9 Disney Animated Sequels That Were Actually Good And 8 That We Did Not Need

    Lilo and Stitch did not need three sequels and that's a fact.

    Evelina Zaragoza Medina
    by Evelina Zaragoza Medina

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Did you know that a lot of your favorite Disney classics were blessed with a sequel? Yes! They were!

    Disney

    Ariel and Simba as parents! Aladdin's hot dad!

    But some of them were less of a blessing and more of an unfortunate decision by company executives, so we're here today to determine which is which.

    It should be noted that Pixar movies are not included on this list.

    1. Good: The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea

    Ariel and her daughter Melody on a balcony at sunset.
    Disney

    Did we absolutely need a movie where Ariel's daughter Melody fell for the promises of an evil sea witch? Except this time, the evil sea witch was Ursula's sister Morgana? Probably not. However, unlike her mother, Melody didn't want to uproot her entire life because of a boy, and it was interesting to see Ariel make the same mistakes as King Triton did in the original.

    2. Bad: The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning

    Ariel and her sisters as teens
    Disney

    Does anybody even remember this movie? It was technically the third Little Mermaid installment, but it was a prequel about Ariel basically being a rebellious teen. IDK guys, it felt like that was pretty well established in the first movie, and Ariel's Beginnings didn't have memorable music or a good villain. Pass.

    3. Good: Aladdin and the King of Thieves

    Aladdin and his long lost father
    Disney

    Otherwise known as the one with Aladdin's hot dad. After not being in the first sequel, Robin Williams came back to voice Genie and help wrap up the trilogy. Aladdin dealt with his abandonment issues, and the music (especially "Welcome to the Forty Thieves") was catchy.

    4. Bad: The Return of Jafar

    Jafar and Iago
    Disney

    The second Aladdin movie had a nice redemption arc for Iago and featured, as the title implies, the return of Jafar. The Iago parts of the movie worked, but it took some real narrative backflips to make Jafar a believable threat again.

    5. Good: Frozen II

    Elsa and Anna concerned
    Disney

    I won't lie, I rolled my eyes a bit when they announced the Frozen sequel. Why mess with a good thing? But Elsa and Anna thawed my heart, and even though it wasn't quite as amazing as the first one, Frozen II provides a fitting conclusion for all the characters. Plus, Elsa and Anna wore PANTS, and I can't tell you how happy that made me.

    6. Bad: The Hunchback of Notre Dame II

    Quasimodo giving a rose to Madellaine
    Disney

    Did the saddest Disney movie ever made need a rom-com sequel that completely undermined all of the themes of the original and reduced its emotional impact? No, it certainly did not!

    7. Good: Cinderella III: A Twist in Time

    Lady Tremaine using the magic wand
    Disney

    Lady Tremaine, aka the evil stepmother, stole the fairy godmother's magic wand and went back in time to mess with Cinderella's happy ending. Cinderella got to do things, one of her stepsisters got a redemption arc, and the prince got to be heroic without taking up the spotlight. This was technically the third Cinderella movie, but the less said about the second one, the better.

    8. Bad: Kronk's New Groove

    Kronk seeing Yzma again
    Disney

    Look, The Emperor's New Groove is one of the funniest Disney movies ever made, that's just a fact. But somehow, Kronk's New Groove — and Kronk himself as he appears in the sequel — just doesn't bring the laughs. It also undoes the best thing that happened in the first movie when Yzma turned into an adorable evil cat. This one could have stayed in the vault.

    9. Good: Bambi II

    Bambi and his father
    Disney

    This sequel is about what happened to Bambi immediately after that hunter killed his mom (tear). That sounds like a bummer, but it's actually pretty touching to see little Bambi bond with his dad (voiced by Patrick Stewart!).

    10. Bad: All of the Lilo and Stitch sequels, starting with Stitch! The Movie, not to be confused with Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, which came out later.

    Lilo and Stitch using a space machine
    Disney

    Lilo and Stitch had three sequels AND a spinoff series. That's simply too many, and they focused too much on the alien stuff and not enough on the family dynamic that made the first one so memorable.

    11. Good: Return to Neverland

    Wendy's daughter Jane looking out a window
    Disney

    The sequel to Peter Pan is about Wendy's daughter Jane who, unlike her mom in the first film, does not have time for this Peter Pan fellow. She's hilariously pragmatic for a child, and she confuses Peter because she doesn't have a crush on him at all. TBH, I kinda like it better than the original.

    12. Bad: Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World

    Pocahontas and her father speaking to John Rolfe
    Disney

    Similarly to Pocahontas, this sequel gave us a very watered down version of the historical events that it was based on, leaving out the details that don't make English colonizers like John Smith and John Rolfe look that great. Unnecessary and inaccurate?? Pass!

    13. Good: Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

    Maestro Forte the organ
    Disney

    This movie was not at all necessary and kinda messes up the continuity of the first movie, but I'm gonna go ahead and call it good anyway. The villain, Maestro Forte the evil piano (specifically, an organ), tries to manipulate Belle and the Beast so that they never fall in love and break the curse on the castle. He even goes as far as attempting to tear down the castle and bury everyone alive. Dark stuff, dude.

    14. Bad: Brother Bear 2

    Disney

    Confession: I cannot even think about Brother Bear without crying, so I can't really judge this one objectively. Rather than focusing on Kenai's relationship with his brothers, the sequel was about his relationship with a girl who — SPOILER ALERT — ended up turning into a bear so she could be with him. It also continued the first film's unfortunate decision to cast white actors to voice Inuit characters. *Sigh.*

    15. Good: The Lion King 1½

    Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba sleeping
    Disney

    The Lion King 1½ was hilarious. It gave us an origin story for Timon and Pumbaa and their perspective on the events of the first two movies. We also got to see them raise Simba through his teens, which was very sweet. Maybe not the most necessary sequel, but we're certainly better for having it.

    16. Bad: Mulan II

    Shang and Mulan arguing
    Disney

    One of the best things about Mulan was that Mulan's personal journey was more important than a romantic storyline. The sequel saw her and Shang get engaged, fight all the time, break up, get back together, and get married. Shang was weirdly controlling, Mushu was incredibly selfish, and it just didn't feel true to the original at all. However, "Like Other Girls" and "Lesson Number One" are terrific songs and that's not up for debate.

    17. Good: The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

    Simba and his daughter Kiara
    Disney

    The Lion King sequels are by far the best Disney sequels, IMO. Simba was a grown-up struggling with parenthood, and Simba's Pride did not repeat the same plot points as The Lion King. The songs were great and the new characters were great (especially Kovu ♥️). We love to see it! The only downside? Not enough Nala.