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synergysilhouette · 28 days ago

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Remaking (some of) Disney's straight-to-video animated sequels

This is kind of a spur of the moment idea, but I thought I'd share my vision of certain STDVD sequels of Disney films--but only sequels to films I liked. In the ideal situation, the animation would've been better (at least as good as TLK 2 and Cinderella 3), and bringing back the original songwriting team, too--when available. Plus the non-European sequels aren't as severely westernized and modernized/anachronistic here like they ended up being in the OTL. Most of Disney's STDVD films were skippable, but I'm gonna try to salvage these. Gonna have to do some guesswork since I don't have a lot of production notes on these films. I'm not aiming for critical acclaim; I'm just aiming for "better than what we got" (through my POV, of course). And note: this does NOT run congruent with my remake of the renaissance and post-renaissance eras.

The Return of Jafar--Fairly similar, but has it's differences. Co-director Tad Stones' desire to focus on Iago isn't heeded (or never existed in the first place), instead focusing on Aladdin and Jasmine as with the first film. Aladdin still longs for more adventures, but the subplot of Jasmine taking on more royal duties is introduced, and as the one with royal blood "in contrast to the street rat," it puts a wedge between their relationship as she spends a lot of time away from him. The character of Nasira is also introduced here (in contrast to six years later), and she frees Jafar instead of Abis Mal, and they tag team to further drive the team apart. Genie, in an odd twist, cannot intervene with Jafar's plans due to being a free genie, and cannot harm imprisoned ones, and Nasira is too slippery to catch, so he teams up with an ignored Iago to help him--though his powers are still diminished like in the original sequel. Nasira and Jafar disguise themselves as Jasmine and Aladdin, going to the other half of the couple as heartbroken and angry lovers that push the duo even further apart, particularly Jasmine, who is enraged at Aladdin not confiding his dissatisfaction with his life as her betrothed. In a final ploy, "Aladdin" is caught trying to poison the sultan, and is sentenced to death, with "Jasmine" spectating the execution. Seeing how disgusted he is with the royal family, Nasira uses up her wishes for Jafar to return to the lamp for Aladdin to find, and Jafar disguises himself to avoid suspicion. While originally deceiving Aladdin into trusting him and plotting revenge, Aladdin catches Nasira speaking with Jafar, and noticed how similar her mannerisms and way of speaking were to "Jasmine," being more sophisticated and snobby. As such, he asks the genie to make Jasmine love him, and Jafar is unable to do so, surprised at the request. While he tries to persuade Aladdin to make a different wish, Iago alerts Jasmine of the trickery, and with genie's help, subdues Nasira. With only his final wish left, Aladdin wishes both Jafar and Nasira were trapped in the lamp and banished to a place where no one could access it. Forced to comply, the two disappear, and Jasmine formally proposes to Aladdin (since the monarch usually has the right of way for this), which he accepts, having come to appreciate the political moves she's made to better the sultanate, and promises to be by her side as she's been by his, and will be more honest with her going forward.

Aladdin and the King of Thieves--This film would borrow from the tv show (though I don't remember every detail, so be patient if I'm incorract). The staff that the 40 thieves try to find in Agrabah is actually a staff akin to Jafar's serpent staff, though it can hypnotize much more than one person at a time, with the perceived goal to be able to rule Agrabah or rob it (nobody's sure which). Sadira manages to track down who possesses the staff and if any still exist locally, which Aladdin destroys promptly. Sadira uses her knowledge of the thieves to discern their whereabouts, and she goes with Aladdin to explain the situation. Cassim doesn't trick Aladdin, but flat-out refuses to return to a normal life, since his family died from poverty and vows to live on with their memory, and wants to take revenge on the royal family of Agrabah in retaliation for not helping them in their time of need. It's revealed that Mozenrath pointed the thieves in Agrabah's direction, hiring them to conquer it via uniting the common people against the royal family--which has already started happening due to the increased poverty rates. Sadira discovers that Cassim is Aladdin's father, and that Mozenrath used the blue rose of forgetfulness in order to control him as well as the other thieves. When Sadira tries to tell Aladdin, Mozenrath uses the rose on him and offers him to her as a bribe for not interfering with his plans, which Sadira seemingly accepts. Iago needles Cassim with questions until being able to discern his true identity, as well as poking holes in the narrative Mozenrath gave him. Though the spell hasn't fully worn off, Cassim is suspicious of Mozenrath and invades Agrabah in order to get his guard down. With Jasmine's eloquency and genie's magic, they're able to calm down the people with promises to fix the poverty (and no, genie's powers can't do all that now). The thieves lose their nerves at the speech, and Mozenrath, in a rage, decides to kill Aladdin. Sadira takes an attack from him and Cassim battle shim while Jasmine reverses the spell on Aladdin, allowing them to defeat him. Deciding that they're done with him for good, the team comes to the consensus to give Mozenrath a blue rose of his own and keep him in Agrabah under supervision, hoping that he, like Cassim and Iago, can make a fresh start from villainy.

(And the wedding looks take heavy influence from the outfits Jasmine and Aladdin wear in the finale of the first film, just more formal)

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World--A bit more refined than what we got. Nakoma joins Pocahontas on her venture to England, and her husband is named Uttamatomakkin and appointed their bodyguard (based on my readings that the actual Uttamatomakkin was Pocahontas' brother-in-law and Nakoma is like a sister to her, anyway). John Rolfe isn't as overtly sexist, and is rather aloof to Pocahontas, believing that it's best to be pragmatic as a diplomat and still having reservations about her due to their cultural differences (though he's still civil, being a diplomat and all). Pocahontas gives John Rolfe a crop as a gift--can it be tobacco, or would that be read as bad for kids?--which he plants on his land and becomes enamored with. The natives' time in England is over the course of several months, in which Nakoma and Uti learn English, and Pocahontas undergoes the rigorous education for a woman of the time, which Mrs. Jenkins says is especially made to her "as a princess" (though obviously the title is foreign to her). Slowly, John's walls come down, and the two become less cool with each other, bonding over reading and childhood stories, even sharing a spiritual moment (though it's vague so it doesn't create controversy). John Rolfe, being less bold and adventurous than John Smith, is unable to articulate his feelings and is flustered by Pocahontas, and she interprets this as him not liking her because she's too different. At the ball, they realize their feelings for one another, though Pocahontas asks him if she likes who she is now, and they are interrupted before he can respond. Upon Pocahontas and her friends' imprisonment, the film takes from the original's "Savages" sequence as well as "The Mob Song" from "Beauty and the Beast" with the people of London preparing to go to war against the natives, with the common people storming the tower of London to kill Pocahontas themselves. John Smith appears, and Rolfe takes advantage of the confusion to make an impassioned plea to the townspeople, noting how Pocahontas changed everything about herself, and yet they only saw when she made mistakes. He then says that she isn't a mistake at all, and Smith and Pocahontas reconcile and discuss their differences. Smith comes to the conclusion that their love was the result of passion, in contrast to the slow build of her relationship with Rolfe. She refuses to call their relationship simple passion, but he frees the trio and says they can discuss it another time. The rest of the film is mostly the same, but Pocahontas doesn't disavow traveling, just wanting to be stationary for a short time. Upon everyone returning to Jamestown, Smith accepts her love for Rolfe, but tells her that whenever she wants to journey, he will follow, and Pocahontas and Rolfe openly express their love for each other.

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea--Major overhaul, since it basically rips off the original. In this film, Ariel and Eric's families are explored a bit more. Ariel's mother's death is revealed here, and how Ariel wonders if her relationship with Melody could've been better if she had grown up with Athena. Attina has become Queen of Atlantica, with Triton retiring despite Ariel's pleas to become human and visit her on land. She has become increasingly busy as a queen, but takes to it with fervor, and Eric growing up without his parents makes him attentive to Melody (and while Ariel loves Melody, she's so caught up in her own life that she hasn't fully integrated her daughter into her own, not having developed empathy with her yet). Morgana, rather than Ursula's sister, is a human who uses her son to charm Melody into feeling liked and appreciated as a princess rather than used for politics or making an embarrassment of herself. Meanwhile, Morgana acts as a surrogate mother to Melody, seemingly consoling her when she fights with Ariel, but actually fueling her insecurities until Melody accidentally reveals the existence of merpeople when playing with some merkids early in the morning. When she reveals her dream of running away, Morgana witnesses Attina turning Triton into a human to surprise Ariel, and concocts a plan. After Melody convinces her aunt to turn her, Morgana, and her son into merpeople as a goodwill gift to the surface world, Morgana slinks around Atlantica until able to seize the Triton and rule the seas, a larger territory than Eric and Ariel's kingdom. As humans, Ariel, Triton, and Eric are unable to reach Morgana and stop her, so Melody does battle against her, with Morgana's son being conflicted at his mother's treacherous acts. For a moment, Attina regains the trident and turns the trio into merpeople, though Morgana takes it back and returns her to stone. Mad with power, Ariel and Eric have a talk with Melody while in hiding, with Triton giving her and Ariel some comforting words. Morgana is defeated and returned to land for imprisonment and Attina, feeling sorry for her son, adopts him as her own, while Melody and her family return to human form (save Triton), and she feels much more confident, especially since she just saved her kingdom.

Oh, and Melody's mermaid design is better than what we got.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning--Rather than a prequel, this serves as a follow-up to the second film, though Ariel is once again the star. This film follows her visiting her sisters as a mermaid, and connecting with all of them after so long. It's also found that while Triton is content with being retired, Sebastian, who had been Attina's advisor as he had been her father's, is not pleased when Attina hires Marina del Rey as her adoptive son's governess without telling him, and advises against skipping over her sisters and their children by naming him the heir to Atlantica. Of course, it's also made worse when it's revealed that Attina has considered having Marina replace Sebastian, something they both overhear and have different feelings about. Given how quick the promotion is, Marina, who has had a life of failure and misfortune, starts to act more sophisticated, becoming power-hungry at the prospect of having the queen's ear. Ariel communicates with her sisters about the growing tension within the palace (which has grown IMMENSELY to cater to the growing families within it, btw), and they notice that her son isn't adjusting well thanks to all of it. They persuade her to hold back on any further discussion of replacing Sebastian at least until her son becomes king (though Sebastian wants it to be until he himself is dead), to which Attina agrees to, infuriating and hurting Marina, as she now believes she did something wrong and wasn't doing her job correctly. To imitate Sebastian, she becomes more controlling and opinionated around the royal family, overstepping her boundaries to the point where she puts Attina in danger by trying to show herself better than Sebastian. During a fight, she injures Ariel and is promptly imprisoned, to which Sebastian seriously considers retirement, though Attina now says it must be his choice, and he says that the day may come sooner than expected. He also asks Attina not to be too hard on Marina, as everyone becomes aggressive when vying for recognition and power, and Melody (having heard about Marina), jokingly suggests she becomes Melody's governess as punishment, and Ariel jokingly considers it, scaring Melody.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II--While Disney can't go as dark as the original film when wanting to market a straight-to-DVD sequel, they do keep a lot of the elements. Here, Quasimodo's focus is on discovering more about Romani culture, as well as trying to track down any family he might have out there (which Phoebus has used his connections to help with). Zephyr, who's character design has a darker palette, is also eager to learn about his Romani heritage, though Phoebus is worried that this will "only get him into trouble" since Paris hasn't forgotten their prejudice on Romani people, both of which frustrate Esmeralda. Madelaine is a Romani woman who is trying to buy safe passage into Paris from the swindling Sarousche, who traffics and manipulates people in order to gain political power. Unlike Frollo, who truly believed himself to be righteous and the Romani people as evil, Sarousche is a bit more nuanced, willing to do whatever it takes to control Paris, hoping to eventually gain favor with the nobility. However, this is squashed when Madelaine falls for Quasimodo and refuses to assist him in bringing the city under his heel. As such, Sarousche uses the still existing hatred for Romani people and props them as a scapegoat for all his criminal activity, which the townsfolk find easier to believe because he isn't as intimidating as Frollo and comes off as more likeable.

Mulan II--Rather than the film talking about an alliance with Qui Gong over the threat of the Mongols, the film instead structures Qui Gong as a rival country with mounting tension between them and China. It is believed that Qui Gong has a much larger army and resources than China does at present, as China is still rebuilding from the devastation of the Huns. As such, the mission given to Mulan and company is to infiltrate Qui Gong and act as spies (though presenting as ambassadors) in order to relay pivotal information back to China. Since leaving the army, Mulan has adhered to traditional feminine roles expected of her, but given her status as a war hero, the standards aren't as strict and are more forgiving (and let's imagine she let her hair grow out rather than keeping it short to fit the cultural standard). That said, she still works to keep in shape and does miss her adventures, and jumps at the opportunity to fulfill the emperor's infiltration mission. Unfortunately, it's quickly decided that despite her skillset, she would likely be too recognizable as the woman who saved China. Her relationship with Shang is at a high, and she introduces him to Mushu. Rather than the threat of Mushu being replaced by Shang's family guardians, Mushu's concern is that he realizes Shang is (not maliciously) replacing him as Mulan's confidant, advisor, and best friend, thus leading him to want to prove his usefulness to her, as he is a divine dragon, while Shang is a regular mortal. However, he inadvertently ruins things when Mulan decides to join her friends on the infiltration mission out of concern for their safety (paralleling her mission to join the army for her father in the first film). Rather than posing as a man, Mulan poses as an ultra-feminine lover of Shang's, very demure and unimposing. Mushu attempts to dissuade her from getting herself hurt by reminding her that she said that part of her decision to join the army the first time was because she wanted to prove something, and this was a lot more dangerous being in enemy territory. Hurt by his accusations that she's just doing this out of pride and accusations that her relationship with Shang is strengthened by her adherence and obedience to him, Mulan tells Mushu not to get involved, and when word of Mulan being in Qui Gong starts to circle the kingdom, Mushu quickly reverses it, claiming that there was no woman involved in the defeat of the Huns; instead it was Fa Ping, disguised as a woman named Mulan, who subdued the Huns. Lord Qin grows suspicious and questions the "ambassadors," with Chien-Po, Yao, and Ling coming off as too stupid to be spies, but they grow suspicious of Shang and take him as a prisoner, with the rest of the gang being placed under close watch, not allowed to leave the kingdom. Mulan is enraged at Mushu despite his attempts to help, and enlists the help of Zhenzhen, Ruyun, and Jingshu (in place of princesses Ting-Ting, Su, and Mei; names taken from "WuKong"), three single noblewomen who fell for her friends. The noblewomen woo their way into finding out where Shang is kept, while Mulan and her friends plot to get him out, as well as Shang assisting Shang in staging his own rescue. While all this is happening, it's heavily implied that the masses of Qui Gong do not approve of Lord Qin, who is power-hungry and volatile, and instead would like to see his more temperate and pragmatic son Jeeki take the throne. Upon gaining enough support, the prince imprisons his father and vows to deescalate the tension between Qui Gong and China, allowing the Chinese warriors to leave as well as giving his blessing for Mulan's friends to marry the noblewomen as a sign of peace, and as a result, Chien-Po, Ling, and Yao decide to say in Qui Gong to stay with their loves and make sure the prince keeps his word. As Mulan and Shang return home, she forgives Mushu, and discussions of their wedding are planned.

Kronk's New Groove--Having been Yzma's trophy guy for the last couple of years and being a victim of her schemes as well as an accomplice, he does some soul-searching as to what he wants in life. Not one to waste a good resource and still having Yzma's influence embedded in him somewhat, Kuzco hires him to be one of his chefs, which Kronk enjoys. Of course, Yzma (who is semi-cat now thanks to experimenting a bit more now that she doesn't have access to her lab in the palace) is embittered by what she considers a betrayal twice over: first Kuzco with firing her and then Kronk with working for him. Originally she planned to infiltrate the palace as another chef, turn Kronk into a bird, kill him, poison his body, and feed it to Kuzco in one fell swoop--but then she realized her resume wasn't good enough to get in as a chef and instead just opts to turning Kuzco to stone and framing Kronk for it. This works initially, with people reasoning that being Yzma's former assistant meant he was meant for great evil, but Kronk realizes that stone Kuzco isn't safe from whoever turned him to stone, and flees with his body. Having perfected a secret potion she's been working on since the Mesozoic era (I'm kidding), she turns herself into a beautiful young woman who looks similar to Kuzco, and proclaims that she is his twin sister who was given away to escape Yzma's clutches. Seeing how mean Kuzco used to be and how this new woman has a clean slate (and the fact that the people are pretty forgiving), Yzma is made empress. With the help of Pacha, his family, and Miss Birdwell (maybe we do a different last name for her), Kronk is eventually able to recall his science time with Yzma to concoct an antidote for Kuzco, who returns and demands Yzma renounce the throne. Most of the populace has no idea who she truly is except for Kuzco while Kronk and the others have their suspicions, and while she goes down fighting, she herself is eventually turned into gold, and Kuzco comments that she'd make an excellent fountain.

Cinderella II: Dreams Come True--Rather than three ministories, the overarching tale focuses on Cinderella adjusting to palace life, from the glamorous sides to the political sides. Originally, the king (who would be given a name here as well as the prince) is overbearing and insists upon being a part of the couple's lives due to wanting to have grandkids, as carried over from the first film. While Cinderella, being the agreeable person she is and new to the courtly environment, acquiesces to his desires, the prince is more rebellious, causing the father and son to be at odds. The prince, while kind and intelligent, is portrayed as somewhat immature, this occuring after his mother's death and the result of his father's micromanaging, and the king focuses on training Cinderella personally for being queen, which she takes with fervor. In contrast to the prince, who took more interest in artistic pursuits (dancing, singing, painting, horticulture, etc), Cinderella proves to excel at academic education, and it makes her recall when she was young and both her parents were alive. Being a young noblewoman, she had a bit of an edge on other women at the time and had a broader education, but when Lady Tremaine ruled over the chateau, her education fell to the wayside, and she only learned through the various chores she had to undertake, or when she happened to be around Lady Tremaine when she was teaching Anastasia and Drizella. Sharing her experience with her parents to the prince, he reconciles with his father, and the king becomes slightly hands-off and letting the prince make certain decisions. Anastasia and Jaq' tales are interwoven here, with human Jaq serving to assist Cinderella in navigating her new life while Cinderella introduces Anastasia to the courtly life she thought she wanted, though she instead goes for the baker (which Cinderella suspected she'd do).

Oh, and give Cinderella a better outfit than just recoloring her classic dress.

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time--Mostly the same, tbh. The only thing I'd add are more insight into Lord Tremaine. He's never shown or spoken about in any of the films, but shedding light on him and his relationship with Lady Tremaine could explain Anastasia's views on love. Perhaps they originally had a happy marriage, and Lady Tremaine became bitter when he died, and Anastasia sticks by her because she (and Drizella) has no one else. Or perhaps Lady Tremaine schemed her way into marrying her husband, thus why Anastasia and Drizela aren't (entirely) against doing so with the prince. Or maybe both Lady and Lord Tremaine were terrible people, but they respected each other, and Anastasia reasons that you can make concessions when marrying someone; even if it doesn't start out as love, it can still be fufilling.

Hope you enjoyed it! What was your favorite Disney sequel that went straight to DVD? Lemme know if you liked any of my remake ideas.

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