Forgotten & Cancelled Disney VHS Sequels: The Good, The Bad, & The Wicked
Chapter 1: The Good
In the heyday of their greatest ‘90s hits, Disney did not hesitate to milk their success with straight-to-video sequels like “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.” This sequel follows Simba’s daughter, Kiara. She strikes up a friendship and later a romance with Kovu, who belongs to a pride once loyal to Scar, to her father’s great disapproval. Unfortunately, the quality of the animation isn’t as good as the original, and Simba is forced to take a more antagonistic role. But using Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” as the premise was a good choice, considering the original film’s indebtedness to “Hamlet.” It also helps that the soundtrack does have bangers. “He Lives in You” even made it to the stage show adaptation! As sequels go, this is one of the better ones.
For “Aladdin,” the studio released two sequels, “The Return of Jafar” and “Aladdin and the King of Thieves.” The latter is certainly a much better movie, following Aladdin as he finds out his father is not only alive, but is Cassim, the leader of the Forty Thieves. Cassim has been hunting for the Hand of Midas that can turn anything it touches into pure gold. But of course, Cassim learns the true treasure is his son, and Aladdin and Jasmine finally get married. It’s a rollicking adventure, and even snagged an Annie Award for Best Home Video Production. Nice.
After the success of “A Goofy Movie,” Disney released “An Extremely Goofy Movie,” an unusually decent continuation. There, Goofy follows his son Max to college and forms a romance with librarian Sylvia, with whom he bonds over ‘70s disco. Meanwhile, Max signs up for a skateboarding competition against the snobbish Bradley Uppercrust III. It may not have the musical chops of its predecessor, but the film explores empty nest syndrome and the college experience with surprising poignancy. This movie also won an Annie Award for Best Animated Home Video Production, for good reason.
“Cinderella” got the bulk of the sequelitis, the best of them being the third installment. In “A Twist in Time,” Cinderella’s stepmother uses the Fairy Godmother’s wand to travel back in time, ensuring Anastasia marries the Prince instead of Cinderella. She also casts a spell to prevent the Prince from realizing the deceit. It’s up to Cinderella to get the wand and her prince back. It’s the sequel that gave us a timeless Internet meme, to be sure, but it’s great to see Cinderella take action and fight for her happily ever after. The film also continues to develop Anastasia’s sympathetic side. For a great twist on the material, this sequel is worth watching.
Chapter 2: The Bad
But of course, for every “Lion King II” and “Cinderella III,” there are a dozen effortless cash grabs. “Cinderella II: Dreams Come True” decided to go for an anthology format, featuring three stories. This spin-off has the grace of good animation but the sin of subpar storytelling. The first one follows Cinderella throwing her first ball, but being stifled by the expectation of royalty and tradition. The third story is better, following Anastasia’s sweet romance with a bread maker. The second story, following Jaq’s transformation into a human, is atrocious. This uneven quality definitely makes “Cinderella II” among the worst of the sequels.
Worst things, alas, are always possible. In that same year, Disney released their sequel to “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Esmeralda and Phoebus are now married with a kid, and Quasimodo gets his own romance with circus girl Madellaine. Madellaine, however, is stuck with the villainous magician Sarousch, who forces her to carry out his plans to steal one of Notre Dame’s bells. The romance is nice, and Madellaine’s finally breaking free of Sarousch is satisfying. But with animation this cheap and a very feeble villain, this sequel is undoubtedly many miles away from the dark grandeur of its predecessor.
A better sequel lies in “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea,” following Ariel and Eric’s daughter, Melody. When Ursula’s sister Morgana threatens to kill Melody, Ariel decides to protect Melody by hiding the truth of her half-mermaid heritage from her. Predictably, the girl grows up longing for the sea and wanting to be a mermaid. Even Disney fans are divided over whether this is one of the good-bad or simply bad sequels. It has good animation and character design, for sure, with Melody being one of the more realistic and memorable offspring of a Disney princess. Still, this is a blatant rehash of the first movie, this time with Ariel forced to repeat her father’s mistakes as the overbearing parent. Your mileage may indeed vary.
Speaking of children who repeat their parents’ mistakes, this sequel to “Lady and the Tramp” is also a very mixed bag. Here, Lady and Tramp’s only son, Scamp, can’t stand being a house dog and finally escapes. He settles in with the junkyard dogs led by Buster and even has a romance with Angel, who longs for a family. Of course, Buster is no benevolent leader, and Scamp finally sees the error of his ways, returning home to his family with Angel in tow. Again, this has the same character development as the original, except with a brattier protagonist. The superfluous songs and different animation style from the original are also not ideal. Still, its good production values did lead it to be nominated for some Annie Awards, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
Chapter 3: The Wicked
For the worst of the worst, we’re looking at those that truly go off the deep end in terms of production and continuation. “Belle’s Magical World” definitely qualifies. Like “Cinderella II,” it’s also an anthology film of three stories (four if you watch the special edition), except with worse animation. Arguably, the worst story is when Belle tends to an injured bird, which causes a jealous Beast to put it in a cage and demand that it sing for him. Eventually, he learns, once again, not to be selfish. Belle is a shadow of her previous character, and the Beast’s bratty selfishness hits a new low. Oy.
The original “Pocahontas” was a feat of animation, but was much criticized for its lack of historical accuracy. So its sequel, “Journey to a New World,” tries to rectify this… and completely fails. In this film, Pocahontas travels to London with fellow diplomat John Rolfe, just like her real-life counterpart did. But her outrage at witnessing the cruel practice of bear-baiting leads King James to imprison her. Her love, John Smith, returns to rescue her, and the company prevents the armada from going to Jamestown. Except for her protecting the bear, Pocahontas is a pale imitation of her former self, waiting to be rescued and choosing Rolfe over Smith with little justification. Also, this film has Pocahontas impressed by 17th-century London. No. Just…no.
This trend of character assassination continues in the truly execrable “Mulan II.” Continuing from the original film, Mulan and Shang are engaged to be married. Mushu, who finds out that he’d be out of a job as guardian if Mulan marries, tries to sabotage their relationship. Meanwhile, the Emperor’s three daughters, all destined for arranged marriages to another kingdom, fall for Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po instead. While Mulan approves of the love matches, Shang does not, and they nearly break up before finally reconciling. Half-decent animation cannot save this mess, alas, with most of the characters being one-dimensional versions of themselves. Holding a truly dismal Rotten Tomatoes rating, this sequel may just be the worst of the worst.
Which other Disney direct-to-VHS sequel do you feel does justice to its original film… or desecrates it totally? Let us know in the comments down below!
