There's no doubt Disney has churned out animated hit after animated hit over the years. The studio has enticed kids and adults with its timeless stories and beautiful animation.
With such high expectations, it's expected for there to be the occasional dud here and there. Unfortunately, some films that were so highly anticipated never had a chance to live up to the hype. Similarly, some concepts with premises were given bland storylines, making them completely forgettable. Although Disney creates great content, these films are definitely not its best work.
9 The Majority Of The Princess And The Frog Takes Place In An Uninteresting Swamp
The Princess and the Frog has a wonderfully unique set-up, from its workaholic leading lady to its upbeat ragtime music. Unfortunately, the story's magical beginning takes a backseat as soon as Tiana gets turned into a frog.
The majority of the film takes place in an unappealing swamp. As Naveen and Tiana make their way back to New Orleans, they must trudge through an often dark, ugly, and just plain boring environment. Upon release, the film didn't do as well at the box office as Disney would have liked. Although it's possible audiences were losing interest in hand-drawn animation at that time, the movie's lackluster world certainly didn't do it any favors.
8 The Magic In Brave Leaves Much To Be Desired
Brave has a wonderful message about compromising with a family member, but for all of the magic it promises in its opening, the result is hugely anticlimactic. The film's main plot revolves around Merida accidentally changing her mother, Elinor, into a bear and trying to reverse the spell.
Not only is this premise unimaginative, but it isn't even original for Disney. The story is similar to the journey in Brother Bear, which was released in 2003. While Brave mixes things up – Merida ends up without a love interest – everything else in its story is by the numbers.
7 The Good Dinosaur Has A Clumsy Story And Characters
The Good Dinosaur is a major dud in Disney's content. Slammed by both audiences and critics, the story is bland and forgettable, the characters aren't very inspired, and its tone is beyond unsettling.
The project reportedly had a number of production issues behind the scenes, and it shows. Despite its gorgeous animation and scenery, it isn't easy to get invested in Arlo and Spot's story when they don't have identifiable personalities. Moreover, when the film isn't a complete snore fest, it has randomly violent moments that are jarring and are sure to terrify kids.
6 The Sword In The Stone Makes The Story Of King Arthur Boring
When it comes to King Arthur, audiences expect grand adventure and perilous trials. The Sword in the Stone, however, barely has an adventure and spends most of the time focusing on underwhelming magic.
When Arthur meets Merlin, the two use the wizard's magic to transform into fish, squirrels, and birds. These scenes take up a majority of the film. While they are simple stories and can be amusing, they are definitely lacking the heroism and grand adventure of a hero's journey. Not to mention it's incredibly distracting to have Arthur voiced by two different boys, as his voice shifts unexpectedly throughout the movie.
5 Onward's Characters And World Building Are By The Numbers
Onward may boast a whimsical adventure, but its characters and even its environment are all concepts audiences have seen many times before. Specifically, in the plotline where Ian needs to have more confidence in himself and learn the value of his relationship with his brother Barley.
The suburban world of magical creatures is also by no means enthralling. The excitement of magic is traded for elves and trolls living a typical life as one would see in reality, thoroughly killing any fantasy it has to offer. While the movie does have a surprisingly touching ending, everything leading up to it doesn't grab much focus.
4 Strange World Is Loaded With The Same Overused Message
Strange World contains impressive animation and a slew of marvelous original creatures and designs, but those are its only redeeming qualities. The characters and family dynamics are beyond bland and have been done by Disney many times in better movies.
Searcher needs to learn how to connect with his dad, who wants him to become an explorer. Meanwhile, Searcher's son wants to become an explorer, but Searcher hopes he will become a farmer. The conflict between family members over identity and career choice has been explored so often that it's become exceptionally boring. With a story like this, these characters never had a chance to be remembered.
3 Home On The Range Is One Of Disney's Most Forgettable Stories
With a bizarre premise and unmemorable characters, Home on the Range never had a chance at becoming a smash Disney hit. The story revolves around Maggie the cow and her bovine companions as they embark on a mission to save their farm.
Along the way, they must battle a rancher named Alameda Slim, who has the ability to hypnotize cows with his yodeling. Not only is this conflict extremely odd, but none of the characters are likable enough to get a laugh. Even the animation isn't particularly memorable, with most of the film taking place in the expansive and vast Old West and having little variation.
2 Lightyear Strands Viewers On The Same Boring Planet
Fans of Buzz Lightyear look forward to the Space Ranger's unique adventures as he encounters strange planets, unique alien creatures, and everything in between. That's why it's odd and thoroughly disappointing that Lightyear takes place on one planet for almost the entire movie.
After Buzz accidentally strands his comrades on a deserted planet, he does everything he can to correct his mistake. This leads to time loops, alternate realities, and new technology. While the story is by no means awful, the planet they are stranded on is dull, unattractive, and doesn't spark an inkling of atmospheric adventure.
1 Frozen II's Messy Plot Made It Pale In Comparison To Its Predecessor
Frozen II had big shoes to fill after its predecessor won global acclaim, but it didn't live up to fans' expectations. The plot is clunky, scrambled, and difficult to follow.
Elsa starts hearing a strange voice just as supernatural elements threaten Arendelle. She, Anna, and the rest embark on a mission into the unknown to find the voice and save their home. Despite lovely animation and a few great songs, Elsa's adventure is constantly side-lined by lesser stories. The tired trope of Kristoff trying to clumsily propose to Anna for the whole movie is especially irksome, as both characters deserve a better story.