Credit: DisneyThe Walt Disney Company is doing all it can to bounce back from the Walt Disney Animation Studio’s recent “Flop Era,” and previously-announced developments are definitely reasons to celebrate. But as guests wait for Moana 2 (2024), Zootopia 2 (2025), and Toy Story 5 (2026) to roll into theaters, there’s one detail many aren’t taking into account.
The films mentioned above are big news for the company, but the new releases should also come with a warning label. As much as some fans might want to see these movies, Disney is essentially going without an original title until 2027.
Related: 2D Films Are Making a Comeback at Disney Animation, Director Teases
On one hand, Disney is a company founded on exploring new ideas, techniques, and art forms, making the idea of the studio not creating an original feature film very off-putting. On the other hand, the studio is still recovering from the financial loss of its last original project, Wish (2023). Has Disney mopped themselves into a corner?
A New Sequel Era for Disney Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studio has been in a spiral since Strange World (2022), arguably even Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), and continues to struggle to retain its pre-2020 magic. As box office woes led to reworkings at the company, Disney CEO Bob Iger dropped a series of bombshells that definitely had fans’ attention.
Frozen, Toy Story, Moana, and Zootopia are all set to get new sequels between now and 2026, which might be the best card Disney has in its hand right now. In the spirit of “always giving the people what they want,” the studio is setting its sights on successful properties rather than trying a new direction.
Looking at their box office performance, the last true success for Walt Disney Animation was Frozen II (2019), which raked in $130,263,358 at the opening box office. Years later, Wish only managed $19,698,228. With that in mind, investing in more sequels seems to be the wisest decision for the studio.
Related: Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ To Save Disney Studio at This Year’s Oscars
Since films like Zootopia (2016) and Moana (2016) had major critical appeal, it makes total sense that Disney would want to return, especially since both contain marvelous world-building with much left to explore. However, that doesn’t come without some preconceived notions.
It’s no secret that Frozen (2013) is Disney’s biggest cash cow, and Elsa has had her icy spell on Disney’s consumers for years, so Frozen III was practically inevitable. But did anyone really ask for Toy Story 5?
Related: John Lasseter, Brad Bird, and Other Legends Start War with Disney
Joking aside, Disney is shaping up for a sea of sequels that will either bring its biggest supporters back with enthusiasm or cause a cinematic outbreak of sequelitis that it might never recover from. Hopefully, the studio and the minds behind the films will take us to new places with the characters we already love and adore.
Are you looking forward to Disney’s next wave of sequels? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!