Top 10 Worst Animated Sequels

To accommodate the release of The Incredibles 2, I decided to do Top 10 Best and Worst Animated Sequels lists! First, I will start with the worst.
For both of these lists, I used theatrical and direct-to-video sequels. For those that were released in theaters, I put a camera Emoji next to the title.
For the sequels that were direct-to-video, they will have a VHS Emoji next to the title.
Anyway, let's start the countdown!

10. Despicable Me 3 (2017)

In the third installment of the hugely successful Despicable Me franchise, Gru gets fired from the Anti-Villain League after failing to catch former 80s TV star Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker). Gru also discovers he has a twin brother named Dru (Steve Carall, who also voices Gru), and he tells Gru that their father was one of the greatest villains of all time. Dru convinces Gru into going back into thieving again, but Gru is now a father and a husband. Meanwhile, Balthazar Bratt wants to get revenge on Hollywood for cancelling his show, and plans on destroying Hollywood with a giant robot.

I am so sorry, Despicable Me fans, but Despicable Me 3 is disappointing on so many levels. The film is abnormally shorter than its predecessors (90 minutes rather than 95 or 98), the animation, while it still looks good, doesn't seem to improve upon the original, the storytelling is uneven and confusing, and there's a disturbing scene that belongs in a Shrek film.

I also find it disappointing that Margo, Edith, and Agnes remain the same ages as they were last time. You would expect that after two films, they would start entering their teens (or at least, for Margo), right? Wrong. The girls remain the same age as they were in Despicable Me 2. The voice actresses behind the girls are growing up, too, you know.

9. Mulan 2 (2004)

In the sequel to the critically-acclaimed Disney movie Mulan, Fa Mulan is engaged to Li Shang. However, Mushu discovers that if she marries Shang, Mushu will no longer be a guardian, so he decides to break them up. Meanwhile, the Emperor asks Mulan and Shang to escort his three daughters to Qui Gong, another Chinese kingdom, and save China from Mongols. Many fans hate this direct-to-video film because Mushu acts like such a jerk. He spends half the movie trying to break up Mulan and Shang for his own personal gain.

That's Shang's coat Mushu is trying to snag the hook on.

Mulan 2 is a dishonorable and painful sequel with once likable characters now out-of-character shells of their former selves, a story that butchers one of the greatest Disney sidekicks in the last 20 years, stale new characters, and a misplaced amount of cartoon physics and anachronisms that are more suited for something like The Emperor's New Groove or Shrek.

8. Ice Age 5: Collision Course (2016)

When you thought the Ice Age sequels couldn't get worse, they did. Remember how in the first Ice Age, Sid noticed a spaceship frozen in ice?

Well, in this film, Scrat uncovers the spaceship, sends it to outer space, and accidentally knocks into an asteroid that hurtles towards Earth. Now, Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, and the rest of the gang have to join Buck, the Mesozoic weasel from underground, on an adventure to save their planet. To quote Rotten Tomatoes: "Unoriginal and unfunny, Ice Age: Collision Course offers further proof that not even the healthiest box office receipts can keep a franchise from slouching toward creative extinction."

7. The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea (2000)

In this film, Ariel, who is now human, gives birth to her daughter, Melody. However, Morgana, Ursula's sister, is mad that her sister has been killed by Eric, and she vows vengeance. When Melody turns 12, she wishes she could become a mermaid. However, Ariel never told Melody about the mer-people because Morgana wants to use her to get Triton's trident. After Melody goes missing, Triton turns Ariel back into a mermaid to find Melody. The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea is basically a rehash of the original film with the exact same story, downgraded animation, forgettable songs, and three characters that are in the wrong habitat: Tip and Dash, a penguin and a walrus who are copies of Timon and Pumbaa, and Undertow, a piranha with a huge dorsal fin. Last time I checked, piranhas were freshwater.

I am aware that he's supposed to be a tiger shark, but Undertow looks like a piranha to me.

6. The Jungle Book 2 (2003)

During the 1990s, Michael Eisner, who was running Disney at the time, knew that the recent animated Disney movies were successful, but he wanted more. At the end of the 90s, he demanded DisneyToon Studios, a separate branch from Walt Disney Feature Animation that relies heavily on outsourcing, to make countless direct-to-video sequels to numerous Disney movies. This would forever harm their reputation from 1997 to 2008. Two of these sequels were released in theaters: Return to Never-Land and The Jungle Book 2. The Jungle Book 2 made it onto the worst list.

Set five days after the original film, Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) has settled in the man village with Shanti (Mae Whitman), the girl he fell in love with at the end of the first film, and her brother Ranjan (Connor Funk). However, he misses the jungle, and Baloo (John Goodman) misses Mowgli. One night, Baloo kidnaps Mowgli from the man village and brings him back into the jungle, and Shanti follows in pursuit. Meanwhile, Shere Kahn (Tony Jay) has returned to the jungle, and vows revenge on Mowgli. The Jungle Book 2 is a sequel that borrows too much story material from the original film, animation that pales in comparison to the Disney Renaissance films, forgettable new characters, and a new musical number that feels like a cross between 'Under the Sea' and 'Everybody Wants To Be a Cat'. Also, last time I checked, there an no hippos in India. They are indigenous to Africa.

5. All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 (1996)

In the sequel to 1989's All Dogs Go To Heaven, Gabriel's Horn has been stolen from Heaven. Now Charlie Barkin and his pal Itchy have to go back to Earth to return it. Meanwhile, Carface Caruthers, the antagonist from the original film, teams up with Red, a devil cat disguised as a dog fortune teller, so he can steal Gabriel's Horn and take over Heaven. All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 is notorious for turning Charlie B Barkin, a gambling dog with a secret soft side, into an incompetent cheeseburger-loving doofus.

I'm sorry the picture is in black and white. This was the best picture I could find.

It also hurts that Burt Reynolds, who voiced Charlie in the first film, was replaced by Charlie Sheen, even though Reynolds was still alive during this time.

As well as featuring Saturday morning cartoon quality animation, All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 also replaced Anne Marie, an orphan girl with a heart of gold, with a bland replacement: A boy named David, who wishes to join the circus.

I am aware that Judith Barsey, who voiced Anne Marie in the original film, had a tragic death by this point, but if they were able to replace Carface's voice actor (Vic Tayback with Ernest Borgnine), then how come Anne Marie didn't return? One of my friends (I won't say who) even suggested that Mara Wilson, who was nine when 'Dogs 2' premiered, would be a good replacement for Anne Marie!

Another character missing is King Gator, the alligator witch doctor voiced by Ken Page. He was one of the redeeming things about the original film!

4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 (2002)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is notable for being the only Disney movie in which the guy does not get the girl. In this case, Quasimodo does not end up with the lovely Esmeralda. Instead, she ends up with Phoebus, Kevin Kline's character in the original film. The whole purpose of The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 was to give Quasimodo a love interest. Anyway, in The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2, a circus comes to town. The magician Sarousch hatches a plan to steal a bell in the Notre Dame tower that is coated with diamonds. He sends his assistant Madeline to know the whereabouts of the bell. Quasimodo falls in love with Madeline, and soon, she can't decide whether to continue thieving or live among the French. 'Hunchback 2' has a predictable plot, bland new characters, and embarrassingly poor television quality animation.

This makes TV shows from it's time, like SpongeBob, Samurai Jack, and As Told By Ginger, look suitable for theaters!

3. Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011)

Hoodwinked was originally an animated film released in 2005. It took the story of Little Red Riding Hood and turned it into a detective story. The animation was hideous, but was backed up by some clever writing and likable characters.

Hoodwinked 1 was released the same year as high-quality CGI films like Robots and Chicken Little.

A sequel popped up in 2011, called Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. In this film, Red, Granny, and Wolf join the Happily Ever After Agency. After trying to rescue Hansel and Gretel from a witch, Granny gets kidnapped, and now it's up to Red, Wolf, and Twitchy (the squirrel) to save Granny and retrieve a secret recipe.

While the animation has improved, the film suffers from random pop-culture references and a Shrek-like story that ruins the original characters that we've grown to love from the original film.

For those that think Cars 2 was the worst animated sequel of 2011, I believe Hoodwinked Too is even worse.

2. The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue (1998)

The Secret of NIMH is one of the greatest animated movies of the 1980s: It had Disney-quality animation, a dark and compelling story, and likable characters. And it wasn't a musical. However, you'll have none of that in The Secret of NIMH 2. In this film, Timothy Brisby, who is now 17, goes to Thorn Valley wanting to become a hero like his father Jonathan Brisby. His brother Martin is missing and it is up to Timmy and his new partner Jenny to confront him and get the rats back. The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue is a severely watered down sequel that should've never existed with lazy animation, unbearable songs, bland characters, too much pacing, choppy writing, and one of the worst quotes I have ever heard in a movie: 'If we die, I'm going to kill you'.

And the #1 worst animated sequel of all time is...

1. Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back (2010)

This is honestly the only movie I have not seen for this countdown, but I have seen enough reviews to know what I'm in for. Anyway, in Space Chimps 2, Comet, the computer savvy chimp who we barely even saw in the first film, wants to be taken as a full-fledged space chimp. However, Ham, Luna, and other crew members don't take him seriously. While Ham and Luna goof off, Comet rebelliously interferes with the rocket, launches himself into outer space, and lands on the Planet Malgor, the ridiculous alien planet from the first film. Comet meets up with Kilowatt, whom he actually didn't meet in the first film, yet he knows her from the video phone, even though they don't have technology on Malgor. Now the chimps must save Comet and get him back to Earth and back to his senses.

Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes back is an animated sequel that deserved to be direct-to-video with a plot that has little to do with its title, glob-awful animation, messed up continuity, offensive stereotypes, and a device that can dematerialize anything. And it's shaped like a Wii Remote!

Well, I finally got the Worst Animated Sequels over with. Next week, I will post the Top 10 Best Animated Sequels! Because I have so much to talk about, it will be split into two parts.