10 Disney Movies That Need A Prequel, According To Reddit

Disney is known for building expansive worlds that host its stories. Many of the studio’s most iconic films have already received a sequel, and some have even gotten prequels. Disney has been producing backstories for their most iconic villains, princesses, and heroes alike in the past decade.

But Disney fans have taken to Reddit to express their opinions on what movies have been overlooked when it comes to prequels. Some Reddit users have even provided entire outlines the studios could use when developing the film.

The Incredibles (2004)

Redditor elfmonsterofthe wants a prequel to Disney’s superhero family movie franchise to “see the supers before they went into hiding maybe their origins.” Another user, bio_hazzard_flirt, laid out the potential plot of a more romantic prequel focusing on how Mr. and Mrs. Incredible fell in love. They explain, “the two end up facing an incredible foe together and she softens and he learns to put aside his ego for her. Ugh, I need this story in my life Pixar!!!”

And it’s true, a prequel would give a deeper understanding of their relationship and explain more about the supers, like why do Dash, Violet, and Jack-Jack have different powers than their parents?

Hercules (1997)

The Gospel Truth in Hercules tells the story of Zeus and his battles against the Titans who threaten the world. TaylorDangerTorres on Reddit wants a prequel that expands on the Muses’ storytelling that would “follow Zeus as he defeats the Titans when they first appear!” The Disney Channel series Hercules: Zero to Hero served as a midquel to the film, but it didn’t explore Zeus’s origins as the head god of Olympius.

Disney fans have been asking for more Hercules movies since Disney started their series of live-action remakes, and while this would not be exactly what they are asking for, it would expand the Hercules world. The original film briefly mentions that Zeus sent Hades to be in charge of the underworld but never expands on why. This would be the perfect opportunity to give not only Zeus a hero’s origin story, but Hades a villainous one.

Mary Poppins (1964)

In 2018, Mary Poppins received a sequel but few questions about the title character were answered. MutantLlama pitched the idea of a prequel that would establish all there is to know about Mary Poppins. They question, “How do Bert and Mary know each other? Where did the talking parrot on Mary’s umbrella come from, and why did he stay silent until the last minute? Most importantly, how does Mary do all of the magics we see?”

Bert, Mary’s friend (Dick Van Dyke), helps Mary and the kids through their adventures in the original movie, but no one knows where he came from. A backstory could follow dual timelines that lead to the pair meeting and the adventures they have along the way. In order to be successful, a prequel would have to answer the most important question of all. How did Mary Poppins get her magic?

Peter Pan (1953)

Despite Disney producing six animated Tinker Bell films, fans are still asking for more from the world of Peter Pan. One Reddit user, trxshhhh, asked, “If all the Disney Tinkerbell movies are prequels to Peter Pan then how did tink meet peter? And what happened to pixie hollow? Did she leave her home or something?” None of the films answered these questions, and further installments in the Tinker Bell franchise have been scrapped by Disney.

Tinker Bell entirely devotes herself to Peter, but it is never explained why. As commenters in the original thread suggested, the prequel would explore Tinker Bell leaving Pixie Hollow and what becomes of her other fairy friends. The film would also include the start of Peter Pan and Captain Hook’s feud, since it is mentioned in the original Peter Pan film but never expanded upon.

Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story is getting a prequel spin-off movie with Lightyear that will give Buzz Lightyear a backstory. But Reddit users are already coming up with ideas for more Toy Story origin stories. Gamerguy287 pitched the idea of another spin-off but following Woody: “Why don’t we make a Toy Story 5, where we follow Woody as he wakes up and realizes he’s a toy?”

Toy Story 2 already gave audiences a look at how Woody came to be a toy. But Disney has yet to explore the concept of how the toys found out they are toys. With so many characters wrapped up in one franchise, there is a lot of room to expand the Toy Story Universe.

Tangled (2010)

Disney has been turning out villain origin stories over the last decade, but one villain left without a backstory is Mother Gothel.  One Redditor suggested a prequel that follows Mother Gothel after the flowers she uses to stay looking young are destroyed, but before she kidnaps Rapunzel: “Mother Gothel is becoming increasingly desperate after the royal family destroying the flower she was using to stay alive. The movie follows her plans to survive, ultimately kidnapping Rapunzel and raising her as her own.”

With the success of Cruella and Maleficent, another villain origin story may work, especially since there is so little known about Mother Gother outside of her relationship with Rapunzel.

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Schmittyfangirl expressed her displeasure with Disney’s exploration of the Princess universe. Their solution is a prequel that follows Princess Aurora in her days as Briar Rose. The Redditor suggests, “either have a prequel of Aurora’s days of being Briar Rose or a direct sequel of having her adjust to being royalty.” Maleficent briefly explored the idea of Briar Rose encountering Maleficent several times in the woods, but nothing about Briar Rose alone.

Disney has never made a backstory for any of their princesses, mainly because they are a part of the films already. As the Redditor mentions in their post, Sophia the First and Wreck-It Ralph: Ralph Breaks the Internet touched on an MCU-style universe where all the Princesses interact and give some backstory to their lives. Establishing backstories could revive the popularity they once had.

The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1996)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is known as one of Disney’s darker films. The Paris depicted in the film is dark and full of corrupt people in power. Franklymydear thinks a sequel is in order for the film. “For me, it would definitely be The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s my favorite Disney film, and instead of the terrible sequel we got, I think a good sequel where we experience more of the seedy underworld of Paris…”

Fans of the original film are adults now, so a darker take on a Disney storyline would be an interesting route to take for a Hunchback prequel. In the film, there is not much explained to audiences about Frollo and why he is so evil. A prequel could explore whether he really has improved Paris in the way he thinks he has or has he created an underground world where people struggle to survive?

The Princess And The Frog (2009)

The Princess and the Frog explains everything there is to know about Tiana and her dreams, but one character who largely remains a mystery is Dr. Facilier.  One now-deleted Redditor commented in a thread that they would like to see, “Dr. Facilier in the streets of New Orleans learning the voodoo as a young man.”

A prequel would show how he goes from a curious young man to a desperate shadow man in New Orleans, highlighting all the bad deals he’s made in the past.

The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Little Mermaid already has a prequel. But the backstory of Ariel left one major question unanswered: why do King Tritan and Ursual hate each other so much? Acceptable-Fun8215 wants a prequel that explores that idea, saying, “They were friends … But then, Ursula turned to the dark side and when she tried to overthrow Triton.”

There is little known about Ursula. The only film to give more insight into her character is The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. But even then, there is no explanation about why King Triton hates Ursula so much, or why she was exiled. A prequel exploring these ideas could serve as a villain origin story for Ursula, and make fans understand the sea witch better.