Mufasa in Mufasa: The Lion King

Serving as both sequel and prequel to 2019’s The Lion King, itself based on the 1994 animated movie, this photorealistic CGI film unfolds via a frame story and flashbacks, constantly shuttling back and forth between the present day and the past.

In the frame story, Rafiki (John Kani), the wise mandrill, tells young lion cub Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), the daughter of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), the story of her grandfather Mufasa (Aaron Pierre/Braelyn and Brielle Rankins). Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogen) sit in to provide colour commentary.

Flashbacks reveal the story of Mufasa, an orphaned lion cub who meets the young prince Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr./Theo Somolu). Taka’s father, Obasi (Lennie James), rejects Mufasa, but Taka’s mother, Eshe (Thandiwe Newton), embraces him.

Soon, Mufasa and Taka form a brotherly bond, and they befriend Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), a lioness who will eventually become the queen. Our heroes also face off against Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), the ruthless leader of a pride of white lions called the Outsiders. The duo embark on a fateful path that will take them from being loving adopted brothers to sworn enemies, with Taka eventually taking the name ‘Scar’.

In the six years since the live-action Lion King’s release, animation technology has advanced even further, and Mufasa: The Lion King features stunningly rendered natural scenery, its story unfolding across various environments. While some take issue with how the photorealistic design of the animals gets in the way of expressiveness, the movie is still surprisingly emotionally resonant, touching on themes of brotherhood and destiny.

Elsa in Frozen 2

After Disney’s 2013 animated film Frozen became a smash hit and a frankly inescapable cultural phenomenon, a sequel was inevitable. The studio took their time in developing a follow-up story, which was finally released in 2019, taking the sisters Elsa (Idina Menzel/Mattea Conforti/Eva Bella) and Anna (Kristen Bell/Hadley Gannaway/Livvy Stubenrauch) to new places. While it’s a sequel in the conventional sense, it also explores the secret origins of Elsa’s ice powers via the story of King Runeard (Jeremy Sisto), her grandfather.

Elsa is settling into her role as the queen of Arendelle, but a mysterious voice that only she can hear beckons her to journey beyond the castle. Elsa initially resists, but she realises that this voice reminds her of a lullaby her mother, Queen Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood), used to sing, compelling her to venture forth. Anna, her boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), the snowman Olaf (Josh Gad), and Kristoff’s reindeer Sven (Frank Welker) join Elsa on her journey. They travel to the enchanted forest of Northuldra, which has been shut off from the outside world for years by a thick veil of mist. Revelations come to light as the sisters learn truths, both beautiful and troubling, about their lineage.

Frozen 2 retains much of what audiences loved about the first Frozen but challenges its viewers with more mature themes and a darker, action adventure-centric tone while commenting on the way we frame and reckon with history. At the same time, Frozen 2 further develops the characters that fans of the first movie have come to know and love. A sequel is set for release in 2027, with a fourth film also in early development.

Buzz Lightyear in Lightyear

The Toy Story franchise rests on the sometimes-uneasy friendship between the cowboy Woody and space ranger Buzz Lightyear. Buzz received his own spin-off cartoon series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, which ran from 2000 to 2001 on the Disney Channel. The character then got a big-budget 3D animated feature of his own in 2022.

The standalone movie follows Buzz (Chris Evans), a capable but sometimes arrogant space ranger, as he accidentally strands his Star Command crew on the remote planet of T’Kani Prime. Blaming himself, Buzz attempts to synthesise a hyperspace fuel to facilitate the crew’s return home — at great personal cost. Along the way, Buzz teams up with recruits Izzy (Keke Palmer), Mo (Taika Waititi), and doddering paroled convict Darby (Dale Soules) to evade an intergalactic warlord.

So, is Lightyear a sequel, reboot or spin-off of Toy Story? The movie addresses the confusion by beginning with a title card clarifying that Lightyear exists within the fictional universe of Toy Story as a movie that Andy (the kid who owned the toys, including Buzz, in the Toy Story movies) would have watched. While Lightyear is ostensibly aimed at family audiences, it deals with surprisingly sophisticated sci-fi themes, tangling with concepts including time dilation and predestination. The movie places the beloved space ranger in the middle of a heady, if sometimes convoluted, sci-fi adventure thriller.

Cruella de Vil in Cruella

Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians is the villain audiences love to hate. A character whose sole drive in life is to skin innocent puppies to make a coat out of their fur? Yeah, it’s impossible to empathise with someone like that. But Cruella takes on the challenge of fleshing out the dog-hater and, against all odds, humanises her.

In ’70s London, a girl named Estella Miller (Emma Stone/Billie Gadsdon/Tipper Seifert-Cleveland), orphaned after her adoptive mother’s death, befriends young thieves Horace (Paul Walter Hauser/Joseph Macdonald) and Jasper (Joel Fry/Ziggy Gardner) and ekes out a living on the streets. An aspiring fashion designer, Estella catches the attention of the haute couture mogul Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson), and a rivalry between them develops. Estella comes to embrace her darker side, becoming the fashionable, dastardly Cruella de Vil.

Estella and the Baroness engage in acts of sartorial one-upmanship to see who can become the queen of couture, going toe to stilettoed toe against one another. Their struggle for power in the fashion world propels the movie forward and gives it its sense of fun. Thanks to the fashion battles between the two, the movie possesses an electric verve missing from many live-action Disney remakes. And the movie’s what you would call eye candy: you’ll gawk at the stunning — sometimes outrageous — get-ups (costume designer Jenny Beavan’s work on Cruella won her the Oscar for Best Costume Design). Director Craig Gillespie lets his imagination run wild with the ’70s London setting, depicting the advent of the punk-style revolution.

Maleficent in Maleficent

One of the most iconic villains in the Disney animated canon, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty is at once nightmarish and elegant, terrifying and beguiling. Angelina Jolie dons the horns in this live-action prequel, exploring just how Maleficent became so evil.

A young Maleficent (Jolie/Isobelle Molloy/Ella Purnell) befriended and later fell in love with Stefan (Sharlto Copley/Michael Higgins/Jackson Bews). But the gulf between Maleficent’s home, the enchanted forest kingdom of the Moors, and Stefan’s, the human kingdom, proves to be too wide. Stefan eventually becomes the king and betrays Maleficent.

When King Stefan’s daughter Aurora (Elle Fanning/Vivienne Jolie-Pitt/Eleanor Worthington-Cox/Janet McTeer) is born, a scorned and heartbroken Maleficent casts a spell on her: if Aurora pricks her finger on the needle of a spinning wheel before her 16th birthday, she will fall into a deep sleep and can only be awakened by true love’s kiss. As three fairies (Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville) watch over Aurora, so does Maleficent — from a distance — with the aid of her loyal raven Diaval (Sam Riley). Maleficent’s animosity towards the child gradually softens just as King Stefan declares war.

Jolie demonstrates her undeniable star power in the title role, cutting a striking figure in prosthetic makeup designed by the legendary Rick Baker. Look out for a particularly adorable scene in which Maleficent interacts with a young Aurora, played by Jolie’s own daughter Vivienne. Apparently, the other child actresses were too frightened by Jolie’s appearance, so Vivienne stepped in. Maleficent’s box-office success led to a sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, with a third film in development.