Ranking Disney’s Theatrical Animated Sequels From Worst To Best

As a longtime movie critic, I’ve seen Disney Animation churn out a lot of sequels over the years. While they’ve made countless follow-ups to their beloved classics, surprisingly few actually hit the big screen. It all started way back in 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, their very first animated feature. But it wasn’t until the ’90s that Disney really started making sequels a habit—and for a long time, most of those went straight to home video.

Back in 1990, Disney surprised many by releasing its first animated sequel in theaters. Since then, Disney has been careful about which films get follow-up movies released in cinemas. However, recent financial success practically ensures that Disney will make a sequel if a movie does well at the box office.

This list features movies created by Disney’s animation studios only, and doesn’t include films from studios Disney owns, such as Pixar.

Return To Never Land (2002)

Released in 2002, Return to Never Land was a Disney animated sequel and one of the first to get a wide theatrical release after Disney started trying this approach in 1999. Unfortunately, despite being a follow-up to the much-loved original, it’s considered one of the worst Disney movies ever made. The film continues the story of Peter Pan.

Years after Wendy Darling’s adventure with Peter Pan, she’s grown up and has children of her own. Her daughter, Jane, has outgrown make-believe, but her brother, Danny, loves hearing Wendy’s stories about Peter Pan and dreams of being a daring adventurer just like him.

The movie explored some intriguing concepts, like Jane’s disbelief causing Tinker Bell to lose her powers, and the heartwarming reunion between Peter Pan, who remains a boy, and the now-adult Wendy. Unfortunately, critics weren’t impressed, with most reviews being negative. They described the songs as unremarkable and the story as uninspired, ultimately feeling that the film failed to capture the wonder of the original Peter Pan.

The Jungle Book 2 (2003)

Released in 2003, The Jungle Book 2 came out forty years after the first Jungle Book movie in 1967. The story follows Mowgli, who is now living with his human family in a village, but he feels a strong longing for his friends in the jungle. He decides to leave the village and return to Baloo to live with his animal family once again.

Shere Khan hasn’t given up on his desire for revenge against Mowgli. The main issue with this Disney sequel is that it largely retreads familiar ground, with Mowgli once again struggling to survive alongside his animal companions while being relentlessly pursued by the dangerous Shere Khan.

While this approach had sufficed for Disney’s direct-to-video sequels up until then, a movie released in theaters required a higher standard – both in terms of the story and the animation quality, which wasn’t up to Disney’s usual level. This film ultimately led Disney to stop releasing sequels in theaters for nearly ten years.

Fantasia 2000 (1999)

Many consider Fantasia 2000 to be Disney’s strongest sequel aimed at reviving a classic film for a new generation. Following the original Fantasia from 1940—a movie known for being both frightening and visually stunning—the sequel successfully maintained the same sense of wonder, abstract animation style, and powerful musical score.

This Disney follow-up built upon the story of the first movie by adding eight new animated scenes, and it continued to feature classical music. The film included pieces by composers like Beethoven, George Gershwin, and Stracinksy, and also had special appearances by Steve Martin, Bette Midler, and Quincy Jones.

The animation in this film was truly exceptional, significantly better than the two Disney sequels that came after it. Had Disney continued making sequels of this quality, with animation this good, they might not have abandoned the idea of releasing them in theaters after those later films performed poorly.

The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

Surprisingly, the first Disney animated movie to get a theatrical sequel came out in 1990. That film, The Rescuers Down Under, continued the story of the enjoyable 1977 original, The Rescuers, and was released during a period when Disney animation had faced some setbacks in the 1980s.

In The Rescuers Down Under, the brave mice travel to Australia to rescue a kidnapped boy from a cruel poacher. This film was a landmark for Disney, marking both their first theatrical animated sequel and their very first animated sequel overall. It was made with a new leadership team, including Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who decided to experiment with continuing an existing story.

While The Rescuers Down Under was a well-made film, it wasn’t a huge commercial success, earning just $47.4 million globally. Despite this, it received positive reviews, with an 85% ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. More importantly, it signaled a positive shift for Disney animation heading into the 1990s and the studio’s eventual creative comeback.

Moana 2 (2024)

Moana 2, released in 2024, was a Disney animated sequel picking up the story of Moana, who had spent the last three years traveling to different islands and seeking connections between people and the ocean after saving her village. This film was unique because it was made simply due to the success of the first movie, unlike Disney’s previous four films which followed a different pattern.

The first Moana film was released in 2016 and was a big success, earning $687 million and receiving two Academy Award nominations. The sequel continued Moana’s story, with Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprising their roles as Moana and Maui. While the sequel was enjoyable, it didn’t quite reach the same level as the original.

Both Moana and Moana 2 tell wonderful stories of a young woman discovering who she is while also rescuing her community. The sequel does a good job continuing that theme, but unfortunately, the music isn’t as memorable as the original, and the plot doesn’t quite live up to the first film, making it the weakest of Disney’s recent animated sequels.

Zootopia 2 (2025)

Okay, so everyone loved Zootopia back in 2016, right? Well, Zootopia 2 is finally here! It’s been a long time coming – it’s definitely the Disney sequel that made us wait the longest. What’s really wild is that, even though nine years have passed in real life since the first movie, only a few weeks have passed for Judy and Nick within the story’s timeline. It’s a pretty neat detail!

The first movie introduced Judy Hopps, a bunny who achieved her dream of joining the Zootopia police department. She dealt with prejudice from her colleagues and discrimination from other animals while investigating missing person cases, teaming up with a sly fox named Nick Wilde. Now, in the new installment, Nick is Judy’s official partner on the police force.

The new movie explores the same important ideas as the first, with a snake taking the place of the foxes and facing similar prejudice and negativity. Though it’s a fantastic sequel – and better than many new movies being released – it doesn’t quite reach the level of the two best Disney animated sequels. However, that doesn’t diminish how truly excellent Zootopia 2 is.

Ralph Breaks The Internet (2018)

With Wreck-It Ralph, Disney took a risk and created a film that felt similar to a Pixar movie. It moved away from traditional princess stories and set the action inside a video game – a unique direction for Disney at the time. The result was a big success with audiences, leading to a follow-up film.

As a movie fan, I really loved Wreck-It Ralph – it did incredibly well, bringing in almost $500 million at the box office and even getting an Oscar nomination! But what I appreciated most about the sequel was how it built on the first film. It wasn’t just a repeat of the same story; it took Ralph and Vanellope – that awesome, glitchy character – and explored their friendship in a really compelling way. It was a fantastic direction to take the story.

This movie is a perfect example of how a sequel should be made. It tells a completely new story, focusing on Ralph as he navigates the changing dynamics of his friendship with Vanellope when she pursues her own path. It’s a genuinely touching and insightful film, and ranks among Disney’s very best.

Frozen II (2019)

With the success of Ralph Breaks the Internet, Disney showed that animated sequels could still draw audiences to theaters. So, it wasn’t surprising when their next sequel became a blockbuster. Frozen, released in 2013, earned $1.280 billion worldwide, proving Disney had another huge hit on their hands.

It took six years to create and release Frozen 2. Disney wanted the sequel to be as good as the original Frozen, which is unusual for a major studio that typically prioritizes profits. Frozen 2 also featured more advanced animation and aimed to be even more visually impressive than the first film.

Frozen II, the follow-up to the popular Disney animated film, takes Anna, Elsa, and their friends on an adventure into an enchanted forest to learn more about the source of Elsa’s powers. The movie was even more successful than the original, earning $1.453 billion worldwide and receiving an Academy Award nomination. Due to its popularity, a third Frozen movie is scheduled for release in 2027.

2025-11-27 22:33