When Disney magic turns tragic! Join us as we count down our picks for the most disappointing follow-ups to beloved Disney films. From spy cars to pirate mishaps, these sequels failed to capture what made the originals special. Some changed beloved characters, others ignored themes that resonated with audiences, and many just felt like cash grabs with subpar animation.
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00:00So, this is about Mulan making the biggest mistake of my, uh, I mean her life.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most disappointing
00:11follow-ups to Disney films.
00:14Well said, Brandon.
00:16The dreadful pick is completely inappropriate.
00:19Number 10, Cars 2.
00:21Everybody get out, get out now.
00:23Y'all gotta get out the pit.
00:24What are you guys doing here?
00:26We're here because of you, Mater.
00:28Even if it didn't rank among Pixar's best, 2006's Cars was still about, well, cars.
00:35So, what did they do for the sequel?
00:37Explore McQueen's age again?
00:39Introduce another flashy race?
00:41Nope.
00:41It's a spy movie.
00:43Don't ask us why.
00:51It's Finn McMintyre!
00:54He's seen the camera!
00:55Kill him!
00:55The bizarre tonal shift saps all of Pixar's trademark warmth from the film,
00:59leaving nothing but an engine of a story that just doesn't want to start again.
01:03To make matters worse, the film hinges almost exclusively on Mater,
01:07whose potty mouth humor runs out of gas long before the credits roll.
01:11Altogether, it's hard not to feel like Cars 2 was only made to sell toys and nothing more.
01:16You're all so dense.
01:18It's voice activated.
01:19Everything is voice activated these days.
01:22Deactivate!
01:22Deactivate!
01:24Voice denied.
01:26Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides.
01:28And I trust we've managed to profit from our joint enterprise.
01:32Feast your eyes.
01:36In 2011, Captain Jack Sparrow took the helm of his franchise
01:40and immediately steered it right into choppy waters.
01:43The original Pirates trilogy picked up wind in large part because of their great ensemble.
01:48But without Elizabeth Swann or Will Turner to balance out Sparrow's kooky shtick,
01:52this solo venture completely capsized in the quality department.
01:56The series tried to chart a new course by introducing a pair of fresh faces
01:59in the follow-up Dead Man Tell No Tales.
02:02No shaming that, dear.
02:04I mean, we all have some.
02:05And living aid, wasn't it?
02:08Unfortunately, the film's poor reception only succeeded
02:11in making the rest of the fan base jump ship for good.
02:14Clearly, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies should have just stopped at three.
02:18Sparrow will go.
02:20Find the ship, retrieve the chalices.
02:22Sparrow, what makes you think he will come back?
02:24Yes, what makes you think he will come back?
02:28We cannot trust him, father.
02:29I'll go.
02:31She'll go.
02:32Number eight, Pocahontas 2, Journey to a New World.
02:35We walked the same path once.
02:38I have found where I belong.
02:42I hope you will also find happiness.
02:46May the great spirit always be with you.
02:49There's a lot to unpack here.
02:50Even if you set aside the mountain of highly questionable
02:53artistic liberties with its story,
02:55Pocahontas 2 simply isn't a very good movie.
02:58Chronicling the princess brokering a peace treaty with England
03:01sounds like it'll be a tense, compelling tale.
03:04Instead, Journey to a New World squanders its potential
03:07with lackluster animation, forgettable songs,
03:10and way too much focus on its boring central romance.
03:13Which isn't even with John Smith, by the way.
03:15Wait till he sees you, he'll be so proud.
03:19Maybe he'll smile if he thinks he's allowed.
03:22Compounded together, it makes Pocahontas 2
03:25feel like a sequel in name alone.
03:27Disney did not paint with all the colors of the wind for this one.
03:30That's for sure.
03:32Your grace, if you insist on war,
03:35my people will fight to the last warrior.
03:38There is nothing to be gained,
03:40but much to be lost for all of us.
03:44Number seven, Alice Through the Looking Glass.
03:47It's you, isn't it?
03:53I'd know you anyway.
03:55On paper, the sequel should have been
03:58another slam dunk trip to Wonderland.
04:00It's the continuation of a billion dollar picture,
04:03adapted from beloved source material
04:05and features a jaw-dropping all-star cast
04:08in a way that only makes the result
04:10that much more embarrassing.
04:11Disney spent a lot of money
04:13to make Alice Through the Looking Glass look pretty.
04:15We just wish they devoted half as much effort
04:17on the script, story, and pacing.
04:19It's a mere shell of a man.
04:21Oh, please, you always make that joke.
04:23Don't you mean yolk?
04:25It's truly baffling that such a fantastic group of talent
04:28in front of and behind the camera
04:30could deliver such a doldrum snooze fest.
04:33But that's what happens
04:34when you take the wonder out of Wonderland.
04:36Off with your dad!
04:37My family.
04:38Oh, please, please don't.
04:40No, I have little ones to look after.
04:42Go to his house and collect the little ones.
04:44Number six, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II.
04:46What are there, mon frere?
04:51So, what's the plan?
04:52Plan?
04:54A little soft music.
04:56A little candlelight.
04:58A cozy tene-tete by the fire.
05:01Where do we even begin discussing this face plan?
05:03We could talk about the animation,
05:05which is such a massive downgrade,
05:07it's surprising Disney allowed it to see the light of day.
05:10Or maybe we could mention the narrative,
05:12which watered down Quasimodo's empowering journey
05:15into a bland love story.
05:18Quasi is wonderful.
05:26Oh, come on, show me more.
05:28But no, it's not the art, storyline,
05:31or even the out-of-place voice acting
05:33that ruins The Hunchback of Notre Dame II.
05:35It's that this is a straight-to-DVD sequel
05:37for a film that never needed a part two.
05:40At best, it's unnecessary,
05:42and at worst, it actively takes away from the original.
05:45These bells should have never rung again.
05:47Ah, lighten up.
05:49Take your heart for granted.
05:51Like me?
05:54Aw, she'd better take good care of our boy.
06:02Young lady, just where do you think you're going?
06:05Gotta figure this out.
06:08This necklace means something.
06:11And if no one's gonna tell me, I'm gonna find out myself.
06:16The only thing worse than a straight-to-video cash grab
06:18is one that doesn't even follow the characters you want to see.
06:21That's right.
06:22The little mermaid in the title isn't Ariel.
06:24It's her daughter, Melody,
06:26who longs to explore the sea despite her mother's warnings.
06:29If you can't tell already,
06:31Return to the Sea is basically an inverse of the original story,
06:34just without the novelty, heart, or romance.
06:37While The Little Mermaid 2 does have some nice songs,
06:40the distinct lack of new ideas makes you wonder,
06:43what's even the point?
06:45Okay, get a grip.
06:46Get the hang of this flipper.
06:48It's like slipping two feet into one big, huge slipper.
06:51If you're looking for a mermaid film,
06:53the first one is better in every single conceivable way.
06:56Watch and see how utterly powerful I can be!
07:01The end begins for all of you with fins!
07:08Number four, The Santa Clause 3, The Escape Clause.
07:12Did you see this?
07:12Amazing technology.
07:14Look at this.
07:15The duck.
07:16It quacks in three languages.
07:22After producing two Christmas favorites on the nice list,
07:25Tim Allen's third trek to the North Pole is inarguably naughty.
07:29Rather than the good-natured holiday spirit that defined the previous films,
07:33The Escape Clause is really just an hour and a half of bad jokes and worse morals.
07:38Plus, Tim Allen barely even spends any time in the Santa suit.
07:41Instead, his job title is usurped by the mischievous Jack Frost,
07:45played by a surprisingly grating Martin Short.
07:48Now that's what I'm talking about!
07:54You love it, am I right?
07:56You guys finally woke up and are giving me my own holiday.
07:59If even Martin freaking Short can't sell a joke, then something is very, very wrong.
08:04There's no doubt about it.
08:06The Santa Clause 3 earns coal all around.
08:09I wished I'd never been Santa at all.
08:11Happy?
08:22Number three, Belle's Magical World.
08:25Once again, we've made fools of ourselves.
08:29And disappointed a good friend.
08:32We must show Belle we can do it!
08:34Straight-to-DVD movies get a bad rap, but this one deserves everything it has coming.
08:39In fact, it barely qualifies as a movie at all.
08:42Taking place during the original film,
08:44Belle's Magical World is a series of disconnected shorts about beauty's stay with the beast.
08:48There's no rising action, no grand conflict.
08:51It's just a dull, plodding affair that turns Belle's Magical Trip into a forgettable filler episode.
09:04The film's structure has led many fans to theorize that Belle's Magical World
09:08is the compilation of a scrap Beauty and the Beast TV show.
09:11And if that's the case, we can see why they canceled it.
09:14People, people, people!
09:17I simply do not understand!
09:20Number two, Cinderella 2, Dreams Come True.
09:26Another day, another classic Disney princess ruined by a money-grubbing anthology follow-up.
09:32Dreams Come True suffers from the same issues of Belle's Magical World.
09:36Those being unfocused stories, boring conflicts, and zero rewatchability.
09:41Except here, it's even more offensive.
09:43What are you doing here dressed like that?
09:46You look like a laundry maid.
09:49I'm not the one with egg on my face.
09:51You'd think that having been released over 50 years after the original film,
09:55Cinderella 2 would bring some fresh ideas to the ballroom.
09:58You'd be wrong.
09:59Each segment is a walking, talking cliché,
10:02with an occasional song that goes in one ear and out the other.
10:05If this was truly the best they could add to Cinderella's timeless tale,
10:10then they really should have just left Good Enough alone.
10:13He's sweet.
10:15She's wonderful.
10:17He's romantic, and we are going to the ball together.
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10:40Number one, Mulan 2.
10:42But you don't gamble.
10:45Betting against my mother is not a gamble.
10:47It's an investment.
10:50In a stark departure from just about everything the first film stood for,
10:54Mulan 2 is all about marriage.
10:56Not only is the titular princess engaged,
10:58but she's also tasked with escorting three noble daughters across the land
11:02to their own fiancées.
11:04So, you're getting married.
11:07Oh, yes.
11:08To princes in Qigong.
11:10That's right.
11:11Well, they must be handsome.
11:13We don't know.
11:14We've never met them.
11:16Really?
11:17Alongside it, you have an Eddie Murphy-less Mushu
11:20and a confused message of love that feels at odds with Mulan's character.
11:24So, the issue isn't just that Mulan 2 is a boring fetch quest.
11:28It's that at a fundamental level,
11:30this sequel simply doesn't understand its characters, its story, or its themes.
11:35Especially when you compare it to the original.
11:37Suffice it to say, Mulan 2 did not bring honor to us all.
11:41That's my cue to put Operation Shang into action.
11:44Pretty boy's gonna look so bad, it'll send Mulan running for the hill.
11:49Which of these Disney duds are you willing to go to bat for?
11:52Don't be shy.
11:53Let us know in the comments down below.
11:55Okay, this is what you're all reduced to?