Top 10 Animated Films That Should Get A Sequel

Top 10 Animated Movies That Should Get a Sequel

These stories absolutely deserve a follow-up. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Animated Movies That Should Get a Sequel.


For this list, we’ll be looking at animated fil,s, including the 2D, 3D and stop-motion varieties, for which a theatrical sequel feels well-deserved. Please note, we won’t be considering any films which already have a sequel in some stage of production as of April 2018. Also… there will be spoilers.

#10: “Brave” (2012)

The trailer for this Scotland-set story gave fans the impression that they would be joining the film’s heroine, Merida, on an epic adventure. In a surprising twist however, the film wound up being a much more intimate story about family, and the dynamic between mother and daughter in particular. It was a beautiful and emotional story, but now that Merida has conquered tradition and established her right to marry when she so chooses, we’d really like to embark on the big adventure we originally signed on for. Her problems at home have been resolved but in the magical world she inhabits, there’s no shortage of excitement to be found for a free-spirit like Merida.

#9: “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (2005)

For decades, this beloved claymation example of man and man’s best friend have been charming the pants off their fellow Brits... and the rest of the world. In 2005, the entertaining duo finally got the big screen treatment with “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” earning themselves and their creator, Nick Park, heaps of awards in the process. It has been well over a decade since, and though we love the “Shaun the Sheep” spin-offs as much as the next fan, Wallace and Gromit really deserve another theatrical film. They’ve had time to recover from the Were-Rabbit debacle - it’s time for their next BIG adventure.

#8: “Rise of the Guardians” (2012)

In this underrated animated film from Dreamworks, we got to see the Guardians rise and Jack Frost embrace his role as the Guardian of Fun, but now that the team is assembled… we really wish we’d gotten to go on another big screen adventure with them. Given the numerous books that author William Joyce has written about the Guardians, it’s not like the studio is lacking source material. Unfortunately, despite the film making a solid $306 million at the box office, against its production budget of $145 million, plus marketing costs, the first instalment just didn’t turn a large enough profit for an immediate greenlight. But who knows… fan campaigns have succeeded in the past!

#7: “The Adventures of Tintin” (2011)

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There have been talks of not one but two Tintin sequels, and if you ask Steven Spielberg about it, he insists that they’re still in the works. The thing is… the release date on the first sequel keeps getting pushed back and there’s never been any sort of confirmation that production has actually begun. Yes… there is at least one sequel in development, but as any film buff will tell you, plenty of movies go into development only to die there - a fate we really hope that the Tintin franchise avoids. With its unprecedented beautiful animation, nostalgic spirit of adventure and reverence for its source material, Tintin more than earned a sequel.

#6: “A Bug's Life” (1998)

After “Toy Story 4”, Pixar is said to be prioritizing original films over sequels. While, for the most part, that is music to the ears of Pixar fans who adore the studio for its inventiveness, for fans of Pixar’s second feature film... that’s pretty much the nail in the coffin of their sequel dreams. We get that the cultural impact of “A Bug’s Life” paled in comparison to that of “Toy Story”, but it was a great film in its own right. In the big world of bugs, it’s not hard to imagine further adventures that would’ve made for a worthy follow up. Then again… there might be a little cause for hope.

#5: “Inside Out ” (2015)

As we were saying, Pixar is apparently moving away from sequels, which means, despite having just scratched the surface of the wildly inspired concept explored in “Inside Out”, that movie looks set to remain a standalone film. What a waste of potential! With Riley on the cusp of adolescence, we would’ve loved to see her team of emotions navigating her teenage years. The short film, “Riley’s First Date?” was just a small taste of what they could do with this franchise. It also brought up an interesting possibility for a sequel… the option to explore the emotions of an entirely new character. When it comes to an “Inside Out” sequel, imagination is the only limit.

#4: “The Iron Giant” (1999)

This is a sequel fans have long since stopped holding their breath over for fear of passing out. Criminally overlooked at the time of its release, resulting in the film becoming a complete box office flop, “The Iron Giant” has since gone on to become a much-revered cult classic, and is widely regarded to be one of the greatest animated films of the 1990s. Given its now iconic status and the film’s perfect ending, a sequel runs the risk of tarnishing the movie’s legacy. But if done right… it would make for a truly incredible gift to fans. For the time being, we’ll take what we can get from Ready Player One’s not-so-subtle nod.

#3: “The Great Mouse Detective” (1986)

This underrated riff on Sherlock Holmes was a product of the company’s wayward years, before they found their footing with “The Little Mermaid” and kicked off the Disney Renaissance. But quite frankly,“The Great Mouse Detective” is a gem of a film obscured by the mediocre offerings with which it kept company. The characters were charismatic, the villain dastardly and the henchman infinitely quotable. All in all, it was a fun, dramatic film, and had it been released about 5 years later, we suspect that its legacy would be very different. A good detective story is never finished, and as such, Basil of Baker Street and Dr. Dawson deserved a sequel.

#2: “Coraline” (2009)

Laika might not have the name recognition of Disney or Pixar, but they’ve delivered one remarkable film after another. We’d like to see a sequel to pretty much every movie they’ve released - it’s not hard to imagine a follow-up to “ParaNorman”! But if we were to get just one Laika sequel… it would be for their 2009 film “Coraline”. Delightfully creepy, beautifully atmospheric and telling the sort of complex tale that children and adults alike can appreciate, it was, simply put, a masterpiece. If you could could get the book’s author, Neil Gaiman, to write the story, even better! Sadly, Laika has a strict “no sequels” philosophy.





Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions:



“Mr. Peabody & Sherman” (2014)







“The Aristocats” (1970)

#1: “Ratatouille” (2007)

This is one of the most underappreciated Pixar films to date. An inspired tale of a rat with a passion for cooking, it feels at once nostalgically old-fashioned, and undeniably fresh and progressive. It’s a story that certainly has NOT been told before. Yes, everyone got their happy ending at the end of “Ratatouille”, but the life Remy led was one that you wanted to live out with him. With his ambition and skill, the sky’s the limit for our beloved little rat, while his appearance provides ample opportunity for an even deeper exploration of discrimination and lessons in judging a book by its cover - or rather, in this case, a cook by its species.