Lenny the Lizard wrote:
Weedle McHairybug wrote:
Lenny the Lizard wrote:
Well, again, keep in mind that the direct-to-video sequels are not canonical and neither are the comics, so things like this really shouldn't be questioned anyway.
Not sure why they would even attempt to make them in the first place if they weren't intended to be canon, as it seems pointless, even under revenues. After all, if you make a cheap product that's unlikely to work, most people would be driven away from the business that made them, meaning it's not even worth making money for. And either way, at the very least Enchanted Christmas and the New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast are canon (the latter actually being made by Disney, unlike the Marvel Comics, I should point out), as they really don't conflict with canon much, unlike the Marvel Comics and possibly Belle's Magical World.
Either way, at least the TLM comics (both Disney and Marvel) and TV series are canonical to the original film, since they take place before it, and make a concentrated effort to avoid conflicting with things stated in the film. For that matter, Simba's Pride and Return of Jafar are canon as well, since they also made sure that they lined up with what was shown in the original film.
Those factors do not automatically make things canonical. Things like the direct-to-video sequels were made only to make money.
Also, Disney has made things that have contradicted each other in terms of writing stories and things that are not in the original films.
For example: the Timon & Pumbaa episode "Once Upon a Timon" and The Lion King 1 1/2 contradict each other.
Another example: some Aladdin books that were published around the time of the original film's release depict Aladdin & Jasmine's wedding, but Aladdin and the King of Thieves contradicts that as well.
So, obviously, nothing is canonical unless Walt Disney Animation Studios (aka Walt Disney Feature Animation) says so. And the only Disney animated feature sequels (not counting Pixar ones) that are truly canonical are The Three Caballeros, The Rescuers Down Under, Fantasia 2000 and Winnie the Pooh 2011, since they were made by WDAS and thus part of the official Disney Animated Feature canon.
Debate over.
Sigh, if you're implying that the DTV sequels and books were basically their versions of the Honest John's car dealerships (making cheap quality items basically to screw a few dollars from them), let me point out that this would have actually resulted in a huge loss of revenue in the long run, as it would destroy the trust people have in the company. So no, they were canonical, at least the comics and the TV series (especially when they had to be very careful regarding continuity, such being the case with the TLM tv series certainly. Let's put it this way, if I were in their position and I were going to make a sequel, prequel, midquel, whatever, and it was not going to be canon, I'd make sure it went out of its way to completely conflict with the original work in major ways without any explanation since, after all, it's not going to be canon anyways so why give the effort to even make it fit in terms of continuity?).
Besides, Star Wars, prior to Disney taking over anyways, had a LOT of Expanded Universe works that conflicted with other works, yet they were all canon (again, until Disney took over).
EDIT: I should also point out that there have been plenty of contradictions in the original films themselves, yet they haven't been proven non-canonical. I know in the Cell Games Saga of Dragon Ball Z, in the manga especially, Cell stated that he managed to regenerate due to his head remaining intact, despite Goku earlier obliterating the upper half of his body, head included. Also, Gaston seemed to realize Belle didn't love him when locking her up and riling up the mob, and yet he seemed to still think Belle loved him when fighting the Beast. Heck, pretty much time in the original film itself can best be summed up as temporal contradictions: the movie, as the film, despite the initial excising of Human Again, still implied with several of its weather changes that months had passed by, and this was despite the fact that there would have been no way LeFou or Maurice could have survived the conditions being stuck in (Gaston forcing him into sentry duty at Belle's cottage until Belle returned, and basically getting himself sick and lost in the woods, respectively, not to mention very clearly near death by the time Belle found him). Not to mention Gaston's rant in the tavern had him saying "she said 'no' to the wrong man," even though Belle never actually said "no" at all, she just humiliated him.
EDIT 2: Besides, books wouldn't even qualify under animation at all, so Walt Disney Animation Studios can't have a hand in books, literary or comics, anymore than LucasFilm Ltd., a movie production facility, cannot actually write any books on Star Wars since that isn't their forte, yet all non-film installments are canonical, even after the Disney merger (by that, I mean that a lot of the books being released under the new Disney EU are being counted as canon despite not actually being developed under the banner). Even the DisneyToons studios-created works regarding TV Shows would need to release an episode a month at best, since they'd need to be released in theaters and churn them out, which would take months to prepare if they are to be placed under the control of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
EDIT 3: Another thing, considering how infamous the DTV sequels are, the fact that most of them are getting rereleases made pretty clear that Disney counts them as canon, especially when Lasseter made clear he doesn't want any DTV sequels anymore due to how bad they were and thus would be financially wise not to even rerelease them, bury them even, to avoid any shameful reminders of that period, not to mention they're getting boxed sets and special editions. After all, when has Ghost Babel, a non-canon Metal Gear game, gotten any rereleases?