Top 10 Most Disappointing Animated Movie Sequels
Script Written by Nathan Sharp
#10: “The Land Before Time” Sequels (1994-)
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Since 1994, thirteen (yes, thirteen) “The Land Before Time” sequels have been released, and they are all terribly mediocre. The original “Land Before Time” was a good little movie – the animation was beautiful and the characters were charming, which made for a great time in front of the television for younger viewers. It was evident that a lot of care and thought went into the movie, which is more than we can say for its run-of-the-mill sequels. While the characters are still charming, the heavy themes and beautiful writing from the first movie are all but absent, replaced by goofy sing-a-long numbers and boring, childish stories.
#9: “Despicable Me 3” (2017)
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Love it or hate it, the Despicable Me franchise has been at the forefront of pop culture for what feels like forever. While the first two movies in the franchise felt like breaths of fresh air for animated comedies, the third installment definitely left us a little underwhelmed. Critics were quick to label the movie as being too safe and clearly more of a corporate product than a movie with anything to really say. Other than a few new highlights, including Trey Parker as supervillain Balthazar Bratt, Despicable Me 3 ended up retreading on old, tired ground rather than finishing off the trilogy on a high note. Unfortunately, this one we can’t blame on the minions...
#8: “The Jungle Book 2” (2003)
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There’s nothing quite like a sequel to a 36-year-old movie to get the kids excited! “The Jungle Book 2” was originally going to be released direct-to-video, but Disney decided to release it to theatres in February 2003. Originally produced as a direct-to-video movie? A February release date? It was doomed from the beginning. Audiences and critics alike agreed that the movie should never have been given a theatrical release, as it was far too short and the story was nothing but a pointless rehash of the original. Believe it or not, Disney, we can tell when little effort goes into your products.
#7: “The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue” (1998)
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Yeah. So, this movie exists. While it’s not very popular, “The Secret of NIMH” is often considered by critics to be one of the greatest animated movies of all time. It was beautifully animated, but it also told a captivating and mature story which respected the intelligence of its audience. Its sequel was…uh, we don’t even want to talk about it. It was created without any support from the original’s director, Don Bluth, and, well, duh. Gone was the dark and beautiful story, replaced with bright colours, D-grade songs, poorly animated characters, and wacky sidekicks. What a travesty.
#6: “Mulan II” (2004)
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The original “Mulan” is arguably one of Disney’s most underappreciated movies. That said, the sequel certainly isn’t doing its reputation any favors. While it isn’t TERRIBLE by any means, it’s probably the most mediocre thing you will ever watch. For one thing, it completely does away with the complex themes of the original to focus on the most cliché message in the history of children’s stories (follow your heart!). The characters’ nuances were also significantly downgraded for this movie, as they were all one-dimensional and painfully boring. Actually, that pretty much sums up the entire movie.
#5: “Ice Age: Collision Course” (2016)
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Let’s be honest: the “Ice Age” series is melting faster than the ice caps. The first entry, released way back in 2002, was good fun. Its sequel, “The Meltdown,” was decent entertainment, we guess. It all goes to crap after that. “Collision Course” is the worst offender yet, offering very little in terms of entertainment. The story and characters are painfully dull, and the jokes, if you can even call them that, fall flat every single time. We think they’ve about milked this cash cow for as long as they could. It’s time for these animals to go extinct.
#4: “The Return of Jafar” (1994)
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This movie serves as the first direct-to-video Disney release, and it was created as the first episode of a subsequent TV series, so, you know… It’s very clear that little care and/or money was put into this movie, as everything from the bland animation to the unremarkable songs just screams lazy. To make matters even worse, “The Simpsons’” Dan Castellaneta replaced Robin Williams in the role of the Genie, and while he isn’t terrible, there’s simply no comparison. While the direct-to-video concept could have been interesting, Disney completely squandered its potential with the release of this generic trash.
#3: “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride” (1998)
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If there’s one Disney movie you absolutely do not touch, it’s “The Lion King.” The original movie is now regarded as a masterpiece, filled with memorable characters, complex themes, and some of the best Disney songs ever produced. And then there’s this sequel, which...*sigh*. While a few of the original voice actors returned for the sequel, it’s painfully obvious that their hearts are not in it, and the movie’s songs can’t hold a candle to the original’s classics. It’s not completely irredeemable, but when compared to its timeless predecessor, it’s a massive disappointment.
#2: “Shrek the Third” (2007)
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Has there ever been a bigger disappointment when it comes to theatrically-released animated sequels? The first two “Shrek” movies were great fun, as they contained memorable characters and intelligently subverted various fairy tale conventions. We mean, who doesn’t love Donkey and Puss in Boots? Naturally, Paramount saw dollar signs and released a third movie, which ended up being painfully bland. The heart and charisma of the previous two movies were completely absent, replaced by countless unfunny digs at popular culture which were told by lame characters. But hey, it made $800 million at the box office, so mission success.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
“Tarzan II” (2005)
“The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea” (2000)
“The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” (2019)
#1: “Cars 2” (2011)
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Remember when we asked if there was a bigger disappointment when it came to theatrically-released sequels? Yeah, never mind, we have our answer here. “Cars” was certainly not one of Pixar’s finest moments, but it was still decent entertainment. “Cars 2,” on the other hand, is easily Pixar’s worst movie, and it is their only movie to have a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. Nearly everything about this movie, aside from its animation, was horribly generic, maybe even annoying. It seems as if it was made by the interns at Pixar, because we can’t believe how one of their movies could be so dreadfully dull.
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