History Sequelitis / Disney

** ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', which does a decent job of giving ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' a proper ending and watching [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments the experiments]] use their powers and abilities to fight back against the Leroy clones is great. However, its ending is very predictable,[[note]]Hämsterviel is defeated, Gantu gets his old job back, 625 gets named and stops being lazy, and Jumba, Pleakley, and Stitch [[IChooseToStay all decide to stay on Earth with Lilo]]; none of these are really surprising.[[/note]] Leroy is a {{flat|Character}} EvilDoppelganger of Stitch,[[note]]although this did not stop him from becoming an EnsembleDarkHorse[[/note]] the way he is defeated ([[spoiler:as a fail-safe, he is programmed to shut down if he hears "Aloha ʻOe"]]) is a rather lame DeusExMachina, and audiences still don't get to see what most of the other unseen experiments look like. (Some never-before-seen experiments do show up, and we see a list of experiment names in the credits, but that's really it.) This all makes it seem like Disney made this movie just to give the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise some sort of conclusion regardless of how well it would turn out. This is best summed up with what WebVideo/WatchMojo's said when they ranked the film number 10 on their list of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEl6cXB_riA "Top 10 Worst Straight to DVD Disney Sequels".]]

* Franchise/{{Disney|AnimatedCanon}}'s run of DirectToVideo sequels produced by Creator/DisneytoonStudios (sometimes derisively termed as "cheapquels") from 1994 to 2008 are some of the most infamous examples of {{Sequelitis}} in not only animation, but in ''all of the media'', and they are near-unanimously considered to be inferior follow-ups to their predecessors for a variety of reasons, particularly for their generally poor animation and writing quality. After ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'' enjoyed reasonable financial success, it opened the floodgates. After Creator/JohnLasseter became Chief Creative Officer of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, he unplugged any future DTV Disney sequels and prequels that were still on the drawing board[[note]]including a ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' sequel that was announced on that film's 2001 DVD but had ended up in DevelopmentHell[[/note]], and only allowed films that were already in production (such as ''Cinderella III'' and ''The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning'', which became the last two of Disney's 14-year slate of DTV sequels) to continue. While not all of them were disasters, there were far more poor and mediocre sequels than you should expect from their franchises.
** The first of the sequels, ''[[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar The Return of Jafar]]'', was intended as the multi-part pilot episode for ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' (hence why it establishes many things that would become the status quo in the TV series, e.g. the recurring IneffectualSympatheticVillain Abis Mal, the Carpet's new design, Genie coming back, and Iago's HeelFaceTurn), but was [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot hastily converted into a direct-to-video feature]] late in its production. While it does have a fanbase, it's universally considered to be a blatantly inferior follow up to the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', mainly due to the ridiculously OffModel LimitedAnimation throughout it and the replacing of Creator/RobinWilliams with Creator/DanCastellaneta.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea'' is again, accused of [[SamePlotSequel reusing the first film's ideas, only telling the story in reverse]] (a human character wanting to become a mermaid) with a few new characters thrown in. [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIIArielsBeginning A prequel to the first one]] was also created, and it was the last installment released.

* ''Film/InspectorGadget2'', the direct-to-video sequel to ''Film/InspectorGadget1999'', dropped most of the better aspects of the first film, including the high-quality cast, and the large budget was cut drastically. Though there are a few who consider it a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel for following [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget the cartoon's formula]] more closely than its predecessor.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Planes}}'', a spinoff of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' made by Disneytoon Studios, managed to come off of as even more cliché and [[MerchandiseDriven toyetic]] than the franchise it was spun off of, having not much heart or purpose outside of being TheMerch to four-year-old boys.

** They made a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', already considered one of their weaker movies, resulting in what is widely considered their ''worst'' movie, ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', [[BrokenWinLossStreak and shattered their nearly spotless artistic reputation]][[note]]the Cars series makes a ''lot'' more money than their other movies thanks to merchandising[[/note]]. The 2013 prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', called ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', [[ContestedSequel didn't help matters]], despite getting several good reviews.

** However, ''Toy Story 4'' became the first [[BrokenBase polarizing entry]] in the series nine years later. While it was still met with critical acclaim and even higher box office tallies, fans are divided on whether or not it's a worthy successor to ''3''. One of the biggest factors among those who don't is its ending, which has caused many fans to [[FanonDiscontinuity disregard it as non-canon]].
** Also, they made a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', already considered one of their weaker movies, resulting in what is widely considered their ''worst'' movie, ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', [[BrokenWinLossStreak and shattered their nearly spotless artistic reputation]][[note]]the Cars series makes a ''lot'' more money than their other movies thanks to merchandising[[/note]]. The 2013 prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', called ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', [[ContestedSequel didn't help matters]], despite getting several good reviews.
** As of this writing, the only Pixar sequels outside of ''Toy Story 2'' and ''3'' to get a near-unanimously positive reception are ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''[[note]]which is the first non-''Toy Story'' Pixar sequel to receive an Academy Award nomination[[/note]], both of which still tend to be seen as slightly lacking compared to [[ToughActToFollow their respective]] [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo first]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles movies]].

** Partially adverted with the Sequel TV Series, ''Series/TheSantaClauses''. While Season 1 was still met with mixed reviews, overall the Series had a warmer reception compared to the latter 2 Santa Clause films. Surprisingly on Rotten Tomatoes, the First Season actually squeaked by and received a ''"Fresh"'' rating for the Audience score

* One of the conditions Creator/{{Pixar}} had in place with their acquisition to Disney was that they wouldn't be [[ExecutiveMeddling required]] to make sequels. In fact, because one of the parts of the merger was putting Pixar's people in charge of Disney's animation studio, one of the first things they did was halting production of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', shutting down the studio that was making it (Circle 7 Animation, which got labeled as "Pixaren't") and then they began working on the title in-house. Consequently, ''Toy Story 3'' has been lauded as the EvenBetterSequel instead of the subpar cash grab it could have been. They did, however, make a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', already considered one of their weaker movies, resulting in what is widely considered their ''worst'' movie, ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', [[BrokenWinLossStreak and shattered their nearly spotless artistic reputation]][[note]]the Cars series makes a ''lot'' more money than their other movies thanks to merchandising[[/note]]. The 2013 prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', called ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', [[ContestedSequel didn't help matters]], despite getting several good reviews. As of this writing, the only Pixar sequels outside of the ''Toy Story'' series to get a near-unanimously positive reception are ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''[[note]]which is the first non-''Toy Story'' Pixar sequel to receive an Academy Award nomination[[/note]], both of which still tend to be seen as slightly lacking compared to [[ToughActToFollow their respective]] [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo first]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles movies]].

* The direct-to-video sequel to the live-action ''Film/InspectorGadget'' film dropped most of the better aspects of the first film, including the high-quality cast, and the large budget was cut drastically. Though there are a few who consider it a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel for following [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget the cartoon's formula]] more closely than its predecessor.

** Partially adverted with the Sequel TV Series, ''Series/TheSantaClauses''. While Season 1 was still met with mixed reviews, overall the Series had a warmer reception compared to the latter 2 Santa Clause films. And surprisingly on Rotten Tomatoes, the first Season actually squeaked by and received a ''"Fresh"'' rating for the Audience score.

** ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' has two sequels. The first one, ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastTheEnchantedChristmas'', is considered slightly above average for the Disney sequels, but the plot has little to do with the fairytale, being more of a standard Christmas movie. The second one, ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastBellesMagicalWorld'', is unanimously loathed by many and is often considered one of the worst, if not the absolute worst, of the sequels, being a series of disjointed episodes clearly written to try and kick off [[FailedPilotEpisode a TV series which did not happen]]. As of 2016, ''Belle's Magical World'' stands as the only ''Beauty and the Beast'' installment without a UsefulNotes/BluRay, or even behind-the-scenes DVD bonus features. It is available on Creator/DisneyPlus, but two segments—"A Little Thought" and "Mrs. Potts' Party"—are cut.

** ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' has two sequels. The first one, ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastTheEnchantedChristmas'', is considered slightly above average for the Disney sequels, but the plot has little to do with the fairytale, being more of a standard Christmas movie. The second one, ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastBellesMagicalWorld'', is unanimously loathed by many and is often considered one of the worst, if not the absolute worst, of the sequels, being a series of disjointed episodes clearly written to try and kick off [[FailedPilotEpisode a TV series which did not happen]]. As of 2016, ''Belle's Magical World'' stands as the only ''Beauty and the Beast'' installment without a UsefulNotes/BluRay, or even behind-the-scenes DVD bonus features.

[[caption-width-right:280:What a waste of perfectly good popcorn...]]

** ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea'' is again, accused of [[SamePlotSequel reusing the first film's ideas, only telling the story in reverse]] (a human character wanting to become a mermaid) with a few new characters thrown in. [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIII A prequel to the first one]] was also created, and it was the last installment released.

** In general, the "cheapquels" all suffer from this, simply by virtue of being lower-budget DirectToVideo sequels of polished, famous classics. Almost none are considered worthy followups, and even then, only in the cases where [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel the original film was considered poor to begin with.]] In general, the ones considered good films in their own right (if not compared to the original) include the ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' [[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar sequ]][[WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves els]], the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing Lion King]]'' [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride sequ]][[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingOneAndAHalf els]], ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTrampIIScampsAdventure'', ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansIIPatchsLondonAdventure'', and [[ContestedSequel maybe]] ''WesternAnimation/ReturnToNeverland'', ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastTheEnchantedChristmas'', ''WesternAnimation/AnExtremelyGoofyMovie'', ''WesternAnimation/BambiII'', or ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear2''[[note]]The last DTV Disney sequel with a story set entirely after the original movie, save flashbacks[[/note]]. ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'' is likely the only one that many consider to be as good as, if not better than, the original movie.

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in regard to the ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' movies. The franchise's unique nature lends itself quite well to the simpler storytelling of DirectToVideo projects[[note]]The franchise had in fact already had two long-running TV series by that point[[/note]]. As such, these movies [[QuietlyPerformingSisterShow tend to be viewed separately from the rest of the sequels, and are thus exempt from the scorn thrown at the others]]. ''WesternAnimation/PoohsGrandAdventure'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheTiggerMovie'' in particular are seen as some of the finest works in Pooh's name. The later Pooh movies are usually considered to [[ToughActToFollow not have achieved the heights set by those movies]], and admittedly a lot of the direct-to-video ''Pooh'' films are simply just compilations of previous ''[[WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh New Adventures]]'' episodes with new animation to tie them all together. Still, even the weaker ''Pooh'' films are generally considered better than most Disney sequels (and considering how well-regarded ''New Adventures'' is, most don't mind that aspect).

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' had two sequels. One of them was ''Tarzan II'', a {{midquel}} featuring a young Tarzan. The other was ''Tarzan & Jane'', a straight sequel. [[note]] Though, similar to the ''Atlantis'' & ''Cinderella II'' examples, is actually three episodes of RecycledTheSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan'' with some original framing material dealing with Jane & Tarzan celebrating their 1st year together. [[/note]] ''Tarzan & Jane'' is considered at best mediocre, but ''Tarzan II'' is largely seen as even harder to sit through, due to basically being the first twenty minutes of the original film stretched to fit a 90-minute runtime. Its only remarkable feature is an ape played by Creator/GeorgeCarlin, who seems to spend the entire movie holding back a swear. Neither of them received a Blu-ray release.

* One of the conditions Creator/{{Pixar}} had in place with their acquisition to Disney was that they wouldn't be [[ExecutiveMeddling required]] to make sequels. In fact, because one of the parts of the merger was putting Pixar's people in charge of Disney's animation studio, one of the first things they did was halting production of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', shutting down the studio that was making it (Circle 7 Animation, which got labeled as "Pixaren't") and then they began working on the title in-house. Consequently, ''Toy Story 3'' has been lauded as the EvenBetterSequel instead of the subpar cash grab it could have been. They did, however, make a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', already considered one of their weaker movies, resulting in what is widely considered their ''worst'' movie, ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', [[DorkAge and shattered their nearly spotless artistic reputation]][[note]]the Cars series makes a ''lot'' more money than their other movies thanks to merchandising[[/note]]. The 2013 prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', called ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', [[ContestedSequel didn't help matters]], despite getting several good reviews. As of this writing, the only Pixar sequels outside of the ''Toy Story'' series to get a near-unanimously positive reception are ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''[[note]]which is the first non-''Toy Story'' Pixar sequel to receive an Academy Award nomination[[/note]], both of which still tend to be seen as slightly lacking compared to [[ToughActToFollow their respective]] [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo first]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles movies]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' got some good reception and is still considered a good film to this day, but it became the [[BoxOfficeBomb sole financial bust]] of the Disney Renaissance (and only one of two Disney Animation bombs during Jeffrey Katzenberg's reign, the other being ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''). It also has a lower ''Rotten Tomatoes'' rating than the [[WesternAnimation/TheRescuers original Dark Age Disney classic]], though still in fresh territory. This is what actually resulted in the start of the company’s Direct-to-Video sequel trend.

* One of the conditions Creator/{{Pixar}} put when they joined with Disney was that they wouldn't be [[ExecutiveMeddling required]] to make sequels. In fact, because one of the parts of the merger was putting Pixar's people in charge of Disney's animation studio, one of the first things they did was halting production of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', shutting down the studio that was making it (Circle 7 Animation, which got labeled as "Pixaren't") and then they began working on the title in-house. Consequently, ''Toy Story 3'' has been lauded as the EvenBetterSequel instead of the subpar cash grab it could have been. They did, however, make a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', already considered one of their weaker movies, resulting in what is widely considered their ''worst'' movie, ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', [[DorkAge and shattered their nearly spotless artistic reputation]][[note]]the Cars series makes a ''lot'' more money than their other movies thanks to merchandising[[/note]]. The 2013 prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', called ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', [[ContestedSequel didn't help matters]], despite getting several good reviews. As of this writing, the only Pixar sequels outside of the ''Toy Story'' series to get a near-unanimously positive reception are ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''[[note]]which is the first non-''Toy Story'' Pixar sequel to receive an Academy Award nomination[[/note]], both of which still tend to be seen as slightly lacking compared to [[ToughActToFollow their respective]] [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo first]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles movies]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' got some good reception and is still considered a good film to this day, but it became the [[BoxOfficeBomb sole financial bust]] of the Disney Renaissance (and only one of two Disney Animation bombs during Jeffrey Katzenberg's Disney career, the other being ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''). It also has a lower RT rating than the [[WesternAnimation/TheRescuers original Dark Age Disney classic]], though still in fresh territory. This is what actually resulted in the start of the company’s Direct-to-Video sequel trend.

* One of the conditions Creator/{{Pixar}} put when they joined with Disney was that they wouldn't be [[ExecutiveMeddling required]] to make sequels. In fact, because one of the parts of the merger was putting Pixar's people in charge of Disney's animation studio, one of the first things they did was halting production of Disney's own ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', shutting down the studio that was making it (Circle 7 Animation, which got labeled as "Pixaren't") and then they began working on the title in-house. Consequently, ''Toy Story 3'' has been lauded as a cinema classic instead of the subpar cash grab it could have been. They did, however, make a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', already considered one of their weaker movies, resulting in what is widely considered their ''worst'' movie, ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', [[DorkAge and shattered their nearly spotless artistic reputation]][[note]]the Cars series makes a ''lot'' more money than their other movies thanks to merchandising[[/note]]. The 2013 prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', called ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', [[ContestedSequel didn't help matters]], despite getting several good reviews. As of this writing, the only Pixar sequels outside of the ''Toy Story'' series to get a near-unanimously positive reception are ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''[[note]]which is the first non-''Toy Story'' Pixar sequel to receive an Academy Award nomination[[/note]], both of which still tend to be seen as slightly lacking compared to [[ToughActToFollow their respective]] [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo first]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles movies]].

* Franchise/{{Disney|AnimatedCanon}}'s run of DirectToVideo sequels produced by Creator/DisneytoonStudios (sometimes derisively termed as "cheapquels") from 1994 to 2008 are some of the most infamous examples of {{Sequelitis}} in not only animation, but in ''[[UpToEleven all of the media]]'', and they are near-unanimously considered to be inferior follow-ups to their predecessors for a variety of reasons, particularly for their generally poor animation and writing quality. After ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'' enjoyed reasonable financial success, it opened the floodgates. After Creator/JohnLasseter became Chief Creative Officer of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, he unplugged any future DTV Disney sequels and prequels that were still on the drawing board[[note]]including a ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' sequel that was announced on that film's 2001 DVD but had ended up in DevelopmentHell[[/note]], and only allowed films that were already in production (such as ''Cinderella III'' and ''The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning'', which became the last two of Disney's 14-year slate of DTV sequels) to continue. While not all of them were disasters, there were far more poor and mediocre sequels than you should expect from their franchises.

* For a [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon canon example]], ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' got some good reception and is still considered a good film to this day, but it became the [[BoxOfficeBomb sole financial bust]] of the Disney Renaissance (and only one of two Disney Animation bombs during Jeffrey Katzenberg's Disney career, the other being ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''). It also has a lower RT rating than the [[WesternAnimation/TheRescuers original Dark Age Disney classic]], though still in fresh territory. This is what actually resulted in the start of the company’s Direct-to-Video sequel trend.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' had two sequels. One of them was ''Tarzan II'', a {{midquel}} featuring a young Tarzan. The other was ''Tarzan & Jane'', a straight sequel. ''Tarzan & Jane'' is considered at best mediocre, but ''Tarzan II'' is largely seen as even harder to sit through, due to basically being the first twenty minutes of the original film stretched to fit a 90-minute runtime. Its only remarkable feature is an ape played by Creator/GeorgeCarlin, who seems to spend the entire movie holding back a swear. Neither of them received a Blu-ray release.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound2'' is hated as well, due to being almost completely InNameOnly, and the entire thing is accused of being a case of TastesLikeDiabetes. The original film was one of Disney's darkest and most somber works; the sequel runs completely against that by having the eponymous duo join a ''country band.'' And, to quote WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick, no matter where it finishes, you are where you left off in the original -- being torn apart by the roles of society. Though as with some others on this list, some people do think there are some silver linings, among them the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt well-done art and animation]], Music/RebaMcEntire as one of the members of the aforementioned band, and Creator/RobPaulsen's flawless Pat Buttram impersonation in the role of Chief. This is one of the last DirectToVideo sequels to the canon produced.

** ''WesternAnimation/MulanII'' is decently animated, but is largely overlooked and ultimately criticized for the even greater liberties taken in its portrayal of Chinese culture, Mushu [[TookALevelInJerkass taking a level in jerkass]], and for leaving the plot in which Mulan must save China once more unresolved; specifically, it was Mulan's mission to escort the Emperor's three daughters to a powerful lord to marry his sons, which would secure a union that would safeguard China from an impending invasion by the Mongols. Instead, shocked at the very idea of an ArrangedMarriage, Mulan teaches the princesses to [[MarryForLove follow their own paths]]. This would be a meaningful lesson except for the fact that in doing so such a union apparently never took shape by the end of the film, which despite ending on an uplifting note with Mulan's wedding [[InferredHolocaust does not address the Mongol invasion that is now sure to happen]] due to these actions.

** In general, the "cheapquels" all suffer from this, simply by virtue of being lower-budget DirectToVideo sequels of polished, famous classics. Almost none are considered worthy followups, and even then, only in the cases where [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel the original film was considered poor to begin with.]] In general, the ones considered good films in their own right (if not compared to the original) include the ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' [[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar sequ]][[WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves els]], the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing Lion King]]'' [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride sequ]][[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingOneAndAHalf els]], ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTrampIIScampsAdventure'', ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansIIPatchsLondonAdventure'', and [[ContestedSequel maybe]] ''WesternAnimation/ReturnToNeverland'', ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastTheEnchantedChristmas'', ''WesternAnimation/BambiII'', or ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear2''[[note]]The last DTV Disney sequel with a story set entirely after the original movie, save flashbacks[[/note]]. ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'' is likely the only one that many consider to be as good as, if not better than, the original movie.

* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' begun with a SleeperHit, and then turned into a TwoPartTrilogy that was overall liked but divided many due to an [[GambitPileup increasingly complicated plot with]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder plenty of backstabbing]] and missed opportunities. The TrilogyCreep got even more haters, [[ContestedSequel though some at least appreciated]] that there was an attempt to make the plot easier to follow in the fourth and fifth movies.

* One of the conditions Creator/{{Pixar}} put when they joined with Disney was that they wouldn't be [[ExecutiveMeddling required]] to make sequels. In fact, because one of the parts of the merger was putting Pixar's people in charge of Disney's animation studio, one of the first things they did was halted production of Disney's own ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', shutting down the studio that was making it (Circle 7 Animation, which got labeled as "Pixaren't") and then they began working on the title in-house. Consequently, ''Toy Story 3'' has been lauded as a cinema classic instead of the subpar cash grab it could have been. They did, however, make a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', already considered one of their weaker movies, resulting in what is widely considered their ''worst'' movie, ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', [[DorkAge and shattered their nearly spotless artistic reputation]][[note]]the Cars series makes a ''lot'' more money than their other movies thanks to merchandising[[/note]]. The 2013 prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', called ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', [[ContestedSequel didn't help matters]], despite getting several good reviews. As of this writing, the only Pixar sequels outside of the ''Toy Story'' series to get a near-unanimously positive reception are ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''[[note]]which is the first non-''Toy Story'' Pixar sequel to receive an Academy Award nomination[[/note]], both of which still tend to be seen as slightly lacking compared to [[ToughActToFollow their respective]] [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo first]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles movies]].

Creator/{{Disney}} has produced many classic films, both animated and live action, in their [[LongRunner near century of existence]]...but they've also produced a notoriously large number of [[{{Sequelitis}} underwhelming to just plain lousy follow-ups]] to their classics along the way.

* Franchise/{{Disney|AnimatedCanon}}'s run of DirectToVideo sequels produced by Creator/DisneytoonStudios (sometimes derisively termed as "cheapquels") from 1994 to 2008 are some of the most infamous examples of {{Sequelitis}} in not only animation, but in ''[[UpToEleven all of media]]'', and they are near-unanimously considered to be inferior follow ups to their predecessors for a variety of reasons, particularly for their generally poor animation and writing quality. After ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'' enjoyed reasonable financial success, it opened the floodgates. After Creator/JohnLasseter became Chief Creative Officer of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, he unplugged any future DTV Disney sequels and prequels that were still on the drawing board[[note]]including a ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' sequel that was announced on that film's 2001 DVD but had ended up in DevelopmentHell[[/note]], and only allowed films that were already in production (such as ''Cinderella III'' and ''The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning'', which became the last two of Disney's 14-year slate of DTV sequels) to continue. While not all of them were disasters, there were far more poor and mediocre sequels than you should expect from their franchises.
** The first of the sequels, ''[[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar The Return of Jafar]]'', was intended as the multi part pilot episode for ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' (hence why it establishes many things that would become the status quo in the TV series, e.g. the recurring IneffectualSympatheticVillain Abis Mal, the Carpet's new design, Genie coming back, and Iago's HeelFaceTurn), but was [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot hastily converted into a direct-to-video feature]] late in its production. While it does have a fanbase, it's universally considered to be a blatantly inferior follow up to the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', mainly due to the ridiculously OffModel LimitedAnimation throughout it and the replacing of Creator/RobinWilliams with Creator/DanCastellaneta.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameII'' was criticized for inferior animation, generic songs, and how many of the characters were incompetent. It was also heavily panned for its villain, widely considered one of Disney's worst in a followup to the film that gave us Judge Claude Frollo, who is widely lauded as one of Disney's deepest villains. One of the complaints included that Victor Hugo's novel couldn't have had a sequel because close to none of the characters survived. It was largely created to [[ThrowTheDogABone give Quasimodo a girlfriend]], but Madellaine was not a popular character.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook2'' is universally considered to be inferior to [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967 the original film]], due in part to its story being a [[SamePlotSequel blatant, watered down rehash of the first]] and for undoing Mowgli's CharacterDevelopment from the original. It was one of the few sequels to get a theatrical release, but was savaged by critics.

** ''WesternAnimation/MulanII'' is decently animated, but is largely overlooked and ultimately criticized for the even greater liberties taken in its portrayal of Chinese culture, Mushu [[TookALevelInJerkass taking a level in jerkass]], and for leaving the plot in which Mulan must save China once more unresolved; specifically, it was Mulan's mission to escort the Emperor's three daughters to a powerful lord in order to marry his sons, which would secure a union that would safeguard China from an impending invasion by the Mongols. Instead, shocked at the very idea of an ArrangedMarriage, Mulan teaches the princesses to [[MarryForLove follow their own paths]]. This would be a meaningful lesson except for the fact that in doing so such a union apparently never took shape by the end of the film, which despite ending on an uplifting note with Mulan's wedding [[InferredHolocaust does not address the Mongol invasion that is now sure to happen]] due to these actions.
** ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', which does a decent job of giving ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' a proper ending and watching [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments the experiments]] use their powers and abilities to fight back against the Leroy clones is great. However, its ending is very predictable,[[note]]Hämsterviel is defeated, Gantu gets his old job back, 625 gets named and stops being lazy, and Jumba, Pleakley and Stitch [[IChooseToStay all decide to stay on Earth with Lilo]]; none of these are really surprising.[[/note]] Leroy is a {{flat|Character}} EvilDoppelganger of Stitch,[[note]]although this did not stop him from becoming an EnsembleDarkHorse[[/note]] the way he is defeated ([[spoiler:as a fail-safe, he is programmed to shut down if he hears "Aloha ʻOe"]]) is a rather lame DeusExMachina, and audiences still don't get to see what most of the other unseen experiments look like. (Some never-before-seen experiments do show up, and we see a list of experiment names in the credits, but that's really it.) This all makes it seem like Disney made this movie just to give the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise some sort of conclusion regardless of how well it would turn out. This is best summed up with what WebVideo/WatchMojo's said when they ranked the film number 10 on their list of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEl6cXB_riA "Top 10 Worst Straight to DVD Disney Sequels".]]

** ''WesternAnimation/MickeysTwiceUponAChristmas'', a follow up to the surprisingly good direct to video special ''WesternAnimation/MickeysOnceUponAChristmas'', suffers from ugly CGI animation, Donald and Max coming off as UnintentionallySympathetic (with Daisy and Goofy being UnintentionallyUnsympathetic as well), and an overall lack of interest.

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in regard to the ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' movies. The franchise's unique nature lends itself quite well to the simpler storytelling of DirectToVideo projects[[note]]The franchise had in fact already had two long running TV series by that point[[/note]]. As such, these movies [[QuietlyPerformingSisterShow tend to be viewed separately from the rest of the sequels, and are thus exempt from the scorn thrown at the others]]. ''WesternAnimation/PoohsGrandAdventure'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheTiggerMovie'' in particular are seen as some of the finest works in Pooh's name. The later Pooh movies are usually considered to [[ToughActToFollow not have achieved the heights set by those movies]], and admittedly a lot of the direct-to-video ''Pooh'' films are simply just compilations of previous ''[[WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh New Adventures]]'' episodes with new animation to tie them all together. Still, even the weaker ''Pooh'' films are generally considered better than most Disney sequels (and considering how well-regarded ''New Adventures'' is, most don't mind that aspect).

* ''WesternAnimation/Fantasia2000'', while enjoying quite a good reception overall, is not as well regarded as the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'' thanks to [[LighterAndSofter a lighter tone]] stemming from celebrity hosts and more cartoony pieces, which speaks of lower artistic ambition. Regardless, the film is reasonably popular and generally considered a decent followup to the 1940 original.
* One of the conditions Creator/{{Pixar}} put when they joined with Disney was that they wouldn't be [[ExecutiveMeddling required]] to make sequels. In fact, because one of the parts of the merger was putting Pixar's people in charge of Disney's animation studio, one of the first things they did was halted production of Disney's own ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', shutting down the studio that was making it (Circle 7 Animation, which got labeled as "Pixaren't") and then they began working on the title in-house. Consequently, ''Toy Story 3'' has been lauded as a cinema classic instead of the subpar cashgrab it could have been. They did, however, make a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', already considered one of their weaker movies, resulting in what is widely considered their ''worst'' movie, ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', [[DorkAge and shattered their nearly spotless artistic reputation]][[note]]the Cars series makes a ''lot'' more money than their other movies thanks to merchandising[[/note]]. The 2013 prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', called ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', [[ContestedSequel didn't help matters]], despite getting several good reviews. As of this writing, the only Pixar sequels outside of the ''Toy Story'' series to get a near-unanimously positive reception are ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''[[note]]which is the first non-''Toy Story'' Pixar sequel to receive an Academy Award nomination[[/note]], both of which still tend to be seen as slightly lacking compared to [[ToughActToFollow their respective]] [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo first]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles movies]].
* The theatrical short/special ''WesternAnimation/OlafsFrozenAdventure'', putting aside all of the controversy involving the special being shown ahead of ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', is often accused of having inferior writing, songs, and dialogue to [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 the original film]].
* The page quote itself was a long time slogan for Disney. With ''WesternAnimation/TheThreeLittlePigs'' being the best-selling WesternAnimation/SillySymphonies cartoon, and thus a ToughActToFollow, it's unsurprising to think about how ''The Big Bad Wolf'', ''The Three Little Wolves'' and ''The Practical Pig'' fared in comparison.

* ''Film/TheSantaClause'': One reviewer put it best when he said Tim Allen "did the first one with enthusiasm, the second one with affection, and the third one [[MoneyDearBoy for a paycheck.]]" Tim's heart obviously isn't into it come 3, and he's upstaged completely by [[LargeHam Martin Short]]. It also didn't help that in 3 one well-liked character was DemotedToExtra and another [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome disappeared entirely with no passing mention]]. Heck, this trilogy's Website/RottenTomatoes pages even provides the page image for Sequelitis.
* While its somewhat divided as to whether the first ''Film/BeverlyHillsChihuahua'' was even a good film to begin with, even fans agree that both of the sequels are [[SoBadItsGood guilty pleasures]] at ''best''.
* While ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'' is considered good, its sequel ''The Royal Engagement'' is not too well liked. It diverges completely from the books and falls heavily into the GirlShowGhetto.

* The direct-to-video sequel to the live action ''Film/InspectorGadget'' film dropped most of the better aspects of the first film, including the high-quality cast, and the large budget was cut drastically. Though there are a few who consider it a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel for following [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget the cartoon's formula]] more closely than its predecessor.

* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' begun with a SleeperHit, and then turned into a TwoPartTrilogy that was overall liked but divided many due to an [[GambitPileup increasingly complicated plot with]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder plenty of backstabbing]] and missed opportunities. The TrilogyCreep got even more dissers, [[ContestedSequel though some at least appreciated]] that there was an attempt to make the plot easier to follow in the fourth and fifth movies.

* Disney's take on the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series seemed to start out well with ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', generally seen at the time of its release as a return to form following the prequel trilogy, and ''Film/RogueOne'' is widely regarded as being a worthy prequel to ''A New Hope''. Unfortunately the same can't be said about ''Film/TheLastJedi'', which received [[ContestedSequel mixed receptions]] that [[BrokenBase divided the fanbase]] once again despite [[CriticalDissonance solid critical praise]]. ''Film/{{Solo}}'' on the other hand was received a bit better by the latter though it received some flak for relying too much on past tropes and beats. Then along came ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', which is neck and neck with ''The Last Jedi'' in regards to being seen as either a poor sequel or a well intended misfire due to its [[ChristmasRushed blatantly rushed script]] for what was meant to be the GrandFinale of the Skywalker Saga.

* Franchise/{{Disney|AnimatedCanon}}'s run of DirectToVideo sequels produced by Creator/DisneytoonStudios (sometimes derisively termed as "cheapquels") from 1994 to 2008 are some of the most infamous examples of {{Sequelitis}} in not only animation, but in ''[[UpToEleven all of media]]'', and they are near-unanimously considered to be inferior follow ups to their predecessors for a variety of reasons, particularly for their generally poor animation and writing quality. After ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'' enjoyed reasonable success, it opened the floodgates. After Creator/JohnLasseter became Chief Creative Officer of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, he unplugged any future DTV Disney sequels and prequels that were still on the drawing board[[note]]including a ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' sequel that was announced on that film's 2001 DVD but had ended up in DevelopmentHell[[/note]], and only allowed films that were already in production (such as ''Cinderella III'' and ''The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning'', which became the last two of Disney's 14-year slate of DTV sequels) to continue. While not all of them were disasters, there were far more poor and mediocre sequels than you should expect from their franchises.