Disney and Pixar announce sequels being worked on for many popular movies

Disney and Pixar are notorious for children’s animated movies, as well as creating original storylines. In fact, many of the popular films such as Inside Out, Zootopia, Frozen, and Toy Story have announced new sequels for their movies.

Inside Out

In 2015, one of the most phenomenal Pixar movies, Inside Out, was released. Directed by John Docter, the movie takes place inside the mind of an 11 year old girl named Riley. Inside her mind, we get introduced into five of her emotions portrayed: Joy (played by Amy Poeler), Sadness (played by Phyllis Smith), Anger (played by Lewis Black), Disgust (played by Mindy Kaling), and Fear (played by Bill Hader). These five characters control RIley’s feelings and emotions, and chooses how she reacts to some difficult situations. 

In September 2022, both Disney and Pixar confirmed that a sequel to Inside Out is underway. Instead of following Riley as an 11-year old, the emotions will continue to follow her as a teenager. Although Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader will not be returning for their roles as Disgust and Fear, many of the characters will be the same, as well as there being new emotions and characters being introduced in the second movie. Inside Out 2 is planned to be in theaters by June 2024.

Zootopia

2016’s Zootopia was a sensation as soon as it was released. Directed by Bryon Howard and Richard Moore, this movie relates to mammals living the life of people. The two main characters are Judy Hopps the bunny (played by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wildes the fox (played by Jason Bateman). These two characters work together throughout the movie to solve criminal cases, and help find missing mammals in town. 

In February 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger made the announcement that a second Zootopia is being developed. The sequel is supposed to keep Nick and Judy fighting crime, including a variety of government conspiracy theories, which lead to both Judy and Nick becoming official members of the Zootopia Police Department. There is no release day confirmed yet, but Disney hopes this sequel is just as good as the original.

Senior Alivia Brashear is hoping for an even better spark in Judy and Nick’s relationship. 

“I hope we get an even better look at the relationship between Judy and Nick. EIther friendship, or romantic, and I also want more plot twists in the movie as well.”

Frozen

Inspired by Hans Christien Andersen’s fairytale The Snow Queen, Frozen was released in 2013, being directed by Chris Buck and Jenifer Lee. The movie takes place in the Scandanavians, and focuses on the life of two sisters: Anna (played by Kristen Bell) and Elsa (played by Idina Menzel). Elsa was born with magical ice powers, and early in their childhood, she accidently strikes Anna, which causes the two to separate  for years. 

The movie immediately became a hit, and 6 years later, Disney released Frozen 2. The sisters are closer than ever in this movie, and they travel to an enchanted forest in order to discover their family history, and the origin of Elsa’s powers. Due to the success of the sequel, many critics hoped for a trilogy of this movie series. 

Sophomore Stella Seiler is a very big fan of the Frozen movies, and is hoping for an amazing third movie.

“The producers usually have amazing ideas when coming up with the Frozen movies. Rather it’s focusing on the relationship between the sisters, or the sisters discovering their parents’ history, it seems like the producers will never run out of unique ideas. I hope for a third movie to be just as exciting.”

Luckily, Iger confirmed that Frozen 3 is being currently worked on. There is no information about the third movie that is confirmed yet, however it is planned to be released in theaters in November 2025. 

Toy Story

Released in 1995, Toy Story has always been a fan favorite for many years. Directed by John Lasseter, the movie focuses on the perspective of childhood toys, such as Woody the cowboy (played by Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (played by Tim Allen). And adventures that they go on. There have already been three other movies released, and even more characters being introduced. 

However, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that a fifth Toy Story movie is being developed. It is expected to include the same actors that play Woody and Buzz, and is expected to have the two characters cross paths one final time. There are no plot details or release details, but hopefully Toy Story 5 meets up its expectations.

Carson Smith, a sophomore here at AHS, is expecting similar things for the fifth Toy Story.

“I just hope we get some of the same big characters, such as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, and small characters like the toy soldiers. I just want other kids to enjoy Toy Story 5 just as much as they enjoyed the previous movies.”

With all of these upcoming films, Disney fans will have many movies to watch and look forward to. Hopefully these sequels will be just as iconic as their original movies.

BY: Livvy Frissore