Sequels are usually a hit or miss, especially when compared to the original film's box office success. Pixar's animated sequels are no exception. As the studios continue to grow out their long list of sequels, here's our ranking of the 8 animated sequels from Pixar.
Check out the list below:
Cars 2 (2011)
We've seen the first Cars movie dealing with Lightning McQueen as a world-renowned racer, and then Cars 2 happened. The sequel instead shockingly focused on the side character, comedic Mater, as he found himself joining a spy organization without realizing it.
While a spy movie would've found itself in the franchise, sidelining Lightning was not the right move in reeling fans to the idea.
Inside Out 2 (2024)
The first Inside Out film may have tugged on the audience's heartstrings for how Riley and her emotions banded together to deal with moving to a new city, but its sequel surprisingly outperformed its predecessor. Inside Out 2 earned over $1.6 billion globally (when the first film only garnered $858 million globally), becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
But when it comes to comparing quality? Inside Out 2 followed Riley in her teenage years, from her growth spurt to dealing with new "emotions": Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. Initially, fans were highly anticipating that Riley would finally get her first romance, and instead got a mischaracterization of what Anxiety is supposed to be.
Finding Dory (2016)
One of the main characters that definitely stood out in Finding Nemo was Dory and her anterograde amnesia, which is a form of short-term memory loss where she cannot form new memories after a short amount of time. Hence, she tends to drift from one conversation to another.
While the Finding Nemo sequel was a massive financial success, grossing over $1 billion worldwide, it wasn't the kind of sequel that fans would prefer over the impact of the original story.
Toy Story 4 (2019)
Just when fans got over the fact that Andy had given his toys away, the fourth installment happened, somehow ripping fans' hearts at what they thought they had already moved on from.
But what made Toy Story 4 stand out compared to the previous films on this list is that it not only improved the animation technique of the franchise, but in highlighted where abandoned toys like Bo Peep go behind the scenes.
And yet another goodbye was formed when Woody decided to follow his heart by staying with Bo, finding his new purpose rather than being a child's toy. That's another thing, though. It completely contradicts what he advocated for in the third film.
Incredibles 2 (2018)
Considering that the first Incredibles movie held the potential for politics and societal impact, a sequel, despite the 14-year gap, was nothing short of expected (and they didn't disappoint). Incredibles 2 held up the original film's standard and grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide.
While some considered the plot more predictable than its predecessor, the sequel didn't rely on nostalgia and instead built on what the first movie introduced through its cliffhanger.
Monsters University (2013)
For the sake of this article, Monsters University is counted as a sequel for being released after Monsters Inc., which brings us to the point as to why it's ranked higher among the others. Sequels are meant to add more to the story.
Apart from expanding the Monsters world, in they're required to go to University to get a degree before becoming Scarers, Monsters U also depicted Mike Wazowski's true fear: not being scary enough, as opposed to how Monsters Inc. solved their problem by using kids' laughter to boost their energy rather than their screams.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
To infinity and beyond. Toy Story 3 was a nice way to end the franchise. It tied everything together, especially since it was a complete turnaround from staying in Andy's room, growing up with their owner, until the day they got taken to Sunny Side Daycare. Arguably, the best from the franchise, but not as great as the first spot on this list.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Toy Story 2 set the standard for Pixar sequels. This sequel had Woody discovering there was more to his franchise and that he had his own cowboy family. There were higher stakes to consider, with Buzz and the others risking their lives by getting caught trying to bring Woody back to Andy's room. It was a cinematic heist film rescue mission for toys.
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