I did a project on the history of American animation, and even though I wrote about the package films Disney did I never got around to watching them. Maybe I’ll watch them over the summer…
I like Disney’s old posters. And most of their new ones. I wish they would use some of them in their current marketing, instead of making new images for the DVDs in photoshop- half the time the characters look really shiny and more detailed than the actual movie.
Yeah, I expect that making a sequel like that is a safer option. In Kronk’s New Groove there’s kind of a narrative connecting the three stories (he’s talking to someone about things that went wrong in his life, so we see three seperate stories followed by a a resolution), but it was still probably a lot easier to make than a single, long story. You could divide directing duties by each story too. I also suspect that in the case of Kronk’s New Groove, they were testing whether or not Emperor’s New Groove could be made into a TV show (as it was the following year). Then you get sequels like Atlantis 2 where it quite literally was a TV show that got cancelled and hastily reworked into a movie with three stories. Which is why I tend not to like sequels if they’re divided into smaller stories- it always feels like a TV show rather than a film, even if that’s not the original intent. And if I don’t like one of the stories, then there’s about a third of the movie I don’t like. But one good thing about these kinds of movies is that when they show them on TV they’re pretty easy to dip into halfway through.
Oh please do. It’s my favorite Animation period after the Renaissance and the Silver Age/Restoration. I guess the Golden Age too. That sounds low, but my ranking of the Package Era is higher than most, because people usually forget about it all together.
It’s just so underrated, and it makes me so sad that people don’t know the likes of Pecos Bill and Peter and the Wolf because they’re so darling. (But Fun and Fancy Free can go die because it’s terrifying. And Three Caballeros is kind of unsettling as well. Melody Time has it’s weird moments too. Let’s just say this was literally Walt Disney’s Salvador Dali period)
I grew up on the ones like Melody Time and Make Mine Music. Those were the ones my dad liked, so I saw them just as much as Aladdin and Mulan. I still think it’s ignorant and silly that people don’t like them!
But anyway, to sequels. I think the ultimate evil sequel is Hunchback of Notre Dame 2. People always say a sequel ruins a movie. Well, in this case, they totally undid the movie. Just thinking of this movie makes me want to scream. Do people like this nonsense?
The one that I think is the worst as a movie, not even a sequel, is Little Mermaid 2. My mom loved this when I was little. Aldo Atlantis 2. Wow. As if the original wasn’t under rated enough, Disney does this to it. Wow. Thanks guys.
Yeah, I don’t blame people too much, since Disney really never shows them on TV, and characters aren’t shown at parks, and DVDs have limited releases.
Virginia: Yeah, I think the Hunchback Sequel was really, really, really, really pointless.I too loved LM2 when I was little, but of course now I don’t like it.
I actually read recently on a Disney blog that they had a planned a sequel to Aristocats in the early 2000s, but it’s been scrapped. Thoughts?
I don’t own any of the 2-movie collections, so maybe I didn’t notice how bothersome the banner is. I wouldn’t have realized that the Saludos Amigos/The Three Caballeros box art was lazy since I haven’t seen either film, but I can see how it would upset the fans. Hopefully the Blu-Ray cover will be better. Also, sometimes it’s not even that obvious that they are 2-movie collections, like on the upcoming The Hunchback of Notre Dame set. It just lists the first film’s title and “2-Movie Collection” in small lettering without including the title of the sequel on the cover. And on the Mulan Blu-Ray trailer, the whole thing is dedicated to just Mulan, and at the very end they slap on a note “Also Includes Mulan II”.
Certain sequels they cancelled were to Dumbo, The Aristocats, Chicken Little, and Meet the Robinsons. I think they even wanted to make a third The Rescuers, Fantasia 2006, and another Treasure Planet. I even have a trailer for Dumbo II on my old Dumbo VHS.
Funny how there was almost no real way of knowing how they would be before we saw them. We just sort of expect them to be as good as the originals when we’re young. But it’s not like I love any of them. The Pooh ones are good I think, and there are a few mildly decent-ish ones, but the rest didn’t need to be made. At least they’ve stopped, though.
I think when I was a kid I wasn’t very good at noticing the downgrade in animation. I could sometimes spot lazy animation in things (Like reusing the same few frames over and over) but as I grew older I began to realise that a lot of these sequels aren’t as well-drawn as the originals (for understandable reasons. But as a kid I did notice that Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 was a lot… darker looking? Dirtier looking? Than the first movie (I think because they didn’t colour it with computers like the first one).
Agreed. But I wouldn’t be so hurt by it, since Aristocats is one of my least favorites.
Yeah, Disney has an annoying habit with redesigning the characters. (*cough new princess designs cought) That take away all artistry the original characters have. And it’s a bummer when you have characters like TTC that were animated beautifully by the likes of Ward Kimball, then photoshoped horribly.
Here’s the thing about Fantasia: It was Walt’s baby. And he was crushed when it got terrible reviews and lost a lot of money. His original plan was to release a Fantasia movie every decade or so. That’s why the Fantasia 2000 was canon unlike most sequels- because it’s what Walt wanted. So I’m not surprised they discussed Fantasia 2006, and I’m sad it didn’t happen.
OH THANK GOD! Dumbo is one of my favorite Disney movies. If they dare touch it, I’d be so angry. They’d add new lame characters, PC up the crows, modernize Dumbo himself to be ‘hip’. Ughghg
But where can I see this trailer?
I was very good at it. Even as a tyke I noticed the laziness that was the Dark Ages animation. Maybe that’s why it’s my least favorite era.
I hope that they do release another Fantasia… although releasing one 6 years after the previous one would perhaps be a little too fast. I think it would be especially good now that Disney has started making shorts again.
I’m actually bummed that sequels weren’t made for Dumbo and The Aristocats (two of my favorite Disney films). They both have an unlimited amount of characters and new scenerios that could be explored.
I’d like that too. I don’t recall if Fantasia 2000 was successful or not (finanically and critically). Does anyone know? None the less, I hope to see more of the like. I too am glad with the return of shorts.
I don’t care of they make Aristocats sequels. I don’t like the first one anyway. But if they dare touch Dumbo, I would hulk smash Disney out of rage.
Well, that is a way a better reception than Fantasia. I’ll always feel sorry for Walt about that. Plus the strikes were happening around that time. Bummer.
Yes, I agree with this. I like both of the Fantasia movies, but since they were released 60 years apart from each other, I think it might be better for a third Fantasia movie to not come out at least until the distant future. But it’s certainly not a bad idea at all, and I’d certainly would like to see one under the new management at Disney.
Exactly, I feel the same way! I love Dumbo and it’s one of my all-time favorites. I’m sure John Lasseter also made sure to stop this one right away in particular, since last time I checked it was his favorite Disney film, or favorite film, period. Here is the trailer, I’m pretty sure I first saw it around December 2001. youtube.com/watch?v=FEOs2zR6jD8
Thanks for sharing the trailer! That sequel didn’t look very good though, especially with all the new animals. I wonder if the crew were really that enthusiastic about it.
Wow. Some of the art was cool, but wow. That looked awful. You know, they have art from Walt that shows a possible Snow White sequel. Just imagine that. I’ve always been so glad they didn’t make a sequel to Snow white. I really like the Aristocats, but it isn’t my favorite. But i would not like a sequel to any of the movies.
Haha, when I was little, one of the things I hated about the sequels was that the characters looked different. And They lacked cool sequences like the cave of wonders and the avalanche in Mulan. I don’t know. I didn’t realize why they were different or what they lacked, but there was always something about them that disgusted me. For some reason, I did have Beauty and the Beast: An Enchanted Christmas, despite not being allowed to see Beauty and the Beast. I liked An Enchanted Christmas, and still do. It isn’t really mind blowing, and of course the animation is bleh. But I love one of the songs, and the sequence where she’s making him the book. And honestly, I really like Belle’s Christmas dress. If this one had been animated by legit animators, it could have been amazing. Such a waste.
I’m really glad they stopped making sequels though. Especially those movies made out of 3 little stories, like Cinderella 2 and Atlantis 2.
Oh geez, I only glimpsed Atlantis 2 but it seemed abominable. Sad because I have a lot of fondness for the original…
Also, I’ve been aware of Dumbo 2 for a long time, but I never saw anything from it. I’m a bit surprised—the concept art is really very nice! As bad as the idea sounds, it really seems like the crew had hopes for it. So weird. It could’ve been at least watchable.
Yeah, I guess the art was fine, but could Dumbo II really have been as good as the people were making it seem? It seemed pretty cheesy unfortunately. Maybe there were a few glimmers of goodness, but it just didn’t sound like a good follow-up to Dumbo. I’m glad it’s gone. Imagine if they would have made Dumbo talk! Not only that, he would sing with an adult’s voice!
What I want to know is…what would they do about the CROWS. They were the best characters of the film, but for obvious reasons would they be in the film? I know they made a 3 second apperence on House of Mouse. But I think that that’s different.
I doubt they would. They even said in the trailer that Timothy fufills the purpose of Dumbo’s voice.
I know that Atlantis has it’s appeal and fans. But why did it get a sequel? It didn’t make a lot of money, or was it popular with critics! I’m just surprised, that’s all.
My mom loved this when I was little. Aldo Atlantis 2. Wow. As if the original wasn’t under rated enough, Disney does this to it. Wow. Thanks guys.
Not only that, he would sing with an adult’s voice! 