Therefore, Beast spends most of Magical World as a raging tyrant.
11:54It's also an anthology film, and the animation is quite poor compared to the original.
11:59It's a forgery.
12:01Surely you're not suggesting I would do such a thing.
12:10The first Toy Story really changed the game when it came to 3D animation,
12:14setting Pixar off on a winning streak.
12:16The script was smart, funny, and original, elevated further by a fantastic voice cast.
12:21Happy Pants, you're flying!
12:24This isn't flying, this is falling with style!
12:29Ha ha ha!
12:31To infinity and beyond!
12:35A second movie was a risky move, but Toy Story 2 became one of the very few sequels in existence,
12:41whether live-action or animated, to genuinely compete with the original.
12:45Whether it's better or not can be debated, but we can all agree it's great, right?
12:50Oh, we've waited countless years for this day.
12:55It's good to see you, Woody.
12:57Listen, I don't know what...
12:58Hey, how do you know my name?
13:00Everyone knows your name, Woody.
13:03Eleven years later, the much-anticipated Toy Story 3 became another success story,
13:08providing the perfect finale to what was intended to be a trilogy.
13:11Toy Story 4 may have seemed unnecessary,
13:14but we'll give it a pass since it still had its upsides.
13:16Only time will tell how Toy Story 5 will fare.
13:19You ever think about getting out there, seeing the world?
13:22Without a kid?
13:24No, you can't teach this old toy new tricks.
13:27You'd be surprised.
13:28Which Disney animated sequels do you love or love to hate?
13:32Share your childhood favorites in the comments.
13:34Your Honor, if I may enter a plea of insanity...
13:37Because I'm crazy about this kid!
13:39Do you agree with our picks?
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