Although it physically pains me to write about the worst Disney sequels, I feel like I have to do it. I'm a huge Disney fan from back in the day; once upon a time, my entire room was decorated in memorabilia from The Little Mermaid. Lately Disney's sequels are actually pretty awesome because they continue the story. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, however, the big brand came up with some of the worst Disney sequels I've ever seen. They did not to enrich the original stories and most went straight to video (deservedly), leading many people to believe that these low-budget impostors were made solely for the money.
I think this might be one of the worst Disney sequels of all time. I mean, I hated this movie. I adored the original Lady and the Tramp because I have a thing for dogs in general and cute little cocker spaniels in particular. Why do I loathe this movie so much? Well, as the wonderful Nostalgia Chick pointed out in her fantastic Disney expose, they completely deviated from the original formula; you do not see this movie from a dog's point of view. It's campy where the original was charming – and, oh yeah, it's the exact same movie!
Actually, pretend I mentioned everything that came after Aladdin. I was so psyched for all of those videos, and they were such crap. I was a kid and they didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, they just made me terribly impatient. The stories weren't nearly as rich, the comedy was atrocious (sorry, I love The Simpsons, but replacing Robin Williams with Homer was just wrong), and by the end, I didn't even want to see Aladdin and Jasmine be together. I wanted Iago to peck out their eyes.
This one ties with Lady and the Tramp II for me. I loved The Fox and the Hound. I just watched it on Netflix again and sobbed like a child. “I'm a hound dog!” The sequel, however … I'm sorry, where is Tod? Where is Copper? Why am I listening to Patrick Swayze instead of Kurt Russell? Is this a vehicle for more Jeff Foxworthy stand up? What is this?!
Any Beauty and the Beast sequel or midquel or whatever-quel stacks up as the worst. This movie was perfect the way it was. I do not care what happened at Christmas. I do not care about any enchanted happy fun-times. Again, it takes away from the original, it turns something beautiful into something pandering, and I still want my money back.
Many people disagree, but I liked Disney's Peter Pan. I like a variety of other versions much better, of course – the semi-recent Peter Pan with Jeremy Sumpter, Hook with Robin Williams, and so on – but I thought Disney's version was cute, and it brought us Spieling Peter Pan, my favorite ginger of all time, so that's cool. But there are so many things wrong with this movie. They're taking a really, really dark backdrop and making it seem like any parent would actually encourage a child to play with dolls under the threat of a Nazi invasion. Also, again, same movie. Same. Movie.
This is not the same movie. It's a reversal of the original – see what they did there? I know, they shouldn't have. I was glad that Buddy Hackett still voiced Scuttle, but other than that, I found Melody trite and annoying, and Morgana was no Ursula. Not even on her best day.
Even though Pocahontas was a historical travesty, I loved it. I loved the soundtrack, I loved the message it tried so hard to convey, I loved Grandmother Willow. I tried really hard to like the sequel, but I mean … I guess if poor Pocahontas had died, it would have at least given meaning to the movie, but I have trouble believing she'd ever be interested in a love triangle.
Sad to say, I own most of these horrible sequels because, like say, I was a tried and true Disney kid. To this day, the many, many, many Aladdin sequels still make me mad. Which sequels do you absolutely hate? Any movie is up for grabs!