Direct-to-DVD Disney Sequels Everyone Should Watch

The Walt Disney Company’s success has always rested on its original animated movies; its sequels have never gained much notoriety. Even now, in the current age of sequels, reboots, and live-action remakes, most people agree that rarely do Disney sequels hold a candle to their original film counterparts.

Even hailing back to Disney’s golden age of animation through the 90’s and early 2000s, sequels were rarely acknowledged by the public or even by the company itself, and for more reasons than just bad storytelling.

It was common practice to give the job of crafting Disney sequels to interns or beginning animators, which explains the vast differences in animation quality between movies. Disney obviously knew there was no way for them to get as much notoriety for these sequel movies as they could for the originals, so many of the classic Disney sequels were released in “Direct-to-DVD” format, which explains why so many people don’t know about them.

Despite the lower quality of these films, there’s still a good portion of these films that are worth watching, if not for the animation quality than for a decent job at storytelling.

Here’s a list of my top five favorite Disney sequels and why you should watch them too.

1. Bambi 2 – This sequel to the 1942 animated classic is a masterpiece within itself that I wish more people knew about. It may not have the same animation quality that the hand-drawn style of the 40’s did, but it tells a beautiful story that I think captures the feel of the original pretty closely. The film follows Bambi’s adventures in the forest right after his mother dies and he is taken in by his father, the Great Prince, voiced by the legendary actor Patrick Stewart. We see not only how Bambi learns to grow and face his fears, but also how the Great Prince learns to put aside his seriousness for a little while and become the father Bambi needs. A true father-son relationship, particularly one that is healthy, is not common among Disney movies, so this film is a welcome addition to a greatly overlooked relationship. Besides a few new characters, we see the return of the beloved Thumper, Flower, Faline, and Friend Owl, and even the young antagonist Rono, who is destined to become Bambi’s rival as an adult. Overall, this film adds a great deal more to Bambi’s world and is a charming sequel to the original story.
2. Tarzan 2 – There are actually two sequels to the classic Tarzan movie: this film and “Tarzan and Jane,” the latter of which boasts most of the problems with classic Disney sequels: bad animation, lazy storytelling, and little to no character development. Tarzan 2, however, does not suffer from this. The first time I saw it, I was shocked by how clean and similar the animation style was to the original film, and how good a story it told. This film takes place during Tarzan’s childhood while growing up with the gorillas, giving viewers more context into just how much he struggled to fit in with the rest of the clan. During a journey across the jungle, Tarzan is unable to follow his mother across a canyon bridge and is accidentally separated. When he sees she nearly killed herself trying to save him, he runs away thinking he’s too dangerous to be near her any longer. Throughout most of the film, he spends his time with new and old friends trying to figure out just what he is and what makes him special. What I like most about this movie, besides the animation, is that it gives context to why Tarzan, as an adult, is more comfortable with his differences and has embraced his unique abilities. That acceptance he learns here while he’s still young. It’s one of the few movies I can say with confidence is on tier with its original counterpart.
3. Fox and the Hound 2 – Like the two previous sequels, this film is an “in-between” story that adds more depth to the childhood of Todd and Copper, showing the ups and downs of their friendship as they grow. We follow the unlikely pair of friends as Copper, who at this point feels like he can’t do anything right, gets unexpectedly recruited into an all-dog bluegrass band. As he rises to a supposed life of performance and fame, he leaves his fox friend Todd feeling left out and ignored. This sequel boasts some pretty well-known actors, including the famed Reba McEntire as the voice of Dixie, the pretentious but soulful lead singer of the band. The premise of this movie is less impactful than that of the original film but is still one that kids can identify with and enjoy, and it’s got some pretty catchy southern songs.
4. The Jungle Book 2 – In my opinion, the original film “The Jungle Book” is an anomaly in the Disney universe where the main protagonist doesn’t end up living happily ever after with his talking animal friends and instead goes to live in a human village. But then again, in true Disney fashion, that character will never be quite satisfied with regular human life when he knows there are greater things out there. In “The Jungle Book 2,” we meet up again with Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, and more classic characters as they once again have to decide what to do with this pesky man-cub that just keeps popping up. Although Mowgli has come to enjoy the village and his adoptive family, he hates not being able to go to the jungle again, the place that was a part of him for his entire life. So when the chance comes, he runs away with Baloo to try and live the good life again. Of course, that’s not easy considering Kaa is still hungry, Bagheera is still an old windbag, and Shere Khan is back and looking for revenge. Again, while the animation style does not hold the charm of the original hand-sketched version, it’s still very on par, as is the cast, which includes John Goodman, Tony Jay, and John Rhys-Davies.
5. The Hunchback of Notre Dame II – I know this is not everyone’s favorite sequel, and I can’t argue that the storytelling and animation are nothing compared to the masterpiece that was the 1996 “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Still, I’m a stickler for good love stories, and the lovable character of Quasimodo certainly deserved his own. In its own way, this movie works well by showing Quasimodo and Madeline, who think they are completely unlovable, and them having to learn to see themselves through the other’s eyes. The villain is not as heinous as Claude Frollo, but he is just as manipulative; and I think it’s noteworthy that the love interest has to work herself out of his clutches, just as Quasimodo still has to keep working out of the lies he was taught to believe about himself his whole life. That’s why their spark makes so much sense to me, and why I think this sequel is worth watching.

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