At best, comedy sequels have a mixed reputation. Like any other follow-up to a successful film, they are challenged with pleasing an audience that already has its own set of expectations and hopes for what this new chapter will bring. However, because comedy is inherently based on surprise, projects aiming to revisit the laughs for another round often fall short. Hew too closely to the original film, and the sequel feels like a tired retread. Venture too far afield, and the film risks alienating its existing fanbase. Ted 2 is the latest comedy sequel to attempt this balance, with expectantly mixed results.
In the latter half of the 1990s and throughout the 2000s, Pixar Animation Studios could seemingly do no wrong. The creative think tank behind modern classics like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and WALL-E delivered hit after hit for Disney, to the point that the Mouse House ultimately shelled out $7.4 billion to acquire Pixar in 2006. However, a string of less-than-stellar releases (including sequels like Cars 2 and Monsters University) had some fans worried that the CG-animated pioneer had lost the Midas touch. Now, thanks to Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out, that question has been definitively answered.
