Let's Talk About the Disney Direct to DVD Sequels

Hello once again, this was going to be a another new year gift but I think it rather fits to post this today. 2022 has had an interesting start. Danny Tanner passing away, Attack on Titan's 2nd half of the final season getting dubbed, and the covid virus dying out. (At least enough for me to not have to wear a mask at work anymore) But also a bunch to look forward too, that being a bunch of new MLP content.
Last year I made a huge blog about the MCU this time it's other Disney related properties. In the time when handdrawn animation was dying out a bunch of sequels came out and quickly got rather bad reputations. Some of them are about as bad as you think, some are pretty decent, and some are actually on par with the original. And I'm going to tell you about them with a few exceptions and I'll be going in the order of the movies that got sequels. For example if Snow White got a sequel (which thankfully it did not) it would go first. Only unlike the MCU I grew up with quite a few of these so one thing you'll probably hear a lot is I have a soft spot for this movie. So let's dive right in because there's a lot and see just how many soft spots I have.

Fantasia 2000 While not a direct to DVD sequel, I feel like this movie needs more attention. It’s not as good as the first but one thing you’re probably going to hear a lot is I have a soft spot for this move. Like the first this movie is a series of segments where the visuals tell the story with music to help it out. Such as an adaptation of the Tin Soldier with insanely dated CGI or a segment about several people living in one city and their stories connect at the end. My favorites are the last two, the former being an adaptation of Noah’s Ark with Donald Duck and the latter about a nature spirit having a very unpleasant encounter with a phoenix. 
Noah’s Ark has colorful animation and even a visual gag that may have inspired a similar one in the Ducktales reboot, while playing the music you hear at a graduation. But it was meant to be used in all sorts of occasions, so that’s a fun fact. The nature spirit is a story about beginnings and ends and new beginnings, so rather fitting that it wraps up the movie, once again the animation is just amazing & the music matches it perfectly. Another fun fact is that Walt Disney always wanted to continue Fantasia, making it a franchise, I personally hope we see more of the franchise.      
   
Bambi 2 Definitely one of the better of these sequels, honestly I think I kind of like this better than the 1st. I know that sounds like such a weird thing to say because the original is such a timeless masterpiece, but this one is too. Taking place right after the death of Bambi’s mother (Uh spoilers) this takes place during the time gap of the 1st movie. Bambi’s father looks after him until a doe can be found to do just that, while that’s going on Bambi tries to get closer to his father who in one way or another keeps his distance. 
The story isn’t all that much and even predictable in some areas, but if there’s one thing MLP has taught us (besides that friendship is magic) it’s that there’s nothing wrong with a predictable storyline as long as it’s written well. The father eventually opens up, but then there’s a misunderstanding and Bambi gets mad at him but to the movie’s credit it doesn’t dwell on it very long, it’s kind of like all the interesting stuff from Frozen 2. It’s just there then it’s not. Plus it works better here than most movies because Bambi was always less about story and more about characters, also Bambi is going through an emotional stage in his life. Dealing with his distant father & the loss of his mother which the movie doesn’t shy away from it either.
The father who was hardly in the original is given a lot of focus and there’s some new characters as well, such a grumpy porcupine and bully deer named Ronno who seems like a one dimensional bully. But watching this again as an adult you see his attitude is a result of him having trouble making friends, plus he does get a funny line here and there. The animation is great, on par with the original, the songs are pleasant, there’s a lot of clever callbacks to the original, oh yeah definitely one of the better sequels. Also fun fact one of the voice actors for Thumber's sisters also voiced Sofia the First.

Cinderella 2 Some of these sequels are not so much sequels as they are a collection of episodes for a potential TV show. The stories are Cinderella learning just what it means to be a princess and learning how to do it her way, one of the mice being human while the others try helping Lucifer impress a female cat, and Cinderella helping her step sister Anastasia impress a baker. 
The “episodes” are all that entertaining but I do like Cinderella going all out to help Anastasia showing just how kind and forgiving she is. (Most of the abuse was from her mother anyway) So yeah this movie isn’t all that good, but that’s fine it got retconned. 

Cinderella 3 After a year of being married Cinderella’s happily ever after is taken away when the step family (who get a lot of focus in this movie) take the fairy godmother’s wand and use it to turn back time and make the slipper fit Anastasia instead. As well as use the wand to make the prince think he danced with her instead of Cinderella, who with her friends set out to stop her stepmother’s plans and get back her happily ever after. Turning Cinderella into a stronger, more independent character along the way as well as retconning the bad sequel because of the time travel aspect. (too bad more sequels don’t do that) 
The animation is great, the dark themes are done well if a bit redundant, this movie has about 3 climaxes. On top of fleshing out Cinderella it also develops the side characters for example, there’s a scene where Anastasia dances with Prince Charming and doesn’t do a very good job. But the king finds it charming because it reminds him of his late wife, who not only bears a striking resemblance to Anastasia, but was also a horrible dancer.
The King: She stepped on my feet all the time, but she took good care of my heart.
There’s also this theme of the movie where if you hold someone’s hands you can tell if you love them. There’s a scene in Steven Universe that says love at first sight doesn’t exist, love takes time and work and getting to know someone. While I think there’s some truth to that, at the same time the movie isn’t exactly saying you know if you’re in love by doing that. It’s more like the spark of love is found this way, I actually talked about this to both my parents and they both said it’s possible. I hope one day I can find that spark, I’m so alone.   

Peter Pan Return to Neverland Honestly the title is pretty accurate, this feels like a return to Neverland. Wendy has grown up and started a family such as a daughter named Jane who gets kidnapped by Captain Hook because he thinks she’s Wendy. After getting rescued she tries to leave Neverland to get back to her family, but the only way to leave is to fly, and she stopped believing in stuff like that long ago. She was rather forced to grow up early due to growing up in war time, despite being about 9. On top of dealing with Captain Hook who tries to manipulate Jane with a ride home for his treasure (and revenge), if Peter and the Lost Boys can’t get Jane to believe in fairies, Tinker Bell’s light is going to go out.
This is one of the fews sequels to be released in theaters and it kind of deserved to be. The songs much like Bambi 2 may not exactly fit the mold of the movie, but I personally like them. On top of that the animation is good, the characters are fun, there’s a ton of funny parts, and even some imagination. Like there’s this one part where Jane walks under a pond and the fish can stick their heads out, that’s just cool. To avoid this just being a repeat of the first they mix a few things up, not just with Tinker’s Bell’s light. Captain Hook got this giant octopus to eat the crocodile but when it gets a taste of Hook now it’s after him. It’s not as funny as the crocodile but it is entertaining and it leads to my favorite joke in the movie.
Smee: Oh you big brute you, get out of here and take your arms with you. You oughta be ashamed of yourself- (octopus splashes Smee) …..At least the crocodile had manners.
I love that line. 
There’s also this super surreal part at the end where Peter meets grown up Wendy.
Peter: Wendy?
Wendy: Hello Peter.
Peter: You changed.
Wendy: Not really, not ever.
It’s kind of like the ending to Casablanca, the 2 still have feelings for each other but because of the circumstances they can’t be together. They’ll always have Neverland.                

Lady and the Tramp 2 Scamp’s Big Adventure Not quite a movie that will capture your heart and soul forever, (line from the trailer) but still good. Lady and Tramp are adjusting to a family life, but one pup named Scamp wants to be wild and free. So he runs to do just that and even runs into other junkyard dogs, such as an adorable love interest named Angel who has some nice moments with Scamp that would love to have Scamp’s life and Buster the Tramp’s old apprentice (or something like that, it’s honestly not all that important) who felt abandoned when the Tramp fell in love with Lady. Rather than force Scamp to come home Tramp decides to let Scamp to stay with them and let him make his own decisions. Basically the grass is always greener story but with dogs. 
Tramp at first seems like an over demanding father but he just wants what’s best for his son. They actually do have quite a close bond in the movie, such as Tramp again letting his son make his own decisions. Or Scamp learning just how wild his dad used to be. The movie really recaptures the original tone of the 1st movie, it’s not an epic movie but neither was the first. It's a nice little story with likable characters and a rather intense scene here and there at the end, again like the first one. Scamp’s voice might not match the character, but personally it never bothered me. Also the 2 cats from the 1st finally get their karma, that alone makes this movie worth watching.  

101 Dalmatians 2 Patch's London Adventure Wow, 3 sequels in a row that manages to recapture the magic and tone of the originals (more or less) that’s impressive. Taking place right after the original, the family moves to the farm but along the way Patch who feels like he’s just 1 of 101 wants to be one of a kind gets separated from his family. After that he meets his hero Thunderbolt who tries to do something heroic so the writers of his show won’t kill off his character. So he gets Patch to help find something heroic to do because he knows every line from every episode of the show. (A puppy after my own heart) But he does more harm than good and his character isn’t getting killed off his co-star Lil Lightning wants to steal the spotlight. Meanwhile Cruella meets an eccentric artist who paints black spots on white canvases and she wants him to make her a masterpiece. But when she doesn’t like anything he makes she steals the puppies again so he can and I quote “make art with the puppies.”  
That may sound like a lot but the story is really easy to follow, Patch is likable, Thunderbolt is enjoyably full of himself, and Cruella is just as fun as she was in the 1st movie. Speaking of which, much like Bambi 2 this has a lot of good callbacks to the original. While the movie has a bit of the liar revealed cliche it’s done well here and like the movie in general has a charm to it. It’s funny, colorful, energetic, has a lot of story while still being simple, it’s just an all around fun film.                     

The Jungle Book 2 Another one that got a release in theaters. Mowgli misses the jungle because you can take the boy out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the boy. So he decides to head back and hang out with Baloo, but Shere Khan is hungry for revenge. While that happens Shanti, the girl at the end of 1st movie who looks nothing like the original design by the way. Goes to look for him with her little brother who honestly does get a few laughs here and there. 
The animation is decent and the voice actors do a really good job, especially John Goodman as Baloo, plus I rather enjoy the climax which is quite a bit suspenseful. But as much as I have a soft spot for it I can’t deny it didn’t need to exist. What’s weird is the actual book has not 1 but 2 sequels. Why not use ideas from those, there’s a part in the 3rd book where we learn Shere Khan has a son who wants to avenge his father, another where despite still living in the jungle his friends tell him to be with humans. In the end he becomes something like a park ranger, finding a balance between the 2 worlds, which kind of happens in this movie but not as well. Those 2 alone would be a much better sequel, I mean I still like it. But what a waste of potential.  

The Rescuers Down Under Much like Fantasia 2000 this came out in theaters and deserves a lot more attention. A young boy in Australia befriends a large golden eagle named Marahute, so much she takes him flying in a scene that just looks amazing. But then he gets captured by a poacher who wants to know where she is and he refuses to tell. So Bernard (who repeatedly tries to ask Bianca to marry him) and Bianca set out to rescue him with Orville the seagull who helped them in the last movie but instead it’s his brother Wilbur (get it?) and Jake, a hopping mouse that’s always trying to put the moves on Bianca making things even more difficult for Bernard. 
This is a surprisingly intense sequel considering the first one, it’s colorful, it’s energetic, the villain is pretty fun, the story and main characters are enjoyable. I don’t think there's really much else I can say about this movie; it's just a fun flick. A fun criminally underrated flick.       

The Fox and the Hound 2 Ever wonder what would happen if Copper joined a singing group? No? Too bad, that’s what the movie is about. Taking place before the timeskip of the 1st movie Tod and Copper see the county fair coming into town and come across a group known as the Singing Strays. One of them Dixie gets fired for being a deva, so Cash the leader can replace her because as it turns out he has a great singing voice. Yeah really expanding the lore there yeah? So anyway, it seems fun at first but Tod can’t spend any time with his friends so he, Dixie, and this cat Zelda (who is Dixie’s assistant or something) have to get Copper out of the band Dixie back in.
So yeah it sounds kind of bad, but honestly, I actually like this movie. The animation is nice, the songs are decent, and some of the humor legitimately gets a laugh out of me. For example during a song a bunch of barn animals join in and for some reason an elephant is there too. Or this part where the owner of the strays gives them bones.
Owner:If I could play my banjo better I could feed you all stakes instead, I guess I should practice more. (Come on that’s funny) 
The new characters are likable too. Dixie can be a deva but she just wants a little consideration, Cash is hard on the others but he just wants them to be good enough for their big chance. A talent scout (who is escorted by a girl scout that unintentionally causes him pain and misery) is coming to the fair. Most fans of the original would probably say this is bad, but for me it’s a guilty pleasure. It didn’t need to exist, but I’m kind of glad it does.      

The Little Mermaid 2 Return to the Sea Definitely one of my favorites of the sequels, despite the negativity it gets. It starts by showing Ariel and Eric have had a child named Melody with a rather catchy song. When suddenly the fun is interrupted by Morgana, Ursula's crazy sister. After her failed plan to get the trident in exchange for Melody Ariel wants to keep her away from the ocean until Morgana is found. 12 years later we see that Melody is a lot like her mother as she loves to do her own thing, that being exploring the ocean. After a birthday party turned disaster and an argument with her mother she sets off to get answers about who she really is. Along the way she runs into Morgana who turns her into a mermaid and manipulates her into getting the trident for her.   
Some of the negative reviews said this was a repeat of the 1st movie, but it's more of a reversal than a repeat. The animation is decent, the comedy actually gets quite a few laughs out of me, and the new characters are likable. Melody is fun along with a penguin and walrus she comes across named Tip and Dash who want to be heroes, the only problem is they're bloody cowards. There's a part I like where they decide to go help Melody knowing they'll very likely get killed, a nice way to teach little kids how to be heroic. Morgana is a really fun villain, manipulative and cruel but still really funny, at first her design suggests she's just a carbon copy of her sister but she really is her own character. She actually resents her sister and isn't as good with magic, but is much better at manipulating others as she actually comes as legitimately kind and caring when she wants to trick someone, at least better than her sister. Not on par with the original but real close, at least close enough to watch it again. 

The Little Mermaid Ariel's Beginning I’ll start this one off by saying that the animation in this movie is great, too bad it’s wasted on a lackluster story. After Ariel’s mother dies all music is banished in the kingdom (trust me there’s a connection) and of course Ariel doesn’t think that’s fair and neither does Sebastian as he is a member of a secret club of music lovers which she learns after she meets Flounder for the 1st time. But Sebastion being part of the club is just what Marina Del Rey (who I’m pretty sure was supposed to be Ursala) who wants his job needs in order to get it. And after getting it she’s willing to do anything to keep it, even eliminating Ariel and Sebastian. (Yikes)  
Other than the animation there isn’t really anything good about this movie. Marina was so clearly supposed to be Ursula so what happened there? In the DVD bonus features we learn that Ariel’s oldest sister wants to be like her mother, that’s interesting, too bad it’s not focused on at all in the movie. So yeah but terrible but not great, or good, maybe okay. (but just barely)    

Beauty and the Beast the Enchanted Christmas A rather weird combination but it rather works. Taking place during Belle’s….Time away from home she’s getting ready for Christmas, problem is the Beast has forbidden Christmas. She says no one can forbid Christmas and proceeds to prepare for it but Forte, the former music conductor now a pipe organ wants to keep the master depressed because that way his music can continue to soothe him. On top of that he actually wants to stay the way he is for as he puts it humanity is overrated, which honestly is kind of fascinating. So he tries to get rid of Belle to keep the Beast depressed who just might get out of his grumpy mood and embrace the Christmas Spirit.
The songs are rather good and connect well to the themes of the movie which explain the importance of the holiday. How Christmas isn’t just about gifts but it’s a time of hope and believing that things can get better. We also kind of get a bit of insight into the Beast’s psyche, he hates Christmas because that was when he was cursed. Which leads to a rather interesting moment between him and Belle.
Beast: You have no idea what it’s like to be trapped in your own castle to be a a a-
Belle: Prisoner?
Beast:.....(leaves)   
There are other emotional moments in the movie mixed in with some funny parts as well.
Cogsworth: Don’t wine glasses. (I love puns) 
Plus again it’s Christmas related which makes it rather hard to hate.     

Beauty and the Beast Belle's Magical World In sort of a reversal to Cinderella the bad sequel comes 2nd, which is also a collection of episodes. (Too bad this one isn’t retconned by time travel) One episode where Fifi thinks Lumiere and Belle have a thing and gets jealous, one where Beast wants to keep a bird, one where the others want to celebrate Mrs. Potts' birthday and it gets out of hand. Might be some others but you get the idea.
They aren’t very good or memorable. It stinks and that’s all there is to say on to the next one. 

The Return of Jafar The start of the the straight to DVD sequels and not a bad place to start really. After helping Jafar escape the Cave of Wonders Iago turns on Jafar, rather sporadically but Iago makes some good points. He tells Aladdin he’s turned over a new leaf but it’s just a lie to get back into power, one Aladdin believes after Iago saves his life. It gets off on a rocky start but Iago befriends the others including Genie who already saw the whole world. While that’s going on Jafar teams up with a thief named Abis Mal to get revenge on Aladdin. Framing him for the “murder” of the Sulton and Jafar as Jasmine sentences him to death and right before he’s executed he shows his real face for a split second showing him he’s behind all this but it’s too late to do anything about it. Dude that is straight up diabolical.      
The songs are pretty nice even the ones with Iago, Gilbert Gottfired isn’t the best singer but at least he’s trying. Speaking of which, the movie is more of a redemption story for Iago, which is actually a rather good one. Right before Aladdin is about to be executed he frees Genie so he can save him then helps in the fight with Jafar. There’s also a fair share of funny moments and this kickstarts the Aladdin series while the next one wraps it up.    

Aladdin and the King of Thieves Aladdin and Jasmine are finally getting married. What could possibly go wrong? A lot as the wedding is attacked by none other than the 40 thieves (I guess it’s better than an army of changelings) and the leader seeks a staff that holds an oracle that can lead him to the ultimate treasure, the Hand of Midas. The oracle reveals that Aladdin’s father Cassim is alive and he later finds out that he is the king of thieves. He’s a rather complicated man to say the least who set out to find money to support his family but now is “trapped” by the 40 thieves, or rather their world. He gives Cassim a 2nd chance but he still seeks the treasure and so does another thief Saluk who turns the other thieves against them after getting most of them locked up and framing Cassim for it then forcing him to use the oracle. Leading to a fight for the ultimate treasure and Cassim learning just what it is.    
Cassim is an interesting character that goes back and forth. He loves his son but at the same time he’s been looking for the hand for so long and that much obsession doesn’t go away overnight. The songs once again are pretty nice and while some characters don’t have enough focus they do rather come together in the end. The animation is good in some areas, it has it’s funny moments, the adventure part is interesting, and it’s a nice wrap up to both the movies and the show. And it goes out on a song, can’t go wrong with that for ending this Arabian night.  

The Lion King ½ Pretty much Timon and Pumbaa the movie. Timon isn’t fitting in with the other meerkats especially when he also gets some of them killed, so he sets out to find his own place where he can live with no worries or hakuna matata. Along the way he meets up with Pumbaa and we see that they were more involved in the first movie than we originally thought. 
I don’t think there’s a whole lot to say about this movie, it’s okay with some well done emotional moments and has a few funny parts like one scene about Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba in a hot tub. (who says potty humor can’t be smart?) There’s also some meta humor as during the whole movie Timon and Pumbaa are watching it. I have a soft spot for this movie so if you haven’t seen it and I made it sound interesting give it a watch.     

The Lion King 2 Fun fact DisneyFanatic took a lot of inspiration from this movie when she made Daughter of Discord. (At least I think she did, pretty sure she did) Simba, now leader of Pride Rock, has a daughter named Kiara who meets and befriends an outsider (lions that were on Scar’s side) named Kovu, a cub that Scar picked to be his successor. (But he isn’t his son just making that clear) They actually get along but the others not so much. Years later a war is coming but Rafiki is told by the late Mufasa that it can be stopped if Kaira and Kovu can fall in love. While that’s going on Kovu’s mother Zira sets a rather sinister plan in motion to take down Simba and take back Pride Rock.
It’s basically Romeo and Juliet with lions and does a rather good job with the story. Zira is kind of a pretty fun villain, and the songs are decent too. Simba is a rather overprotective father but considering what happened in the 1st movie it’s kind of understanding. Much like the 1st it tackles rather heavy themes and uses them to deliver a good message. Is it as good as the 1st? No but that’s the highest bar ever. But maybe it set a bar for the other Disney sequels and maybe even sequels in general.     

An Extremely Goofy Movie Sort of a sequel to A Goofy Movie. (which is basically Goof Troop the movie) Max is grown up and heading for college with his friends Pete and Bobby and he’s thrilled to finally be on his own. But things get complicated when Goofy loses his job and has to go back to college to finish his last job so he can get another job. Along the way Goofy finds himself a girlfriend, joins the Gammas lead by sort of a basic bully character, and ends up helping his son in the X games to take home the win.
I think this was sort of made for younger kids but I still rather like this movie. It has its fair share of funny moments but also some emotional parts like this one part when Goofy goes into Max’s home but it’s empty. There’s also quite a few lines in this movie that have always stuck with me.
Pete: Come on son I can’t miss you if you won’t leave!
Goofy: It’s about staying focused on your goal.
Pete: All those square roots and equations don't help you at all in the real world. If you know 4 quarters adds up to a simoleon, you’ll survive. 
Bobby: You ever wonder why we’re always wearing these white gloves? (Okay this one not so much but it was still worth mentioning)
Again this is more for little kids but I have a soft spot for this movie, and if you’re a Goofy fan chances are you might have a soft spot for it too. And why do they always wear those gloves?       

Pocahontas 2 Much like Jungle Book this actually had potential. After John Smith's supposed death John Rolf arrives in Jamestown to help better the relationship between the British and the Indians so Radcliff (the villain from the 1st movie) won’t launch an attack. In honestally kind of a clever misunderstanding he was supposed to bring the chief of the Indians and thinks the chief is Pocahontas. So now she has to travel to a whole new world to help better the relations between the two.
The story sounds interesting and yeah it actually kind of is with honestly some likable new characters like John Rolfe or his maid who has a bit of an eye problem. I think my favorite character in the movie is the queen, there’s this one part where after coming to a party she stands in front of King James and his wife who is the one that breaks the tension. She doesn’t say or do much but you can kind of tell that she has a very caring heart. Radcliff is a better villain here but I still say that in the context of him being mediocre, but he does get this one song that has some fun weird visuals. There’s one or two funny parts and the climax is kind of fun with John Smith showing he’s still alive, (big shock) also I like this one part where Pocahontas is worried about what can go wrong with Grandmother Willow.
Pocahontas: What if I mess up? What if I can’t do this? (Kind of sounds like Twilight huh?)
Grandmother Willow: What if the sky lights on fire and your nose falls off. (Something I tell myself whenever I over think.)
That said, not a whole lot about this movie really stands out. I guess if you really like the 1st one give it a look if not you might feel the same as me.
      
The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 Let’s get this over with, Paris is having a festival of love making Quasimoto feel lonely. That is until he meets a woman named Madeline who works for a thief that wants to steal a beautiful bell. So Madeline pretends to have a relationship with Quasi and- do I even need to finish? You already know the story right? Is there anything good in this? Well one or two jokes and the song at the end as well as An Ordinary Miracle are rather catchy. But other than that not really, the sad thing is this actually had potential.
Here me out, this is how I would have made the movie. Stick with the festival and Madeline but remove the bad guy and just focus on the romance but she has to leave to follow her dream and Quasi encourages her to do that. That would be interesting right? At least better than what we got.   

Mulan 2 So I think this movie gets a lot of hate, but honestly I kind of love it. Taking place not too long after the 1st movie a new threat is facing China and the emperor wants to handle it peacefully. (seeing how his entire army has slaughtered the last movie, probably a good idea) He wants to form an alliance with another kingdom so their combined defenses will be so strong the invaders won’t dare attack. The price of the alliance is an arranged marriage for the emperor's three daughters (which Mulan understandably doesn’t like) and Mulan and Shang must escort them along with the gang of 3 (Ling, Yao, and Chan Po) who grow to like the princesses despite the circumstances. While that’s going on Shang proposes to Mulan who of course accepts but on top of trying to learn about balance between their relationship this means the spirits on his side of the family will take the role of guardianship. In other words Mushu will be out of a job, so during the mission he tries to break them up to keep his job.
So yeah Mushu is pretty selfish in this movie but honestly he was pretty selfish in the 1st movie too. And like the 1st movie he does find a way to redeem himself in the end. This movie actually does a decent job of trying to continue the story, the animation is really good, and I actually like the new characters. The princesses are likable and have nice chemistry with the gang of 3, there’s even some quiet moments like when Yao first looks into Princess May’s eyes there’s just this connection and honestly you can feel it. Another where it looks like Shang is killed, big surprise he survives but the scene is actually done really well, afterwards Mulan doesn’t say or do anything she just quietly stands out in the rain and you just feel everything she’s going through.         
When Doug Walker (the Nostalgia Critic) reviewed this movie (twice) his biggest problem is that Mulan is just okay with the princesses breaking the arranged marriage and letting the war happen, but it’s not like that. Mushu gets his redemption by pretending to be the Golden Dragon of Unity and convincing “Lord double chin” to call off the marriage. So it’s fair to say he can convince them to go along with the alliance anyway, or something like that. They don’t really talk about that but come on they aren’t just going to let everyone die. I think they were going for a do the right thing and everything will work out type of story, and besides a few mishaps here and there I actually think it’s done well. At the very least it’s still better than the live action Mulan remake. 

Tarzan and Jane Another collection of episodes man Disney sure made a lot of these. It’s Tarzan and Jane’s anniversary and she’s wondering how to celebrate it. Which leads to 3 separate stories being told. One where Jane’s friends come for a visit, one where Tarzan helps 2 guys get to diamonds so he can get one for Jane, and one where an old friend of Jane arrives but he’s not what he seems. 
The stories are from episodes of the series to follow are actually pretty entertaining and the ending actually is rather sweet. It's not much of a movie but I still have a soft spot for it. Not great but not terrible.   

Tarzan 2 Okay Disney love you forever, but if a story doesn’t take place after the end of the 1st movie then it’s not a sequel. Focusing on Tarzan when he’s just a boy has trouble fitting in and after an incident where the others think he’s dead he actually decides not to go back thinking he’s too much of a burden. He comes across a silverback named Zugor who pretends to be a scary monster to scare off larger more dangerous animals to get by. Tarzan figures out how he does it and promises not to tell if he can help him figure out just what he is. While that goes on he also comes across a trio of ape outcasts looking to find a new home, by force if necessary. 
The relationship between Tarzan and Zugor is nice, the trio of outcasts are rather fun bad guys that work off each other well, and it has a rather fair share of laughs and emotional moments. They of course don’t figure out he’s a human but the solution Zugor comes up with which I won’t give away (unless you ask in the comment section) actually is kind of clever and also rather connects to Tarzan’s character. Much like Bambi 2 or Return to Neverland this sequel is on par with the original. So if you like the first and you haven’t seen it, give it a watch.    

Kronk's New Groove Another band-aid to pull off. Kronk is getting a visit from his father Papi who Kronk has never gotten the approval of. His father told him he’d need a big house on a hill with a wife and kids, which he had but had to give up for reasons the movie explains. In a not very entertaining way.
There’s a funny joke here and there but that’s about it. There’s another part after the 2 stories where all Kronk’s friends try to help him impress his father but again not very entertaining. Yeah it stinks on to the next one. 

Atlantis: Milo's Return Chances are you have never heard of this movie, which is too bad because the movie is rather good. Just like the sequel. It’s yet another collection of wannabe episodes, but I have a soft spot because here it actually works because the stories are actually entertaining. The 1st being the characters from the 1st movie investigate the Kraken attacking ships and it’s strange connection to a mysterious town, the 2nd being them coming across a desert spirit trying to protect what’s his, and the 3rd is where they have to stop a mad man that thinks he’s Odin from starting ragnarok. (You hear that Kratos? These guys beat you to it.)
All the stories are rather entertaining and are centered around honestly some pretty likable characters who make it really easy to like this. Apparantally this was supposed to get a show like the next sequels on this blog where the characters go around solving supernatural mysteries. I would have loved to watch that, it's sounds like loads of fun. Sort of like a prottype for Gravity Falls what if this and Gravity Falls share the same universe. Do a crossover Disney I DEMAND IT! Please.

Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, Stitch the Movie, and Leroy and Stitch Decided to put all these together, this was the only Disney movie that really made money at the time. So it only makes sense it got so many sequels. The 1st movie is where Stitch is freaking out because of a glitch in his system and Jumba has to fix him or he’ll shut down for good. The 2nd movie is where Gantu is hired by Dr. Jacques von Hamsterwheel HAMSTERVIEL HAMSTERVIEL!! (okay sorry sheesh) to get all of the other experiments to use as he sees fit, starting off the series in the process. And the 3rd everyone going their separate ways but coming back together to stop Hamsterviel and his experiment Leroy to wrap up the movies and the show.
All of these movies are colorful, imaginative, funny, have good thematic elements, and have great characters old and new. The 1st sequel has an idea based on a Hawaiian story about how love is stronger than death, it doesn’t connect to the story as much as it could but it’s still interesting. The 2nd introduces 625 or Rubem in the 3rd and he’s a great comedic partner for Gantu. The 3rd also has a great climax with all the experiments fighting an army of Leroys. All in all this franchise is loads of entertainment see these movies as well as the original and the series if you haven’t already.          

Brother Bear 2 Just gonna dive right into this Nita, a childhood friend of Kenai is getting married but it gets interrupted by the spirits because, well let the movie explain. 
 

If that shawoman was in this movie more it probably would have been much more entertaining. Instead much like Hunchback 2 it’s not so much a story as it is a series of cliches put together and outside the one scene there isn’t much good humor. The animation is good but like Ariel’s Beginning it’s too good because it’s wasted on a movie like this. I kind of wish I could say something nicer about this movie but I can’t. Take it for what it’s worth I guess.  

Ralph Breaks the Internet Again not a straight to DVD sequel but I wanted to talk about it. Vanellope has grown tired of Sugar Rush as it feels like a routine, so Ralph tries to mix it up but the steering wheel of the arcade console gets broken. The arcade also gets connected to the internet so Ralph and Vanellope head there to see if they can get a new wheel and of course hijinks ensue. From a death race game to a bunch of stuff owned by Disney to Ralph becoming an internet star overnight. Why can’t I become an overnight sensation? 
A lot of the humor comes from the movie just saying something exists and moving on but it’s the way they do it that makes it funny. LIke seeing two birds sharing a picture (they’re tweeting) or a guy holding up a piece of advertisement like those guys on the street swinging a large sign who gets stopped by an ad blocker acting like a security guard. Come on, that's funny. They also do where the 2 main characters fight and leave each other but to the movie’s credit they don’t dwell on it long and it leads to a pretty unique climax. When the Nostalgia Critic reviewed this movie he mentioned how the 1st movie was about coping and this kind of goes against that. While he does have a point, just because you make the best of bad situations or compromise doesn’t mean you can’t try to move things better or make things better. But if you like the 1st one better, that's fine. Personally I think this movie is really entertaining, but seriously why wasn’t this called Ralph Wrecks the Internet?      

Frozen 2 And to wrap it up this blog is the sequel to the highest grossing Disney movie ever. One night Elsa starts hearing a mysterious voice which is connected to a mysterious enchanted forest and the people who live there along with several soldiers of the kingdom still in conflict. Elsa and Anna try to find Ahtohallan, a mythical river said to explain the past while learning more about their family. While that’s going on Kristoff tries time and time again to propose to Anna and there’s this thing about the spirits of nature: water, fire, earth, air, and a 5th one that will connect them. Heart! Go Planet! (sorry)  
I give the movie credit for trying to tell a darker, more complex story but there’s several problems and they’re kind of big ones. First off Kristoff tries repeatedly to propose to Anna but she keeps cutting him off. It’s funny at first but after a while you just want to tell her to shut up, which actually would have been rather funny if they did that. 
Kristoff: Will you please shut up so I can ask you to marry me!?
Anna: Wait what?
Kristoff….(And he just rolls with it)    
The nature spirits didn’t really need to be in the movie, and they kind of aren’t. Along with several other things in the movie like the forest natives are just kind of there and then they’re not. There’s rock giants in the forest but they don’t even talk, they attack the main characters at one point but I’m like why? Why are you doing that? What's the point? Also it looks like the kingdom (no one is in it at the time) is about to be destroyed but then they just cop out at the end. They could have had a real emotional moment afterwards.
Someone: Arendelle is gone.
Someone else: No we are Arendelle. We can rebuild and make it better.
But my biggest problem with the movie is this part where Else ditches Anna to go to Ahtohallan by herself. I mean yeah I get it, it’s something she had to do alone but the least she could have done was said she was sorry. I don’t think I really like Elsa as a character, Anna is the only family Elsa has but she just takes her for granted which she kind of did in the first movie too. She sicked a giant snowman on her and (accidentally) turned her into a human popsicle. If they ever make a Frozen 3 I would love them to tackle this. Are there any good things in this movie? Well I like the twist on the source of the conflict is a good twist, Olaf is as funny and charming as he was in the first movie. But all in all maybe just watch the 1st movie again.

Did you enjoy this blog? What movies do you have a soft spot for? I don't really like ending on a not so swell sequal, so I think I'll leave this here because again I think rather fits.

   
I hope the rest of 2022 is good for all of you, I have a feeling it's going to be good for me.
Brace yourselves everyone, Ragnarok is coming.

Comments

[Nightflight406]

To quote Honest Trailers, From the creators of Tarzan 2, Lion King 2 and Pocahontas 2 comes Frozen 2. Which is different from these unpopular (not my opinion) direct to DVD sequels. Because it came to the big screen. Honestly, my least favorite of the mentioned movies are Frozen 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet.