Show us more! 6 sequel-worthy Disney movies

in Movies, Movies & TV, Walt Disney World

It seems like reboots are the rage in movies these days.  Updating, reimagining, and retelling the same story is a recurring vehicle for “new” movies far too often.

What if furthering the adventure came back in favor? Granted not every movie should have a sequel, but there are some stories set up for just such an event.  Below are 6 selected stories from The Walt Disney Company that would make a  great sequel.

1. “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”

Disney’s 1954 adaptation of Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues under the sea” fantastic imagery proved strong enough to inspire an attraction at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. A sequel to the science fiction, steampunk classic is long overdue.

While a reimagining of the tale was tossed about; production never surfaced.  A prequel, “Captain Nemo,” which will serve as an origin story for both the Captain and his infamous submarine, was announced by Disney in 2016 to have James Mangold at the helm.

Jules Verne wrote a sequel to his monster submarine fable. “The Mysterious Island,” was written in 1874.  The mystery of the island, being the home port of the “Nautilus” would provide a wonderful script basis and opportunity to see the return of Goff’s spectacular submarine.  NOTE: Columbia pictures based their 1961 film (which included stop motion animation by legendary Ray Harryhausen) on this novel.

2.  “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”

Christmas 1971 saw the release of this wonderfully whimsical live action/animation movie.  Set during WWII, and based on the Mary Norton children’s novels “The Magic Bedknob” and “Bonfires and Broomsticks,” a bewitched flying bed, magic talisman and correspondence schooled witch help a group of children escape the Nazis.

The magical movie ends with the revelation that the enchanted object allowing for several of the animated adventures in the story, is still in the possession of one of the children (Paul).  This, of course leaves the door open for more spellbinding stories.
3. “The Black Hole”

Disney’s 1979 underrated answer to “Star Wars” was the first film from the company to receive a PG rating.  “The Black Hole” completes its story arc with a colossal cliffhanger of an ending. Shifting from dark to light, including a suggested merging of machine (the menacing, red robot, Maximillian) and man (Captain Reinhardt, played by Maximilian Schell).

Escaping on the probe ship took the crew directly into the black hole and left many unanswered questions.  A sequel, set on the other side, could follow further adventures on the mysterious planet glimpsed just before the final credits.  Would the Reinhardt/Maximillian merged robot be there to “greet” the heroes?

4.  “The Haunted Mansion”

Though many were unhappy with the Eddie Murphy movie when it was released in 2003, the film featured only one of several incarnations of Disney’s retirement home for ghosts (Louisiana).  With the attraction set in different lands at each park and three more versions of the spooky structure (Tokyo and Orlando’s haunted homes are the same style) to pull from, it would be nice to see how the different incarnations unfold for a motion picture treatment.

As Del Toro’s PG-13, 3-D Hatbox Ghost based remake and Gris Grimly’s animated series have yet to materialize, dreaming of a sequel to the 2003 movie seems fair.

5. “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas”

Disney’s initial faith in the stop motion movie was shaky at first – as evidenced by the movie first being released under the Touchstone label.  Now that Jack Skellington and his horde of Halloweentown friends are more prevalent in the parks, a sequel to the 1993 movie is in order, please.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas,” which was the first stop motion movie to be fully converted to 3D, hints at the future of Jack and Sally as the narrator describes his conversation with the two some years after the events of that fateful Christmas Eve transpired.  We learn that the fate of the two and see a possible set up for future adventures.

And I asked old Jack, do you remember the night
When the sky was so dark, and the moon shone so bright?
When a million small children pretending to sleep
Nearly didn’t have Christmas at all, so to speak?
And would, if you could, turn that mighty clock back
To that long fateful night—now think carefully, Jack!
Would you do the whole thing all over again,
Knowing what you know now, knowing what you knew then?
And he smiled like the old Pumpkin King that I knew,
Then turned and asked softly of me… “Wouldn’t you?”
– “Nightmare Before Christmas” (as shown on TOR)
6. “WALL-E”
Pixar proved that a computer animated story with little dialogue could still tell a touching tale.  Part fable and part hope, the outcome of WALL-E and EVE’s adventures both foreshadow a possible future for our planet and the potential for rebirth.

It is that rebirth of mankind, first glimpsed at the film’s finish, which opens the door for future stories.  How does mankind rebuild? What roles do the robots like WALL-E and EVE play in this reconstruction?  Will we have learned from our mistakes?  A sequel to Pixar’s 2008 “Wall-E” would answer these questions and more.

While not always, sequels can and do work.  “Avengers,” “Alien,” “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “Star Trek,” “Die Hard,” “Batman,” “Terminator,” “Toy Story,” and many more, are prime examples where furthering the franchise found favor with film lovers.  Perhaps we might one day see any of the 6 sequel-worthy Disney films listed above in this same situation?

What Disney movie would you like to see get a second, or even third story?  Please pen your additional adventure ideas in the comments below.

Source and Images: Wikipeida, TOR

in Movies, Movies & TV, Walt Disney World

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