End of Disney sequels? Good Or Bad

[eastofthemoon]

For those who may not know, in August Disney is releasing another and the last Disney Sequel direct to video movie, The Little Mermaid III: Ariel's Beginning.

After seeing this clip, it got me thinking about my feelings on the Disney sequels since it seems that it will be the end of them for awhile. Frankly, I got mix feelings about them.



On the one hand, it doesn't take too much to figure out that the sequels were profit making ideas. If a sequel was being made of a movie that was already known as a movie kids love and family friendly, no doubt parents and kids are going to buy them, especially if it has popular characters like Ariel, Aladdin, Belle, etc..

What got me annoyed though was that, if felt like Disney was just reliving the old stories, while they could be putting that energy into making new ones. I remember as a kid how just about every summer they would be a new Disney movie for the summer. Mind you, now that's been replace with PIXAR, which I love just as much, but still I feel sad that there's no longer a new animated feature to look forward to as well.

Then, there's the fact that the sequels were just a hit and miss. Some sequels I find while they weren't bad, could have been handle better. The Little Mermaid for instance, while the movie had amusing moments (like Adult Flounder and Sebastian had a few good lines) it seemed to me the movie was repeating the same plot from the first only it was reverse, aka Melody longing for the sea instead of life on land like Ariel. In some cases, I didn't like what they did to the characters. For Lady and the Tramp II, I liked the plot, but I didn't like how Lady got a much more minor role, since she was a main star in the first. However, I really didn't like how they made Lady and Tramp's daughters into what seemed like snobs to me. Even if they're roles were small, they could have been given more appealing personalities.

Some, I didn't even bother renting, like the Fox and the Hound II. Personaly, I think they should have left that movie alone. Heck, I think they were better movies to make a sequel out of than that one, like "The Great Mouse Detective". That one was just begging for the sequel with the way it ended.

But then again, there were sequels I did enjoy and I thought were done quite well. I really liked Mulan II. Mind you, I still think the original is better, I did enjoy the sequel mainly because of the three princesses that were added. I loved how all three had different and interesting personalities and that Shang and Mulan had to work on their relationship as well.

Then, while I haven't seen Cinderella III yet, I've heard good things about this sequel. Mainly, in that Cinderella gets to be more active and try to rescue her prince and gets to be a bit of a stronger character which is quite different from the first.

Plus, there is one sequel I like more than the original, Bambi II. I was never a huge fan of the original Bambi movie, frankly it scared me as a kid (especailly when Bambi's mom died, and the fire in the forest scene). My mother refused to rent it. I only got to see it when it was on t.v. and that was enough for me, but I enjoyed the sequel. I think it's because it was more of a background story instead of just trying to extended of "what happened next" to the characters.

I love how we got to see more of Bambi's father and his personality (and the fact he was voice by Patrick Stewart wasn't a bad advantage either). I think in the original he got what, three-six lines in total. Plus, I felt it gave much more closer of Bambi dealing with his mother's death, since in the first one there was a time skip so we didn't get to see Bambi grieve for his mother or even his father's feelinsg on the matter. When a character loses a loved one, especially a parent, I think the story needs to take even a little time to let the character grieve, or it won't feel as real. However, in the sequel, we get to see not only Bambi but his father as well.


So, how do I feel about the Third Mermaid movie? I will admit I'm a bit curious mainly because this is actually a prequel. This movie is suppose to explain some of the background details left out of the first movie. Like why Tirton hates humans and most importnatly what happened to Ariel's mother (and there's no connection between the two I'm sure. ^_~) Now, if the movie will be good we'll have to wait and see.

In conclusion, while the sequels weren't terrible I am glad this will be the last of them, at least for awhile. I'm only hoping this means Disney will try to focuss on new stories like "The Frog Princess" they're working on, since we all know that Disney is capable of creating great new stories.

Comments

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

Oh, did you see the Lion King sequel? My niece loved it, but I didn't care for it at all. I agree that the sequels went way overboard and sometimes the original story is all that you need. You start to lose the magic with the more sequels that you have, especially if they're just watered down versions of the original. Plus, you have things like the voice actors changing, etc. Thank goodness Sebastian sounds the same!

That all being said, this movie does intrigue me. It seems like it'd make a good rental one day.

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

I think the main trouble with sequels is that many were made just to milk for profits, so they weren't even handled by the original creators of the first movie, but by other people. Return of Jafar was (in my opinion) horribly bad, but the King of Thieves was actually okay...so sometimes they weren't bad.

I absolutely adore Bambi II. I read good things about it, so I got brave and bought it, and haven't regretted it. I too like that they focused on the fact that Bambi would have to have a grieving period, not to mention adjusting to living with his father, but especially that his father had loved Bambi's mother very much. That scene when he tells Bambi to stop talking (because it only reminds him of his loss) alone makes me tear up...

If you haven't seen it, Stitch Has a Glitch was actually a worthy sequel, too. It was animated in-house, and you can tell how much the animators enjoyed revisiting the characters. It's another movie that makes me tear up. I haven't bought it yet, but one of these days I really need to.

If you liked Brother Bear, that sequel was actually pretty decent, too. The only real downside was that they didn't have the same voice actor for Kenai. There are a few cheesy bits, but overall a good movie. No complaints on the animation, either.

Anyway, I do want to see Cinderella III since I also heard good things about it, but Disney sequels really are hit-or-miss. I don't think it'll be a bad thing for them to focus on main features again. I'm ready for traditionally animated movies to be in theatres again. I really do miss them.

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

I loved the Lion King sequels (the one focusing on Timon and Pumbaa is especially hilarious to me), but agreed on too many sequels. Case in point: Land Before Time. (Created originally by Don Bluth, punk animator who left Disney back in the day, taking a lot of the crew with him...but anyway.) I loved the first movie as a child, but they are STILL cranking out sequels over two decades later, so it's become a painful thing to me.

There were no singing dinosaurs in the first, so why are there so many songs in the sequels? PAIN! XP

[fani.livejournal.com]

It bothers me that Ariel's mum looks so much like her the scene with Daddy Triton and Mummy looks like incest.

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

I've not seen the Timon and Pumbaa one. I heard that one was fantastic. The one I saw featured Simba and Nala's son. The main thing that grated on me was the voice actor.

Oh, the Land Before Time! I know, part of the special part of the original movie was knowing how finite their time really was. Now it's just gone overboard.

Something else that made me sad was when they turned Alvin and the Chipmunks into just doing movie remakes rather than original stories. That's when I gave up on the series. The concept was cute at first, but got really old really fast.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

One of these days, I need to buy Bambi II. It's was just so touching and I loved the songs from the movie too. I got the soundtrack. They did a wonderful job with it.

I saw the Stitch one and greatly enjoyed. It felt like they were able to keep the original charm of the first movie and I did liked the Brother Bear one too, but I did missed Kenai's original voice actor.

I think the only sequels I haven't seen (oh gosh, I have to think about it..) are Cinderella II and III, The Fox and the Hound II, The Disney Princess specials they made, Tarzan II, an Extremely Goofy Movie and a couple of others.

Anyway, I think we're long over due for a brand new traditional animated Disney movie. I recently got a book from the library on the process of making a Disney movie. It's just sad how 2D is being ignored lately.

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

I know! At first I couldn't tell the difference between her mother and Ariel herself.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

Me too. I get that they were trying to show that Ariel takes after her mother, but the way they design her mom was overkill. @_@

[fani.livejournal.com]

let me cheer you upby directing you here (http://community.livejournal.com/froglegss)

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

You think the sequels to "The land before time" were bad? Did you ever see the sequel to "The Secret of NIHM"? It was horrible. They made it into a musical, and had very cheap animation and plot, etc *shudders*. @_@

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

*grins* Nice!

Thanks, I can't wait for this movie to come out. ^_^

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

..oh wow, now that you mention it, I do remember seeing commercials for it. I never saw it though, and never wanted to. I did read one of the NIHM books and really liked it (forever ago now), and I could tell the sequel was not based on it at all. Boo.

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

Really? I didn't really think anything of it. It helps explain why Triton is so overprotective of Ariel though, since she does look so much like her mother.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

The Timon and Pumba sequel was hilarious. I highly recommed it!

I remember that Alvin and the Chipmunks series. It was rather pointless, plus it was really parody movies at the time which a lot of kids now wouldn't really know about now.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

(nods) That part I got, but when I first saw her mom, I thought it was Ariel at first. I think they could have thrown in just a couple more difference between Ariel and her mother just so they weren't confused or each other as easily. Mind you, Ariel's mom and Triton were younger in that shot, so if her mom had lived to grow older, she probably would look more different from Ariel.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

Be glad you didn't. I'm still trying to rid my memory of that movie. XP

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

I saw the Lion King sequels and I did like them. I thought Simba was being rather over protective, but besides that I loved them.

Sebastian had one really funny line in the sequel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em6PdLU7iM4

It's about 20 seconds in. XD

The Third Mermaid movie has me intrigue in the fact I think this one of the first Disney stories to explain what happened to the "missing" parent. Ever notice a lot of Disney characters are missing at least one parent most of the time?

[ray-wing.livejournal.com]

I sorta enjoyed the Lion King sequel for the fact that The Next Heir etc. etc... is a girl. In general, though, I don't ride the sequel train, not only because they are usually so lackluster, but because *everything* these days seems to be a remake, or a sequel or comic/superhero-movie and I'm sick of everything being so derivative. I want something new!!

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there is a habit of that right now isn't there? I've heard they're making a Captain Planet movie. @_@ It might just be a rumour, but it would be weird if they did make one.

Enough with reliving the old. we do need something new.

[rowenathewitch.livejournal.com]

Interesting discussion!
I recommend Cinderella III. When I saw it I was positively surprised, the authors were really creative ("what if the evil stepmother gets hold of the fairy godmother's wand?"), we actually got to see the prince...talk(!) and I found particularly funny the fact that the stepmother charms everyone into believing Anastasia is the prince's true love, and the king is perfectly ok with it, since his wife looked exactly like her XD
I also liked the Return of Jafar (just for Jafar alone, I adore Jafar!) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
But the sequels of Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Notre Dame, Lion King and Cinderella (the 2nd)? Ugh.

I think the difference between a good and a bad sequel is that the sequel should bring something new, offer new informations on characters, take a different route etc.
But most of them just throw a new char into the mix to spice things up, and repeat the same plot of the first movie ^^'

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

(nods) I agree, I think that's why I liked Bambi II so much. It brought us a lot more information on Bambi (aka how he dealt with his mother's death) and Bambi's father. We found out he actually has a personality.

And I'll probably rent Cinderella III since the prince does actually talk. XD

So yeah, when making a sequel it's better to bring something new to the table because it make it feel more fresh. I don't think people like seeing the same story twice. If they wanted to see the story again, they should just watch the original.