In recent years, Disney seems to have been dishing out the sequels, haven’t they? With films like Ralph Breaks the Internet, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and most recently, Frozen II, it’s starting to seem like a theme the studio happens to be going through. At least they’re taking their time and not giving us some direct-to-video schlock.
Not that we don’t want sequels to Maleficent, Wreck-It Ralph, or Frozen, but they aren’t the only films the studio deemed sequel worthy. In fact, several earlier Disney films were originally supposed to have sequels but unfortunately fell through. Have a look at our list to see the follow-up films that might have been.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
In all honesty, we don’t believe such an achievement and cornerstone of the animated genre like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs really needs a sequel at all. But, for a while, Disney disagreed. In fact, there were two different attempts at a second Snow White film, but they were ultimately canceled for one reason or another.
One idea was a sort of prequel featuring the dwarves as the main focus, but another, dubbed Snow White Returns, was a sequel short involving deleted scenes from the original film, including the famous “Music in Your Soup.” A storyboarded version of this concept still exists, and you can see it here.
Fantasia
Yes, we know Fantasia 2000 already exists, but keep your shorts on. The idea for a Fantasia sequel was in the works way before Roy Disney gave us the underappreciated masterpiece in 1999. Walt Disney’s original idea for Fantasia wasn’t just a single film, but an event that would constantly be evolving.
Originally dubbed The Concert Feature, the film was meant to be exactly that, a visual concert that would change with every iteration. There would be new pieces of music, new animation sequences, along with returning favorites like “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Unfortunately, due to financial issues, Walt was never able to give us the Fantasia series he planned.
Dumbo
We know we’ve already bashed on the direct-to-video sequels Disney dished out in the past, but from the looks of this unmade animated adventure, we might allow a little wiggle room. Honestly, why wouldn’t we want to see more Dumbo? Especially if he’s paired with a whole troupe of other cute circus critters.
The film was meant to be released along with the 6oth anniversary edition of the original Dumbo, but after a long series of delays and prolongings, the sequel was canceled by John Lasseter when he took over Walt Disney Animation in 2006.
101 Dalmatians (Kind Of)
Though we saw a sequel dedicated to Pongo and Perdita’s 99 dalmatian pups not once but twice with 102 Dalmatians and Patch’s London Adventure, it was the outrageous Cruella De Ville who would have been the main feature of a sort of spin-off film that became The Rescuers.
Before we got the hot mess that is Madame Medusa, Cruella De Ville was the villain of choice for the 1977 film. There’s even concept art of her driving a version of Madame Medusa’s Swamp Mobile and clad in alligator skin attire. Of all the villains worthy of a return to the big screen, Cruella would definitely be the most entertaining.
The Aristocats
The Aristocats was a very jazzy and delightful flick from the ’70s that definitely has its fans, but we can’t really see it being sequel worthy. That, of course, didn’t stop DisneyToon Studios from attempting a direct-to-video sequel featuring Thomas O’ Malley, Duchess, and her kittens.
Honestly, we’re not even entirely sure what kind of plot would fit an Aristocats sequel, but a romance plot involving Marie falling in love with a cat on a cruise ship has been tossed around in the Disney fanbase. But the main piece of solid evidence we have is the storyboard from the studio shown here.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Of all the unmade sequels on this list, the one that breaks our heart the most has to be what would have been the follow-up film to the iconic Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It was an idea that went through development hell for the longest time, and supposedly the script is still somewhere gathering dust in the Disney Vault.
Roger Rabbit: Toon Platoon, was tossed around by Steven Speilberg for a good while, but ultimately the sequel was not meant to be. What would have been Roger serving in WWII alongside his fellow toons would have been a sort of tribute to animated wartime shorts. Sadly though, there has been little progress on the project.
Tin Toy
Before Pixar landed their massive hit with Toy Story, their early shorts were the rock on which they built their foundation. Tin Toy was one such film, and it actually helped inspire the development of Toy Story. But before Woody and Buzz hit the scene, Pixar went to Disney to pitch a TV special featuring Tinny the titular Tin Toy.
Not only a sequel, but a Christmas special was proposed by Pixar but Disney hired Pixar to make an animated film for them, which then became Toy Story. That all being said, elements of the special made it into the final film, such as Woody being based on a cowboy ventriloquist dummy, and the ending set at Christmas.
Monsters Inc.
Just so we’re absolutely clear, Monsters University is a prequel, not a sequel. Moving on, after the success of Monsters Inc., of course Pixar would’ve wanted to make a sequel to it. But with such an open and shut ending with the first film, where do we go now?
The title was Monster’s Inc: Lost in Scaradise and during this scrapped sequel from Pixar and Circle 7, Mike and Sulley would have embarked on a quest to visit Boo on her first birthday since entering the monster world. The only problem is she has since moved houses since that day and the two monsters must venture closet to closet to see her again.
Tron
Despite being a glorified Daft Punk music video, Tron: Legacy wasn’t a bad flick. Especially if you’re one of those remarkable individuals who appreciate the original ’80s cult classic. After Legacy, another Tron film was reportedly in development, known only as Tron: Ascension.
Though technically not entirely dead, Ascension is still on ice but has serious potential. Where we’ve seen humans enter the Game Grid, a third film would pull the programs into reality. That idea alone has us on bated breath wanting to know more. Will we see it? Sadly, only time will tell.
Chicken Little
We can already hear the collected grunt of discontent at the mere mention of this title. But as absolutely shocking as it sounds, there was indeed a time when DisneyToon Studios wanted to make a sequel to this cringe-worthy trainwreck. Does the title Chicken Little: Mission to Mars sound like it’s winning any Oscars?
Our heads are absolutely throbbing after reading that article. We really don’t know how far down the rabbit hole this concept went, but aside from scrapped storyboards shown by story artist Tod Carter, little remains of this twisted idea. Possibly a blessing in disguise?
