The 1990s was very much a transitional period when it came to animated movies. Studios were starting to realize that entire movies could be computer-generated, but there were still films being released that were experimenting with cut-out animation. Many of the kids’ movies from the decade did get several sequels, but others were left dormant, despite the magnificent world-building.
Between some hilarious adaptations of TV shows, Disney’s take on Greek mythology, and not one but two movies about ants, there was so much wasted potential for more kids’ films in the ’90s. But for some of them, it’s still not too late.
Antz (1998) – Stream On Peacock
Antz is an underrated animated movie, as it was overshadowed by the extremely similar movie A Bug’s Life in the same year. Though the Pixar movie is much more praised than the Dreamworks competitor, there’s still a lot to love about the bug flick. Antz is funnier and more of the gags are aimed at adult audiences, making the film better than A Bug’s Life in some ways.
The world-building is fascinating, as the way everything looks giant from the perspective of the ants is one of the most creative computer-generated designs to come from Dreamworks Animations even to this day. Not only that, but Sylvester Stallone’s role in the movie is among the most entertaining voice acting in the ’90s, and it deserved a sequel more than any other DreamWorks movie at the time.
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) – Stream On Pluto TV
When it comes to adapting an animated TV show into a movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is the gold standard. The film wasn’t just a feature-length episode, but it had all the production value that’s to be expected of a movie. The stakes were higher, as the devil and Sadam Hussein teamed up together, and the movie is full of hilarious songs.
South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker rarely look back, as they moved on from cut-out animation to puppets in Team America: World Police and then moved to stage with the Tony Award-winning musical The Book of Morman. But a sequel to Bigger, Longer & Uncut would have been more than welcome, and it’s still not too late. As the depraved animated show is all about satirizing real-life events, there’s no more perfect time to do it than now.
Ghost In The Shell (1995) – Stream On Kanopy
The original Ghost in the Shell is one of the greatest animes of all time, and it’s as cyberpunk as they come, as it follows a cyborg security agent whose objective is to hunt down a mystery hacker. The movie has one of the greatest narratives in an animated movie ever, and despite its poor box office performance upon its release, it has built up a cult following.
Though the movie is officially a standalone film, there was Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, which was made by the same director but is technically non-canon. There was a Hollywood live-action remake too, but it lost a lot of its magic with it not being animated. It’s a little too late for a proper follow-up at this point, but given that it’s based on the celebrated manga of the same name, there was so much more material for a great sequel at the time.
Hercules (1997) – Stream On Disney+
Being half-mortal and half god is close to the only thing the Disney adaptation got right, as Hercules isn’t mythologically accurate. However, what it lacked in accuracy it more than made up for in entertainment.
There was a direct-to-video sequel, but the 70-minute follow-up was simply three episodes of the kids’ morning show packaged into one feature. A proper follow-up could have delved deeper into the CGI that featured in the first movie, as Hercules was an early example of what could be done with the animation technique in the battle with the Hydra.
The Iron Giant (1999) – Stream On HBO Max
The finale of The Iron Giant hinted at a sequel, as though the titular character sacrificed himself for the greater good, his head was being reassembled in Iceland at the very end. With an animated movie, the best idea is to strike while the iron is hot and release a sequel in quick succession.
However, though it has been more than 22 years since its release at this point, there could still be an Iron Giant sequel. As the movie was full of themes of anti-war and violence, it couldn’t come at a better time. The character has since appeared in both Ready Player One and Space Jam: A New Legacy, so he’s relevant.
Princess Mononoke (1997) – Stream On HBO Max
Studio Ghibli has never made a sequel to any of their movies, and that’s what part of makes the studio so great, as they prefer to create original material instead of going back to the well. But some of their stories are so vivid and full of depth that it’s hard for fans not to crave more.
Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke brilliantly delivers the message of humans consuming the forest’s resources and combines it with fantastical elements. It’s one of the most visually stunning movies ever made and it’s an anime epic. There was more to be told about this world, especially as Studio Ghibli loves to leave some mysteries to go unanswered.
Beavis And Butt-Head Do America (1996) – Stream On Paramount+
With most of the movies from the ’90s, the actors’ voice acting made characters sound as colorful as they were visually, which is saying a lot considering how vibrant they were. But with Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, the animation and voice-acting were lazy, but that was part of the appeal. The TV show was full of lowbrow humor, nihilism, and criticism of society, and the movie is the very epitome of that.
The lack of a Beavis and Butt-Head Do America sequel is bittersweet. If creator Mike Judge did continue his work on the teenage slackers, audiences might have never have gotten comedy cult classics such as Office Space and Idiocracy. However, Beavis and Butt-Head will be revived by Paramount+, as they’ll be a new season later this year.
We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story (1993) – Rent On Vudu
Surprisingly, Jurassic Park wasn’t the only dinosaur movie released in 1993, as We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story was released just five months after the Steven Spielberg-direct film and it was even promoted as the family-friendly equivalent. The screenplay is wholly bizarre, especially the idea of the horror circus that the dinosaurs perform at.
However, there are too few surreal animated movies, and it was a refreshing take that felt like if Tim Burton had the reigns on an animated dinosaur movie. Given the countless sequels that The Land Before Time series had, it’s unfortunate that A Dinosaur’s Story didn’t even get one.
A Bug’s Life (1998) – Stream On Disney+
As was the case with Antz, A Bug’s Life is an underrated movie from 1998, or it’s at least underrated compared to most other Pixar movies. What Pixar did better than its DreamWorks competitor was the characters, as there weren’t just tiny ants that filled the big screen, but caterpillars, ladybirds, black widows, and grasshoppers.
The world of Antz might have been built well, but Pixar all but built a whole economy that actually made sense, and there’s so much going on that’s just begging for a sequel. A spin-off of the traveling circus alone would be more entertaining than most animated movies released today.
Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993) – Stream On HBO Max
Many believe that Mask of the Phantasm is the greatest Batman movie of all time, as it’s compelling, exciting, and has the least amount of plot holes. As it’s based on the world of Batman: The Animated Series, the dark animation is delightful to look at for 80 minutes. The movie is so perfectly crafted that the Honest Trailer couldn’t find anything negative to say about it.
As The Animated Series was over at this point, a sequel should have been made, but Phantasm’s poor box office performance probably stopped that from happening. However, there was a direct-to-video “standalone sequel” that came years later, which was called Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero. But it was entirely unrelated to Phantasm, didn’t once mention the significant events of the movie, and didn’t have half of the production value.
