Post-Disney: Sequels

Have you ever had a favorite movie, one where you've bought the t-shirts, you've seen the directors cut and watched it with commentary? One of those movies where you've literally seen it more times than you can remember?

I hope you have. I think most people have seen a movie that they just love. Personally, one of mine is The Jungle Book. I love the music, the animation, and the transformation of the story from that of the original.

If you don't know, I'm not very old. I'll give you a hint in fact: I was born the same year The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released. Anyway, I obviously wasn't around for the original release of the Jungle Book, but I do distinctly remember being incredibly excited for the release of The Jungle Book 2.

I was so excited, and I remember thinking 'I can't wait to see Baloo and Bagheera, they were so funny!'. To my chagrin, that movie was a sequel. Which means, true to the stereotype, it was awful.

Now there are sequels that I like, but I generally think it's a good rule of thumb to not do sequels. And the leader of animation agrees with me:

So why are sequels awful? Personally, I think that it's because they're working with a now unoriginal idea, and it's almost always directed or produced by someone else than who did the original. And of course, it's almost always because they want to make an easy buck.

I realize that they are a business, and that they need to make money, but it's the quality issue that irritates me. I think that if you're going to continue a series that already has a fan base, that's just good business. But to make a significantly worse movie will end up hurting your business more than helping it.

Here are some sequels that I can't stand:

 

The Return of Jafar

 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2

 

Atlantis: Milos Return

 

The Fox and the Hound 2

 

101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure

 

 

So to me, these are all examples of films that should never have been produced, they exuded a lack of inspiration and little if any motivation other than pressure from the higher-ups to turn a quick dollar. I'm sure there are more, if you can think of any leave a comment below.