So last month I introduced my Disney Sequel Challenge, where I decided it was time for me to work my way through the sequels to Disney’s animated classics. Long story short, I’ve watched the first five movies from my list, and here’s what I thought!
Bambi II
To be honest, this was the film I was least excited to watch, simply because I haven’t watched Bambi in a long time and I’ve always thought it to be a little sad, but I actually really liked this! Following the death of his mother, Bambi is now under the care of his father, who has to learn to be a good father while also taking care of the forest, and Bambi has to learn how to follow in his fathers footsteps, while getting over the loss of his mother. It’s a very sweet sorta coming of age type tale, and I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True
I was pleasantly surprised by this movie! I had expected it to be set further in the future but it actually continues on from where the original film leaves off, and rather than jumping straight into the traditional ‘prince and princess have children’ thing, the story actually followed the tales of Cinderella adapting to palace life and finding her own way to be royal. I also love how the story was told by the mice and the fairy godmother and included parts of their stories too!
Cinderella III: A Twist In Time
Again, this movie was set just a year down the line from the original, but rather than a continuation of the story, this one twisted the original story into an almost not-so-happy ending for Cinderella. While the first sequel was quite good, I felt this was one too many, and was almost too predictable in terms of storyline. It did feature a lot more musical numbers that the second film, and I enjoyed that, but I’m in no rush to watch this one again.
Peter Pan: Return to Neverland
So this was a classic next generation sequel, featuring Wendy as a mother of two, and set during World War II. Its almost the reverse of the original tale; Wendy’s daughter Jane is too busy having to grow up, and doesn’t want to believe in Peter Pan anymore. Controversially, Peter Pan isn’t one of my top Disney films, so the sequel wasn’t that exciting for me, but I did like the historical setting and accuracy, plus the ending had me in tears..
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventures
Another classic next gen sequel – Lady and Tramp’s son feels out of place as a house dog and longs to be a street dog, despite having no knowledge of his father’s past. This was another one that was just a tad too predictable, but it had a lot of songs and cute pups – albeit animated – so it wasn’t all bad!
So that’s the first five down, and I’m enjoying being able to watch my favourite Disney characters without knowing exactly what’s going to happen! Next month I’ll be tackling the next five, so stay tuned!
Lottie Does 